The third series of Red Dwarf introduced some radical changes--all of them for the better--but the scripts remained as sharp and character-focussed as ever, making this a firm candidate for the show's best year. Gone were the dull metallic grey sets and costumes, gone too was Norman Lovett's lugubrious Holly, replaced now by comedienne Hattie Hayridge, who had previously played Hilly in the Series 2 episode "Parallel Universe". New this year were custom-made costumes, more elaborate sets, the zippy pea-green Starbug, bigger special effects and the wholly admirable... Robert Llewellyn as Kryten. The benefits of the show's changes are apparent from the outset, with the mind-bending hilarity of "Backwards", in which Kryten and Rimmer establish themselves as a forwards-talking double-act on a reverse Earth. After a modest two-hander that sees Rimmer and Lister "Marooned", comes one of the Dwarf's most beloved episodes, "Polymorph". Here is the ensemble working at its best, as each character unwittingly has their strongest emotion sucked out of them. Lister loses his fear; Cat his vanity; Kryten his reserve; and Rimmer his anger ("Chameleonic Life-Forms. No Thanks"). "Body Swap" sees Lister and Rimmer involved in a bizarre attempt to prevent the ship from self-destructing. "Timeslides" delves deep into Rimmer's psyche as the boys journey haphazardly through history. Finally, "The Last Day" shows how completely Kryten has been adopted as a crewmember, when his replacement Hudzen unexpectedly shows up. On the DVD: Red Dwarf, Series 3 two-disc set maintains the high standard of presentation and wealth of extra material established by its predecessors. Among other delights there are the usual "Smeg Ups" and deleted scenes, plus another fun commentary with the cast. There's a lengthy documentary, "All Change", specifically about Series 3, a tribute to costume designer Mel Bibby, Hattie Hayridge's convention video diary, and--most fascinating--the opportunity to watch "Backwards" played forwards, so you can finally understand what Arthur Smith's backwards-talking pub manager actually says to Rimmer and Kryten in the dressing room. --Mark Walker [show more]
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All six episodes from the third series of the popular sci-fi sitcom. In 'Backwards' the crew returns to what they think is Earth, but find time is behaving oddly, and loads of things begin to un-happen. In 'Marooned' Lister (Craig Charles) and Rimmer (Chris Barrie) find themselves stranded on an arctic moon with no food (except a pot noodle and a can of dog food), no heating and little hope of survival. The boys decide to open their hearts to each other. In 'Polymorph' a chameleonic genetic mutant gets aboard the ship and terrorises the crew with non-stop slobbering horrors. In 'Bodyswap' Rimmer and Lister swap bodies to help Dave lose weight, but Rimmer won't swap back after the experiment. In 'Timeslides' the crew travel back in time thanks to some mutated developing fluid that allows people to walk into photographs. Finally, in 'The Last Day', Kryten (Robert Llewellyn) discovers that he only has 24 hours of operating time left, so the boys decide to give him a great, last day.
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