Fans of cult British sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf have been thrown an unexpected bit of good news with a statement revealing that the franchise creators have resolved a long-running dispute.
In show terms, that’s enough to step up to a red alert (even if it means changing the bulb).
It’s an unexpected boost for a franchise in its 35th-anniversary year and promises not only more adventures for the crew of the mining ship Red Dwarf, but also one of the genre’s most interesting multiverses. It’s the latest chapter in the show’s fascinating production history, which started when creators Doug Naylor and Rob Grant dissolved their long-running writing partnership half a decade after Red Dwarf first aired.
In short, Red Dwarf is predominantly a TV show following the misadventures last human Dave Lister, stranded three million years in the future aboard a colossal starship with a small and motley crew of losers. The show has spread into books, magazines, and even mobile games as it navigated impressive highs and lows.
After almost 30 years, both creators are set to continue the story of Red Dwarf in multimedia, although in a typically unorthodox fashion.
The statement issued by the pair revealed they are “delighted to announce that their long-running dispute over the Red Dwarf right has been resolved.”
Most intriguingly, it promised more but different Red Dwarf.
“Moving onwards and upwards. Rob and Doug hope to launch separate iterations of Red Dwarf across various media, working again with the cast and other valued partners, and wish each other the very best. Smoke me a kipper, Red Dwarf will be back for breakfast.”
As those kippers smoked away (a reference to the catchphrase of dashing but occasional character “Ace” Rimmer), most fans at the r/Red Dwarf subreddit were pleased with the news. However, some expressed concern this spelled reboot for a show that’s amazingly lasted over 30 years with its core cast intact.
Others weren’t shocked as they considered the ambiguous phrase “iterations.”
Red Dwarf fans have a history of dealing with parallel continuities, as that was forced on it early in the show’s life — creating an accidental but undeniable multiverse to go with its forays into backward planets, time travel paradoxes, and virtual reality.
The show’s first six seasons were relatively consistent. Even as it stretched and developed from its odd-couple sitcom beginnings, all episodes were written by Doug Naylor and Rob Grant for the BBC.
The pair split between the sixth and seventh seasons, but the show continued for two seasons of different styles under Naylor. Red Dwarf VII lost the character of Rimmer and live laughter tracks but gained Lister’s ex-girlfriend and a new film look. Red Dwarf VIII saw the original crew of the mining ship reanimated and a return to the cell-based dynamics of the first two years. Meanwhile, the two writers penned separate sequels to their first two co-written novelizations, Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers and Better Than Life. The two parallel continuations (that helpfully completed a two-book publishing deal) were Doug Naylor’s The Last Human and Rob Grant’s Backwards.
While Star Trek was only occasionally tinkering with its Mirrorverse, Doctor Who was very rarely straying outside the universe, and the MCU wasn’t even an idea, Red Dwarf was enjoying the benefits of a multiverse.
After the BBC declined a ninth television series, the show has found a home on Dave, A British digital channel owned by BBC studios. It’s enjoyed a second life of three specials, three new seasons, and in 2020, the long-awaited movie, The Promised Land, all written by Doug Naylor. Fans feared time might be up for the “Boys from the Dwarf.”
The long-running dispute mentioned in the statement doesn’t refer to the writers’ 30-year break, but to particular issues that arose around the time of The Promised Land in 2020. Naylor departed as a director of the pair’s former production company over a dispute about franchise rights.
Three years on, the resolution has breathed new life and mind-bending potential into the show.
As one fan stated on Reddit, there may be separate Red Dwarfs coming, but at least it won’t expire on its long journey back to Earth in an unsolvable legal quagmire.