Red Dwarf FAQ 1994

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            THE  "RED  DWARF"  FREQUENTLY  ASKED  QUESTIONS  LIST
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           Maintained by Patrick M. Berry       RD.faq Version 4.8
           pat@berry.Cary.NC.US                       19 June 1994
           -------------------------------------------------------

_____________________
CONTENTS OF THIS LIST

        1. THE SERIES

        1.1  What is "Red Dwarf"?
        1.2  Where can I see "Red Dwarf"?
        1.3  Is there an episode guide for "Red Dwarf"?
        1.4  Did "Red Dwarf" start on radio?
        1.5  Is there an American version of "Red Dwarf"?
        1.6  Who is Grant Naylor?

        2. THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

        2.1  What does "smeg" mean?
        2.2  What are the lyrics to the theme song from the end credits?
        2.3  What does "LEVEL NIVELO" mean?
        2.4  What are some of the foods mentioned on the show?
        2.5  Why is Holly now a woman?  How did Kryten change?
        2.6  What happened to Red Dwarf and Holly?
        2.7  They're all dead!  Is the show finished?

        3. TRIVIAL MATTERS

        3.1   What's the title of the last episode of Series Two?
        3.2   What are the lyrics to "Tongue Tied"?
        3.3   What are they really saying in "Backwards?"
        3.4   Who is Gordon Bennett?
        3.5   How many times has Rimmer had sex?
        3.6   How many people were in Red Dwarf's crew?
        3.7   How can Rimmer leave the ship?
        3.8   How did the Polymorph touch Rimmer?
        3.9   How many times has Starbug crashed?
        3.10  Didn't Lister have his appendix out twice?

        4. I WANT MORE!

        4.1  Are there "Red Dwarf" novels?
        4.2  Are there other books about "Red Dwarf"?
        4.3  Are there "Red Dwarf" fan clubs?
        4.4  Is there a "Red Dwarf" ftp site?
        4.5  Where else can I find out more about "Red Dwarf"?
        4.6  Where can I order "Red Dwarf" merchandise?

        New or changed information is marked with a vertical line in the
        left margin.

_____________
1. THE SERIES

        _________________________
        1.1  What is "Red Dwarf"?

        "Red Dwarf" is a British science fiction comedy series that has
        been on the air for six seasons, each season lasting for six
        episodes.  It is the brainchild of "Grant Naylor", a creative
        team consisting of Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who write and
        produce the show.

        The premise of the show is best summed up by the opening
narration used in the first series:

        "This is an S.O.S. distress call from the mining ship Red Dwarf.
        The crew are dead, killed by a radiation leak.  The only
        survivors are Dave Lister, who was in suspended animation during
        the disaster, and his pregnant cat, who was safely sealed in the
        hold.  Revived three million years later, Lister's only
        companions are a life-form who evolved from his cat, and Arnold
        Rimmer, a hologram simulation of one of the dead crew."
                                        --- Holly, the ship's computer

        _________________________________
        1.2  Where can I see "Red Dwarf"?

        Australia: On the ABC network.

        Canada: On the YTV network.

        Europe: BBC World Service Television.

        New Zealand: TVNZ Channel Two.

        United Kingdom: On BBC.

        United States: "Red Dwarf" is seen on public television stations
        across the country.  If your local PBS station doesn't show it,
        write to them, and convince your friends to write to them, until
        they do!  The first five series are all available for purchase by
        PBS stations.

        If you don't know when (or if) your local PBS station shows "Red
        Dwarf", check your local listings or call the station and ask.
        Posting the question to alt.tv.red-dwarf is an inefficient use
        of network resources -- and besides, the other methods are
        faster.


        _______________________________________________
        1.3  Is there an episode guide for "Red Dwarf"?

        Otto Heuer maintains a very good guide, available by
anonymous ftp on toaster.ee.ubc.ca, but here's a quick list
to get you started:

Series 1 - 1988                       Series 2 - 1988
---------------                       ---------------
1. The End...................15 Feb.   7. Kryten................... 6 Sept.
2. Future Echoes.............22 Feb.   8. Better Than Life.........13 Sept.
3. Balance of Power..........29 Feb.   9. Thanks for the Memory....20 Sept.
4. Waiting For God........... 7 Mar.  10. Stasis Leak..............27 Sept.
5. Confidence & Paranoia.....14 Mar.  11. Queeg.................... 4 Oct.
6. Me^^2.....................21 Mar.  12. Parallel Universe........11 Oct.

Series 3 - 1989                       Series 4 - 1991
---------------                       ---------------
13. Backwards................14 Nov.  19. Camille..................14 Feb.
14. Marooned.................21 Nov.  20. D.N.A....................21 Feb.
15. Polymorph................28 Nov.  21. Justice..................28 Feb.
16. Bodyswap................. 5 Dec.  22. White Hole................7 Mar.
17. Timeslides...............12 Dec.  23. Dimension Jump...........14 Mar.
18. The Last Day.............19 Dec.  24. Meltdown.................21 Feb.

Series 5 - 1992                       Series 6 - 1993
---------------                       ---------------
25. Holoship.................20 Feb.  31. Psirens.................. 7 Oct.
26. The Inquisitor...........27 Feb.  32. Legion...................14 Oct.
27. Terrorform............... 5 Mar.  33. Gunmen of the Apocalypse.21 Oct.
28. Quarantine...............12 Mar.  34. Emohawk: Polymorph II....28 Oct.
29. Demons and Angels........19 Mar.  35. Rimmerworld.............. 4 Nov.
30. Back To Reality..........26 Mar.  36. Out of Time..............11 Nov.

        ____________________________________
        1.4  Did "Red Dwarf" start on radio?

        Not exactly.  Rob Grant and Doug Naylor wrote an episode of the
        short-lived Radio 4 series "Son of Cliche" that contained
        several ideas they later incorporated into "Red Dwarf".  A space
        cadet named Dave is trapped all alone on a spaceship with a
        slightly senile computer called HAB. (The voice of HAB, by the
        way, was provided by Chris Barrie, who later went on to star as
        Rimmer.)  While this was clearly the forerunner for "Red Dwarf,"
        there isn't any direct connection.

        The script for this radio episode is included in the RED DWARF
        OMNIBUS (see 4.2).

        _________________________________________________
        1.5  Is there an American version of "Red Dwarf"?

        No, not really.  The NBC network expressed interest in an
        American version of the show and two pilots were made, but no
        series was ever produced.

        The first pilot was filmed on 22 January 1992, with the
        following cast:

           Lister......................................Craig Bierko
           Rimmer....................................Chris Eigelman
           Holly........................................Jane Leeves
           Kryten..................................Robert Llewellyn *
           Cat........................................Hinton Battle
|          Christine Kochanski...................Elizabeth Morehead
|          First Officer Munson...................Michael Heintzman
|          Captain Tau...........................Lorraine Toussaint

           * The same Llewellyn who played Kryten in the BBC version.

        Grant Naylor served as technical consultants.  The plot was a
        retelling of "The End", with some elements of "Future Echoes"
        thrown in for good measure.  Fans who were in the studio
        audience report that surprising and odd changes were made: for
        example, the transformation of Lister to a clean-cut and
        well-dressed Causcasian, and the replacement of the "H" on
        Rimmer's forehead with a silver marble.

        After rejecting this version, NBC commissioned a second pilot,
        which fixed some problems (such as restoring Rimmer's "H"), but
        which had more odd changes, such as casting a woman as the Cat.
        (Interestingly, the Cat was played by Terry Farrell, who is now
        better known in the U.S. for her role as Jadzia Dax on "Star
        Trek: Deep Space Nine.")  The second pilot was also rejected,
        and the proposed series was shelved indefinitely.  (However,
        Robert Llewellyn got to keep the new Kryten suit from the U.S.
        pilots, and used it in Series 6.)

        [Does anyone know the cast of the second pilot, or the date when
        it was filmed? -- PMB]

        Neither pilot has ever been aired or released on videocassette,
        but unauthorized copies can be found at science fiction
        conventions.  (At least one dealer, R.O.F., offers them by mail.
        See 4.6.)  Fans who have seen these tapes seem to agree with
        NBC's decision not to proceed with the series.

        A redesigned Kryten suit (of somewhat better quality than the
        old BBC version ) was made for the U.S. pilots by a
        California-based special effects house.  When the pilots were
        rejected, Robert Llewellyn got to keep the new suit and wore it
        in Series Six.

        ___________________________
        1.6  Who is Grant Naylor?

        The "About the Author" note in the book RED DWARF (see 4.1) has
        this to say about the creator(s) of the series:

        "Grant Naylor is a gestalt entity occupying two bodies, one of
        which lives in north London, the other in south London.  The
        product of a horribly botched genetic-engineering experiment,
        which took place in Manchester in the late fifties, they try to
        eke out two existences with only one mind.  They attended
        the same school and the same university, but, for tax reasons,
        have completely different wives.

        The first body is called Rob Grant, the second Doug Naylor.
        Among other things, they spent three years in the mid-eighties
        as head writers of `Spitting Image;' wrote Radio Four's
        award-winning series `Son of Cliche;' penned the lyrics to a
        number one single; and created and wrote `Red Dwarf' for BBC
        television.

        They have made a living variously by being ice-cream salesmen,
        shoe-shop assistants and by attempting to sell dodgy
        life-assurance policies to close friends.  They also spent
        almost two years on the night shift loading paper into computer
        printers at a mail-order factory in Ardwick.  They can still
        taste the cheese 'n' onion toasties.

        Their favourite colour is orange."

        Grant Naylor's number one single was "The Chicken Song," a
        "Spitting Image" spinoff.  Philip Pope composed the music and
        produced the record, which was released in 1986 by Virgin
        Records.

______________________________________
2. THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

        ___________________________
        2.1  What does "smeg" mean?

        The characters in the show use it as an all-purpose profanity.
        Apparently derived from "smegma," the term for a particularly
        unpleasant bodily secretion, the slang term "smeg" was
        reportedly in use in England before the show premiered, although
        not commonly.  Grant Naylor presumably adopted this little-known
        bit of Scouse profanity as a blanket replacement for all other
        swearing, to keep them out of trouble with the BBC and to poke
        fun at the long-standing convention in science-fiction of
        inventing futuristic slang.

        ________________________________________________________________
        2.2  What are the lyrics to the theme song from the end credits?

        It's cold outside, there's no kind of atmosphere
        I'm all alone, more or less
        Let me fly far away from here
        Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun

        I want to lie shipwrecked and comatose
        Drinking fresh mango juice
        Goldfish shoals nibbling at my toes  *
        Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun
        Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun

        *  There has been much debate over this line -- it is not sung
           very clearly, and many fans think it is simply "Goldfish ARE
           nibbling..."  However, in the fourth series episode
           "Meltdown," the end theme is performed by "Elvis" (Clayton
           Mark), and the word "shoals" is more distinct.  Also, some
           fans who have seen the sheet music for the song report that
           the lyrics do read "shoals."  A "shoal" is a school of fish.

        ___________________________________
        2.3  What does "LEVEL NIVELO" mean?

        Red Dwarf is a bilingual ship, with English and Esperanto as the
        two official languages.  "Nivelo" is the Esperanto word for
        "level".  The signs in the corridors of the ship are simply
        telling crewmembers in both languages what level they're on.

        Esperanto is a real language, developed in the the 1880s by
        Polish ophthalmologist L.L. Zamenhof.  All of the "Red Dwarf"
        characters appear to speak English, but in "Kryten", Rimmer is
        shown trying (and failing) to learn Esperanto from a videotape.
        In the same episode, Kryten and Lister both demonstrate
        familiarity with the language.

        The name "Esperanto" means "one who hopes," a fact that is
        alluded to in "Back to Reality."

        ______________________________________________________
        2.4  What are some of the foods mentioned on the show?

        "Vindaloo," the most frequently mentioned food item on the
        show, is a very, very hot Indian curry dish.  Most Indian
        restaurants have them on the menu.  They can contain almost any
        variety of meat, thus Lister's references to "mutton vindaloo,"
        "chicken vindaloo," etc.

        "Poppadoms," another Indian food item, are thin lentil-flour
        wafers resembling tortillas, deep-fried until crisp.
       
        A "shami kebab" is an appetizer served in Indian restaraunts.
        It consists of finely ground meat and lots of spices, grilled
        over a flame, and comes in a variety of shapes -- some flat like
        a hamburger, others long and thin like a sausage.  The meat is a
        mixture of pork and either goat (in more authentic restaurants)
        or beef (in less authentic ones).  You typically get two shami
        kebabs with a salad side dish.

        "Chutney" is a fruit piccalilli (pickled relish), often eaten
        with cold meat.

        "Gazpacho soup" really does exist and really is meant to be
        served cold.  Several different recipes exist.

        A "pot noodle" is an instant noodle product marketed in the U.K.
        by Golden Wonder, a snack food company.  It's a plastic
        container with pre-cooked dried noodles and flavorings inside.
        To prepare it, you open the container, pour in boiling water,
        wait a few moments, and eat it.

        A "kipper" is a herring, cured by splitting, salting, and
        smoking.  Kippers are eaten as a breakfast food in some parts of
        the U.K.

        A "Topic Bar" is a candy bar sold in the U.K.  It consists of
        fondant and hazelnuts covered with chocolate.  One ad campaign
        for this bar used the slogan "A hazelnut in every bite."

        ______________________________________________________
        2.5  Why is Holly now a woman?  How did Kryten change?

        The original actor to play Holly, Norman Lovett, decided to
        leave the series to further his career.  (There is no truth to
        the rumor that he died.)  Kryten's original actor, David Ross,
        wasn't available to commit to a series when they decided to make
        Kryten a continuing character, so he was replaced by Robert
        Llewellyn.  (Ross later returned in "White Hole" as the new
        voice of Talkie Toaster.)

        Hattie Hayridge, the actress called in to play Holly, had
        previously appeared in "Parallel Universe" as Hilly, Holly's
        female counterpart.  "There were no plans to call me back,"
        Hayridge explains.  "When Norman said he wasn't doing another
        series, I auditioned."  The character of Holly kept the same
        name and personality despite the recasting.

        The reclassification of Red Dwarf from a Paul Jackson Production
        to a Grant Naylor Production (making it now officially a
        production outside the BBC, although it is still filmed at Noel
        Gay Television) brought with it several changes in the show's
        look between Series Two and Three, including changes in
        costumes, sets, and miniatures, particularly the addition of the
        Starbug and its hangar bay.

        Most of these changes were more or less explained by the
        following words that scrolled rapidly up the screen at the
        beginning of "Backwards":

        "Three million years in the future, Dave Lister, the last human
        being alive, discovers he is pregnant after a liaison with his
        female self in a parallel universe. His pregnancy concludes with
        the successful delivery of twin boys, Jim and Bexley. However,
        because the boys were conceived in another universe, with
        different physical laws, they suffer from highly accelerated
        growth rates and are both eighteen years old within three days
        of being born. In order to save their lives, Lister returns them
        to the universe of their origin, where they are reunited with
        their father (a woman), and are able to lead comparatively
        normal lives. Well, as normal as you can be if you've been born
        in a parallel universe and your father's a woman and your
        mother's a man and you're eighteen years old three days after
        your birth.  Shortly afterward, Kryten, the service mechanoid,
        who had left the ship after being rescued from his own crashed
        vessel, the Nova 5, is found in pieces after his space bike
        crashed into an asteroid. Lister rebuilds the 'noid, but is
        unable to recapture his former personality. Meanwhile, Holly,
        the increasingly erratic computer, performs a head sex change
        operation on himself. He bases his new face on Hilly, a female
        computer with whom he'd once fallen madly in love."

        It IS possible to read all this, using a VCR with good
        freeze-frame capabilities.  Try it.

        ______________________________________________
        2.6  What happened to the Red Dwarf and Holly?

        Throughout Series Six, the characters travel aboard Starbug; the
        Red Dwarf (and Holly) don't appear at all.  This tends to
        confuse viewers who missed the explanation in "Psirens".

        Briefly, what happened is this: Lister parked the Red Dwarf in
        orbit around a planetoid, and then forgot which planetoid it
        was.  "They're all the same, those little blue-green planetoids.
        Blue-green and planetoidy."  Subsequently, Red Dwarf was stolen
        "by persons or lifeforms unknown."  Starbug followed the ship's
        vapor trail for over 200 years, with Lister and the Cat in deep
        sleep and Rimmer switched off to conserve power.  At the first
        opportunity to actually catch up with Red Dwarf, Kryten revives
        the others, and the saga continues . . .

|       The real reason for the change was to eliminate Holly from the
|       show.  According to Hattie Hayridge, the parts for Holly and the
|       Cat had both been getting smaller and smaller.  Grant Naylor
|       decided to drop one of the characters and expand the other.
|       It was easier to drop Holly because many of her lines could be
|       given to Kryten instead.

        _____________________________________________
        2.7  They're all dead!  Is the show finished?

        No, there is definitely more to come.  The following teaser for
        Series 7 was published in the final issue of the RED DWARF
        SMEGAZINE (see 4.5):

        "The crew of Starbug may have been left apparently dead at the
        end of Red Dwarf VI, but the series is by no means finished.
        The BBC have asked for a Christmas special and a seventh series.
        However, it looks like the Christmas special will be the only
        new Red Dwarf on our screens this year.  Series 7 is unlikely to
        come out until 1995 because the Grant Naylor boys are incredibly
        busy at the moment."

__________________
3. TRIVIAL MATTERS

        ________________________________________________________
        3.1  What's the title of the last episode of Series Two?

        No title was given in the original broadcast.  The episode
        opened with a musical number instead of the normal titles.  Most
        British fans learned that the episode's name was "Parallel
        Universe" from its listing in the Radio Times; some American
        fans called it "Tongue Tied", after the song in the opening
        musical performance.  "Parallel Universe" was the most common
        title used, and it has now been confirmed as the official title
        as printed on the BBC videotape releases.

        __________________________________________
        3.2  What are the lyrics to "Tongue Tied"?

        As mentioned in 3.1, "Parallel Universe" begins with a musical
        number that turns out to be a dream had by the self-centered
        Cat.  The studio audience's laughter makes the lyrics a little
        hard to understand, but combining a couple of different posters'
        ideas of what they were gave us this:

The Cat: (Chorus -- Lister and Rimmer:)

When I saw you for the first time (first time)
My knees began to quiver (quiver)
And I got a funny feeling (feeling)
In my kidneys and my liver (digestive system baby)

My hands they started shakin' (shakin')
My heart began a-thumpin' (boom boom boom)
My breakfast left my body (huey huey huey)
It all really tells me something

Girl you make me tongue tied (tongue tied)
Tongue tied, whenever you are near me           (near me)
Tied tongue (tied tongue)
Tied tongue (tied tongue)
Whenever you're in town

I saw you 'cross the dance floor                (dancin')
I thought of birds and bees (reproductive system baby)
And when I tried to speak to ya (talk talk)
My tongue unraveled to my knees (flippety-flippety-flop)

I tried to say I love you (love you)
But it came out kind of wrong, girl (wrong girl)
It sounded like "Nunubididoo"                   (tongue tied)
Nuh mur nuh murh ni nong nurl

'Cause you make me tongue tied (tongue tied)
Tongue tied, whenever you are near me           (near me)
Be-dobby-durgle (dobby-durgle)
Tongue tied (tongue tied)
Whenever you're around

Oh I'm beggin' on my knees
Sweet, sweet darling, listen please
Understand me when I say
Bedurble-diggle-doggle-dooby-doggle-durgle-day

I'm trying to say nungy-nangy (nangy-nungy)
Ningy-nongy, why can't I tell you clearly (clearly)
Be-dobby-durgle (dobby-durgle)
Durgle-dobby (durgle-dobby)
Whenever you're around (around)
Whenever you're around (around)

        In the fall of 1993, "Tongue Tied" was released as a single in
        England and rose to #17 in the Gallup UK Top 40.  The artist was
        listed simply as "The Cat."  A music video of "Tongue Tied" was
        reportedly shown on the "Top of the Pops" show in England and on
        MTV in the States.  Copies of the video (and a half-hour program
        on the making of the video) are available from John McElroy (see
        4.6).

        ________________________________________________
        3.3  What are they really saying in "Backwards"?

        Most of the reversed dialogue in the episode "Backwards" is
        pretty much either what the subtitles say it is or what you'd
        expect from context; some of it actually appears to be random
        noise.  There are two good exceptions, however.

        When Lister and the Cat steal a bicycle, its owner yells after
        them, "You scoundrels!  Return my bike immediately!" -- at
        least, according to the subtitles.  What he actually says,
        however, is, "Oi!  Hey!  Oi, you robbing bastards, that's our
        tandem!"

        Later, when the stage manager comes in to yell at Rimmer and
        Kryten, he appears to be blaming them for starting the "fight."
        Here's what he's actually saying:

        "Frankly, your act's crap.  Anyway, anybody could have done it.
        I hate the lot of you.  Bollocks to you! . . . You are a stupid,
        square-headed, bald git, aren't you?  I ain't pointing at you,
        I'm pointing at you.  But I'm not actually addressing you, I'm
        addressing the one prat in the country who's bothered to get
        hold of this recording, turn it round, and actually work out the
        rubbish that I'm saying.  What a poor, sad life he's got!"

        _____________________________
        3.4  Who is "Gordon Bennett"?

        "Gordon Bennett" is a name used by the characters, most notably
        Holly, as an expletive ("Gordon Bennett!  What was that?").
        Historically, James Gordon Bennett was the name of an American
        newspaper tycoon (1795-1872) who founded the New York Herald in
        1835.  His son, also named James Gordon Bennett (1841-1918),
        established London and Paris editions of the newspaper.  The
        Bennetts are said to have had a penchant for extravagant and
        expensive gestures, and they became widely known enough that the
        name is now an expression of disbelief in England, and is
        essentially a euphemism for "God".

        _______________________________________
        3.5  How many times has Rimmer has sex?

        Only once while he was alive, with Yvonne McGruder, the ship's
        female boxing champion.  (Stated in "Thanks for the Memory".)
        The story he tells Lister in "Marooned", about losing his
        virginity in the back seat of his brother's car, appears to be
        false.  In later episodes, Rimmer has had simulated sex in a
        virtual reality game ("Better Than Life") and holographic sex
        with another hologram ("Holoship").

        ______________________________________________
        3.6  How many people were in Red Dwarf's crew?

        In "The End", Todhunter says "There are 169 people on board this
        ship."  Yet in "Justice", the Justice Computer charges Rimmer
        with 1,167 counts of murder for causing the deaths of the entire
        crew.  What gives?

        "Red Dwarf" abounds with minor inconsistencies like this one.
        When Grant Naylor come up with a good idea (such as the "light
        bee" -- see 3.7), they don't worry overmuch about whether it
        contradicts something in a previous episode.  In this case, they
        evidently decided that a larger crew was more appropriate for a
        ship five miles long and three miles in diameter.

        One possible explanation is that the Justice Computer got its
        information from Rimmer's mind, and Rimmer has an inflated
        notion of his own importance.  In addition to overstating his
        own responsibility for the deaths of the crew, he may have
        exaggerated the number of people involved.

        ___________________________________
        3.7  How can Rimmer leave the ship?

        Because Rimmer is a computer-generated hologram, some viewers
        are confused when he leaves Red Dwarf and visits planets, space
        stations, other ships, and so forth.  In early episodes, Rimmer
        was generated by the Red Dwarf's onboard holographic equipment,
        which allowed him to move freely about the ship.  He was also
        able to travel on the Red Dwarf's auxilary vessels (Blue Midget
        and White Giant), which presumably carry their own hologram
        generators.  He could only visit the surface of a planet within
        a Hologram Projection Cage, as seen in "Thanks for the Memory".

        This limitation proved to be inconvenient, so Grant Naylor came
        up with another explanation, the "light bee".  This device is a
        tapered cylinder about one inch in diameter and three inches
        long that "buzzes around inside him and projects his image" (as
        described by Holly in "Meltdown").  The light bee can go
        anywhere, allowing Rimmer to leave the ship without needing a
        projection cage.

        Some fans have speculated that the light bee was invented
        sometime during Series 2 (by Holly) or Series 3 (by either Holly
        or Kryten).  However, this doesn't explain how Rimmer was able
        to leave the Blue Midget and enter the wreck of the Nova 5 in
        "Kryten", two episodes *before* he was shown in a projection
        cage.

        ________________________________________
        3.8  How did the Polymorph touch Rimmer?

        In the episode "Polymorph", a shape-changing creature that feeds
        on emotions invades the Red Dwarf.  This creature uses its
        shapeshifting ability to provoke an emotional response, then
        attaches a sucker to the victim's forehead and sucks out the
        emotion.  Lister, the Cat, Kryten, and Rimmer all succumb to
        the creature's attack.

        Some fans have asked how the Polymorph could possibly attach its
        sucker to Rimmer (who is, after all, a hologram).  Two possible
        explanations have been suggested: either the sucker actually
        made contact with Rimmer's light bee (see 3.7), or the Polymorph
        can change into a hologram.

        In the novel BETTER THAN LIFE (see 4.1), the Polymorph changes
        to a beam of light, suggesting that becoming a hologram is
        within its capabilities.  On the other hand, the Polymorph
        doesn't use that method in the novel; it goes to the hologram
        simulation suite, changes into electronic data, and invades
        Rimmer's personality disk.

        ________________________________________
        3.9  How many times has Starbug crashed?

        There are at least two vehicles called "Starbug" on board the
        Red Dwarf, and they seem to crash-land or collide with things an
        awful lot.  Crash landings occur in the following episodes:

        "Backwards"                     "Terrorform"
        "Marooned"                      "Psirens"
        "Bodyswap"                      "Gunmen of the Apocalypse"
        "Dimension Jump"                "Emohawk"

        The crashed Starbug was abandoned on more than one occasion,
        indicating that (a) there are more than two of them, or (b)
        facilities exist on board Red Dwarf to manufacture replacement
        Starbugs.

        ________________________________________________
        3.10  Didn't Lister have his appendix out twice?

        In "Thanks for the Memory", we learn that Lister had his
        appendix removed years ago.  Yet in "Legion", it gets removed
        again.  How is this possible?

        In all likelihood, this is just another of the minor
        inconsistencies for which "Red Dwarf" is famous.  However, some
        fans have theorized that Lister's appendix was regenerated in
        "DNA", along with the rest of his body.

_______________
4. I WANT MORE!

        __________________________________
        4.1  Are there "Red Dwarf" novels?

        Yes, there are two so far:

        RED DWARF: INFINITY WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS
        by Grant Naylor
        ISBN 0-14-012437-3
        Penguin Books, 1989

        RED DWARF: BETTER THAN LIFE
        by Grant Naylor
        ISBN 0-14-012438-1
        Penguin Books, 1990

        A third novel is in the works, and is slated for publication in
        October:

        RED DWARF: THE LAST HUMAN
        by Grant Naylor
        ISBN 0-67-085255-4
        Penguin Books, 1994

        The novels greatly expand on, and are greatly different
        from, the television show: although they do contain many ideas
        from the show, these ideas are put together in new and
        interesting ways.

        RED DWARF: INFINITY WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS (audiocassette)
        read by Chris Barrie (Rimmer)
        ISBN 44-71-498-0102
        Laughing Stock Productions [date?]

        Available in two forms:

        - Abridged (double cassette box, 180 minutes)
        - Unabridged (6 cassette box, 8 hours)

        RED DWARF OMNIBUS
        by Grant Naylor
        ISBN 0-14-017466-4
        Penguin Books [date?]

        This combined rerelease of the first two novels also contains
        the script for "Dave Hollins, Space Cadet" (the "Son Of Cliche"
        sketch that started it all -- see 1.3), a reproduction of the
        beer mat on which the idea for Red Dwarf was allegedly first
        sketched out, and the original script for "The End".

        RED DWARF
        by Grant Naylor
        ISBN 1-56865-049-3
        Guild America Books

        Contains the first two novels, but none of the other goodies
        included in the RED DWARF OMNIBUS.  Available in the U.S. from
        the Science Fiction Book Club.

        _____________________________________________
        4.2  Are there other books about "Red Dwarf"?

        Absolutely!  In fact, there are quite a few:

THE OFFICIAL RED DWARF COMPANION
by Bruce Dessau
        ISBN 1-85286-456-7
|       Titan Books, 1992

          This thin little book (95 pages) has a lot of wasted space, but
          some interesting quotes and information and some wonderful color
          photos throughout.  If you're looking for in-depth, solid
          information about the show, this isn't where you'll find it; but
          if you want a nice, light read, a collector's item, and an
          attractive coffee-table book, this is it.  Available in England
          and at conventions in the U.S.

        RED DWARF PROGRAMME GUIDE
        by Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons
        ISBN 0-86-369682-1
        Virgin Books, 1993

          "Everything you never wanted to know about the smash
          smega-series."  An in-depth collection (about 230 pages) of
          information about series 1-5.  It includes sections on History,
          The Characters, The Programmes, The Index, The Creators (cast
          and production crew), and The Spin-offs.  The Index is by far
          the largest section of the book and is an alphabetical list of
          almost everything mentioned to during the series, from "A to Z
          of Red Dwarf, The" to "Zoom function".

        RED DWARF -- PRIMORDIAL SOUP: THE LEAST WORST SCRIPTS
        by Grant Naylor
        ISBN 0-14-017886-4
        [Publisher, date?]

          This book contains the complete scripts for "Polymorph,"
          "Marooned," "Dimension Jump," "Justice," "Back to Reality," and
          "Psirens."  Not published in the U.S. (but available from John
          McElroy (see 4.6) and other distributors of imported books.)

        THE MAN IN THE RUBBER MASK
        by Robert Llewellyn
        ISBN 0-14-023575-2
        [Publisher?] 1994

          Life as Kryten, described by the actor who plays him.  Reportedly
          available in April 1994.  [Has anyone seen it yet? -- PMB]

        RED DWARF SERIES COMPANION
        [Author?]
        [ISBN?]
        Penguin Books, 1994

          No information yet about the content of this book.

        THE MAKING OF RED DWARF
        by Joe Nazzaro
        ISBN 0-14-023206-0
        Penguin Books, 1994

          A rather slender book with lots of nice colour photographs.
          Focuses on the making of "Gunmen Of The Apocalypse".  The book
          goes into a fair amount of detail, but nothing that couldn't
          have been gleaned from a half-dozen back issues of the
          now-defunct Smegazine (see 4.5).  The book's main strength is
          the added material: some great photos, fragments of the
          original "Gunmen" script (mostly stage directions, but also
          one unfilmed scene) and storyboards used in the filming.

|       THE CRAIG CHARLES ALMANAC OF TOTAL KNOWLEDGE
|       by Craig Charles and Russell Bell
|       ISBN 1-85283-356-4
|       Boxtree Limited, 1993
|
|         No information yet on what this book contains.  It may have
|         nothing to do with "Red Dwarf" except for the identity of the
|         author.

        _____________________________________
        4.3  Are there "Red Dwarf" fan clubs?

        Yes, fan clubs exist in several countries.  Here's a list:

        THE OFFICIAL RED DWARF FAN CLUB (U.K.)

          This club is based in England, but has addresses in several
          other countries.  Membership includes three issues of their
          magazine BETTER THAN LIFE, a badge, and a membership card.
          Membership rates (per year) are as follows:

          UK/BFPO      - 8.50 Sterling
          Europe       - 9.50 Sterling equivalent
          Eire         - IR#10     (8.50  Sterling)
          USA          - US$17.00  (10.00 Sterling)
          Australia    - A$27.00   (13.00 Sterling)
          New Zealand  - NZ$32.00  (11.00 Sterling)

          Cash or cheques in local currencies are accepted, but take
          weeks rather than days to clear.  If you prefer to send an
          International Money Order, the equivalent rates are shown
          above. Write to:

          U.K.:  40 Pitford Road        Eire:       Caroline Griffin
                 Woodley                            52 Granville Road
                 Reading                            Dun Laoghaire
                 RG5 4QF                            Co Dublin

          U.S.:  Mark Kennedy           Australia:  Tom Marwede
                 P.O. Box 50552                     PO Box 1044
                 Palo Alto, CA 94303                Bundoora 3083
                 USA                                Victoria

        THE OFFICIAL RED DWARF FAN CLUB (U.S.)
        P. O. Box 400
        Columbiaville, MI  48421

          Membership is $25 for the first year and includes a T-shirt,
          membership card, cast picture, and the club newsletter
          (published approximately every other month).  [What's the name
          of the newsletter? -- PMB]  Renewals are available for $12 per
          year. The club does not have meetings, but does sponsor
          occasional special events, such as a complete showing of
          Series Six in the fall of 1993 (when it had not yet been
          broadcast in the U.S.).

          Mike Gardiner (mwg@msen.com) has agreed to serve as an
          unofficial Internet contact for this club.

          It is not true that this club has ceased operations.
          According to Mike Gardiner, the club's mail was being
          mishandled by the post office, and in many cases was not
          delivered.  The new mailing address (above) should fix this
          problem.  If you sent mail to the old address and received no
          reply, write to the new address.

        ZED SHIFT (New Zealand)
        PO Box 10104
        Wellington
        New Zealand

          Zed Shift publishes a quarterly magazine (GARBAGE POD),
          operates a mail-order service for New Zealand members, and
          holds the occasional meeting.  Members receive four issues of
          GARBAGE POD, a guide to "Red Dwarf", a membership card, and a
          hologram H. The most recent issue of GARBAGE POD reportedly
          includes a "Red Dwarf" role-playing game, reviews of Series 6,
          and some fiction.

          The cost of one year's membership in NZ dollars is:
          - New Zealand     $15
          - Australia       $20
          - Rest of world   $25

          For a registration form, send an SAE or IRC.

        BETTER THAN LIFE (Germany)
        Sylvia Pranga
        Isolde-Kurz-Str. 145 (36)
        W-4400 Munster-Nienberge
        GERMANY

          This club publishes a newsletter (mostly in German) called
          TALKIE TOASTER (TM).

        _____________________________________
        4.4  Is there a "Red Dwarf" ftp site?

        Dave Gagne (daveg@ee.ubc.ca) has been kind enough to put an
        anonymous ftp site on toaster.ee.ubc.ca (137.82.56.10). There's
        a lot of good stuff there in the /pub/red-dwarf directory,
        including scripts, sound files, episode guides, quote files, GIF
        and JPEG pictures, and an AmigaGuide version of this FAQ List.
        For details, get the README file.

        On World Wide Web, there are four known "Red Dwarf" sites. These
        carry information on scripts, links to the FTP site, quotes, and
        other goodies.  The sites are:

        http://http2.brunel.ac.uk:8080/red_dwarf/home.html

          Contact: Paul.Wain@brunel.ac.uk

        http://sdio.issi.com/RedDwarf/rd-home_page.html

          Contact: markg@issi.com

        ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/pics/tv+film/RedDwarf

        ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/pictures/tv.film/Red_Dwarf

        ______________________________________________________
        4.5  Where else can I find out more about "Red Dwarf"?

        Usenet: The newsgroup alt.tv.red-dwarf is devoted to news and
        discussion about the series.

        Internet: There is reportedly a "Red Dwarf" mailing list.
        To try it out, send mail to listserv@sol1.uel.ac.uk with the
        the following text in the body of the message:

           subscribe reddwarf Your Name

        [I've tried this, and got no response whatsoever.  Let me know
        if you get it to work. -- PMB]

        There is an IRC #REDDWARF channel as well.

        CompuServe: "Red Dwarf" discussions can be found in the
        British Media SF section of the SF & Fantasy Forum.

        [Anyone know about GEnie, America Online, or other online
        services? -- PMB]

        RED DWARF SMEGAZINE, the official magazine for the series,
        ceased publication with Volume 2 Issue 9 (December 1993).  A
        campaign is currently under way to revive the Smegazine.  For
        details, send a self-addressed envelope to:

        SAVE OUR SMEG!
        Churchside
        Park End
        Bromley, Kent BR1 3PZ
        England

        Some back issues are still available from the publisher
        (Fleetway Editions Limited) or from other distributors (see 4.6).

        Two "Red Dwarf" fanzines (unofficial, fan-written publications)
        are known to exist.

        STASIS LEAK
        Space Rat Press
        P.O. Box 422
        Park Ridge, NJ 07656 USA

          U.S./Canada/and Mexico: $12 U.S. per issue
          Elsewhere: $15 U.S. per issue

          Space Rat Press seems to have obtained permission from Grant
          Naylor, which is rare for a fanzine.  Two issues have been
          published so far:

          #1  Interviews with Grant Naylor, Chris Barrie, Hattie
              Hayridge, Andria Pannell (makeup designer).  Red Dwarf
              fiction, article on U.S. pilot, RD season V preview and
              production notes, trivia quiz, an "old vs. new" debate, and
              an episode guide for seasons 1 and 2. Black and white photos
              inside throughout and back cover. Color photo cover of
              Rimmer from Holoship. 8 1/2 x 11, 50 pages.

          #2  Interviews with Craig Charles and Danny John-Jules, plus
              Craig's press conference from Visions '92.  More Red Dwarf
              fiction, book reviews, a preview and production notes for
              season 6, reader survey results, and episode guide for
              seasons 3 and 4. Black and white photos inside, color photo
              cover of Duane Dibbley. 8 1/2 x 11, 54 pages.


        THE SMALL ROUGE ONE
        Peg Kennedy and Bill Hupe
        Footrot Flats
        916 Lamb Road
        Mason, WI 48854 USA

          U.S./Canada/Mexico: $7 U.S.
          Elsewhere: inquire

          Devoted entirely to original "Red Dwarf" fiction.  One issue so
          far, containing four stories: "Special Delivery," "Companionship,"
          "Virus," and "A Red Dwarf Christmas Carol."  The last three form
          a sort of trilogy.  Center artwork and color artwork cover.
          5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 56 pages.

        _______________________________________________
        4.6  Where can I order "Red Dwarf" merchandise?

        800-TREKKER
        P.O. Box 13131
        Reading, PA 19612-3131 USA
        (800) 873-5537

          NTSC-format videotapes of Series 1 through 4 and the RED DWARF
          COMPANION.  Credit cards accepted.

        BBC WORLD SERVICE MAIL ORDER
        P.O. Box 76, Bush House         +44-71-257-2575
        London WC2B 4PH                 +44-71-497-0498 (fax)
        England

          PAL-format videotapes of Series 1 through 4.  Ask for a
          catalogue.

        BOOK POINT
        Telephone +44-235-835001

          Audiotape version of INFINITY WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS (see
          4.1).  Credit card orders accepted.  Will ship overseas.

        CBS FOX VIDEO
        (800) 800-2FOX

          NTSC-format videotapes of Series One through Four.

        DWARF CARDS
        Unit 6, The Siston Centre
        Station Road
        Kingswood, Bristol BS15 4PQ
        England

          "Red Dwarf" postcards.

        FLEETWAY EDITIONS LIMITED
        3rd Floor
        Greater London House
        Hampstead Road
        London NW1 7QQ
        England

          Back issues of the defunct RED DWARF SMEGAZINE (see 4.5).

        JOHN MCELROY
        2401 Fox Plaza
        1390 Market Street
        San Francisco, CA 94102 USA

          "Red Dwarf" books, books on tape, T-shirts, baseball caps,
          Smegazine back issues, and NTSC videotapes (*all six* seasons
          and the "Tongue Tied" music video).  Free catalogue.

        LAUGHING STOCK PRODUCTIONS LTD.
        PO Box 408
        Battersea, London SW11 6JJ
        England

          Audiotape version of INFINITY WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS (see
          4.1).  Mail orders accepted with sterling cheques drawn against
          a UK bank.  They don't accept credit card orders.

        LAZAHOLD
        PRE Complex
        Pallion Industrial Estate
        Sunderland SR4 6SN
        England
        +44-91-510-2290

          Back issues of the defunct RED DWARF SMEGAZINE (see 4.5).

        NETWORK LTD.
        P.O. Box 10
        London SW19 3TU
        England
        081-540-5545

          "Red Dwarf" jackets, T-shirts, and baseball caps.  Credit card
          orders accepted.

        R.O.F.
        3300 A West Cary Street
        Suite 128
        Richmond, VA 23221 USA

          Unauthorized videotapes of all six series.  The last tape of
          Series 6 includes the first American pilot (see 1.5).

        SEVANS MODELS
        P.O. Box 34
        Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8XY
        England

|         Kryten model kits and (according to one report) action
|         figures.  Starbug models are planned, but not yet available.

        SIGNALS
        WGBH Educational Foundation
        P.O. Box 64428
        St. Paul, MN 55164-0428 USA
        (800) 669-9696
        (612) 659-4320 (fax)
        01-612-659-4312 (from abroad)

          NTSC-format videotapes of Series 1 through 4.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This list is Compilation Copyright 1993, 1994 by Patrick M. Berry.  It
may be freely redistributed in its entirety provided that this copyright
notice is not removed. 

Questions and comments should be directed to Pat Berry at this address:
pat@berry.Cary.NC.US

THANKS TO: Paul S. Winalski, D.J. Clark, Neil Postlethwaite, Kimble
Ketolainen, Jim Lyon, Geoff Lane, Dave Gagne, Ross Smith, Otto Heuer,
Simon Jerram, FRUITBAT, Dan Crow, Grame Griffiths, Dale Clayton, Mik
Stevens, David K Fraser, J. Reynolds, Mike Gardiner, Cyrill Nuernberg,
Tony Kennick, Sean Lester, Matthew B. Tepper, Jeff Watkins, Kirby Welch,
Paul S. Wain, John Garza, Modig M., Pete Andrews, Simon Austin, and
Barny Shergold.  Special thanks to Michael J Montoure and Renee Ann
Byrd, who created the original version of this list.

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