We are living in difficult times and are looking for TV shows to bring feelings of unity, warmth and nostalgia. Well, The Boys from the Dwarf are here to provide you with just that.
Still floating in deep space after three million + years and 32 years in linear time the team of Lister (Craig Charles), Rimmer (Chris Barrie), Cat (Danny John-Jules) and Kryten (Robert Llewellyn) come across a situation that brings the past back with a bang and teaches them a valuable lesson about unity.
Three million years ago… David Lister, a vending machine repairman, was sentenced to eighteen months in suspended animation for smuggling his pregnant cat aboard the mining ship Red Dwarf. While Lister remained in stasis, a radiation leak killed the rest of the crew. Safely sealed in the hold, the cats evolved into humanoid form who worshiped Lister (or Cloister as they call him) as their god. Many of the cats left the Dwarf to explore the universe, kept evolving, and now roam deep space in a fleet of their own. Over the centuries some cats kept their believe in Lister and some moved on.
Fleeing from a disaster of their own the Dwarfers meet three cat clerics (Tom Bennett, Mandeep Dhillon, Lucy Pearman) who still worship Lister as their God. Feeling responsible Lister vows to help them when he finds out they are being hunted by Rodon, the ruthless feral cat leader (Ray Fearon) who has vowed to punish all Cats who worship anyone but him.
Trying to protect the cats leads the Dwarfers into some of the most complicated situation they have ever found themselves in, all while also dealing with issues of their own.
The passage of time and living an isolated life away from any other life forms has proven difficult for Lister especially. Kryten and Cat are trying to counsel him without much success. Thankfully the arrival of the Cat people provide him with a sudden purpose.
Meanwhile Rimmer, the hologram, is intent on embracing middle age and just letting everything be. Receiving an unexpected upgrade changes his mind and outlook on life. Sadly it’s consequences soon drive him to despair.
Seeing Rimmer so low and the others soon ganging up on him snaps Lister out of his own low mood. He knows he needs Rimmer and wants to help him. This leads to one of the deepest conversations between the pair in years, brilliantly acted by Chris Barrie and Craig Charles. Knowing each other and the characters for so long they know what they are doing and the conversation rings true and feels rather emotional.
Needless to say, the Dwarfers are faced with many difficult situations along the way as they discover more and more about the myth of Cloister and a mythical holy artefact that could save them all. Also, the Cat has a difficult choice to make when united with his people.
Red Dwarf the Promised Land has the perfect mixture of adventure, humour and emotion, it’s journey ending on a very satisfying note with a message the world needs right now.
Good news for any people new to Red Dwarf: you can step right in, as a pre-credits sequence brings you right up to date. Why not join the biggest experts on self-isolation out there!!
Red Dwarf The Promised Land: Thursday April 9th – 9pm, on Dave.
