its amazing they thought red dwarf looked dated yet the CGI shots looked awful in comparison to the model shots, i wish they used pure models on red dwarf now as the mixture between them looks more off than just models on its own
Absolutely. I wish that they just redigitized it to its original condition as there's a lot of deterioration, with just a bare minimum of subtle tweaking to correct the more glaring cinematography inadequacies of the era.
They kept blaming the technology, the budget, "the technology had not caught up yet"... Technology wasn't responsible for the whizzing scutters. If they used today's technology to remaster the old episodes, no doubt they'd go too far with that as well (maybe have a Scutter-themed looney tunes sketch playing in front of the actual episode for its entire duration) and go back to blaming the technology instead of figuring out how to utilize it without being invasive or stupid with it. There _are_ ways to use technology right, the music cues on the DVD sound amazing in stereo, unfortunately when it came to using the stereo mixes in the remasters, they also went too far in the audio department in adding and getting rid of sfx instead of just upmixing existing ones. I don't think a GOOD remaster from Grant and Naylor themselves will ever come to light - it'll just end the same with the showrunners making horrid decisions and finding scapegoats to blame bad ratings on. The Doctor Who fandom has made somewhat of an art form out of taking mono mixes of old Doctor Who themes and upmixing them to stereo by isolating elements and recombining them, and AI might prove to be decent for removing analog artefacts in the future (although given some Star Trek upscale attempts, I wouldn't bet on it in the present), so maybe one day a fan-led remaster might come along that polishes the existing episodes without making blatantly bad choices as was the case with Grant Naylor's poor attempts.
@@bowser515 I do wonder how good the models would be in HD, but they did look totally believable as real spaceships, so in SD I saw no reason to change them
It's always funny to me that the people who made Dwarf don't really seem to understand it's appeal. The fact that all the ships look like shit is a major part of it's appeal, the fact that everywhere looks grungy and cheap just fits the mood of the show perfectly. This isn't a glossy space epic, it's a bunch of losers in space. Cheap is funny, big and flashy isn't. It's the same reason why no-one complains about the Fawlty Towers set wobbling and falling apart, it just works.
Child Of Nature although I do totally agree, I just had a thought, that the Seth McFarlane series ‘the Orville’ is pretty funny and it’s really glossy and nice to look at.
I do agree with you, but I think the people behind it were finally able to do want they wanted to do in the first place but technology or budget restraints prevented them from doing so.
Doug seemed to have delusions of grandeur which is why he started getting fancy with series 7 being filmed differently and Back to Earth having no audience, they fuck about with it every which way and then realise they just have to come back to how it was in the first place because if it had been that shit in the beginning it wouldn't have become famous in the first place, people don't need all those frills. It's a sitcom not 2001 Space Odyssey.
I can appreciate your point, and do agree to a point. But there's also what the makers originally intended. Going back and changing something ... "classic", I guess, is often heresy (ask any Star Wars fan). But the fact is, Red Dwarf came out 1988 originally, and they just simply couldn't do the things that are possible today. And those limitations can add the charm of the originals, granted. I'm hoping the new Bluray remasters are good.
Shame the closing one was lost to a nitpick as petty as "space is too black", then the fact they couldn't be bothered matching the composited background stars to the rather simple camera movement.
“This isn’t changing the original, fans can still go and watch that” … except the part where for a year or two the only versions of series 1 and 2 were the remastered versions. And now the remastered versions seem to have vanished.
At least the remaster brought us stereo mixes for the musical cues and the themes. Mono audio doesn't do the opening theme of the first two series any justice.
It must feel good to go back and redo something, to the standard that you wanted all that time ago. Personally I love how raw the early series are, I think it is important to how the show feels.
@Sillyhatday Except that didn't happen, did it. The CGI looked terrible and fake and Naylor said he was unhappy with the finished outcome. In fact, they all said that. They actually made the show look cheaper regarding the awful CGI ships.
I am glad that Czech dubbing was selected as an example... it is STUNNING.. Czech dubbingschool is in general a world class, but this dubbing is simply a gem. I dare to say funnier than the original. Red Dwarf is an incredible cult in here.
We do the same with French dubbing in Canada. We obsess over casting the voice actors, how to perform switches from formal to idiomatic language, where we should use our own local French and where we should stick to standard, vocal delivery of each line, the works. When you compare it to dubbing done in France, which is generally ripped out quickly as a purely commercial venture, ours is much better. Like you say, some foreign productions turn out to be slightly different shows -- ours -- as a result. If it's something I really love (Joss Whedon's TV series come to mind), when I finish watching in the original I go back and rewatch the whole thing in French. Twice the episode count!
I totally agree. its a good thing they didn't do what George Lucas did with Star Wars in that you can't buy the original trilogy (unless you go second hand) with Red Dwarf it is the opposite, you can easily buy the original versions of the episodes on DVD but the remastered versions are out of print.
You can find most of the episodes on dailymotion.com. although their search engine ain't great so if you did watch it on there it is easier to search "red dwarf dailymotion" with whatever episode or series.
When you watch a one hour drama made in 1969, it looks very different in terms of pacing and structure compared to 2019. ITV dramas of 1969 were structured as "plays" and not television dramas. There is just some things you can't remaster and are not meant to remaster.
I have to agree with my UK cousins that the originals were best. The remasters have a few better lines here and there but don't pander to me with references to Marilyn Monroe's bottom. I know who Felicity Kendall is and how fine her bottom is.
I have to admit that the upgraded effects were better but not worth the loss of some good lines. I once saw the Japanese(?) edits of the remasters and whole sections of dialogue were missing. Were they afraid the Japanese would be offended or just not get the references?
I do hate it when British media creators try to pander to international audiences. It must seem so patronising. I wish writers / producers / directors would try having a little faith in their audience - we're not all as dumb as rocks, we don't need every joke to be obvious, we don't need every reference to be something we get straight away... Easy example: I'm English so I'm a part of the target audience for the first two series, but the first time I saw them, when they were first released, I was just a shade too young to get all the gags and references. That *_DIDN'T_* put me off. It intrigued me. Pushed me to find out what the jokes meant so that I could laugh along with everyone else. I imagine an American audience reacting in much the same way. The Harry Potter books are another example of this pandering - were the publishers _really_ expecting American readers to be so baffled by seeing "trainers" instead of "sneakers" or "bogies" instead of "boogers" that they'd put the book down?
What about the title of the first book? Do they think that no yankee would know what the "philosophers stone" is? It may not work but alchemy is still an interesting subject to read about. Check out the list of some of the famous people who did believe in it.
Well.. I think audiences from other countries do because this remaster allowed for dubbing. Here in Czech Republic we pretty much have a cult following of red dwarf fans and that was only made possible by these remasters and subsequently Czech dub. I haven't seen these originals because I know I wouldn't get a lot of the jokes. I understand why British people prefer the originals, it's very understandable but they played a major role in making the series available worldwide.
@@rosePetrichor I sometimes wonder myself. I think it's because Czech people just love British humour. We have a cult following for Doctor Who as well and for example Black Books is also very popular. We have a similar sense of humour :D and if course - it's dubbed. We used to dub pretty much everything that was somewhat popular and the translation is amazing.
I have to admit a nostalgic fondness for the remastered series 2 and 3, as they were the first RD I ever saw (followed by series 8!). But I can now see it was an almost complete waste of time and money.
@@grimalexx You fail to understand, the original audio tapes were found. They could have dubbed it and kept literally everything else the same. You're attributing the worldwide success to the remasters, shitty superimposed scutters and all, and not the tapes that could be used to dub the original untainted episodes.
I like the improvements overall, but I don't care for replacing the Red Dwarf model with CGI that wasn't ready for it. I remember wondering why the ship looks so much better in some shots (where they didn't change the look) than others.
The "remastering" was one of the worst things to happen to Red Dwarf. Improving the quality was a good thing to do, but the film effect, the shit that was added, the things that were changed, and the stuff that was taken out, there was no need for that.
Didn't even care for the film effect on Series 7, never mind the remastered versions. At least Series 8 got one thing right by going back to the original video look. Which is something I miss in the newer series.
They constantly make "dated references". They are constantly referring to modern day Earth culture as a source of jokes, which is funny, but makes no sense.
Notice that all of this nonsense was originally orchestrated by bureaucratic businessmen and not the fans. Not ONE of the original Dwarf fans wanted a single frame of it remastering. Totally needless. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t ruin it during the remaster, but it wasn’t needed.
I saw the remastered versions, and I think I even have them on VHS from recording them off the air, somewhere. I think it's telling, though, that Vudu sells the originals, not the remastered, versions. The remastered changes did nothing to make the show truly better, and an essential character of the show was lost when the era of its production was obfuscated. I am so glad they didn't suppress the originals like Lucasfilm did. It was more than UK viewers who wanted them.
hey czech dabing :-) red dwarf was quite a huge hit in Czech republic, we had special thursday UK evening on scond public tv channel with Red Dwarf, Monthy Phyton, Black adder and Hale and Pace to name a few. What a time :-)
RE: The inserted Skutters at the start of episode 1. Doug Naylor goes for the George Lucas defensive; "once you've fallen in love with something and really like it, you don't want to see it changed". I'm sorry, but no. Like most of the changes to the original Star Wars trilogy, that's nonsense in this case. The effect is horrible. The Skutters are clearly not a part of the original shot and for the framing to work, they would have to be absolutely massive. The ridiculous CGI smoke only adds to the fake nature of the the shot, making it look like a cartoon. Also, one of the Skutters breaks the fourth wall and winks at the audience. It's a horrible, horrible addition. It looks like a channel ident. Like the words "coming up next; another episode of Red Dwarf" should be appearing in their wake, as they dart across the screen. It has nothing to do with just being used to how the show used to be and being adverse to anything different, as Doug suggests.
It baffles me why they even chose that scene in the first place. A moment to kickstart the character development of Lister and Rimmer, and they try to... I don't even know what they were trying to do, what they were trying to achieve having a scutter appear like that.
I have a confession to make, when I first saw the remastered editions, I actually preferred them over the originals and was annoyed at the time that Series IV and V were never remastered (weren't too bothered about VI as only Starbug is in that series). And also they only released the original Series I-III on DVD. Mainly because Series VIII featured the redesigned Red Dwarf and Blue Midget from the remastered editions and thought there'd be a continuity error if they stick with the original Series I-III. Also, I did actually prefer the redesigned ships over the originals. But then, I hadn't seen Series VIII since they were first shown in 1999. When I saw the episodes again years later, I then realised they acknowledge Red Dwarf changing shape by establishing the nanobots presented the ship in its original design plans before the JMC made cutbacks. Although, there is still the continuity error of the original Red Dwarf appearing at the end of Series VII "Nanarchy" (after being rebuilt by the nanobots) while Series VIII shows the redesigned Red Dwarf. So by the time I got the Series VIII DVD and then later The Bodysnatcher Collection DVD, I started to realise the remastered editions weren't as good as I remembered them and were actually awful compared to the originals. I now actually prefer the original Red Dwarf ship and wish Corgi had released that instead of the remastered/Series VIII version. And while I like the original Blue Midget, I still kind of prefer the redesigned one that walks. But anyway, I'm glad the remastered editions eventually got released on The Bodysnatcher Collection DVD as we can now have fun choosing which version of Series I-III to watch. I just wish they'd do the same with the original Star Wars trilogy.
The original first few series could do with some audio and video remastering, but more or less just TWEAKING what is already there, rather than adding stuff in post.
The process of the oxide depositing on the heads of the tape is a known problem of certain tape brands which require baking before transfer. It sounds like they destroyed those multitrack tapes in the process of the transfer.
@@optimisticwhovian1726 For at least 25 years every trainee that has been given the job of doing tape transfers for every studio in the country has known that certain tape formulations require baking prior to transfer. Unfortunately elementary foul up has all of the hallmarks of internal BBC studio politics, with someone not wanting to ask the right department to do the job they have responsibility for. Such bad attitudes have destroyed a lot of valuable masters over the years.
@@AmigaRob As I understand it this wasn't just about doing a transfer though this was about the fact the masters had sat collecting dust for over a decade because this was prior to the DVD revolution and the VHS copies had already been on sale years.
@@optimisticwhovian1726 I do not get the point you are making, but watch the video. They are clearly talking about transferring audio multi tracks for the remixed audio, and what they are describing is text-book tape delamination. There are brands of tape you can leave for decades and thread up and play back with little or no additional preparation. Most of the 60's tape stock falls into this category. Some tapes produced in the 70's and 80's can develop problems in just a few years, as appears to be the case here.
@@AmigaRob Everything in the 70s was cheap and chintzy. That's why cars from that era vanished in a matter of years, while _during_ the 70s we had cars from the 60s and even the 50s all around us. So I'm not surprised the 60s tape stock went the distance while the later stuff was made of tissue paper.
I didn't realize they actually had a physical model of the longer dwarf they could have filmed but didn't have a bay long enough! It would have looked so much better with a physical model!
Interestingly to make the new model for Red Dwarf X onwards they actually took this model they built for the remaster and lopped half its length off. You can inspect and match up each individual greeble. So it did get some real screentime after all, albeit a little stubbier than before!
@@charyk2646 Yeah well, the longer length worked in Series VIII as the original crew had been resurrected, thereby populating the whole ship. But when they were back to just having the guys onboard again, it made sense to cut it to half the length like the original ship was.
"It's tempting to remaster the remastered. Maybe that's next." Well, this documentary was over a decade ago now and nothing's come about remastering the remastered. Plus Series I-VIII were recently released on Blu-ray containing the original I-III. And obviously there's been new Red Dwarf series since this documentary (where old footage of the original model made a cameo in the last Series XII episode).
They butchered it thank god for the originals'. Thanks for the Memory and Queeg took Red Dwarf to the next level how dare they rip on season 2. Season 7 & 8 yes they were shit but 2 was genius.
1:59 Hopefully Next Year In February 2023. BBC Studios Has Been Announced That The Classic 1988 BBC Studios Children's Live Action Science Fiction Comedy Television Series Of All Time Red Dwarf The Original Series Will Celebrate It's 35th Anniversary. Thanks Mate. X
I have the Bodysnatcher Collection DVD set so I've seen all the remastered episodes a few times - while some glaring problems to me are cut dialogue making scenes awkward, cheesy stock music, and shocking CGI, by FAR the worst thing is that fucking music cue. You know the horn at the start of the theme song that sometimes plays over a model shot? I cannot explain to you HOW MANY TIMES they play that EXACT snippet, often adding CG shots of the ship where there never was a model shot with JUST THAT CUE, they even add it in series 3 when I swear it only played once originally. It's SO GRATING, to the point I can't even stand the classic series or god forbid the later series that use that same cue all the bloody time. I don't know who on the team had such a fetish for that godforsaken five seconds of trumpet but I hope both sides of their pillow are always warm.
Oh man i thought this was a spoof of updating the show. I would thought they remastered it like they did Star Trek TNG which was made to look even better in HD. The models look amazing on it. I can’t believe they really did this.
It was recorded specifically for the intro to later releases of the Smeg Ups. The opening sequence of pulling right out from the ship is otherwise identical.
The only shot in the remastered I think they should keep is the intro's long pullout shot, which they originally wished they could have done. Turning Red Dwarf into Red Dwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarf was a mistake. The fact that it was a brick in space was amusing in it's own way, and unique among sci-fi.
They should have also just done the intro 1:1 rather than cutting it short for the crappy montage sequence that certainly did not fit the attitude and tone of the first two series. In fact, the long pullout shot wasn't even needed. The pan from the front of the ship that the original pullout faded to was better than a completely seamless pullout.
@@rosePetrichor Generally some of the english names have same sounding name in czech. I've heard in many movies when the name is complicated or the audience wouldn't understand it's meaning they would say the czech equivalent or they would use the original name and the translated name behind it.
@@UniverseGd Ah, see, the thing I was talking about is that 'Gordon Bennett' is not actually a name but a way to express frustration or surprise. Something bad happens that you didn't expect? 'Oh, Gordon Bennett'
The original Red Dwarf model fell off a shelf at the bbc and shattered. the replacement they used for Series 5 they blew up for an episode. they are currently using the Remastered model cut down for the new shows. but i think the original Starbug model still exists. not sure about Blue Midget.
The Netflix versions of series 1 to 3 are not the bodysnatcher versions . Has anything been done them do we know? Are they going to be the versions that are going to blu ray ?
The bodysnatcher (Remastered) versions are more or less Red Dwarf history now so the Original versions are likely to be the ones released on blu-ray and nextflix Though you can still buy the bodysnatcher collection if you look in the right places and i believe the remastered shows may be able to be found on Dailymotion.com
I have seen both versions of the earlier shows. I am hit and miss on them. Some areas were better remastered. Some areas are not - at all, to me. Frankly, I would have done minimal revisions. But that is me.
Honestly the original Red Dwarf still looks far better than the new model or CGI. But the new model still looks far better than the CGI which is utter shit.
I have owned series 1-8 3xs (had to sell for gas money, finally got all the dvds for the 3rd time). They changed each time! It was weird.... Sold in about 2005, then 2008. I wish I could have the first set back😞 But, at least I could make it to work!
The originals are far, far superior. I also never fell in love with thr new, elongated dwarf. She was a stout, tubby, monolith not a lanky needley thing.
What a wonderful and educational video! Red dwarf rules forever. This year is to Dimension jump 20 and the whole cast except for Danny who is busy dancing will be there. #DJXX
The problem with remastering is that it removes the atmosphere of which the programme was recorded in, 1988. It would be like taking Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan and remastering it, it would lose its appeal. 1982 is not 2019. I understand why they did it, for international sales, because Series 1 and 2 were just grey in texture and colour compared to Series 3 onward, but it just did not work. Best left alone and appreciated for what it was originally.
I think that CGI is too often pushed as a general fix-all after the fact and usually because it's somehow considered fashionable to niggle with adding, "Enhancements," but this usually discounts how practical effects were made to fit the original tone of the show, at the time of production. It's like going back and adding your favorite new hat into photographs you took on holiday over a decade prior. It's all about coulda, not shoulda.
People complaining about the new versions weren't listening to why they did this, smh. If you prefer the older versions then fine they are still there these were done for new territories so they could be syndicated.
I thought about the possibly of a Red Dwarf movie a lot after Series VIII. But ever since they brought Red Dwarf back in 2009 with the "Back to Earth" 3-parter, I don't really think about them making a movie so much now.
Looks like they flew Red Dwarf too close to a black hole and it got stretched out. I always think if it as a giant, red potato with a clump of dirt stuck to the bottom.
series 1 & 2 were some of the strongest material when you consider the show as a British sitcom for a British audience, which at the time it was. This was around the time that they were trying to sell Dwarf to a global audience, and sadly that means that series 1 & 2 are going to be looked at by Japanese and American audiences and rejected because they have no visual appeal and all the jokes are too British.
Basically if they would have taken all the jokes out they could have sold it to Americans all you do is in laugh tracks wherever you want Americans to laugh proof is friends and Seinfeld, neither show has a single joke people will tell you they're comedies because the show tells you it's a comedy and people are stupid we should have just done that with Red Dwarf. What's the deal with space dust it gets everywhere lol don't look at me I'm just a hologram lol flabbergasted expression on this face lol you can write TV really easily for Americans their their brains are like the ashtrays they don't use anymore. Lol if you don't laugh at the required parts Coca-Cola will kill your children
Series 2 has some wonderful writing. Up there with the best of British sitcom. After that though, it changed from ‘sitcom set in space’ to ‘sci-fi show with jokes’. Still a great show (and S4 is the best overall as it balances all the elements perfectly), but 1-2 and 3-6 are two different programs really.
I hate the new music at the funeral scene. They shouldn't have changed it. Also, the scene in the drive room didn't need music added. Who didn't know Lister's death was imminent from the sounds the navicomp was making and all the sparks? Who? Only a yogurt.
I remember those re-masters coming out and being really disappointed with them. The BBC saw a chance to make some money though, so there it is. Shame they don't have these classic comedy shows freely available to license payers.
Ironic (and deeply arrogant) that they remastered so much of the show with CGI because they thought it would improve the cheap outdated original, when digital and animation technology advance at such vast speeds that the supposed 'improvements' to the show now look cheap and outdated themselves. The models were fine - practical models have a timeless element to them that always makes well made models interesting and convincing to look at because of them having an actual physical presence that can be lit and shot to best utilise their shape and details (does anyone care how old the original Star Trek ships look when they rewatch old episodes? No - and those were made over twenty years before). The background audio was fine - it's 'ambient noise', the whole point of ambient noise is that once you adjust to it you no longer notice it. Like a fridge running in the background, once you've lived with it over a certain amount of time you can no longer even hear it although it's still there. This is exactly the same principle that the ship's background noise works on, people who have been working and living on the ship for a long time - perhaps even years, no longer notice the sounds created by the ship's various systems...engine, oxygen generator, air vents, lighting and multiple others. This was even described in one of the earliest novels, so it's not a concept the writers were unaware of or intentionally left out. Cranking up the volume and adding more effects just distracts the audience and takes them further out of the reality the show is attempting to create - by reminding them it's fake. The references were fine - we have watched countless US sitcoms and dramas over the decades that make reference to things we had no knowledge of at the time. Do those references stop most people who enjoy those shows from rewatching them? Of course not. Their networks and writers have never removed references or changed culture specific jokes for international audiences, why should we belittle ourselves and our creations to do so for them, as if the writers and the BBC saw the potential acceptance of a US audience as superior or of greater value than something that entertains a stupid, unsophisticated UK audience like us. Cleaning up old recordings to improve naturally deteriorating audio and picture quality is one thing, that makes sense and does justice to the original work so it can be seen in as good condition as possible by any audience. But when they talk about making changes because the BBC said 'we can't sell it', it's blatantly clear that all everyone cared about was the money making potential of appealing to new audiences, not cleaning up the originals so they stand a fair shot of been enjoyed by new viewers the way the show deserves to be seen. I can't think of any other old TV show that has gone through as huge an overhaul as this one, not even a science fiction one, just to try and sell them years later. People watch decades old shows of all kinds from many different countries, and most people understand and recognise when a show they are watching was made long ago and thus will look or sound very different to similar things they watch in the present. And they don't care. Red Dwarf is such a unique beast in terms of the management of its legacy, production changes, and changes in style and tone over its (too many) decades of life...and for me, it can all be summed up by that stretched, stuttering CGI rendering of the 'new' Red Dwarf in the title screen. Cold, cheap, soulless, unnecessary, and missing the point entirely. And in the end, do those exciting new international audiences remember them with awe and fondness? Does anyone anywhere really talk about them? No. A terrible waste, and a condescending insulting treatment of an old favourite.
For once, I don't blame Doug, Ed and Chris being ask from the BBC to do the remastered of the first three series of Red Dwarf, it looks outdated now, but look back then, we were like: it looks crap.
WTF! It looks massively worse, how is it even a debate. I never laughed at the original effects and models which were actually very good for the budget if not exactly Spielberg, but the CGI is incredibly unrealistic and frankly silly. I've just watched the entire BBC run with my 10 yo old daughter, and as soon as it came series 6-7 she kept laughing and saying, why does it look so unrealistic now?
The crappy "remasters" totally ruined Red Dwarf for me in the late 1990's. I still have the originals on DVD and I cannot watch series 7 or beyond. To me, Red Dwarf is series 1-6 in its original form.
its amazing they thought red dwarf looked dated yet the CGI shots looked awful in comparison to the model shots, i wish they used pure models on red dwarf now as the mixture between them looks more off than just models on its own
Agreed, the CGI is terrible. One there was no audience, it just lost its charm for me.
Absolutely. I wish that they just redigitized it to its original condition as there's a lot of deterioration, with just a bare minimum of subtle tweaking to correct the more glaring cinematography inadequacies of the era.
They kept blaming the technology, the budget, "the technology had not caught up yet"... Technology wasn't responsible for the whizzing scutters. If they used today's technology to remaster the old episodes, no doubt they'd go too far with that as well (maybe have a Scutter-themed looney tunes sketch playing in front of the actual episode for its entire duration) and go back to blaming the technology instead of figuring out how to utilize it without being invasive or stupid with it. There _are_ ways to use technology right, the music cues on the DVD sound amazing in stereo, unfortunately when it came to using the stereo mixes in the remasters, they also went too far in the audio department in adding and getting rid of sfx instead of just upmixing existing ones.
I don't think a GOOD remaster from Grant and Naylor themselves will ever come to light - it'll just end the same with the showrunners making horrid decisions and finding scapegoats to blame bad ratings on.
The Doctor Who fandom has made somewhat of an art form out of taking mono mixes of old Doctor Who themes and upmixing them to stereo by isolating elements and recombining them, and AI might prove to be decent for removing analog artefacts in the future (although given some Star Trek upscale attempts, I wouldn't bet on it in the present), so maybe one day a fan-led remaster might come along that polishes the existing episodes without making blatantly bad choices as was the case with Grant Naylor's poor attempts.
It was needed for budget in later series but why they felt the need to make old episodes look worse with it I have no idea
Nothing ages more than CGI. Practical effects are somehow timeless. Never go full Lucas, you will just screw it up.
I hated the CGI re-edits, the old models were so much more convincing and charming even if they weren't overly happy with them.
Yeah - They went to CGI as that was the "HOT" thing - but I feel that it lost it's heart with CGI.
CGI wasn't ready back then, the models looked more believable
@@chriswhittaker5075 Definitely. But they could do it over today with the best CGI possible and those model shots would still be superior imo.
@@bowser515 I do wonder how good the models would be in HD, but they did look totally believable as real spaceships, so in SD I saw no reason to change them
I would really like to find the originals.
It's always funny to me that the people who made Dwarf don't really seem to understand it's appeal.
The fact that all the ships look like shit is a major part of it's appeal, the fact that everywhere looks grungy and cheap just fits the mood of the show perfectly. This isn't a glossy space epic, it's a bunch of losers in space.
Cheap is funny, big and flashy isn't. It's the same reason why no-one complains about the Fawlty Towers set wobbling and falling apart, it just works.
Child Of Nature although I do totally agree, I just had a thought, that the Seth McFarlane series ‘the Orville’ is pretty funny and it’s really glossy and nice to look at.
I still maintain the model shots of the ships in particular look great. They have weight and presence and great detail, and don't age.
I do agree with you, but I think the people behind it were finally able to do want they wanted to do in the first place but technology or budget restraints prevented them from doing so.
Doug seemed to have delusions of grandeur which is why he started getting fancy with series 7 being filmed differently and Back to Earth having no audience, they fuck about with it every which way and then realise they just have to come back to how it was in the first place because if it had been that shit in the beginning it wouldn't have become famous in the first place, people don't need all those frills. It's a sitcom not 2001 Space Odyssey.
I can appreciate your point, and do agree to a point. But there's also what the makers originally intended. Going back and changing something ... "classic", I guess, is often heresy (ask any Star Wars fan). But the fact is, Red Dwarf came out 1988 originally, and they just simply couldn't do the things that are possible today. And those limitations can add the charm of the originals, granted. I'm hoping the new Bluray remasters are good.
damn those model shots are so much more convincing then the cgi shots seems a shame they went to waste
Shame the closing one was lost to a nitpick as petty as "space is too black", then the fact they couldn't be bothered matching the composited background stars to the rather simple camera movement.
“This isn’t changing the original, fans can still go and watch that” … except the part where for a year or two the only versions of series 1 and 2 were the remastered versions. And now the remastered versions seem to have vanished.
At least the remaster brought us stereo mixes for the musical cues and the themes. Mono audio doesn't do the opening theme of the first two series any justice.
@@Bruh-zx2mc You thought you had it bad before; now you’ve got it in stereo, baby!
They were relased on dvd ,, the bodysnatcher collection,, they r on a website called "dailymotion"
It must feel good to go back and redo something, to the standard that you wanted all that time ago. Personally I love how raw the early series are, I think it is important to how the show feels.
@Sillyhatday Except that didn't happen, did it. The CGI looked terrible and fake and Naylor said he was unhappy with the finished outcome. In fact, they all said that. They actually made the show look cheaper regarding the awful CGI ships.
To be fair, I prefer the old look.
The original episodes are what make the series great, the remastered stuff just isn’t the same
I am glad that Czech dubbing was selected as an example... it is STUNNING.. Czech dubbingschool is in general a world class, but this dubbing is simply a gem. I dare to say funnier than the original. Red Dwarf is an incredible cult in here.
We do the same with French dubbing in Canada. We obsess over casting the voice actors, how to perform switches from formal to idiomatic language, where we should use our own local French and where we should stick to standard, vocal delivery of each line, the works. When you compare it to dubbing done in France, which is generally ripped out quickly as a purely commercial venture, ours is much better. Like you say, some foreign productions turn out to be slightly different shows -- ours -- as a result. If it's something I really love (Joss Whedon's TV series come to mind), when I finish watching in the original I go back and rewatch the whole thing in French. Twice the episode count!
Lol i didn't realise that was the czech language. It sounds quite nice
I like how they kept “Gordon Bennett” in there - must have confused the hell out of some Czech people
to me the 'remastered' version looks cheaper than the original
Certainly less cohesive
If it ain't broke don't fix it
I totally agree. its a good thing they didn't do what George Lucas did with Star Wars in that you can't buy the original trilogy (unless you go second hand) with Red Dwarf it is the opposite, you can easily buy the original versions of the episodes on DVD but the remastered versions are out of print.
Star Trek TOS was remastered to a degree also, the original dvd boxsets in their large yellow casing are hard to find without overspending on ebay
+DVD and Film Bloke The remastered versions were released on the DVD, Red Dwarf The Bodysnatcher Collection in 2007.
Yes I know but the set is out of print
aren't they all on Bluray
Many thanks for the RD updates. I now live in NZ and can't find full episodes anymore.
You can find most of the episodes on dailymotion.com. although their search engine ain't great so if you did watch it on there it is easier to search "red dwarf dailymotion" with whatever episode or series.
When you watch a one hour drama made in 1969, it looks very different in terms of pacing and structure compared to 2019. ITV dramas of 1969 were structured as "plays" and not television dramas. There is just some things you can't remaster and are not meant to remaster.
It's very sad that the makers of Red Dwarf don't stand by their work, and don't recognize when it's good.
Luckly the forth comming blu-ray edition will not be like this. It will be an 1st version remaster ie. Take the old footage and bring the quality up.
You can change it all you want...but you can’t improve on perfection....long live RD
I have to agree with my UK cousins that the originals were best. The remasters have a few better lines here and there but don't pander to me with references to Marilyn Monroe's bottom. I know who Felicity Kendall is and how fine her bottom is.
I have to admit that the upgraded effects were better but not worth the loss of some good lines. I once saw the Japanese(?) edits of the remasters and whole sections of dialogue were missing. Were they afraid the Japanese would be offended or just not get the references?
I do hate it when British media creators try to pander to international audiences.
It must seem so patronising.
I wish writers / producers / directors would try having a little faith in their audience - we're not all as dumb as rocks, we don't need every joke to be obvious, we don't need every reference to be something we get straight away...
Easy example: I'm English so I'm a part of the target audience for the first two series, but the first time I saw them, when they were first released, I was just a shade too young to get all the gags and references. That *_DIDN'T_* put me off. It intrigued me. Pushed me to find out what the jokes meant so that I could laugh along with everyone else. I imagine an American audience reacting in much the same way.
The Harry Potter books are another example of this pandering - were the publishers _really_ expecting American readers to be so baffled by seeing "trainers" instead of "sneakers" or "bogies" instead of "boogers" that they'd put the book down?
What about the title of the first book? Do they think that no yankee would know what the "philosophers stone" is? It may not work but alchemy is still an interesting subject to read about. Check out the list of some of the famous people who did believe in it.
@@blamb42
Exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about my dude.
Bob Lamb I always loved seeing Felicity Kendall’s bottom when she was wearing her wellies in The Good Life 😃
I can understand why they did it, especially for international appeal in Japan etc. Thank god the DVD’s & Blu-Ray’s stuck to the original versions.
Does anyone prefer the remasters, the music changes, the look of the ship, the only benefit is the clearer picture but I'll take the originals any day
Well.. I think audiences from other countries do because this remaster allowed for dubbing. Here in Czech Republic we pretty much have a cult following of red dwarf fans and that was only made possible by these remasters and subsequently Czech dub. I haven't seen these originals because I know I wouldn't get a lot of the jokes. I understand why British people prefer the originals, it's very understandable but they played a major role in making the series available worldwide.
@@grimalexx Really cool to hear there's a Czech cult following honestly. Any idea why it got so popular there in particular?
@@rosePetrichor I sometimes wonder myself. I think it's because Czech people just love British humour. We have a cult following for Doctor Who as well and for example Black Books is also very popular. We have a similar sense of humour :D and if course - it's dubbed. We used to dub pretty much everything that was somewhat popular and the translation is amazing.
I have to admit a nostalgic fondness for the remastered series 2 and 3, as they were the first RD I ever saw (followed by series 8!). But I can now see it was an almost complete waste of time and money.
@@grimalexx You fail to understand, the original audio tapes were found. They could have dubbed it and kept literally everything else the same. You're attributing the worldwide success to the remasters, shitty superimposed scutters and all, and not the tapes that could be used to dub the original untainted episodes.
George Lucas would be proud.
Especially as they trimmed or tightened certain scenes for pacing, so they're FASTER AND MORE INTENSE.
Maklunky
At least they aren't getting rid of the original footage...
@@gohawks3571 they actually cut some
@@zaklewis1108 Ah, man....
The remastered versions merely served to show just how great the originals were.
Personally, I love series 1 and 2. I think they lost a little something as the shows progressed. Norman Lovett was a huge loss as well.
I like the improvements overall, but I don't care for replacing the Red Dwarf model with CGI that wasn't ready for it. I remember wondering why the ship looks so much better in some shots (where they didn't change the look) than others.
15:30 THAT is an 'improvement'?
Hahaha omg.
Not sure about the heads in the foreground though. Definitely better without those
The "remastering" was one of the worst things to happen to Red Dwarf. Improving the quality was a good thing to do, but the film effect, the shit that was added, the things that were changed, and the stuff that was taken out, there was no need for that.
Didn't even care for the film effect on Series 7, never mind the remastered versions. At least Series 8 got one thing right by going back to the original video look. Which is something I miss in the newer series.
As a child of the 80s who watched Red Dwarf from the beginning, I really like the dated UK references.
They constantly make "dated references". They are constantly referring to modern day Earth culture as a source of jokes, which is funny, but makes no sense.
Notice that all of this nonsense was originally orchestrated by bureaucratic businessmen and not the fans. Not ONE of the original Dwarf fans wanted a single frame of it remastering. Totally needless. Don’t get me wrong, they didn’t ruin it during the remaster, but it wasn’t needed.
I saw the remastered versions, and I think I even have them on VHS from recording them off the air, somewhere. I think it's telling, though, that Vudu sells the originals, not the remastered, versions. The remastered changes did nothing to make the show truly better, and an essential character of the show was lost when the era of its production was obfuscated. I am so glad they didn't suppress the originals like Lucasfilm did. It was more than UK viewers who wanted them.
Runs off to look up "Vudu" Thank you.
What a load of rot.. editing took all the charm and character out and looked pretty computerized and naff. Looks like a windows 95 video game.
hey czech dabing :-) red dwarf was quite a huge hit in Czech republic, we had special thursday UK evening on scond public tv channel with Red Dwarf, Monthy Phyton, Black adder and Hale and Pace to name a few. What a time :-)
RE: The inserted Skutters at the start of episode 1. Doug Naylor goes for the George Lucas defensive; "once you've fallen in love with something and really like it, you don't want to see it changed". I'm sorry, but no. Like most of the changes to the original Star Wars trilogy, that's nonsense in this case. The effect is horrible. The Skutters are clearly not a part of the original shot and for the framing to work, they would have to be absolutely massive.
The ridiculous CGI smoke only adds to the fake nature of the the shot, making it look like a cartoon. Also, one of the Skutters breaks the fourth wall and winks at the audience. It's a horrible, horrible addition. It looks like a channel ident. Like the words "coming up next; another episode of Red Dwarf" should be appearing in their wake, as they dart across the screen. It has nothing to do with just being used to how the show used to be and being adverse to anything different, as Doug suggests.
Totally. Adding this stuff is just obnoxious
It baffles me why they even chose that scene in the first place. A moment to kickstart the character development of Lister and Rimmer, and they try to... I don't even know what they were trying to do, what they were trying to achieve having a scutter appear like that.
I have a confession to make, when I first saw the remastered editions, I actually preferred them over the originals and was annoyed at the time that Series IV and V were never remastered (weren't too bothered about VI as only Starbug is in that series). And also they only released the original Series I-III on DVD. Mainly because Series VIII featured the redesigned Red Dwarf and Blue Midget from the remastered editions and thought there'd be a continuity error if they stick with the original Series I-III. Also, I did actually prefer the redesigned ships over the originals. But then, I hadn't seen Series VIII since they were first shown in 1999. When I saw the episodes again years later, I then realised they acknowledge Red Dwarf changing shape by establishing the nanobots presented the ship in its original design plans before the JMC made cutbacks. Although, there is still the continuity error of the original Red Dwarf appearing at the end of Series VII "Nanarchy" (after being rebuilt by the nanobots) while Series VIII shows the redesigned Red Dwarf. So by the time I got the Series VIII DVD and then later The Bodysnatcher Collection DVD, I started to realise the remastered editions weren't as good as I remembered them and were actually awful compared to the originals. I now actually prefer the original Red Dwarf ship and wish Corgi had released that instead of the remastered/Series VIII version. And while I like the original Blue Midget, I still kind of prefer the redesigned one that walks. But anyway, I'm glad the remastered editions eventually got released on The Bodysnatcher Collection DVD as we can now have fun choosing which version of Series I-III to watch. I just wish they'd do the same with the original Star Wars trilogy.
The original first few series could do with some audio and video remastering, but more or less just TWEAKING what is already there, rather than adding stuff in post.
Fully agree
The process of the oxide depositing on the heads of the tape is a known problem of certain tape brands which require baking before transfer. It sounds like they destroyed those multitrack tapes in the process of the transfer.
Shame they didn't have your expert knowledge on hand then isn't it Amiga....
@@optimisticwhovian1726 For at least 25 years every trainee that has been given the job of doing tape transfers for every studio in the country has known that certain tape formulations require baking prior to transfer. Unfortunately elementary foul up has all of the hallmarks of internal BBC studio politics, with someone not wanting to ask the right department to do the job they have responsibility for. Such bad attitudes have destroyed a lot of valuable masters over the years.
@@AmigaRob As I understand it this wasn't just about doing a transfer though this was about the fact the masters had sat collecting dust for over a decade because this was prior to the DVD revolution and the VHS copies had already been on sale years.
@@optimisticwhovian1726 I do not get the point you are making, but watch the video. They are clearly talking about transferring audio multi tracks for the remixed audio, and what they are describing is text-book tape delamination. There are brands of tape you can leave for decades and thread up and play back with little or no additional preparation. Most of the 60's tape stock falls into this category. Some tapes produced in the 70's and 80's can develop problems in just a few years, as appears to be the case here.
@@AmigaRob Everything in the 70s was cheap and chintzy. That's why cars from that era vanished in a matter of years, while _during_ the 70s we had cars from the 60s and even the 50s all around us. So I'm not surprised the 60s tape stock went the distance while the later stuff was made of tissue paper.
i'm glad this is the first time i heard they were butchered, if i ever find the discs for sale i'll make sure to check it's NOT the remastered ones
I didn't realize they actually had a physical model of the longer dwarf they could have filmed but didn't have a bay long enough! It would have looked so much better with a physical model!
Interestingly to make the new model for Red Dwarf X onwards they actually took this model they built for the remaster and lopped half its length off. You can inspect and match up each individual greeble. So it did get some real screentime after all, albeit a little stubbier than before!
@@charyk2646 that is interesting! I'll check it out!
@@charyk2646 Yeah well, the longer length worked in Series VIII as the original crew had been resurrected, thereby populating the whole ship. But when they were back to just having the guys onboard again, it made sense to cut it to half the length like the original ship was.
"Remaster" the best show ever. What hubris.
"It's tempting to remaster the remastered. Maybe that's next." Well, this documentary was over a decade ago now and nothing's come about remastering the remastered. Plus Series I-VIII were recently released on Blu-ray containing the original I-III. And obviously there's been new Red Dwarf series since this documentary (where old footage of the original model made a cameo in the last Series XII episode).
I loved the look of the first few series more than the slicker later ones
I have these on VHS, they released them for a limited time in 1997.
@Matthew Potter Yeah, it was called The Bodysnatcher Collection.
And every major fan hated the remastered versions.
7 to 8 days to render?!!? Wow. 😳
They butchered it thank god for the originals'. Thanks for the Memory and Queeg took Red Dwarf to the next level how dare they rip on season 2. Season 7 & 8 yes they were shit but 2 was genius.
I really do not like the remastered episodes.
1:59 Hopefully Next Year In February 2023. BBC Studios Has Been Announced That The Classic 1988 BBC Studios Children's Live Action Science Fiction Comedy Television Series Of All Time Red Dwarf The Original Series Will Celebrate It's 35th Anniversary. Thanks Mate. X
oh that was random to hear czech dubbing all of the sudden :D
ne asi :D
I have the Bodysnatcher Collection DVD set so I've seen all the remastered episodes a few times - while some glaring problems to me are cut dialogue making scenes awkward, cheesy stock music, and shocking CGI, by FAR the worst thing is that fucking music cue. You know the horn at the start of the theme song that sometimes plays over a model shot? I cannot explain to you HOW MANY TIMES they play that EXACT snippet, often adding CG shots of the ship where there never was a model shot with JUST THAT CUE, they even add it in series 3 when I swear it only played once originally. It's SO GRATING, to the point I can't even stand the classic series or god forbid the later series that use that same cue all the bloody time. I don't know who on the team had such a fetish for that godforsaken five seconds of trumpet but I hope both sides of their pillow are always warm.
Oh man i thought this was a spoof of updating the show. I would thought they remastered it like they did Star Trek TNG which was made to look even better in HD. The models look amazing on it. I can’t believe they really did this.
Why would this be a spoof?
Were the remasters ever released in the uk?
19:42 should had been kept in.
It was recorded specifically for the intro to later releases of the Smeg Ups. The opening sequence of pulling right out from the ship is otherwise identical.
5:45 czech dub, the best dub ever... Pozdravy z česka!
The only shot in the remastered I think they should keep is the intro's long pullout shot, which they originally wished they could have done. Turning Red Dwarf into Red Dwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarf was a mistake. The fact that it was a brick in space was amusing in it's own way, and unique among sci-fi.
It was called red dwarf, not red long pencil
They should have also just done the intro 1:1 rather than cutting it short for the crappy montage sequence that certainly did not fit the attitude and tone of the first two series. In fact, the long pullout shot wasn't even needed. The pan from the front of the ship that the original pullout faded to was better than a completely seamless pullout.
@@Bruh-zx2mc I dunno, Platinum snowcat made a pretty great looking pullout shot for the original intro: ua-cam.com/video/aEeCFnKkL5s/v-deo.html
Watched it every day for past 10 years
I watched the Japanese versions and it looks like they really don't get jokes as they cut the punchlines but kept the laugh tracks after it!
5:41 Thank you for mentioning our Czech dabing.
I like how Holly still says 'Gordon Bennett'. Is that a phrase that Czech audiences would be familiar with?
@@rosePetrichor I noticed Holly saying only Gordon, the Bennett part was said very fast and I didnt catch that.
@@rosePetrichor Generally some of the english names have same sounding name in czech. I've heard in many movies when the name is complicated or the audience wouldn't understand it's meaning they would say the czech equivalent or they would use the original name and the translated name behind it.
@@UniverseGd Ah, see, the thing I was talking about is that 'Gordon Bennett' is not actually a name but a way to express frustration or surprise. Something bad happens that you didn't expect? 'Oh, Gordon Bennett'
@@rosePetrichor In that case I've never heard of the phrase.
I actually think the colour correction works. *thats it*
They should’ve left it there.
Nope. An old mining ship that's falling apart and has an asteroid embedded in the side doesn't need to look shiny and sterile.
Question:
Which would you rather watch?
A. Red Dwarf Remastered
B. Red Dwarf US Pilot
Remastered
Remastered. At least it is still basically the original brilliant show mostly. US is the drizzling sh*ts
This reminds me of Episodes 4-6 Of Star Wars that was given the George Lucas special editions treatment.
Agreed. Those were not "improved" at all.
Uhg
fan for life of the original. where are the original models now? anyone know? would love to go see them one day.
The original Red Dwarf model fell off a shelf at the bbc and shattered. the replacement they used for Series 5 they blew up for an episode. they are currently using the Remastered model cut down for the new shows. but i think the original Starbug model still exists. not sure about Blue Midget.
It's been 25 years since the remaster now ! Wow !
I love the shot they yoused for the move yousing the long red dwarf model
The Netflix versions of series 1 to 3 are not the bodysnatcher versions . Has anything been done them do we know? Are they going to be the versions that are going to blu ray ?
The bodysnatcher (Remastered) versions are more or less Red Dwarf history now so the Original versions are likely to be the ones released on blu-ray and nextflix
Though you can still buy the bodysnatcher collection if you look in the right places and i believe the remastered shows may be able to be found on Dailymotion.com
Duane Dibbley (The duke of dork) cheers. I have the bodysnatcher DVD set. I like the colour but prefer the model shots and original theme music.
It's the originals on Netflix but for some reason, they used the extended versions of certain series 7 episodes which don't have a laugh track
Should have kept the original edit. It's aged more with the remastering.
I have seen both versions of the earlier shows. I am hit and miss on them. Some areas were better remastered. Some areas are not - at all, to me. Frankly, I would have done minimal revisions. But that is me.
Honestly the original Red Dwarf still looks far better than the new model or CGI.
But the new model still looks far better than the CGI which is utter shit.
Shame they couldn’t use the movie shots somewhere in the show! (11:32)
I have owned series 1-8 3xs (had to sell for gas money, finally got all the dvds for the 3rd time). They changed each time! It was weird.... Sold in about 2005, then 2008. I wish I could have the first set back😞 But, at least I could make it to work!
All it needed was a clean up, not the added stuff...
Just like Star Wars.
The originals are far, far superior. I also never fell in love with thr new, elongated dwarf. She was a stout, tubby, monolith not a lanky needley thing.
What a wonderful and educational video! Red dwarf rules forever. This year is to Dimension jump 20 and the whole cast except for Danny who is busy dancing will be there. #DJXX
The problem with remastering is that it removes the atmosphere of which the programme was recorded in, 1988. It would be like taking Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan and remastering it, it would lose its appeal. 1982 is not 2019. I understand why they did it, for international sales, because Series 1 and 2 were just grey in texture and colour compared to Series 3 onward, but it just did not work. Best left alone and appreciated for what it was originally.
Single greatest mistake in the shows history was trying to change it about
I think that CGI is too often pushed as a general fix-all after the fact and usually because it's somehow considered fashionable to niggle with adding, "Enhancements," but this usually discounts how practical effects were made to fit the original tone of the show, at the time of production. It's like going back and adding your favorite new hat into photographs you took on holiday over a decade prior.
It's all about coulda, not shoulda.
People complaining about the new versions weren't listening to why they did this, smh. If you prefer the older versions then fine they are still there these were done for new territories so they could be syndicated.
12:08 finally a weapon to surpass metal gear.
there could have been a movie ?
Got tied up in development hell for decades. Basic plot was adapted into the series 10 finale The Beginning.
I thought about the possibly of a Red Dwarf movie a lot after Series VIII. But ever since they brought Red Dwarf back in 2009 with the "Back to Earth" 3-parter, I don't really think about them making a movie so much now.
The failed attempt to get a movie off the ground is why there was a 10+ year hiatus after season 8.
Fuck a remastered. I'm getting my VHS player out!
Smeg I loved this
Looks like they flew Red Dwarf too close to a black hole and it got stretched out.
I always think if it as a giant, red potato with a clump of dirt stuck to the bottom.
The original without the cgi is what gave it its character, its what people loved about it.
Still love it though.
Took out the dated UK references. In other words, you Americanised it. *Spits on floor in disgust*
series 1 & 2 were some of the strongest material when you consider the show as a British sitcom for a British audience, which at the time it was. This was around the time that they were trying to sell Dwarf to a global audience, and sadly that means that series 1 & 2 are going to be looked at by Japanese and American audiences and rejected because they have no visual appeal and all the jokes are too British.
It was much bigger in America in the 90s but i think there are still alot of Japanese fans
I love the 2 first seasons (a dane). Ok, danes are probably closer to english people and humour than Japanese.
Basically if they would have taken all the jokes out they could have sold it to Americans all you do is in laugh tracks wherever you want Americans to laugh proof is friends and Seinfeld, neither show has a single joke people will tell you they're comedies because the show tells you it's a comedy and people are stupid we should have just done that with Red Dwarf. What's the deal with space dust it gets everywhere lol don't look at me I'm just a hologram lol flabbergasted expression on this face lol you can write TV really easily for Americans their their brains are like the ashtrays they don't use anymore. Lol if you don't laugh at the required parts Coca-Cola will kill your children
I have NEVER watched the remastered - and never will
Preferred the original models and sets. Also prefer the original intro of matey painting the ship
Well of course, especially if you watch the raw footage and behind the scenes features of the models on the DVDs.
The first two series are the best anyway
Series 2 has some wonderful writing. Up there with the best of British sitcom. After that though, it changed from ‘sitcom set in space’ to ‘sci-fi show with jokes’. Still a great show (and S4 is the best overall as it balances all the elements perfectly), but 1-2 and 3-6 are two different programs really.
The model and space shots looked like old Ps1 or N64 screen caps. Also, the funeral scene looked HORRIBLE with those folks in the foreground.
I hate the new music at the funeral scene. They shouldn't have changed it. Also, the scene in the drive room didn't need music added. Who didn't know Lister's death was imminent from the sounds the navicomp was making and all the sparks? Who? Only a yogurt.
and ultimately, while the picture and sound improvements help, the special effects make no difference to the show.
In space no one can see you fall off a ladder.
I remember those re-masters coming out and being really disappointed with them. The BBC saw a chance to make some money though, so there it is. Shame they don't have these classic comedy shows freely available to license payers.
NO SOUND IN SPACE SO THAT'S AN EPIC FAIL!
Ironic (and deeply arrogant) that they remastered so much of the show with CGI because they thought it would improve the cheap outdated original, when digital and animation technology advance at such vast speeds that the supposed 'improvements' to the show now look cheap and outdated themselves.
The models were fine - practical models have a timeless element to them that always makes well made models interesting and convincing to look at because of them having an actual physical presence that can be lit and shot to best utilise their shape and details (does anyone care how old the original Star Trek ships look when they rewatch old episodes? No - and those were made over twenty years before).
The background audio was fine - it's 'ambient noise', the whole point of ambient noise is that once you adjust to it you no longer notice it. Like a fridge running in the background, once you've lived with it over a certain amount of time you can no longer even hear it although it's still there. This is exactly the same principle that the ship's background noise works on, people who have been working and living on the ship for a long time - perhaps even years, no longer notice the sounds created by the ship's various systems...engine, oxygen generator, air vents, lighting and multiple others. This was even described in one of the earliest novels, so it's not a concept the writers were unaware of or intentionally left out. Cranking up the volume and adding more effects just distracts the audience and takes them further out of the reality the show is attempting to create - by reminding them it's fake.
The references were fine - we have watched countless US sitcoms and dramas over the decades that make reference to things we had no knowledge of at the time. Do those references stop most people who enjoy those shows from rewatching them? Of course not. Their networks and writers have never removed references or changed culture specific jokes for international audiences, why should we belittle ourselves and our creations to do so for them, as if the writers and the BBC saw the potential acceptance of a US audience as superior or of greater value than something that entertains a stupid, unsophisticated UK audience like us.
Cleaning up old recordings to improve naturally deteriorating audio and picture quality is one thing, that makes sense and does justice to the original work so it can be seen in as good condition as possible by any audience. But when they talk about making changes because the BBC said 'we can't sell it', it's blatantly clear that all everyone cared about was the money making potential of appealing to new audiences, not cleaning up the originals so they stand a fair shot of been enjoyed by new viewers the way the show deserves to be seen.
I can't think of any other old TV show that has gone through as huge an overhaul as this one, not even a science fiction one, just to try and sell them years later. People watch decades old shows of all kinds from many different countries, and most people understand and recognise when a show they are watching was made long ago and thus will look or sound very different to similar things they watch in the present. And they don't care. Red Dwarf is such a unique beast in terms of the management of its legacy, production changes, and changes in style and tone over its (too many) decades of life...and for me, it can all be summed up by that stretched, stuttering CGI rendering of the 'new' Red Dwarf in the title screen. Cold, cheap, soulless, unnecessary, and missing the point entirely. And in the end, do those exciting new international audiences remember them with awe and fondness? Does anyone anywhere really talk about them? No. A terrible waste, and a condescending insulting treatment of an old favourite.
the early blue midget and the change i just logged as different models of the same make of ship.
urrrr the first two serries were the best imo !
They went full George Lucas
Never go full George Lucas
For once, I don't blame Doug, Ed and Chris being ask from the BBC to do the remastered of the first three series of Red Dwarf, it looks outdated now, but look back then, we were like: it looks crap.
I liked the UK references tho...
I prefer the real Norman Lovett to the CGI one they used for the reshoots.
You know they did get him back to do it, they didn’t use CGI… 😂 (14:30)
WTF! It looks massively worse, how is it even a debate. I never laughed at the original effects and models which were actually very good for the budget if not exactly Spielberg, but the CGI is incredibly unrealistic and frankly silly. I've just watched the entire BBC run with my 10 yo old daughter, and as soon as it came series 6-7 she kept laughing and saying, why does it look so unrealistic now?
The crappy "remasters" totally ruined Red Dwarf for me in the late 1990's. I still have the originals on DVD and I cannot watch series 7 or beyond. To me, Red Dwarf is series 1-6 in its original form.