For anyone that doesn't know, there were 4 endings for series 8. First was the shown ending Second was this Third was the shown ending but cut to an earlier point (where rimmer says smeg as the formula burns) And fourth which was never filmed was having our Ace come and save the day
I had an idea that involved Ace coming back to help, but results in both him and our resurrected Rimmer dying and both getting revived through the hologram system into the same Rimmer, because that makes sense to me as the Rimmer in the new series seems to have memories only Ace could have and remembers the ending to series 8, something only the recreated Rimmer could have. Although Ace couldn't return back to his universe, I could imagine him pulling it off by going to this opposite universe and using the mirror to return to his/our one. (I know there has been many many Ace Rimmers, and the first one we see can't go back to his home via the means he left it....I don't really know if that applies to all the Rimmers, probably best to think it does.)
Indeed. In this version the jaunt into the mirror universe to find the antidote wasn't pointless, it ends in a way that makes sense, the gang's still together and they've rid themselves of their captors.... in short it's an ending that actually leaves you looking forward to what's ahead next season. The version we got was just noisy confusing, downbeat spectacle that made me wonder why we bothered watching the previous 7 episodes for the sake of no coherent outcome.
Well, Hollister did desert his command; Captains are supposed to go-down *with* the ship. Hollister was more interested in saving his-own skin. Now, he's forfeited his ship.
I prefer this ending as canon, but the actual ending they went with is much more memorable and dramatic. It'll have increased their chances at making another series if there was demand to know what happened too which was probably a factor. I cheered so hard the first time saw that ending though where Rimmer kicks him in the nuts and says that classic line, "only the good die young"...what a moment!
The problem is, a demand to know what happened next after a cliffhanger, can if left unresolved too long, just lead to frustration, losing faith it'll ever happen (the longer something goes unresolved, the more of a mammoth task it seems to follow it up) and eventually no longer caring. For me it was doubly so because we'd already had a cliffhanger followed by hiatus after Series 6, and whilst I waited that out, I think after this I was just frustrated that after all that waiting they were doing it to us again.
Yeh it mystifies me why they'd change this proper conclusion for the nonsense they made the official ending cos it didn't get them another series for a decade so it did nothing but piss off a lot of fans, and neither Back to Earth nor series 10 did anything to address it either.
i like it it explains alot but its more fun for the nxt series when rimmer goes to explain how they got out of it and lister cuts him off and we never hear how he did it lol
Cat cuts him off actually and I don't find that funny as much as a big fuck you to the fans by cheating them of any explanation to something that was left unresolved for a decade. It's just lazy frankly.
Doug Naylor is the culprit the only problem with this show was the frankly lazy attitude towards continuity, Rob Grant saw no importance in worrying about it at all and Doug set up cliff hangers at the ends of series that he then either gave half arsed explanations for or none at all next series. They're both bad writers in that respect and it's contemptuous towards the fans who support this show.
Well I like BTE even less than series 8 so no that doesn't work for me. I don't like meta humour, BTE mixed too much reality of the show and Chris's acting career in with the in world show, would rather ignore that one if anything. @Stefano Pavone
this ending is much funnier, plus it makes more sense with how they are all still together in season 10, instead of rimmer being dead, or being stranded after they went to the mirror universe and the machine blew up
This wasn't even the ending that the final one replaced; there was a THIRD, as far as I know totally unseen, ending filmed where original Rimmer, as Ace, returns to save the day. The reshoot with Death was literally last-minute, after all other filming had done, and it was so slapdash that it wasn't even an actor under the hood, it was Ed Bye, the producer. But why? Even the Ace ending would have been better than what they did! (source: The DVD this extra comes from, all the cast/crew interviews)
@The SNES Man Yes, this is pretty much true. Doug Naylor was at this point obsessed with getting a film made, and was trying his hardest to push the production value of the show to impress Hollywood executives and convince them to fund it. The CGI dinosaur was apparently one of his ideas to accomplish this. This was also why Pete was a two part episode
@The SNES Man I'm not sure we can hope for conclusive answers like that, given that they've ironed over other wrinkles like the two Rimmers (the revival series Rimmer seems to have memories of both the original and the resurrected one from S8) for the sake of convenience. Still, we can live in hope
Thanks for upload. This is much better than the ending they used. It's like back to the good old days when the crew was dead... now only if they got rid of Kochanski.
Red dwarf fan for 15 years and I just now saw this ending for the first time. The true ending for series 8 and the proper ending. The actual Only The Good ending always struck me as being thrown together at the last minute, and now I know why. It was! Naylor's artistic sense by season 7 was complete and utter shash and that was the result.
I remember telling my brother about this episode ending on an unresolved cliffhanger and he said maybe that was funnier. Yeah, he was right. On its face, this is funny, but the ending they went with is more memorable.
true in the sense of memorable, hey it kept us hanging on for years! suppose it did exactly what it was supposed to do when you think a bout it! great point
I used to feel sure this ending was better. I think the main reason for that it offers resolution. People especially like this ending in hindsight because we've been left without the cliffhanger version totally resolved for over ten years, so I'm pretty sure hindsight plays a part in that regard. Still, is Rimmer kicking death in the balls not at least a little cool?
I still think they could have made more episodes off the back of this ending! 2 more episodes would be amazing, maybe with them finally returning home? Red Dwarf is one of those shows that, however naff it is, people still absolutely love it!
Technically, they've already been 'home' in the Backwards episode. I've watched it recently (I know, 15 years after your post!) and Kryten explained in that episode that after the universe had reached its peak expansion, everything began to contract and time was now running backwards so that Earth they were on was the ACTUAL Earth but 3million years in the future. That's one (REALLY NERDY on my part!) point but another point is that the creators have said they don't want to have an actual 'ending' officially. In the Red Dwarf Omnibus book which I used to have, (published in 1992 so forgive my spoilers!), the story also ends on Earth with time running backwards.
Why did they not use this one at the end? It would have made more sense for them to use it because then Series 9 would have made more sense. Of course, in Season 9, Rimmer is a hologram again, so that doesn't make much sense. Then if he was killed by death, that could explain why he is a hologram, but how were the others revived?
10 years had passed between this Series 8 and Back To Earth (Series 9), just like in real life. So yeah a lot of stuff happened (such as the Dave-Kochanski romance). Rimmer getting himself killed (AGAIN!) like he did in Series 3 Timeslides isn't that surprising. Remember, he got the entire crew killed in the first place! Remember, Red Dwarf isn't about sensible and intelligent stories. Remember when Dave got pregnant by his female Alternate Universe counterpart? They never really explained how that got resolved! Except in high speed Star Wars scroll!
Here is something I am not sure of: I have the Red Dwarf season 9 "Back to Earth" on DVD. It is Season 9 because there wasn't any other Season called Season 9. I think there is a misprint, but it is also stated in the movie, when Lister reads the back of the movie case. If you look on the back of the package, it says that it took place after season X, which is season 10. Why would it not have taken place after season 8? Season 10 didn't come out until 2012. The DVD Back To Earth came out circa 2009, so wouldn't it have made more sense for them to say it took place after season 8. If it took place after season 10, they probably would have found the video on Blue Ray and not DVD, think of that.
Michael Hambrook That whole adventure on Earth was just a Hope Squid induced shared hallucination, so what's the point? They could have called Series X, Series XVIII and it would have made sense since the mini-series acknowledged that ten years had passed for the characters since Series VIII. Red Dwarf is an absurdest comedy, like Futurama*, Family Guy, American Dad and The Simpsons. Yeah its good and fulfilling to appreciate chronological canon but reading too much into everything kills the fun! In that spirit, you notice whenever they begin to talk about how Rimmer saved the Red Dwarf from the metal eating virus in the last episode of Series VIII, "Only The Good..." (i.e. THIS ENDING) something interrupts them? Just enjoy the ride! * The final episode of Futurama is a great example of how to end a series emotionally but make it possible to create future episodes later without violating any continuity rules.
Actually, answer me this: It says on the back of Red Dwarf: Back to Earth that it takes place after season X, which is season 10. It was made before Season 10 was made, so why doesn't it say it was made after season VIII (Season 8)?
It makes for a better franchise finale really. Despite how bad this eighth series was, this ending makes up for it. The human race restored and probably can colonise somewhere, Kochanski finally at ease with being among the boys, Rimmer in charge. The show never needed to come back and establish everyone as deadbeats again.
In the ending that ACTUALLY happened, Lister, Kryten and Kochanski escaped to the mirror universe. Red Dwarf was exploding with Rimmer on board. True, he kicked Death, but we're left to assume that the ship exploded soon after he got back as there was no way Rimmer could have escaped in time or prevented the ship from exploding. So that would mean that the events of Series 9-12 happen in the mirror universe on the mirror Red Dwarf, which had a mirror crew (including Professor Cat and Private Shambles "Hollister"). So where did the mirror universe Red Dwarf crew go between series 8 and 9? Also, if they're in a mirror universe, how would Series 1-7 "Ace" Rimmer have found them before the events of Series 9 took place? Of course, this alternate ending puts all the pieces together, but because it was deleted, it's not technically part of Red Dwarf canon. It's left the show with a massive, unexplainable plot hole.
I enjoyed all 7, 8 and (so far) 10 but I do think series 6 had the best ending. That 'did they die or not' cliffhanger, plus Rimmer's chance to be heroic made it a great final ending in my opinion.
I like the idea that it ends with them being victorious, but I can also see how this ending slowed down the action quite a lot by requiring everyone to stop what they were doing so that Rimmer could memorize the formula. Everyone's life is on the line, and they're sitting around bored? Doesn't seem realistic, even in this wacky universe.
I do like how even Kryten, Kochanski and even Lister heard of Cesiumfrancolithicmyxialobidiumrixidixidoxidexidroxhide. and how even Cat heard of the one that its not to be confused with but i like the suspense that the chosen Only The Good ending has =) ♥ Red Dwarf and can't wait for Series X!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The UA-cam subtitles are awesome! It the antidote called "Alone says in front of the mix it with the the rigidity doxie taxi driver side". Or is it; "Since in front of it makes the end of the idea mix cd two dogs see Brookside"?
There are a number of things he could have done, like ask for the mirror version of the virus so that it comes out as the antidote. However, he's not smart enough.
At first I thought this was the better ending. I'm not as sure now. Knocking death in the nuts is one of the coolest things ever. I love the Reaper's last line: "That's never happened before." Also, that vending machine is one of the funniest things about Series VIII. "Alert, alert, a Choci-Nut Bar has been stolen without payment!"
Yeah after the endings of series 6 and 7 I just wanted to see them relax, I felt cheated - this ending is less messy & more satisfying. Nice having Rimmer rub it in the captain's face
nah i think that the original rimmer is still ace, the nanobot resurrected rimmer died and a new hologram that had all of the rimmer's memories was made
People keep saying this ending makes more sense because they think the whole crew died in the shown ending That one made sense because in back to earth Rimmer is a hologram Because he died in this season And the others survived because they were in the other place thingy at the time
Why couldn't he have just got the formula for the virus in the mirror universe? Then, when he came back, it would have become the formula for the antidote.
formula was backward when he returned, oh I see your point. he was too much of a rimmer to work that out and by the time he got back the machine was coroded
I thought maybe this could've had both endings mixed in like when Hollister looks out of the window, maybe he could've shot the lasers at Red Dwarf and it started to blow up, then Death comes and says" The crew of Red Dwarf, your lives are over." then Rimmer kicks him in the groin
they SO shoulda used that ending! but just imagine how heartbreaking it must have been for craig, robert and annett having remembered that chemicals name only for it to not make the final cut lmao!
This makes a lot more sense and is also hilarious, but part of me really likes the used ending too. I feel like this still needed a bit more explaining as to how Rimmer died again (knowing how useless he is the can of soda probably did it) but it’s really interesting to see it and it really helps explain the gap between Season 8 and later Red Dwarf seasons. Still though, nothing will ever top Rimmer KICKING DEATH IN THE BOLLOCKS and running off screen, that’s just hilarious. That ending never made much sense to me though because it explained how Rimmer died but not now the rest of the crew made it back into the normal universe on a fully repaired Red Dwarf without the crew.
So much better than the original ending , as much as i liked seeing rimmer kicking the grim reaper in the ( you know where) this was still a much better ending. ties up loose ends a wee bit better. thank you for posting
I don't know if anyone posted this but there was another Alternate. But never filmed. Ace Rimmer (original Rimmer) comes on the 'Dwarf and saves the other Rim from the ships meltdown. Says it on the DVD booklet.
I take it you've read the beginning of series 3 titles that confirm that Lister did give birth to the twins, they grew up very fast in our universe and were taken to the female Lister dad!
Funny how if this aired we'd probably have accepted MODEL SHOT as a special effect. They could have put a Red Dwarf christmas ornament on a string and swung it back and forth and I'd love it. As far as I'm concerned the characters are all that really matter anyway.
If I remember correctly, when Kryten built the machine in order so they could all transpose dimensions to search for the antidote, Rimmer was the first to step through before the machine suddenly blew up. Theoretically, in order to avoid it blowing up a second time due to an overload of information, and thus run the risk of someone getting injured, Kryten could have programmed only Rimmers bodyweight into the machine as Rimmer was the one who had already gone through. Thats just my theory anyway
Shouldn't Kochanski have been put in charge of the remaining crew of five? Highest ranking surviving member of the crew, that was the premise that had Rimmer acting s captain in the early series.
You know, just because the rule book states that those with the more pips and ribbons takes command in a situation (emergency or not), doesn't mean the Higher Ranking Officer wants to. Kechanski may have said "me? Officer in Command? Bugger that, he wants it, he can have it!"
Maybe K just didn't care that much. Or maybe she was in charge, but let Rimmer use Hollister's room because she liked her own, and Kryten would take orders from anyone.
@FreakinSweet86 i know back to earth suggests she died...but knowing the writers she probably didnt >_> i dunno, i think a lot of it is for us to decide how they survived it....or maybe theyll tell us someday
I never really liked the 'real' ending, particularly with Death personified - RD is scifi not fantast, so if you're going to pull that sort of thing it's got to be properly legitimised. Definitely a better ending
Konchanski left in what was mentioned as series IX in Back to Earth. Only problems I can see are Rimmer not being a hologram and the prisoners in the tank? Or have they just been left to rot while Lister, Rimmer, Kryten and Cat run the ship?
I wonder if the close up of Rimmer's face saluting through the port-hole, and the Captain looking angry through his port hole was a callback to the scene in S7.
@Ashcal26 Oh then you'll like this there's a new series of Red Dwarf coming out next year there filiming it late this year Hope you liked this information
In my head canon, this is the actual ending and the ending we saw in the original was a hallucination in Rimmer's head as a result of being hit by that can the vending machine. fired at him. The can also killed him which is how he became a hologram again (and is also why he meets death in the hallucination).
This is just a thought but would the pens (assuming they all worked) write anything in the mirror universe? Or would the universe even exist? It's too difficult to imagine the opposite of everything. What if Rimmer was a woman, what if air killed you, etc etc?
I love that it never occurred to him to just do it one word at a time.
+Kairu Hakubi I thought the exact same thing! Then I just tell my self it is in the script. Would not have been as funny.
William Cardenas Yeah this is one of those shows where you can't overthink things.
Kairu Hakubi it is all one word
touché
It's very Rimmer to be fair
Even though I love Rimmer kicking Death in the balls, I kind of wished they'd gone with this scene.
they coulda still done the death scene after the machine shoots him with a can.
@@petrinoMight have explained the 'hologram Rimmer' in series 9
@@donnamcdonald-g8n what series 9?
Alternate ending makes MUCH more sense!
For anyone that doesn't know, there were 4 endings for series 8.
First was the shown ending
Second was this
Third was the shown ending but cut to an earlier point (where rimmer says smeg as the formula burns)
And fourth which was never filmed was having our Ace come and save the day
I kept hoping for the 4th ending when I first watched it, it would have provided such a better continuity
Is there any way to see the fourth ending?
Becky Cat it was never filmed, they got as close as Chris Barrie getting changed into his Ace Rimmer costume but cancelled it at the last minute.
Moondog Nuuu! I want to see that version.
I had an idea that involved Ace coming back to help, but results in both him and our resurrected Rimmer dying and both getting revived through the hologram system into the same Rimmer, because that makes sense to me as the Rimmer in the new series seems to have memories only Ace could have and remembers the ending to series 8, something only the recreated Rimmer could have. Although Ace couldn't return back to his universe, I could imagine him pulling it off by going to this opposite universe and using the mirror to return to his/our one.
(I know there has been many many Ace Rimmers, and the first one we see can't go back to his home via the means he left it....I don't really know if that applies to all the Rimmers, probably best to think it does.)
This is a far better ending!
canebluff though we wouldn't have the scene of rimmer kneeing death
You said it!
It would had been nice if Series 8 had a much happier ending.
nah the original one is much better
Indeed. In this version the jaunt into the mirror universe to find the antidote wasn't pointless, it ends in a way that makes sense, the gang's still together and they've rid themselves of their captors.... in short it's an ending that actually leaves you looking forward to what's ahead next season.
The version we got was just noisy confusing, downbeat spectacle that made me wonder why we bothered watching the previous 7 episodes for the sake of no coherent outcome.
Well, Hollister did desert his command; Captains are supposed to go-down *with* the ship. Hollister was more interested in saving his-own skin. Now, he's forfeited his ship.
Let's be honest here, Dennis the doughnut-boy was never going down with his ship.
I prefer this ending as canon, but the actual ending they went with is much more memorable and dramatic. It'll have increased their chances at making another series if there was demand to know what happened too which was probably a factor. I cheered so hard the first time saw that ending though where Rimmer kicks him in the nuts and says that classic line, "only the good die young"...what a moment!
The problem is, a demand to know what happened next after a cliffhanger, can if left unresolved too long, just lead to frustration, losing faith it'll ever happen (the longer something goes unresolved, the more of a mammoth task it seems to follow it up) and eventually no longer caring.
For me it was doubly so because we'd already had a cliffhanger followed by hiatus after Series 6, and whilst I waited that out, I think after this I was just frustrated that after all that waiting they were doing it to us again.
A much better ending, since we never have an ounce of continuity from the other
Yeh it mystifies me why they'd change this proper conclusion for the nonsense they made the official ending cos it didn't get them another series for a decade so it did nothing but piss off a lot of fans, and neither Back to Earth nor series 10 did anything to address it either.
@@optimisticwhovian1726 They did adress it... You just need to pay attention I guess.
That is far superior and make sense for continuity.
In my head cannon, this was how it ended
first time I've seen this alternative ending...sweet!
i like it it explains alot but its more fun for the nxt series when rimmer goes to explain how they got out of it and lister cuts him off and we never hear how he did it lol
stephanie bee Which ep.?
Ben17ism I think it is series 10 episode 6, The Beginning. Not sure though, could be a different episode but it was definitely series 10
Cat cuts him off actually and I don't find that funny as much as a big fuck you to the fans by cheating them of any explanation to something that was left unresolved for a decade. It's just lazy frankly.
@@optimisticwhovian1726 right miserable smeghead aren't you?
WHAT? I never knew there was an alternate ending! I have waited years for this...
Not the best at resolving cliffhangers, were they?
Doug Naylor is the culprit the only problem with this show was the frankly lazy attitude towards continuity, Rob Grant saw no importance in worrying about it at all and Doug set up cliff hangers at the ends of series that he then either gave half arsed explanations for or none at all next series. They're both bad writers in that respect and it's contemptuous towards the fans who support this show.
Well I like BTE even less than series 8 so no that doesn't work for me. I don't like meta humour, BTE mixed too much reality of the show and Chris's acting career in with the in world show, would rather ignore that one if anything. @Stefano Pavone
@@optimisticwhovian1726 I like your hints, what you say about new series? And conection to the old one?
this ending is much funnier, plus it makes more sense with how they are all still together in season 10, instead of rimmer being dead, or being stranded after they went to the mirror universe and the machine blew up
The dispenser firing the can to kill Rimmer after he actually _pays_ doesn't really work for me.
John Undefined it just makes it more funnier Smeg Head
He didn't pay the first time though did he that's kind of the point? He's getting him back for being an arse at the start of the episode....
It explains why he's a hologram again.
@@TellyArchive he DOES become a hologram again
TellyArchive
it’s just speculation, calm down
This wasn't even the ending that the final one replaced; there was a THIRD, as far as I know totally unseen, ending filmed where original Rimmer, as Ace, returns to save the day. The reshoot with Death was literally last-minute, after all other filming had done, and it was so slapdash that it wasn't even an actor under the hood, it was Ed Bye, the producer. But why? Even the Ace ending would have been better than what they did! (source: The DVD this extra comes from, all the cast/crew interviews)
@The SNES Man Yes, this is pretty much true. Doug Naylor was at this point obsessed with getting a film made, and was trying his hardest to push the production value of the show to impress Hollywood executives and convince them to fund it. The CGI dinosaur was apparently one of his ideas to accomplish this. This was also why Pete was a two part episode
@The SNES Man I'm not sure we can hope for conclusive answers like that, given that they've ironed over other wrinkles like the two Rimmers (the revival series Rimmer seems to have memories of both the original and the resurrected one from S8) for the sake of convenience. Still, we can live in hope
How did I miss that for so many years?
Thanks for upload. This is much better than the ending they used. It's like back to the good old days when the crew was dead... now only if they got rid of Kochanski.
This version makes more sense and clears up what happens with the events between series 8 and BTE.
Red dwarf fan for 15 years and I just now saw this ending for the first time. The true ending for series 8 and the proper ending. The actual Only The Good ending always struck me as being thrown together at the last minute, and now I know why. It was! Naylor's artistic sense by season 7 was complete and utter shash and that was the result.
They thought having a cliff hanger would increase their chance of getting renewed for another season.
I remember telling my brother about this episode ending on an unresolved cliffhanger and he said maybe that was funnier. Yeah, he was right. On its face, this is funny, but the ending they went with is more memorable.
true in the sense of memorable, hey it kept us hanging on for years! suppose it did exactly what it was supposed to do when you think a bout it! great point
I used to feel sure this ending was better. I think the main reason for that it offers resolution. People especially like this ending in hindsight because we've been left without the cliffhanger version totally resolved for over ten years, so I'm pretty sure hindsight plays a part in that regard. Still, is Rimmer kicking death in the balls not at least a little cool?
Much better than the ending that aired. This actually makes sense!!!
I still think they could have made more episodes off the back of this ending! 2 more episodes would be amazing, maybe with them finally returning home? Red Dwarf is one of those shows that, however naff it is, people still absolutely love it!
Technically, they've already been 'home' in the Backwards episode.
I've watched it recently (I know, 15 years after your post!) and Kryten explained in that episode that after the universe had reached its peak expansion, everything began to contract and time was now running backwards so that Earth they were on was the ACTUAL Earth but 3million years in the future.
That's one (REALLY NERDY on my part!) point but another point is that the creators have said they don't want to have an actual 'ending' officially.
In the Red Dwarf Omnibus book which I used to have, (published in 1992 so forgive my spoilers!), the story also ends on Earth with time running backwards.
@@LittleMAC78 hah I didn't realise my account was 15 years old. Did you see they're making new episodes this year!
This was the ending I saw at the studio recording. I had no idea they had changed it until it went out on TV.
THIS MAKES SO MUCH SENSE
Why did they not use this one at the end? It would have made more sense for them to use it because then Series 9 would have made more sense. Of course, in Season 9, Rimmer is a hologram again, so that doesn't make much sense. Then if he was killed by death, that could explain why he is a hologram, but how were the others revived?
Maybe that can killed him?
10 years had passed between this Series 8 and Back To Earth (Series 9), just like in real life. So yeah a lot of stuff happened (such as the Dave-Kochanski romance). Rimmer getting himself killed (AGAIN!) like he did in Series 3 Timeslides isn't that surprising. Remember, he got the entire crew killed in the first place!
Remember, Red Dwarf isn't about sensible and intelligent stories. Remember when Dave got pregnant by his female Alternate Universe counterpart? They never really explained how that got resolved! Except in high speed Star Wars scroll!
Here is something I am not sure of: I have the Red Dwarf season 9 "Back to Earth" on DVD. It is Season 9 because there wasn't any other Season called Season 9. I think there is a misprint, but it is also stated in the movie, when Lister reads the back of the movie case. If you look on the back of the package, it says that it took place after season X, which is season 10. Why would it not have taken place after season 8? Season 10 didn't come out until 2012. The DVD Back To Earth came out circa 2009, so wouldn't it have made more sense for them to say it took place after season 8. If it took place after season 10, they probably would have found the video on Blue Ray and not DVD, think of that.
Michael Hambrook
That whole adventure on Earth was just a Hope Squid induced shared hallucination, so what's the point?
They could have called Series X, Series XVIII and it would have made sense since the mini-series acknowledged that ten years had passed for the characters since Series VIII.
Red Dwarf is an absurdest comedy, like Futurama*, Family Guy, American Dad and The Simpsons. Yeah its good and fulfilling to appreciate chronological canon but reading too much into everything kills the fun!
In that spirit, you notice whenever they begin to talk about how Rimmer saved the Red Dwarf from the metal eating virus in the last episode of Series VIII, "Only The Good..." (i.e. THIS ENDING) something interrupts them?
Just enjoy the ride!
* The final episode of Futurama is a great example of how to end a series emotionally but make it possible to create future episodes later without violating any continuity rules.
Actually, answer me this: It says on the back of Red Dwarf: Back to Earth that it takes place after season X, which is season 10. It was made before Season 10 was made, so why doesn't it say it was made after season VIII (Season 8)?
THIS is canon to me. Plus, it makes more sense considering IX to XII.
CAN-on...
It makes for a better franchise finale really. Despite how bad this eighth series was, this ending makes up for it. The human race restored and probably can colonise somewhere, Kochanski finally at ease with being among the boys, Rimmer in charge. The show never needed to come back and establish everyone as deadbeats again.
I watched this as a kid so many times I literally memorized seziumfracolithicmixialubidiumrixidixidoxidrexidoxide lol
In the ending that ACTUALLY happened, Lister, Kryten and Kochanski escaped to the mirror universe. Red Dwarf was exploding with Rimmer on board. True, he kicked Death, but we're left to assume that the ship exploded soon after he got back as there was no way Rimmer could have escaped in time or prevented the ship from exploding.
So that would mean that the events of Series 9-12 happen in the mirror universe on the mirror Red Dwarf, which had a mirror crew (including Professor Cat and Private Shambles "Hollister"). So where did the mirror universe Red Dwarf crew go between series 8 and 9? Also, if they're in a mirror universe, how would Series 1-7 "Ace" Rimmer have found them before the events of Series 9 took place?
Of course, this alternate ending puts all the pieces together, but because it was deleted, it's not technically part of Red Dwarf canon. It's left the show with a massive, unexplainable plot hole.
"Garbled, confusing, and quite frankly duller than an in-flight magazine produced by Air Belgium"
I enjoyed all 7, 8 and (so far) 10 but I do think series 6 had the best ending. That 'did they die or not' cliffhanger, plus Rimmer's chance to be heroic made it a great final ending in my opinion.
Much more sense, even though I liked it when Rimmer kicked the grim reaper in the nuts.
I like the idea that it ends with them being victorious, but I can also see how this ending slowed down the action quite a lot by requiring everyone to stop what they were doing so that Rimmer could memorize the formula. Everyone's life is on the line, and they're sitting around bored? Doesn't seem realistic, even in this wacky universe.
ElveeKaye
You don't seem intelligent in any universe
@@KenMabie Great argument, really genius.
@@winstonmarlowe5254 original comeback real 199Late
@@KenMabie 404: no argument found
@@winstonmarlowe5254 Error 405: No intelligence found.
I do like how even Kryten, Kochanski and even Lister heard of Cesiumfrancolithicmyxialobidiumrixidixidoxidexidroxhide. and how even Cat heard of the one that its not to be confused with but i like the suspense that the chosen Only The Good ending has =)
♥ Red Dwarf and can't wait for Series X!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Was it worth the wait?
Oh wow, i've never seen this one! I like it though. Can't wait to see the new Red Dwarf specials they're making!
@FreakinSweet86 Back to Earth is set after the series that is in production now, series X (10).
The UA-cam subtitles are awesome! It the antidote called "Alone says in front of the mix it with the the rigidity doxie taxi driver side". Or is it; "Since in front of it makes the end of the idea mix cd two dogs see Brookside"?
There are a number of things he could have done, like ask for the mirror version of the virus so that it comes out as the antidote. However, he's not smart enough.
At first I thought this was the better ending. I'm not as sure now. Knocking death in the nuts is one of the coolest things ever. I love the Reaper's last line: "That's never happened before." Also, that vending machine is one of the funniest things about Series VIII. "Alert, alert, a Choci-Nut Bar has been stolen without payment!"
Yeah after the endings of series 6 and 7 I just wanted to see them relax, I felt cheated - this ending is less messy & more satisfying. Nice having Rimmer rub it in the captain's face
that look from the cat cracked me up lol
And this is why chemical compounds are given simplier common names.
Some people say that recreated rimmer died and the old rimmer who became Ace, retired and returned to the dwarf
nah i think that the original rimmer is still ace, the nanobot resurrected rimmer died and a new hologram that had all of the rimmer's memories was made
People keep saying this ending makes more sense because they think the whole crew died in the shown ending
That one made sense because in back to earth Rimmer is a hologram
Because he died in this season
And the others survived because they were in the other place thingy at the time
I thought the same thing - I thought Resurrected Rimmer died and was brought back as a hardlight hologram.
Though in The Beginning... (Series X) Rimmer says he managed to save the ship and the other crew blow it off as a fluke.
Explain why Rimmer in the season after says, "I saved the ship", then?
That's not something he would say if he did die and failed to save Red Dwarf.
Why couldn't he have just got the formula for the virus in the mirror universe? Then, when he came back, it would have become the formula for the antidote.
formula was backward when he returned, oh I see your point. he was too much of a rimmer to work that out and by the time he got back the machine was coroded
@UrtySyringe absolutely correct, it explains why the crew would be missing for back to earth.
I thought maybe this could've had both endings mixed in like when Hollister looks out of the window, maybe he could've shot the lasers at Red Dwarf and it started to blow up, then Death comes and says" The crew of Red Dwarf, your lives are over." then Rimmer kicks him in the groin
Looking forward to the Direct to DVD special next year.
they SO shoulda used that ending! but just imagine how heartbreaking it must have been for craig, robert and annett having remembered that chemicals name only for it to not make the final cut lmao!
I've memorised the formula myself and I'm feeling pretty chuffed - even more chuffed than when I learned how to say Raxacoricofallapatorius.
This makes a lot more sense and is also hilarious, but part of me really likes the used ending too. I feel like this still needed a bit more explaining as to how Rimmer died again (knowing how useless he is the can of soda probably did it) but it’s really interesting to see it and it really helps explain the gap between Season 8 and later Red Dwarf seasons. Still though, nothing will ever top Rimmer KICKING DEATH IN THE BOLLOCKS and running off screen, that’s just hilarious. That ending never made much sense to me though because it explained how Rimmer died but not now the rest of the crew made it back into the normal universe on a fully repaired Red Dwarf without the crew.
So much better than the original ending , as much as i liked seeing rimmer kicking the grim reaper in the ( you know where) this was still a much better ending. ties up loose ends a wee bit better.
thank you for posting
I don't know if anyone posted this but there was another Alternate. But never filmed.
Ace Rimmer (original Rimmer) comes on the 'Dwarf and saves the other Rim from the ships meltdown. Says it on the DVD booklet.
This ending makes gives you continuity into 'Back to Earth'.
@ZipZagginGallifrey yes, thats exactly what suggest she dies means, i never said i thought she did or didnt
okay this is what i am now accepting as canon ending lol.
the soda can kills rimmer making him a hologram again
I take it you've read the beginning of series 3 titles that confirm that Lister did give birth to the twins, they grew up very fast in our universe and were taken to the female Lister dad!
Much better ending, and opens up a possible season 9.
In my head, cannon, this is the real ending to season 8 because it lines up perfectly with the season after this one
Funny how if this aired we'd probably have accepted MODEL SHOT as a special effect. They could have put a Red Dwarf christmas ornament on a string and swung it back and forth and I'd love it. As far as I'm concerned the characters are all that really matter anyway.
This is way better....just hope Hollister didn't die out there....his interactions with Lister and Rimmer have been priceless since Day 1!
If I remember correctly, when Kryten built the machine in order so they could all transpose dimensions to search for the antidote, Rimmer was the first to step through before the machine suddenly blew up. Theoretically, in order to avoid it blowing up a second time due to an overload of information, and thus run the risk of someone getting injured, Kryten could have programmed only Rimmers bodyweight into the machine as Rimmer was the one who had already gone through. Thats just my theory anyway
I'd like to see this ending edited up and added to the original Episode :P
this ending does tie in with back to earth
LOL at the greenscreen at 2:10 :D
I like how rimmer is so shoked the green screen animation stopped
to me this is the true ending
Shouldn't Kochanski have been put in charge of the remaining crew of five? Highest ranking surviving member of the crew, that was the premise that had Rimmer acting s captain in the early series.
You know, just because the rule book states that those with the more pips and ribbons takes command in a situation (emergency or not), doesn't mean the Higher Ranking Officer wants to. Kechanski may have said "me? Officer in Command? Bugger that, he wants it, he can have it!"
Maybe K just didn't care that much. Or maybe she was in charge, but let Rimmer use Hollister's room because she liked her own, and Kryten would take orders from anyone.
@Ashcal26 You need only look forward to September of this year, my friend!
Yes its true they are definitely making 2 specials and possibly a new series.
@Ashcal26 another series released in 2012.
Why didn't they stick with this ending? It was better than the one they went with.
It's been established that things can get written in the Mirror universe as he managed to get the name of the anti-dote written down.
Good to know they havn't abadonned any continuity.
This links Series 8 and Series 9 together nicely.
Thank you
@FreakinSweet86 i know back to earth suggests she died...but knowing the writers she probably didnt >_>
i dunno, i think a lot of it is for us to decide how they survived it....or maybe theyll tell us someday
This is the better ending.
@Smitamas101
so many rumours that they are indeed making a new series in 2011.... but not sure if its accurate .... we live and hope !!!
I never really liked the 'real' ending, particularly with Death personified - RD is scifi not fantast, so if you're going to pull that sort of thing it's got to be properly legitimised.
Definitely a better ending
I like the mystery surrounding the revised ending, I'm looking forward to series X when they reveal how Rimmer escaped.
it also ties in with the back to earth episodes
Hey, Red Dwarf's great. Classic comedy!!!
Konchanski left in what was mentioned as series IX in Back to Earth. Only problems I can see are Rimmer not being a hologram and the prisoners in the tank? Or have they just been left to rot while Lister, Rimmer, Kryten and Cat run the ship?
Anyone else notice how the antidote in the test tube looks an awful lot like smeg?
Nice touch!
@rifal004 Did you actually watch Back to Earth. It explains it itself.
Yeah, this is really good too!
I wonder if the close up of Rimmer's face saluting through the port-hole, and the Captain looking angry through his port hole was a callback to the scene in S7.
Which scene?
Oh it was in the extended edition of Tikka To Ride, when Rimmer used split Starbug in half, leaving Lister behind.
'ohhh don't make a fuss'
to quote miss kochanski
@Ashcal26 There is another series coming go on the website
@willscomix iknow right
This is my canonical ending (to the show as a whole, as well as the season).
It also explains how Rimmer became a hologram again after getting hit in the head by the flying soda can
@Ashcal26 Oh then you'll like this there's a new series of Red Dwarf coming out next year there filiming it late this year Hope you liked this information
@MadManWithABox2010 its in a mirror universe, of course he reads it from right to left
this ending is SO much better
In my head canon, this is the actual ending and the ending we saw in the original was a hallucination in Rimmer's head as a result of being hit by that can the vending machine. fired at him. The can also killed him which is how he became a hologram again (and is also why he meets death in the hallucination).
Same here.
This is just a thought but would the pens (assuming they all worked) write anything in the mirror universe? Or would the universe even exist? It's too difficult to imagine the opposite of everything. What if Rimmer was a woman, what if air killed you, etc etc?
@Paintmail023 Incomplete effects work - after all, this wasn't used.