Monday, January 12, 2009

Red Dwarf : The Failed US Pilot Part 1



As a lover of the Britcom "Red Darf" I was excited to hear of a US pilot being shot in the early 90s. The writing on the original show was so snappy, all the Americans had to do was rejigger a few things for a US audience and they had a home run, right?

Well, somehow, it was a swing and a miss. They rewrote far too much and the US cast didn't seem to click.

I love Jane Leeves as Holly (although I'm sure she's happy she did that whole "Frasier" thing instead) and well, that is Kryton. Maybe Lister is too handsome, Rimmer isn't nobby enough, there is something missing.





What's sad is, this isn't the last attempt, it gets worse.....

1 comment:

Lady Jaye said...

Iiick, I completely agree with your assessment. Jane Leeves is fine, and Robert Llewelyn is like usual. The guy playing Cat is good, but Rimmer and Lister are wrong. You're right, Rimmer isn't enough of a smeghead (and a nerd) and Lister is too hero-like, not enough of the sloppy everyguy. And the hell? Rimmer a dead-man's hologram from the start, when Red Dwarf is still fully populated? Kryten coming aboard from the very beginning?

I'm glad it never went beyond the pilot. This would have been as atrocious as Cosby, the remake of One Foot in the Grave...