British Comedy Guide

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Red Dwarf. Image shows from L to R: Cat (Danny John-Jules), Rimmer (Chris Barrie), Lister (Craig Charles), Kryten (Robert Llewellyn). Copyright: UKTV.

Red Dwarf

Dave and BBC Two sitcom set on a space ship. 67 episodes (11 series), 1988 - 2016. Stars Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn and others.

Series 12 due to be broadcast in 2017.

Series III, Episode 1 - Backwards

Rimmer and Kryten crash-land on a planet and are shocked to find it is Earth - but an Earth where time is running in reverse.

Full synopsis

Red Dwarf. Image shows from L to R: Kryten (Robert Llewellyn), Rimmer (Chris Barrie). Copyright: Grant Naylor Productions / BBC.

When Kryten gets sucked into a time hole and crashes Starbug 1 onto a planet during the space-ship equivalent of a driver's test, he and Rimmer are shocked to discover that they've landed on Earth.

It's not quite as normal though: time is running backwards. After the Big Bang the universe expanded, but they've gone so far into the future that the Big Crunch has now happened, the universe is contracting, and everything going in reverse accordingly.

When Lister and Cat finally find them, it's 1993 and Rimmer and Kryten are working as a novelty comic act. They're not keen to leave their popularity and success, but Lister's involvement in a brawl would seem to seal their fate in this backwards world.

Broadcast details

Date
Tuesday 14th November 1989
Time
9pm
Channel
BBC Two
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

  1. Wednesday 18th May 2011 at 10:00pm on Dave
  2. Sunday 14th August 2011 at 9:40pm on Dave
  3. Sunday 2nd October 2011 at 11:00pm on Dave
  4. Saturday 26th November 2011 at 8:20pm on Dave
  5. Monday 7th May 2012 at 11:20am on Dave
  6. Sunday 23rd September 2012 at 11:00am on Dave
  7. Saturday 29th November 2014 at 3:00pm on Dave
  8. Saturday 31st January 2015 at 3:00pm on Dave
  9. Monday 1st June 2015 at 1:20am on Dave
  10. Monday 1st June 2015 at 10:40pm on Dave
  11. Monday 27th July 2015 at 10:20pm on Gold
  12. Tuesday 28th July 2015 at 1:00pm on Gold
  13. Monday 18th July 2016 at 11:20pm on Gold
  14. Tuesday 19th July 2016 at 2:20am on Gold
  15. Thursday 13th October 2016 at 10:20pm on Dave
  16. Friday 14th October 2016 at 2:25am on Dave
  17. Sunday 2nd April 2017 at 2:00pm on Dave
  18. Tuesday 11th July 2017 at 8:20pm on Gold

Cast & crew

Regular cast
Chris Barrie Rimmer
Craig Charles Lister
Danny John-Jules Cat
Robert Llewellyn Kryten
Hattie Hayridge Holly
Guest cast
Maria Friedman Waitress
Tony Hawks Compere
Anna Palmer Customer In Cafe
Arthur Smith Pub Manager
Writing team
Doug Naylor Writer
Rob Grant Writer
Production team
Ed Bye Director
Ed Bye Producer
Doug Naylor Producer
Rob Grant Producer
Paul Jackson Exec Producer
Mel Bibby Production Designer
Howard Goodall Composer
Ed Wooden Editor

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