The Film
On this season's Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David talks about reunion shows and says why he hates them, citing that everyone looks older and it is merely a desperate cry for attention. He couldn't be more on the mark with Red Dwarf: Back to Earth, which is essentially a revisit to the series picking up... in a completely different place from the cliffhanger series ending. Of course, part of the joke here is that the show begins after "series X," despite the fact that the show ended after its eighth season - but maybe the joke's on us, because that show ended with the characters being ripped into an alternate reality.
The plot here is that the crew, including sole surviving human Dave Lister, dead crewmate Arnold Rimmer in hologram form, android Kryton and the Cat, somehow do a reality shifting thing and end up on Earth, where Red Dwarf is just a TV show facing its final episode. The story then becomes a strange satire of Blade Runner as the foursome try to find their creator and extend their lives. If it sounds confusing, it is and worse it is about as funny as Blade Runner too with most of the jokes falling flat and everyone just looking older and desperate. This one would be best consigned to an alternate universe.
The Picture
Compared to the standard definition picture of the original series, this one-hour TV movie looks good, but only about as good as a broadcast HDTV signal. BBC Video has once again released a 1080i presentation, which is barely a step up from standard def. The 16:9 presentation is generally free of any noticeable flaws, and the colors are reasonably accurate with the expected black levels for a TV series produced in HD. The real problem is that the generally bad CGI effects don't hold up, nor do the sets, and worse of all the aging cast would be better served in standard definition. Just saying!
The Sound
The DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 sound is good, probably a bit better than it sounded when it was broadcast, but besides a few audio cues this one could have been in plain old stereo and it wouldn't have made much difference. There is little in the way of ambient sounds or surround effects, but the dialog is very clear throughout. One thing missing is the laugh track, and while this reviewer is no fan of those, it was a part of the original series - and without it this feels like one of those lame 1980 TV movies based on a show (ala Facts of Life or Family Ties) that broke down the usual setup and took the characters on a surreal adventure.
The Extras
In addition to the Director's Cut, this package includes a second disc of bonus features, including cast commentary, director commentary, and making of documentaries, as well as deleted scenes and other featurettes intended for the hardcore fans. Some of it comes off almost as an apology, suggesting writer/director Doug Naylor knew he'd smegged up with this one.
Final Thoughts
How did Rimmer become a hologram again? Where is the rest of the revived crew? And why did Naylor basically remake the classic episode Back to Reality? Those are unanswered questions that appear to be among the now "missing seasons" and will likely never be answered. But as the crew was sucked into an alternate reality at the end of the series, we can just happily believe that this one never really happened.
Product Details
- Actors: Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn
- Director: Doug Naylor
- Audio Languages: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Number of Discs: 2
- Rating: Not Rated
- Studio: BBC Video
- Release Date: October 6, 2009
- Run Time: 70 minutes
- List Price: $29.99
- Extras:
- Cast Commentary
- Director Commentary
- All-New Exclusive Documentary
- The Making of Back to Earth
- Deleted Scenes
- Smeg Ups
- Featurettes
- Trailers
- Web Videos
- Photo Gallery
- Easter Egg
