"Better Than Life" is the second episode from ''

Red Dwarf ''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...

'' series two, and the eighth in the series run. It was first broadcast on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

on 13 September 1988. Written by

Rob Grant Robert Grant is an English comedy writer, television producer and co-creator of ''Red Dwarf''. Since ''Red Dwarf'', Grant has written two television series, ''The Strangerers'' and '' Dark Ages'', and four solo novels, his most recent being '' F ...

and

Doug Naylor Douglas Rodger Naylor (born 31 December 1955) is an English comedy writer, science fiction writer, director and television producer. Life and career Naylor was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, and studied at Chetham's School of Music ...

, and directed by

Ed Bye Edward Richard Morrison Bye (born 12 June 1955) is a British film and TV producer and director. He directed the episodes of the Science fiction, science-fiction British sitcom, sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' from List of Red Dwarf episodes, Series I-IV and V ...

, this episode introduces the total immersion video game "Better Than Life", which features in both the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

''Red Dwarf'' novels.

Plot

A post pod for ''Red Dwarf'' finally reaches the ship three million years late and is brought on board by Holly. As the group check through it,

Arnold Rimmer Arnold Judas Rimmer is a fictional character in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'', played by Chris Barrie. Rimmer is characterised as a second-class technician (and de facto leader) of the mining ship Red Dwarf. Portrayed as snobbish, peda ...

finds a letter addressed to him detailing that his father is dead. Despite knowing that he and rest of humanity are long dead, seeing the news in writing from his mother upsets him. Although Rimmer admits he loathed him due to his strict requirements for his kids to get into the space corps to make up for his own failure to join, he also points out that he looked up to him. Seeing him depressed,

Dave Lister David "Dave" Lister, commonly referred to simply as Lister, is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy ''Red Dwarf'', portrayed by Craig Charles. Lister is characterised as a third-class technician (the lowest r ...

and the Cat invite him to join them within "Better Than Life" – a total immersion virtual reality game that came within the post. Within the game, the group finds that makes their deepest desires come true – Cat has

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

and an alternate version of

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes asso ...

(top half fish, bottom half woman) as girlfriends; Lister has wealth, eating caviar-covered vindaloo and playing golf; while Rimmer, with a physical form, leads an admiral's life with drinks, parties, and a wonderful wife.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 54. However, things start to go wrong when Rimmer sees his father in the game and is insulted by him, soon bringing out his feelings of inadequacy, and causing his neurotic mind to subconsciously reject the nice things happening to him, causing him to live a wrecked life with an unsympathetic Outland Revenue Collector threatening to harm him over a large debt he has. Rimmer's mind soon affects everyone else's fun, leaving them suffering anguish as well, before the game comes to an end. Once back on ''Red Dwarf'', Rimmer is called out for his "messed up brain" and presumes his life will never be good. Almost suddenly, he finds a letter informing him he passed astro-navigation examination, but his joy is short-lived when he and the others find his tax collector suddenly turning up, revealing that they are still in the game.

Production

After looking back at the first series the writers, Grant and Naylor, realised that they needed to expand on Rimmer's background and explore his character. To achieve this the Rimmer family was written into the episode. There were his three high-flying brothers, his distant mother and psychotic father. His father appeared in the "Better Than Life" scenario, played by

John Abineri John Abineri (18 May 1928 – 29 June 2000) was an English actor. Born in London, he attended the Old Vic drama school and described himself as "Well educated from the age of five to eighteen". He spoke a number of languages (including Germ ...

. For the first time since the series began, filming of several scenes took place on location. To film the "Better Than Life" scenarios the crew went to locations including a seaside landscape in Rhyl and Sacha's Hotel in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. The same hotel would later hold science fiction conventions for ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', '' Space: 1999'' and ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 9. The seaside beach location caused a headache as it was dull and cold looking. One scene proved so problematic – when they were meant to be sunbathing on the "paradise-like" beach, Craig Charles and Danny John-Jules could not stop shivering – that the scenes were re-written and re-shot as on a golf course. Even the golf course scenes looked dull and cold looking, but director Ed Bye convinced the crew that it was okay and that the sunshine could be put in during the edit. However, it couldn't be made to look sunny and it wasn't until the episode was remastered that the sunshine was finally seen. Other "Better Than Life" appearances were made by Ron Pember, who played the Taxman, Debbie Ash as

and Judy Hawkins as Yvonne McGruder.

Tony Hawks Antony Gordon Hawksworth, MBE (born February 27, 1960), known professionally as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author. Early life Born in Brighton, Sussex, Hawks was educated at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School and Brighton ...

, who had appeared in the ''Red Dwarf I'' episode "

Future Echoes "Future Echoes" is the second episode of the science fiction sitcom '' Red Dwarf'' series one, and was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 22 February 1988. It was written by co-creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and dire ...

". returned to the series to play the 'Better Than Life' game guide. Gordon Salkilld appeared as computer Gordon, the chess email gaming chum of Holly.

Reception

Originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 13 September 1988 in the 9:00 pm evening slot, the episode gained average viewing ratings. The episode may not have topped many fans' favourites lists,Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 10, December 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, but the story turned out to be very influential. Grant and Naylor used the plot for their first and second novels – '' Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers'' ended on a cliffhanger when the crew entered the game and the majority of the second novel, ''

Better Than Life ''Better Than Life'' is a science fiction comedy novel by Grant Naylor, the collective name for Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, co-creators and writers of the '' Red Dwarf'' television series, on which the novel is based. The main plotline was deve ...

'', followed on from there.Red Dwarf II on Video, Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 3, May 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd,

Notes

References

External links