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

Red Dwarf A red dwarf is the smallest kind of star on the main sequence. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of fusing star in the Milky Way, at least in the neighborhood of the Sun. However, due to their low luminosity, individual red dwarfs are ...

'' 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 channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

on 13 September 1988. Written by

Rob Grant Robert Grant is an English comedy writer, television producer and co-creator of the ''Red Dwarf'' comedy franchise. Since ''Red Dwarf'', Grant has written two television series, ''The Strangerers'' and ''Dark Ages (TV series), Dark Ages'', and ...

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 is a British film and TV producer and director. He directed the episodes of the science-fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' from Series I-IV and VII-VIII. Early life Ed Bye is the son of Royal Marine Colonel Francis Cliffo ...

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

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

''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 ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

. As the group check through it, they find many items, including a square cassette copy of Friday the 13th part 1649, and a total immersion virtual reality game called "Better Than Life".

Arnold Rimmer Arnold Judas Rimmer is a fictional character and one of the main characters of the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'', played by Chris Barrie. Rimmer is a second-class technician and the de facto leader of the mining ship ''Red Dwarf''. Portray ...

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 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 ranking ...

and the

Cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

invite him to join them within Better Than Life. Within the game, the group finds that it makes their deepest desires come true – Cat has

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

and an alternate version of a

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, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

(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 Germa ...

. 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 Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

and Sacha's Hotel in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. 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 Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

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

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 9. The seaside beach location caused a headache as the weather was dull and visibly cold. 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. The golf course scenes also looked cold, 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 Ronald Henry Pember (11 April 1934 – 8 March 2022) was an English actor, stage director and dramatist. In a career stretching over thirty years, he was a character actor in British television productions in the 1970s and 1980s, usually in sma ...

, who played the Taxman,

Debbie Ash Debbie (or Debby or Deb) is a feminine given name, commonly but not always short for Deborah (or Debra and related variants). Debbie is a name of Hebrew origin, derived from the Hebrew name Deborah, which means “bee”. Notable people *Debbie ...

and

Judy Hawkins Judy is a short form of the name Judith. Judy may refer to: Places * Judy, Kentucky, village in Montgomery County, United States * Judy Woods, woodlands in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom Animals * Judy (dog) (1936–1950), ...

as Yvonne McGruder.

Tony Hawks Antony Gordon Hawksworth Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 27 February 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 Gr ...

, 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 BBC Two, BBC2 on 22 February 1988. It was written by co-creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and ...

", returned to the series to play the 'Better Than Life' game guide.

Gordon Salkilld Gordon Salkilld (9 May 1927 – 14 May 2003) was an English supporting actor best known for his portrayal of carpenter Jack Wood in the 1970s BBC cult series '' Survivors''. He also gained fame in ''Red Dwarf'': series 2, episode 2 as Gordon— ...

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 was not a fan favourite.Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 10, December 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, Grant and Naylor used the plot for their first and second novels – ''

Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers ''Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers'' is a best-selling 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 nov ...

'' 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 devel ...

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

Notes

References

External links