Psirens
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"Psirens" is the first episode of
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
sit-com ''
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 VI and the 31st in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel
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 7 October 1993. 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 Andy de Emmony. The episode – which involves Psirens who try to lure the crew to them to feast on their brains – had its script published before the episode was broadcast.


Plot

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 ...
awakes aboard ''Starbug'' with amnesia, and encounters
Kryten Kryten is a fictional character in the British science fiction situation comedy ''Red Dwarf''. The name ''Kryten'' is a reference to the head butler in the J.M. Barrie play ''The Admirable Crichton''. Originally referred to as a Series III mec ...
in the ship's dining area. After being helped by him to recover, and bringing both
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 ...
and
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 ...
out of hibernation, the mechanoid explains their situation – for the past 200 years, the crew have been chasing after ''Red Dwarf'' through its
vapour trail Contrails (; short for "condensation trails") or vapour trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several kilometres/miles above the Earth, Earth's su ...
, after an unknown party stole it from them following their adventure on the ''SSS Esperanto'', with
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 ...
having gone offline as a result. Proceeding to continue the pursuit, the group attempt to catch up by taking a shortcut through an
asteroid belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...
, only to discover it is a ship graveyard inhabited by Psirens – shape-changing GELFs who prey on unwary travellers by luring them with psychic visions. Despite their best efforts, the Psirens manage to cause them to crash on an asteroid, forcing Lister to attempt to pry them loose from it. Once outside, a Psiren begins to overpower him with a powerful illusion, but is killed by a second Psiren disguised as Kryten, whom Lister promptly kills when it calls him "Dave", something the real Kryten would never do. Managing to get back aboard, the others find that a third Psiren has disguised itself as Lister, leaving them unable to determine who is the real one and forced to hold both at gunpoint. To determine which one is false, the crew ask them to play guitar, and shoot the fake when it plays well, knowing the real Lister is terrible despite his belief that he is excellent, determining the Psiren's illusion was based on this belief that his skill set was genuine. Wounded, the Psiren disappears, and uses illusions to separate Kryten and put him in the waste compactor, whereupon it proceeds to attack Lister and Cat, after Rimmer's light bee runs out of energy. Kryten, surviving the compactor, manages to kill the Psiren by crushing it with his now cubed-shaped body, allowing the crew to recover and continue pursuing ''Red Dwarf''.


Production

This episode features the first appearance of Kochanski since series 2's "
Stasis Leak "Stasis Leak" is the fourth episode of the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' series two and tenth in the series run. It premiered on the British television channel BBC2 on 27 September 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed b ...
", albeit as a Psiren illusion used to fool Lister. Clare Grogan returned to play Kochanski for the last time. Samantha Robson plays a Psiren that lures him with an illusion of one of his teenage fantasies - Pete Tranter's sister.
Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is an English actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', '' Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children'': the BBC's 1968 television seri ...
plays another Psiren, this time an illusion of Kryten's creator Professor Mamet.
Anita Dobson Anita, Lady May (born 29 April 1949), known as Anita Dobson, is an English actress and singer. She is best known for playing Landlord, landlady Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from the show's inception in 1985 until 1988. She ac ...
also appears as Captain Tau, part of the Psiren illusion to fool Lister. The hands of
Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801 and Quiet Sun. ...
appear in the scene in which the fake Lister plays the guitar brilliantly. Zoe Hilson and Elizabeth Anson both appear as Temptresses in a Psiren illusion to tempt the Cat.
Race Davies Race Davies (born 10 August 1962 in Moglabazar, Sylhet, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), is a British actress and artist. She played Jackie Owen in ''EastEnders'' from 1999 to 2000. Her first television appearance was in ''The Bill'' in 1988. In ...
and Janan Kubba had been cast as temptresses but in the end were "not used".Cast and Crew , Series VI , Guide , Red Dwarf
www.reddwarf.co.uk, retrieved 11 May 2013
Anita Dobson's guest role came about when Grant and Naylor approached her partner (later husband)
Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...
about providing his hands for the sequence where the fake Lister plays guitar. Although May was unavailable, Dobson agreed to play the part of Captain Tau when Grant and Naylor mentioned the possibility to her. The two regretted that—had they known that Dobson was willing and available, they would have written something more substantial for her. The book ''Primordial Soup: The Least Worst Scripts'' contained the script for the "Psirens" episode. Edited by Grant Naylor and published by
Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
, it was released just a few months before the episode was broadcast.


Cultural references

The concept of
sirens Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology that lured sailors to their deaths. Places * Si ...
creating illusions to lure unwary travellers to their deaths first appears in Homer's ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
'', and this concept is much-repeated in Western film and literature. Among the derelicts in the asteroid field are models of the Narcissus escape shuttle from '' Alien'' (1979), the
Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
from '' Space: 1999'' (1975) and a Klingon Vor'cha attack cruiser from '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''.


Reception

The episode was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 October 1993 in the 9:00pm time slot. The ratings had yet again increased on the previous series, Sci-Fi.com stated that "though no less funny, the show looks more and more like conventional, plot-driven science fiction." while Sci-Fi Dimensions said "the show was at its best when it was fresh" before adding "these slightly slicker episodes, with their confusing discontinuity, are still some damned funny stuff."


References


External links

* *
Series VI episode guide at www.reddwarf.co.uk
{{Red Dwarf episodes Television episodes about genetic engineering Red Dwarf VI episodes 1993 British television episodes