If you’ve picked up this book — or are planning to pick up this book — odds are you’re already familiar with the wonderful show that is Red Dwarf. The author talks about the history of the show and its writers, the many struggles it had to get started, how the cast was picked and a lot more trivia moments. Such as Alan Rickman auditioned for Red Dwarf!

Each series (season) has its own introduction, including all the problems, the airing dates, casting issues, money issues, and personal anecdotes of the writers, actors, cast and crew. It helps to explain why certain decisions were made, and how. It’s just … fun, especially for a casual fan who might not already know all of this.

The episode guides, themselves, aren’t just a list of the episodes, they’re also the author’s personal star rating, a description of the plot of the episode as well as the author’s individual review.s What they thought worked, what didn’t, comments on the writing, the production, and themes; scenes that were cut, script moments that didn’t happen, and any random trivia they think to add. They also point out flaws, continuity mistakes, influences, homages and how the remastered version differs from the original airing.

I will say that I don’t always agree with the author’s opinions, and found some of their negativity to be … off putting. Their nitpicks (and there are many) don’t always seem grounded in the reality of the show, or even necessary at times. Sometimes a joke is just a joke, and trying to explain how time does or doesn’t affect a sign, or picking at the quality of a set or special effects on a show like Red Dwarf feels like the author didn’t … quite get the point. But humor is subjective; just because they didn’t get the humor doesn’t mean the show isn’t funny to me.

I haven’t watched Red Dwarf in a few years, but this book has made me want to go back and start over from the beginning. It’s a wonderful show, and knowing how hard the writers and actors fought to keep it going, to make it into the cult classic it is today, makes everything just that much more impactful. I enjoyed revisiting Red Dwarf — and will enjoy rewatching it with this guide — and hope you will as well.

Thank you very much to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me have an ARC of this book!

I am a true Dwarfette. What a super book. I love anything to do with red dwarf and this was an absolute pleasure to read

Thank you for the opportunity to review

As a huge Red Dwarf fan, Tom Salinsky's Red Dwarf: Discovering the TV Series Vol. 1 seemed right up my alley, and it was indeed fun to think back on the episodes. I liked the fact that the book considered each series as a whole before zooming in on the individual episodes. I also enjoyed the breakdown of the episodes with mention of any cultural references and continuity errors. However, there were some negative points too. Firstly, I cannot understand the need for two volumes. This first book is less than 200 pages. Assuming the second volume is a similar length, what was wrong with a single book of 400-500 pages? I also got a bit annoyed at the author's negativity at times. I am all on board with pointing out the flaws, but it sometimes felt like complaints outweighed the praise, which could be irritating to fans of the show. As I read, I also found myself thinking some images would be nice to accompany the text. When I reached the end there was a brief selection of images included; however, half of these were not even of Red Dwarf but rather other shows and films that may have inspired some of the episodes, and that felt pointless to me. Overall, I am giving this book three stars. I enjoyed reminiscing about the different episodes as I read, but I thought there was room for improvement in the way the book was presented and in the author's focus if he is wanting to appeal to the show's fans.

As a breezy overview of Red Dwarf’s production, peppered with chatty opinions on each episode, this does well enough. What wears a bit thinner are all the fannish, fact-listing bits. The episode-to-episode observations on Rimmer’s holographic status would have been better handled as a single sidebar (TL;DR it’s inconsistent); the notes on dated cultural references could have been interesting with a bit more analysis, but as it is, they are just lists of each episode’s less funny gags. Thirty-six years in the future, we still await the definitive account of the mining ship Red Dwarf.

A book about the iconic Red Dwarf? I’m in!

But I was so disappointed. The author doesn’t seem to actually like Red Dwarf and it’s basically a book about its weaknesses, failings and how bad the set was. Come on! It was the 1980s, there was no AI back then! Things like reference to the wire pulling the skutters being visible - that’s Red Dwarf! It’s one of the things we loved!

When writing about “Backwards”, the author criticises the signpost to London reading NODNOL and states that time running backwards wouldn!t have reversed the sign - well, WE DIDN’T CARE! We laughed heartily and still enjoy a trip to Nodnol to this day!

In relation to series IV, he’s states, “At halfway through the series, we seem to have settled into a not altogether satisfactory groove. Three stories in a row have given us ten minutes of largely irrelevant messing about”. He really, really doesn’t “get” Red Dwarf!

I don’t know what age the author is, but I remember when Red Dwarf started and myself and my school friends, at 14 years old, were obsessed! I wonder whether the author watched it originally and understood the hype?

Since then, I have rewatched it numerous times, latterly with my husband and, many, many years on, I still quote the series regularly!

I did enjoy the background to getting the series into production in the beginning and then the commissioning of subsequent series. Unfortunately, the writing in the book is bland, the author’s boredom with Red Dwarf comes across strongly and I just couldn’t enjoy it. I’m off to rewatch Red Dwarf now, to cheer myself up and remind myself of how utterly brilliant it is!

This is not really a book for fans of Red Dwarf, however it may appeal to BBC historians, who care about the budgets, production challenges and viewing figures, but if you’re looking for a nostalgic reminded of a cult TV show, this isn’t it.

2 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Hopelessly lost in the realms of Deep Space, the mining ship, Red Dwarf ploughs on, three million years after a devastating accident wiped out almost its entire crew. On board are Dave Lister (Craig Charles), a slob and a layabout who happened to be in suspended animation at the time of the disaster. He is joined by Holly (Norman Lovett, later Hattie Hayridge) the ship's amiable but sometimes slow-witted computer who is responsible for Lister's "oversleeping," Arnold J. Rimmer (Chris Barrie),, a hologram of one of Lister's dead twerpish shipmates and Cat (Danny John-Jules), a lifeform who has evolved out of Frankenstein, the ship's pregnant cat who had been asleep in the hold. They are soon joined by Kryten (Robert Llewellyn), a timid, but good-natured mechanoid.
Such was (and is) the premise for Red Dwarf, Rob Grant and Doug Naylor's sci-fi comedy series which first aired on BBC Two in 1988 and which continues on comedy channel, Dave to this day. This first volume from Tom Salinsky discusses the first six series of the sitcom, essentially its golden age, between 1988 and 1993. There are lots of interesting facts about the show's creation (for example, co-creator Doug Naylor lost a leg in a childhood car accident, he and Grant wrote all the lyrics for Spitting Image's Chicken Song, co-stars Charles and Barrie did not get on for many years in real life, Charles missed the birth of his first child due to filming, Ainsley Harriott, Craig Ferguson and Jane Horrocks all appeared in early series and so on), before Salinsky reviews the show's first thirty-six episodes individually, paying special attention to quality of special effects (variable), the best one-liners and to issues arising from continuity and the fact the shows were all made over thirty years ago (despite being futuristic, everyone still uses pre-digital cameras and there are constant references to 20th century phenomena such as Berni Inn and The Flintstones).
Although clearly a massive fan, Salinsky is surprisingly harsh in his assessment of popular episodes like Better Than Life and Backwards, but ultimately his enthusiasm and attention to detail win through. While the book might have benefited slightly from the addition of a brief summary of the premise for each episode and perhaps a bit less about the variable consistency of the properties of Rimmer's hologram status, this is ultimately an invaluable guide which anyone with at least a casual interest in the show's early years won't want to miss.

Red Dwarf: Discovering the TV Series is an unauthorised but respectfully curated monograph on the hysterically funny classic Grant/Naylor SF series from the 80s and 90s put together by Tom Salinsky. Due out in the UK 30th Aug 2024 from Pen & Sword on their White Owl imprint, it's 192 pages and will be available in hardcover format. Book is due out outside the UK 30th Oct 2024.

Red Dwarf (aka RD), is an absolutely iconic comedy show from the fevered imaginations of Doug Naylor and Rob Grant via the auspices of the BBC. Scratch virtually -any- SF nerd and you'll find memorised dialogue, often recited verbatim usually with accompanying tears of mirth. Even "hard" SF/classic fans are often huge RD fans. Additionally, the show was a vehicle for many (many!) BBC stars including Frances Barber, Mark Williams, and Clare Grogan in addition to the central cast.

This book does a good job of bringing back those memories. The author has assembled insider stories, reminiscences, continuity, influences, and a host of interesting trivia. There is an episode guide with a host of facts and data for each of them (and best gag/worst visual effect, in the author's opinion). For readers who have not seen absolutely all the episodes 500 times, there *are* spoilers, so fair warning.

Four and a half stars. This is the first volume of two volumes (the second grew out of the sheer overwhelming volume of *stuff* / resources, and stories and will be published in future). It's undeniably a niche choice, but would be great for public library acquisition, home use, or gifting (especially to trivia nerds and fans of the series). There was a huge amount of info here which was new (to me).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.