After almost four decades, it seems the mining vessel Red Dwarf has finally reached the end of its journey, despite being on the cusp of making another triumphant return to our screens.
Created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, the show, which first aired in 1988, has had its fair share of legal and ownership issues, but, having started out on the BBC, had in recent years, enjoyed its time over on the Dave and then UKTV, but the new special has been cancelled by UKTV, despite Naylor having several ‘two thirds’ already written.
“Back in January 2023, I went in for a meeting with UKTV who said they wanted to progress a new 90-minute Red Dwarf special. The cast were all on board and I was told to start writing,” Naylor says.
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“Several months later, things were progressing and I had got two-thirds of the way through the script, I had just signed my writer’s contract, when I got an e-mail from UKTV who said they had difficult news to share – they were no longer going to commission scripted comedy, including the RD special, which I hadn’t yet sent them.”
My understanding is that Red Dwarf, in its recent iterations, has been successful and still has a big fanbase, so this is a baffling decision by the channel, and likely means that the show, at least on screen, is now finally at an end.
My understanding that legal disputes between Grant and Naylor resulted in them both having ownership of the property and therefore both being allowed to pursue different channels and avenues to keep the ongoing adventures of Lister, Rimmer, Cat and Kryten alive but with the cast all in their 60s now, it’s more likely we’ll see the story carried on in comics, novels or animation.
Whatever form it takes, I truly hope we see the Red Dwarf crew, as diminished as it is, back.
Thoughts? I know you have them and I wanna hear ‘em all!
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Source: Daily Mirror
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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