Boys from the Dwarf

Since Dave started showing it a few years ago, I have fallen in love with Red Dwarf. I'm ashamed to admit it was an almost naked, shackled Arnold Rimmer who really drew my attention to the show and I have never looked back.Now they're back on our screens and I'm surprised just how happy I am about it.To me, series 7 and 8 weren't that great. Although the storyline that saw Rimmer leave in series 7 was good, the dynamic was changed without him. Particularly with the introduction of Kochanski who took a while to grow on me. Luckily, in series 8 my beloved hologram returned. But so did the rest of the crew and again I wasn't happy with the change. The whole show was built around Lister being the last human being alive, and when a show strays from its central premise it strays down hill. Only Fools and Horses was a whole different show when they finally did get rich. And Porridge just wouldn't work if Fletcher was let out of prison. In the mini series Back to Earth I think they had realised this. The crew were once again dead and it was back to the boys from the Dwarf. But this time the production had changed and it felt like they were once again missing the mark. The charm I saw in Red Dwarf came from the aged special effects and the low tech gadgets. Back to Earth jumped straight in with CGI and huge digital sets. And to boot they dropped the studio audience. It all just felt a little forced and under par. And so with all of that I was little apprehensive about series 10. And so far? It's beaten my expectations. The script is strong and the audience is back. More importantly it's back to the more simple sets and the original premise. There's nothing more I could ask for, I just want the rest of the series to keep up the good work and belly laughs.