The idea of a Red Dwarf film has been floating around for years and now they have finally done it. OK, The Promised Land is not getting a Star Wars-style major cinema release and in a way the show's devoted army of fans might have preferred another full series, but this 90-minute special certainly had plenty going for it.
Above all it was great to see the classic cast back (though sadly no Hattie Hayridge as female computer Holly). This time Lister (Craig Charles) Cat (Danny John-Jules), Rimmer (Chris Barrie) and (Kryten (Robert Llewellyn) were joined by laconic computer Holly (Normal Lovett – his first appearance got a particularly big cheer and FYI the laughter was genuine studio audience laughter). In one gloriously silly scene the crew found a massive back-up floppy disc for Holly. It had been lost among superslob Lister's collection of intergalactic junk.
The plot was clever but not too complex. It turns out that three million years ago around the time Lister was put into suspended animation cats – no plot spoiler here – were also evolving elsewhere in the galaxy. They now had their own sophisticated society. Well, it would be sophisticated apart from the sect (one of them played by Mandeep Dhillon from Ricky Gervais' After Life) that worshipped curry-loving Lister – the holy poppadom – as a God.
Anyway, the cast was all set for some interplanetary adventures and feline space conflict. The episode worked very well, with co-creator and long-time writer Doug Naylor's script having a high gag rate, both verbal and visual. Kryten's detachable finger and the gadgets he could attach to it were a nice touch. The way the cats entered the room – no spoilers – was also a great comic idea. And Rimmer finally had the chance to be the superhero he always dreamt of being.
There were more serious bits too, with Rimmer suffering an existential crisis at one point. And the ending had an unusually touching scene too. But I don't want to give too much away. I'm sure a lot of people will be watching this on their catch-up service. And I'm sure Dave will be re-running it pretty regularly over the next three million years too.
Oh, and I should just add, the theme tune is as fantastic as ever.
Red Dwarf – The Promised Land, Dave.
