Bullets 'n' Babes

There's a long piece over at DVD Talk about news for Series 7 and 8 of Red Dwarf in DVD, these snippets in particular caught my eye:

From the shows Official Website

Series VII
After a temporary bout of deadness, the Dwarfers find themselves solving one of the biggest conspiracy plots of all time, before Ace Rimmer drops in with the challenge of Rimmer's life. Meantime Kryten gets seriously tetchy and Lister has one of the hottest screen kisses ever. Pity it's not with the girl of his dreams. Pity it's not with a girl.

Series VIII
The nanobots have populated the ship with its original crew. This is especially good news for Rimmer, who is now a lot less dead, but is extremely bad news for everyone else. Locked up on Red Dwarf's prison deck, the crew join the Canaries – a battle hardened convict army and not, as they first thought, the prison choir.

But what's this? Series VII is described as 'Entire and Extended'! That's right, we're really pushing the boat out this time – you'll be able to watch either the original or 'Xtended' versions of Tikka to Ride, Ouroboros and Duct Soup. The Xtended editions include additional scenes and effects sequences, plus the peculiar experience of no laugh track.

Nor does the joy end there. Series VIII is likely to include the full-length versions of Back in the Red and Pete. Doug was never entirely happy when these episodes had to be shown as multi-parters, and in their full-length edits make for a much more satisfying viewing experience.

How will all this fit on the DVDs, I hear you ask? (If I strain hard enough.) Simple, in discussion with 2 Entertain/BBC DVD, we're aiming to put Series VII and VIII out on three discs each! And the way the edit's going, we'll need every inch of space.

The Extended episodes sound interesting... hmm... I'm re-considering whether to purchase this, I previously said I wouldnt as IMO Series 7 and 8 werent as good as the others.

hah they know that these series are weaker than the older ones. Nice marketing decision.

Some very interesting/cool news from the official Red Dwarf site:


For S7, there is news of what could perhaps be the best Dwarf extra ever - a "Lost" episode that was written but never filmed, presented as "Almost" complete!

Click here:

http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/

Time for a shaggy GELF story. Just a quick one.

Back in 1996, when Red Dwarf VII was in production, various writers were invited to submit storylines for the series to ease the load on the newly-divorced (from writing partner Rob Grant) co-creator Doug Naylor. A lucky few were invited to write scripts from those outlines. And most of those scripts were, after rewrites, filmed.

Except one.

The script was Identity Within. The author was John McKay, and the story revolved around the Cat finally getting his end away before death takes him. Scripts were given to the cast, rewrites performed by Blue writer Kim Fuller, and the whole thing might have been filmed... if it hadn't been way too expensive to shoot.

So out went female cat Ora, evil beast Zural, a marketplace teeming with GELFs and a grotty boozer in deep space. In their place, Doug Naylor penned Duct Soup –no big sets, no major guest characters, and certainly not a pub scene populated like a Star Wars cantina.

Why are we telling you this? Well, hopefully the pictures will have given you a clue...

On the morning of Monday, May 9th Chris Barrie came to Shepperton to record a reading of the script in preparation for its use on the Series VII DVD. For three hours Dwarf sound supervisor Jem Whippey recorded the lost episode – known around here as 'IDW' – complete with stage direction, character voices and awkward GELF speak.

Chris worked from the first draft of the script, keeping this as close as possible to McKay's original intentions. Handily, this is also the only version to feature Rimmer – which offered Chris an excellent chance to get back into character.

Anyone who's heard the talking book chapters on the previous discs will know just how good Chris is at performing as Lister, Cat and Kryten, and it was a joy to hear him going at it full-pelt (that's another GELF pun, by the way).

Subsequently Jem was to be found locked in The Shed with the audio files, editing the best takes together and adding key music and sound effects. The final version has background sound very much akin to the Dwarf TV series, along with the odd bazookoid blast and Starbug woosh. The top moment so far, though, is a scene described as having 'Mission: Impossible-style music' and includes the Cat banging his head and falling over a lot. It's comedy heaven on the ears!

This is just the beginning, though. We've also had a storyboard artist working day and night to produce images that will run alongside the finished audio. These will be edited together, including the odd camera move or zoom, to create a fully-fledged 'almost' episode of Red Dwarf!

Could this be the best bonus feature ever? It's certainly up there. You can discuss the merits right here on the Red Dwarf Webboard.

More DVD Details will follow soon...

This extra - and a great many others - will feature on the Series VII DVD, available to pre-order shortly from the Red Dwarf Shop.

From the official RD site:

The seventh Red Dwarf DVD release is slated for November 7th. It is, by far, our most ambitious to date – both in terms of content, and in terms of the discs themselves. Authoring house Deluxe Digital have described it as their most complex job ever – not just on Dwarf, but any DVD. It's a release to be proud of, and it seems to have come round so quickly!

Disc 1

Episodes
Tikka to Ride, Stoke Me A Clipper and Ouroboros. All appear as broadcast in 1997.

Xtended Episodes
Tikka to Ride and Ouroboros can also be played in their longer versions, with additional scenes and no audience laugh track.

Tikka to Ride: Remastered
See how the Series VII CGI effects should have looked. Available on both original and Xtended versions of the episode.

Cast Commentary
Featuring Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn and Chloë Annett. Commentaries appear on Xtended versions where available.

Identity Within
The 'lost' episode of Red Dwarf by John McKay, presented in storyboard form and performed by Chris Barrie.

Disc 2

Episodes
Duct Soup, Blue, Beyond a Joke, Epideme and Nanarchy. All appear as broadcast in 1997.

Xtended Episode
Duct Soup can also be played in its longer version, with additional scenes and no audience laugh track.

Cast Commentary
Featuring Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Robert Llewellyn and Chloë Annett – plus Norman Lovett. Commentaries appear on Xtended versions where available.

Fan Films
Two competition-winning shorts made by Red Dwarf fans. With introduction by Doug Naylor.

Disc 3

"Back From The Dead" Original Documentary
A 90-minute look at the making of Series VII, featuring cast and crew interviews plus never-before-seen footage.

Deleted Scenes
Over 40 minutes of deleted and extended moments.

Smeg Ups
A compilation of outtakes and fluffs.

Trailers
The almost-lost Series VII trailer taken from a home VHS recording, plus Kryten introductions for the Xtended episodes and 10th Anniversary Smeg Ups broadcast. (Also featuring Rimmer and Lister and recorded alongside the Xtended ending to Tikka to Ride.)

Behind the Scenes
Robert Llewellyn's on-set video diary, plus the BBC's How Do They Do That? programme visits the effects department.

Raw FX Footage
A compilation of filmed model FX and CGI created by both the BBC and Chris Veale.

"Burning Rubber" Featurette
Those boys can crash any vehicle you give them... (Featuring the song 'Buck Rogers' by Feeder.)

"Dave Hollins" Radio Sketch
A chance to hear two of the original Son of Cliché radio sketches that led to the creation of Red Dwarf.

Isolated Music Cues
Instant access to the various elements of Howard Goodall's Series VII score.

Photo Gallery
A massive collection of production images and artwork.

Weblink
Link to the official website. Um – which would be this one.

Subtitles
English subtitles for episodes and extras.

Easter Eggs
Several bonus extras are hidden within the DVD menus – can you find them all?

Once again, aside from the 'biggies' – Identity Within, Back From the Dead and the newly remastered Tikka to Ride – we're taking the chance to include some choice tit-bits that might otherwise vanish into the ether. Things like Kryten's introductions often become lost in the mists of time, and DVD gives us a chance to create something of a historical archive.

It's pretty rare for the discs to include sections of other shows, though – and in that respect How Do They Do That? is a relative rarity. For those unfamiliar with the clip, it reveals how some of the miniature and model effects were created for the seventh series, with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Lengthy clips from a non-GNP programme are generally too costly to include, but we stretched it in this case, as the chance to see Peter Wragg and his team working their magic was worth every penny.

In the weeks between now and November we'll be bringing you news on the menus and packaging, plus further info on deleted scenes, music cues and chapter points. You can find more details on the cast and crew interviews, deleted scenes, remastering and other elements in previous DVD Details instalments. The links are just over there, in the margin. Go ahead, we'll wait.

More DVD Details will follow soon...

:thumbleft: This sounds great, despite Series VII being a bit poo I'll surely get this

7th eh? anyone got the cheapest pre-order price?

How many seasons were there? 8 altogether?

yaah, 8.