MovieChat Forums > Red Dwarf (1989) Discussion > Season 2. Better than life.

Season 2. Better than life.

posted 7 years ago by Stewatson35
4 replies | jump to latest

Rimmer gets the news that his father has died. So Lister goes up to the obs deck to chat to him.

He says he remembers when his dad died, he was 6. He also says he remembers his grandfather's death.

Wasn't it established in the first season that he was found under a pool table and that he was an orphan?
Or, is he talking about the people who brought him up?

I can't remember when the whole orphan storyline began. But after season XI I've been re-watching. In reverse, but I'm getting back into it.
Season 7? Or is it 8?
The canned laughter stops. It really changes the show, and it's hard to watch. Obviously I don't have trouble understanding the humour, I just prefer the canned laughter for some reason. It's part of the charm I guess. And I grew up watching this. I was 14 when season one was released. Loved it.
Lost interest with Back to Earth. That was horrible. So I thought this show was dead, but season X and XI are good. I was worried about the new season sucking, it didn't.

[–] Painbow 7 years ago

You could argue that he was referring to the person he viewed as his dad but essentially, it's a gaff created by the canon of later episodes.

[–] Stewatson35 7 years ago

I think so. Because a couple of episodes later, "Bodyswap", Rimmer mentioned him being an orphan or something.

[–] shanecybowicz 7 years ago

When Lister talks about his Dad, he's referring to the parent who raised him.

In 'Thanks for the Memory' the episode right after Better than Life. Rimmer says;

'That's why I was an orphan even though my parents were alive'

So it does make sense if Lister is talking about his non-biological Dad.

[–] hurricanehorton 7 years ago

I just posted in another thread that consistency wasn't a strong point in Red Dwarf.

But yeah, he could've been talking about an adoptive father, or some male who helped raise him that he viewed as like a father.