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I hear about Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide) constantly in lists of great/favorite books. On the whole, I enjoyed the series, but as far as the genre goes (funny brit-scifi), I have found that the Red Dwarf books by Grant Naylor are VASTLY better.
I am not sure if it is just because Red Dwarf hasn't really "come out" in the states, or if people don't know about the books. They have 'em in every Waldenbooks/Borders/Barnes etc. I have referred quite a few people to them, and all have come out of reading them with the same opinion as myself - that they are the finest examples of humorous sci-fi.
Has anyone else out there read them? If not, I'd definately suggest taking a look.
Red Dwarf- Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers Red Dwarf- Better than Life (Others in Britain: Last Human, etc. and yes, the t.v. series is based on the books)
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Must admit I've only read the first of the Red Dwarf books but I've read it several times and still find it hilariously funny. Unusually, it doesn't lose a thing in its translation into a TV series. Not too sure what the film will be like though. In my experience these kind of programs are great in half hour installments but usually run out of ideas and tend to labour a bit when extended into a ninety minute film. Still, it'll be a film I'll definitely be going to see.
[This message has been edited by Gwalchmai (edited January 14, 2004).]
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I love Red Dwarf, both the books and the series. There was an American pilot made for Red Dwarf that never actually made it to broadcast. I've seen it and it was absolutely terrible. The guy playing Lister looked like George Clooney.
So while the BBC series is great, I consider a big part of that to be the casting. Good stuff though. If you like Adams, you'll like the Red Dwarf books.
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Christine: The books are written by one of the writers of the series (although I think both were involved in the first one), so you see the same characters & style of humour, although they are much expanded.
For instance, one of the books is based around the same idea as the episode 'better than life', but shows in huge detail just how Rimmer's warped psyche turns everything bad...
Personally, I think the series was funnier, but I know a lot of people who do love the books, so I guess its down to your personal taste.
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The first two Red Dwarf books (Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers and Better Than Life) were co-written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor under the name Grant Naylor, as were the first six series of the tv show. Doug Naylor wrote the third book (Last Human) and Rob Grant the fourth (Backwards). Rob Grant resigned as co-writer and co-producer in 1996 and as a result Doug Naylor's been mainly responsible for series seven and eight. There were actually two pilots made for America but both featured changes from the British version (in the second pilot I believe the Cat was female) and both were rejected.
[This message has been edited by Gwalchmai (edited January 15, 2004).]
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I've read the entire Red Dwarf book series. The first two are the best. I don't think they compare to Hitchiker's Guide for literary quality, though.
In the second American pilot the Cat was indeed played by a woman: Terry Farrel, aka Jadzia Dax on Deep Space Nine.
Last I heard, the Red Dwarf movie is still on hold. The smegheads just can't seem to get it together. But since the Grant/Naylor team split up, neither the shows nor the books have been very good (with the possible exception of "The Rimmer Experience").
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I was very much convinced that the books followed the series or, at least, that the series began before the books were written. From what I know, the Red Dwarf was an idea for a radio series first, then went to Telly Land, then the books were written.
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The series did come first, about a year before the first book. The radio show was written by the same people and bore some similarities but wasn't the same thing. It was called, I forget the name, Dave somebody or other, Space Cadet. One of the scripts for it is on one of the videos, the Smeg-ups one I think though I can't be bothered to go check so I wouldn't quote me on that.
Posts: 156 | Registered: Nov 2003
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I believe it was a sketch for a TV short sketch show; I've come across it before. The material was similar to a short section of one of the series 1 episodes, where Holly describes to Lister the consequences of him having left a light on in his house when he left.
Posts: 626 | Registered: Jun 2003
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