Red Dwarf: Series 3 [DVD]

Series three is where the show stopped being "OK" and instead became one of the best UK sitcoms ever made. Usually in a TV series you get strong episodes and weak ones, but of these six, not one of them sucks. I could watch them all again, and again, and again until the DVD melts.

The series debut "Backwards" launches you straight into gems like Kryten's driving test, the reversing tandem and an unforgettable barroom-tidy. "Marooned" has Lister and Rimmer crashed on an ice planet with just a few burnable items, a bag of soggy smoky bacon crisps, a pot noodle and a tin of dog food to keep him alive. "Polymorph" is a true classic involving a genetic mutant, killer shami kebabs, shrinking boxer shorts, terror and alphabetti spaghetti. "Timeslides" features shenanigans with causality, the Tension Sheet, a suspicious briefcase and special guest appearances from Koo Stark, Ruby Wax and Adolf Hitler. "Body Swap" includes a new approach to losing weight, the most hilarious kidnapping ever attempted, liberal amounts of Domestos and a heap of mashed potato. And in "The Last Day" Kryten's lease has expired, and he's on his way to Silicon Heaven, to join all the calculators - but there's still one last party before his replacement arrives...

This is Dwarf at its strongest; cheeky, fast and fun, and this two disc set pulls out all the stops. There's a good set of extras: "Backwards" run backwards for a whole episode, a good documentary with the cast and crew from series three, smeg-ups, deleted scenes and even some original BBC trailers, rescued by dedicated Dwarfers and included on this DVD. As Extras discs go, this one is very junk-free.

All in all this is an excellent DVD set. The price is low, the content is excellent, the extras are good and the picture and sound quality is admirable. Excellent value! So get yourself a curry, get out a six-pack of lager and stick this DVD in your machine. Final verdict: Five Stars. You must own this!

The episodes simply sparkle, Backwards includes one of the alltime great comedy moments when Cat disappears 'into the bushes' and the legendary bar room 'tidy'. Marooned contains the alltime best one liner when Lister polishes off the SECOND to last item of food on Starbug. Polymorph is brilliant with the introduction of 'sharmy kebab diablo' served with Lister's classy new dinner set. Timeslides is fantastic, featuring the confrontation with 'Mr October' from one of Rimmer's magazines, and it continues with Bodyswap, as Rimmer models the new 'hernia prevention belt', much to Liser's disgust before the series climaxes with The Last Day, where Kryten comes of age thanks to a little help from his friends, and Petersen's spoils from planet leave on Miranda.

All in all, this eries is 3 hours of non stop laughs and features the show at its best. Start with 1 and 2 of course, but this was the mad world of Grant Naylor at its finest!

As stated in linear notes 'Red Dwarf III established how the show was meant to look - a benchmark for production values..'. Rob Grant and Doug Naylor officially became in control of Red Dwarf by Three, and two people were brought in to improve the looks and dynamics of the show. Mel Bibby (whose paid tribute to on the bonus disc) would design the sets and Howard Burden designed the clothes.

Aside from production, Series Three saw the exit of Norman Lovett as Holly and Hattie Hayridge replacing him as the same character. Robert Llewellyn would also mark his debut as the adorable android Kryten. Whilst Hattie and Robert were fitting in, Craig Charles, Chris Barrie and Danny John-Jules had fitted into their characters like it was second nature.

Episode-wise, Series Three has some of the most memorable moments ever. Not just in Red Dwarf history but in British comedy altogether. Featuring all time classic episodes like Backwards, Marooned and Polymorph (Chameleonic life-forms no thanks). Hearing the cast commentary is a must for any Red Dwarf fan.

The bonus features is brilliant. Featuring a seventy-five minute documentary on the series appropriately titled 'All Change'. There is also thirty minutes of deleted scenes, Hattie Hayridge's diary of the 'Dimension Jump' convention in 2003, and Backwards Forwards. Along with the smeg-ups, isolated music cues and a "Food" featurette this is a great bonus disc.

Series Three remains possibly my top series and with episodes like what they have and the bonus features here, its very hard for me to disagree. Buy it now!!!