Red Dwarf: Series 4 [DVD]

Holy is still female, Lister is still a slob, the Cat is still vain, Kryten is still cuaght in his programming and Rimmer,...well...he's still a git (but girls, he's a damn fine looking git!)

Highlights of this series were (without trying to give things away) Kryten's 'new image', Rimmer's 'other half'-what a guy, Holly's regained IQ of 12,000, Lister watching the execution of a well known figure and Rimmer making Ghandi give him 50 press ups. "I'm watching you, Ghandi!"

Episode lists as follows: Camille, DNA, Justice, White Hole, Dimension Jump and Meltdown.

It's great when each new series is realeased but the day will arrive when the final series goes out and that's it. Just make sure, that when that time comes, you've got every other series to look back on. Red Dwarf is a classic show and up there alongside the other more coventional British comedys in terms of superiority.

So why single this particular series out for praise from the 6 currently available at time of print? Well, I admit that other series may be better made. But this one holds an element of nostalgia and I believe it is when Red Dwarf reached it's comedy peak, before venturing more into the territory of science fiction and less on comedy. Classic episodes have to be Meltdown and, most famously, Dimension Jump, in which we get to meet Ace Rimmer, a character who would return again in series 6 (unofficially, but you know it's him) and series 7.

As for the extras, everything you would expect from any DVD is present and correct here. Compared with the sparse offerings from the likes of Only Fools and Horses or Fawlty Towers, this shows what the BBC can do when they put some effort in! We've got:

a feature length documentary with all the principle cast and crew being interviewed;

a huge wealth of deleted scenes, more than you get for your average film, and most of which were trimmed for the sake of time, not due to lack of quality (that half hour episode deadline must be a killer for the writers!);

loads of outtakes with the cast messing around! Especially amusing is Chris Barrie's take on Kenneth Williams;

a themed montage of shots done to the tune of 'dizzy'. Nonsense and uninformative, but a laugh and in the spirit of the show;

numerous other features that I can't quite recall, but the most memorable has to be the Can't Smeg Won't Smeg comic relief special with Ainsley Harriott! This is brilliant and holds up as well as the episodes themselves for comedy value!

A brilliant set, the price is a bargain, you won't be upset you spent your pennies on this!

If you're a fan, you're going to buy sets like these. Doesn't matter that the odd episode is relatively weak, or even that a whole series may be weaker than others.

You'll buy 'em coz you love 'em all.

And when you do, you ought to be rewarded for your loyalty (epecially if you bought 'em once on VHS. Hey, anyone remember those?)

The extras on Red Dwarf DVDs are second to none. Series Four is no exception. The smeg ups, the bits from Red Dwarf night that you've got on tape but your brother recorded Baywatch over the end of, the sort of short, punchy documentaries that you actually want to watch. Perhaps even more than once.

Product this good demands to be bought. Give in to that feeling...