Dimension Jump (Red Dwarf)
Encyclopedia
"Dimension Jump" is the fifth episode of science fiction
sit-com Red Dwarf
Series IV and the twenty-third episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British
television channel BBC2
on 14 March 1991, written by Rob Grant
and Doug Naylor
, and directed by Ed Bye
. The episode, featuring the first appearance of Ace Rimmer, was intended to open the series but was postponed due to the Gulf War
conflict.
being told by his mother that the headmaster at his school was considering keeping him back a year. Having received the headmaster's notice in the post, she warns her son that this could affect the direction his life takes...
Years later, in a parallel dimension
, another Arnold Rimmer exists. Commander 'Ace' Rimmer is a test pilot in the Space Corps: he is charming, intelligent, popular, brave and modest. Being the heroic type, he jumps at the chance to test-fly a dimension-jumping prototype
spacecraft and, after breaking the 'speed of reality', crosses into Red Dwarfs dimension - crashing into Starbug in the process.
Starbug crash-lands on a water planet, but Ace does not desert them and follows down to help. Aboard Starbug he comes face-to-face with his counterpart Rimmer and an instant mutual dislike develops. Despite Ace's broken arm, he and Lister
brave the elements to fix the craft.
After this spectacular display of courage, the rest of the crew think he's quite a guy—except the original Rimmer, who is bitter, and positive that in the other reality, Ace got all the breaks in life that he'd been denied. But it turns out that Ace Rimmer had been the one kept down a year at school; while Rimmer was allowed to progress and spent the rest of his life making excuses, the humiliation of being kept down forced Ace to knuckle down and fight back.
Meanwhile, the Cat
has a broken leg, sustained during Starbugs crash, and is becoming delirious. Once aboard Red Dwarf, Ace says he can patch up the Cat with a bit of micro-surgery, but that afterwards he must move on. He tells Lister he can't stand his spineless counterpart any longer and that there are a billion other realities to explore and maybe he'll meet a Rimmer even worse than the one he met aboard Red Dwarf... but he doubts it.
in 1993, he didn't really appear again until Season VII's Stoke Me a Clipper
in 1997 as another Rimmer, a hard-light hologram.
As revealed, the Ace Rimmer seen in Dimension Jump was killed in Dimension 165 when he crashed into a neutron tank. The result was that another Rimmer became Ace. Eventually, millions were Ace Rimmer. The Ace Rimmer in this episode dies after his light bee is damaged by gunfire.
At the end of this episode, Starbug chases the failed lightbee through a wormhole and the camera zooms out to reveal a gas giant, whose Saturn-esque rings are all failed lightbees of Ace Rimmer. The rings of the planet is similar to the rings on the Red Dwarf
TV logo.
) asking Rob Grant and Doug Naylor for the chance to play someone heroic, suffering from what he described as 'git overload'.
The ending scene went through numerous changes. The initial plan was to have Rimmer drop a load of kippers on Ace, but it didn't work on comic or practical levels as, due to Rimmer's hologrammatic status, the fish should then have fallen through Rimmer rather than on him. It was decided that this didn't work well and the text scroll was added in the post production.
Several models for the episode were produced, including Ace's ship, the Io
city dome and the Space Corps test space station. Filming of Ace's ship crashing into Starbug involved flying it through space on wires. The Starbug crash site was achieved using an ocean moon miniature construction.
For the first time in the series run, the end theme tune was changed. The director, Ed Bye, had requested a "naff organ sound" to end the episode with. In keeping with the Rimmer theme Howard Goodall
performed an instrumental arrangement which played over the end credits.
The regular cast all get to play their alternative universe roles. Chris Barrie
plays Ace Rimmer, Craig Charles
is Spanners, Danny John-Jules
is the Chaplain, Robert Llewellyn
is Bongo and Hattie Hayridge
got the chance to play more than just a computer head when she appeared as Mellie. Kalli Greenwood appeared as Mrs. Rimmer and Simon Gaffney appeared as Young Rimmer—reprising their roles from Polymorph (and Simon also appeared as young Rimmer in "Timeslides"), while Hetty Baynes
voiced the Cockpit Computer.
movie Top Gun
and even features similar heroic music. Jaws
is mentioned by Lister as to where they're going in the middle of the night with fishing rods. After hearing Lister's nickname given by Ace, Rimmer references Skippy
, "'Ace and Skipper?' You sound like a kids' TV series about a boy and his bush kangaroo!"
Considered to be one of the best episodes by many, it also topped the Series IV list in a Red Dwarf magazine poll—with 7.3% of the overall votes—one viewer stating that it "combines high comedy and high pathos into an experience that is at once terminally funny and emotionally wrenching."
The BBC decided to use the popularity of the episode to head the second part of the Series IV video tape release, despite "White Hole
" being fourth in the running order.
In the Series IV DVD, Chris Barrie names this as his favourite episode.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
sit-com Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
Series IV and the twenty-third episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television channel BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 14 March 1991, written by Rob Grant
Rob Grant
Robert Grant is a British comedy writer and television producer, who was born in Salford and studied Psychology at Liverpool University for two years....
and Doug Naylor
Doug Naylor
Douglas R. Naylor is a British comedy writer, science fiction writer, director and television producer.Naylor was born in Manchester, England and studied at the University of Liverpool. In the mid-1980s, Naylor wrote two regular comedy sketch shows for BBC Radio 4 entitled Cliché and Son of Cliché...
, and directed by Ed Bye
Ed Bye
Edward Richard Morrison Bye is a British film and TV producer and director. He is best known for his work with Grant Naylor, Harry Enfield and Jasper Carrott, and has worked with many of British TV's best known comedians and comedy actors...
. The episode, featuring the first appearance of Ace Rimmer, was intended to open the series but was postponed due to the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
conflict.
Plot
The episode begins with a young Arnold RimmerArnold Rimmer
Arnold Judas Rimmer is a fictional character in the science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, played by Chris Barrie. He is unpopular with his crew mates, and is often the target of insults or pranks...
being told by his mother that the headmaster at his school was considering keeping him back a year. Having received the headmaster's notice in the post, she warns her son that this could affect the direction his life takes...
Years later, in a parallel dimension
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
, another Arnold Rimmer exists. Commander 'Ace' Rimmer is a test pilot in the Space Corps: he is charming, intelligent, popular, brave and modest. Being the heroic type, he jumps at the chance to test-fly a dimension-jumping prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
spacecraft and, after breaking the 'speed of reality', crosses into Red Dwarfs dimension - crashing into Starbug in the process.
Starbug crash-lands on a water planet, but Ace does not desert them and follows down to help. Aboard Starbug he comes face-to-face with his counterpart Rimmer and an instant mutual dislike develops. Despite Ace's broken arm, he and Lister
Dave Lister
David "Dave" Lister, commonly referred to simply as Lister, is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, portrayed by Craig Charles...
brave the elements to fix the craft.
After this spectacular display of courage, the rest of the crew think he's quite a guy—except the original Rimmer, who is bitter, and positive that in the other reality, Ace got all the breaks in life that he'd been denied. But it turns out that Ace Rimmer had been the one kept down a year at school; while Rimmer was allowed to progress and spent the rest of his life making excuses, the humiliation of being kept down forced Ace to knuckle down and fight back.
Meanwhile, the Cat
Cat (Red Dwarf)
The Cat is a character in the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. He is played by Danny John-Jules.-Character development:According to Danny John-Jules, the character of Cat is based on a combination of Little Richard's look, James Brown's moves and Richard Pryor's facial...
has a broken leg, sustained during Starbugs crash, and is becoming delirious. Once aboard Red Dwarf, Ace says he can patch up the Cat with a bit of micro-surgery, but that afterwards he must move on. He tells Lister he can't stand his spineless counterpart any longer and that there are a billion other realities to explore and maybe he'll meet a Rimmer even worse than the one he met aboard Red Dwarf... but he doubts it.
Aftermath
Although Rimmer became Ace Rimmer temporarily in Season VI's Emohawk: Polymorph IIEmohawk: Polymorph II
"Emohawk: Polymorph II" is the fourth episode of the British science fiction sitcom TV show Red Dwarf VI and the 34th in the series run. It was first broadcast on BBC2 on 28 October 1993. Written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor and directed by Andy de Emmony, the episode features the crew again being...
in 1993, he didn't really appear again until Season VII's Stoke Me a Clipper
Stoke Me a Clipper
"Stoke Me a Clipper" is the second episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series VII and the 38th in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 24 January 1997. Written by Paul Alexander & Doug Naylor and directed by Ed Bye...
in 1997 as another Rimmer, a hard-light hologram.
As revealed, the Ace Rimmer seen in Dimension Jump was killed in Dimension 165 when he crashed into a neutron tank. The result was that another Rimmer became Ace. Eventually, millions were Ace Rimmer. The Ace Rimmer in this episode dies after his light bee is damaged by gunfire.
At the end of this episode, Starbug chases the failed lightbee through a wormhole and the camera zooms out to reveal a gas giant, whose Saturn-esque rings are all failed lightbees of Ace Rimmer. The rings of the planet is similar to the rings on the Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
TV logo.
Production
The idea behind this episode came as a result of Chris Barrie (who at the same time as filming this series was also playing Gordon Brittas, another character whose personality led to him being disliked by those around him, in The Brittas EmpireThe Brittas Empire
The Brittas Empire is a British sitcom created and originally written by Richard Fegen and Andrew Norriss. Chris Barrie plays Gordon Brittas, the well-meaning but incompetent manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre....
) asking Rob Grant and Doug Naylor for the chance to play someone heroic, suffering from what he described as 'git overload'.
The ending scene went through numerous changes. The initial plan was to have Rimmer drop a load of kippers on Ace, but it didn't work on comic or practical levels as, due to Rimmer's hologrammatic status, the fish should then have fallen through Rimmer rather than on him. It was decided that this didn't work well and the text scroll was added in the post production.
Several models for the episode were produced, including Ace's ship, the Io
IO
Io, IO, I/O, i/o, or i.o. may refer to:-An abbreviation:* I.O., a theater in Chicago, Illinois dedicated to improvisational comedy* i.o., "in illo ordine", Latin phrase meaning "respectively"...
city dome and the Space Corps test space station. Filming of Ace's ship crashing into Starbug involved flying it through space on wires. The Starbug crash site was achieved using an ocean moon miniature construction.
For the first time in the series run, the end theme tune was changed. The director, Ed Bye, had requested a "naff organ sound" to end the episode with. In keeping with the Rimmer theme Howard Goodall
Howard Goodall
210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
performed an instrumental arrangement which played over the end credits.
The regular cast all get to play their alternative universe roles. Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie is a British actor. He first achieved success as a vocal impressionist, notably in the ITV sketch show Spitting Image...
plays Ace Rimmer, Craig Charles
Craig Charles
Craig Joseph Charles is an English actor, stand-up comedian, author, poet, radio and television presenter, best known for playing Dave Lister in the British cult-favourite science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf...
is Spanners, Danny John-Jules
Danny John-Jules
Daniel "Danny" John-Jules is a British actor, singer and dancer. John-Jules attended Rutherford Comprehensive School, Penfold Street, Marylebone, from 1972 to 1977. He is best known for portraying Cat in the television programme Red Dwarf.-Dance and song:John-Jules is a baritone...
is the Chaplain, Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn is an English actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known as the mechanoid Kryten in the hit sitcom Red Dwarf, and for his role as presenter of Scrapheap Challenge.-Early career:...
is Bongo and Hattie Hayridge
Hattie Hayridge
Hattie Hayridge is a British stand-up comedienne and actress, best known for the role of the female version of Holly in Red Dwarf during the third, fourth and fifth series, along with the role of Hilly in Parallel Universe, the final episode of the second series.After graduating from the...
got the chance to play more than just a computer head when she appeared as Mellie. Kalli Greenwood appeared as Mrs. Rimmer and Simon Gaffney appeared as Young Rimmer—reprising their roles from Polymorph (and Simon also appeared as young Rimmer in "Timeslides"), while Hetty Baynes
Hetty Baynes
Henrietta S.L. "Hetty" Baynes is an English actress. She began her career as a ballet dancer at the Royal Ballet School and made her professional debut at 12 in Rudolf Nureyev's The Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden....
voiced the Cockpit Computer.
Cultural references
The spaceship scene that introduces Ace Rimmer parodies the 1986 Tom CruiseTom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
movie Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
and even features similar heroic music. Jaws
Jaws (film)
Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
is mentioned by Lister as to where they're going in the middle of the night with fishing rods. After hearing Lister's nickname given by Ace, Rimmer references Skippy
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo is an Australian television series for children created by John McCallum, produced from 1966–1968, telling the adventures of a young boy and his intelligent pet kangaroo, in the Waratah National Park in Duffys Forest, near Sydney, New South Wales.Ninety-one 30-minute...
, "'Ace and Skipper?' You sound like a kids' TV series about a boy and his bush kangaroo!"
Reception
The episode was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 March 1991 in the 9:00pm evening time slot, although it was initially intended to be shown first as the series opener, but the Gulf War hostilities at the time meant that the BBC held back the episode along with "Meltdown". When the hostilities ceased the show was able to be broadcast later in the run.Considered to be one of the best episodes by many, it also topped the Series IV list in a Red Dwarf magazine poll—with 7.3% of the overall votes—one viewer stating that it "combines high comedy and high pathos into an experience that is at once terminally funny and emotionally wrenching."
The BBC decided to use the popularity of the episode to head the second part of the Series IV video tape release, despite "White Hole
White hole
A white hole, in general relativity, is a hypothetical region of spacetime which cannot be entered from the outside, but from which matter and light may escape. In this sense it is the reverse of a black hole, which can be entered from the outside, but from which nothing, including light, may escape...
" being fourth in the running order.
In the Series IV DVD, Chris Barrie names this as his favourite episode.
See also
- BackwardsBackwardsBackwards is the fourth Red Dwarf novel. It is set on the fictional backwards universe version of Earth.The novel was written by Rob Grant on his own. It follows on directly from the second Grant Naylor novel, Better Than Life, ignoring Last Human...
- the fourth Red Dwarf novel which features the plot of "Dimension Jump" as well as other episodes.