Rimmerworld
Encyclopedia
"Rimmerworld" is the fifth episode of science fiction
sit-com Red Dwarf
Series VI and the 35th in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British
television channel BBC2 on 4 November 1993. Written by Rob Grant
& Doug Naylor
and directed by Andy de Emmony.
undergoes a medical and discovers he has a stress-related condition. Kryten
prescribes several measures for him to prevent an electronic aneurysm
. Meanwhile, the crew decides to replenish supplies by looting the simulant ship they shot down a few weeks prior. However, one of the Simulants has survived and confronts Lister
, Kryten and the Cat
. Rimmer, however, sneaks into an escape pod and runs away which causes the destruction of the ship. The others escape using a hand-held time and matter transporter which Kryten has found.
Rimmer's pod heads straight for the closest S3 planet, on the other side of a wormhole
, and when it arrives Rimmer decides to use the terraforming
equipment to create a paradise. He manages to clone himself, hoping for female company, but instead begins an entire new race of Rimmer-clones who eventually turn against him and imprison him in a dungeon.
When his shipmates arrive with Starbug a time dilation
effect means that for Rimmer 600 years have passed. They arrive on Rimmerworld only to be promptly captured and thrown into Rimmer's dungeon by power-hungry Rimmer-clones, who consider anything un-Rimmer like—charm, bravery, intelligence, and the like—to be a crime. There they discover Rimmer, who has been locked in the dungeon for 557 years. Lister comes up with a complicated and elaborate plan to escape before Kryten suggests using the time and matter transporter. Instead of arriving in Starbug, though, they end up a few weeks in the future, where it is implied something terrible will happen to Lister.
" to avoid having to rebuild the sets and models for the Simulant ship, and having to hire actress Liz Hickling twice. It was planned as a sequel to "Gunmen" but was effectively cut down from its original idea. Rimmerworld was referenced by The Cat in "Back to Earth
", saying "This is worse than Rimmerworld."
allusion continues with Rimmer comparing himself to Adam
in the Garden of Eden
, however he seemingly confuses that story with the adventures of Tarzan
in which Jane
is the love interest of the jungle-dwelling hero. The Thirty Years War and The Hundred Years War are both referenced when Kryten explains how long Rimmer will spend on the other side of the wormhole before help can arrive.
when Thomas Hamilton killed sixteen children and a teacher before committing suicide, an event similar to the scene early in this episode in which a crazy female android attempts to kill herself and the Red Dwarf crew.
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 VI and the 35th 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 on 4 November 1993. 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....
& 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 Andy de Emmony.
Plot
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...
undergoes a medical and discovers he has a stress-related condition. Kryten
Kryten
Kryten is a fictional character in the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf. Kryten's registration code on Red Dwarf is "Kryten additional 001". The name Kryten is a reference to the head butler in the J.M...
prescribes several measures for him to prevent an electronic aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
. Meanwhile, the crew decides to replenish supplies by looting the simulant ship they shot down a few weeks prior. However, one of the Simulants has survived and confronts 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...
, Kryten and 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...
. Rimmer, however, sneaks into an escape pod and runs away which causes the destruction of the ship. The others escape using a hand-held time and matter transporter which Kryten has found.
Rimmer's pod heads straight for the closest S3 planet, on the other side of a wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
, and when it arrives Rimmer decides to use the terraforming
Terraforming
Terraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
equipment to create a paradise. He manages to clone himself, hoping for female company, but instead begins an entire new race of Rimmer-clones who eventually turn against him and imprison him in a dungeon.
When his shipmates arrive with Starbug a time dilation
Time dilation
In the theory of relativity, time dilation is an observed difference of elapsed time between two events as measured by observers either moving relative to each other or differently situated from gravitational masses. An accurate clock at rest with respect to one observer may be measured to tick at...
effect means that for Rimmer 600 years have passed. They arrive on Rimmerworld only to be promptly captured and thrown into Rimmer's dungeon by power-hungry Rimmer-clones, who consider anything un-Rimmer like—charm, bravery, intelligence, and the like—to be a crime. There they discover Rimmer, who has been locked in the dungeon for 557 years. Lister comes up with a complicated and elaborate plan to escape before Kryten suggests using the time and matter transporter. Instead of arriving in Starbug, though, they end up a few weeks in the future, where it is implied something terrible will happen to Lister.
Production
"Rimmerworld" was filmed back to back with "Gunmen of the ApocalypseGunmen of the Apocalypse
"Gunmen of the Apocalypse" is the third episode of series VI of the science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf. It was first broadcast on 21 October 1993, on BBC2, and went on to win an International Emmy Award. The episode was written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor, and directed by Andy de Emmony...
" to avoid having to rebuild the sets and models for the Simulant ship, and having to hire actress Liz Hickling twice. It was planned as a sequel to "Gunmen" but was effectively cut down from its original idea. Rimmerworld was referenced by The Cat in "Back to Earth
Red Dwarf: Back to Earth
Red Dwarf: Back to Earth is a three part TV miniseries continuation of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, broadcast on the British television channel Dave between 10 April and 12 April 2009 and subsequently released on DVD on 15 June 2009 & on Blu-ray on 31 August 2009. It was the first...
", saying "This is worse than Rimmerworld."
Cultural references
The process of terraforming the planet from desolation to verdant paradise over the course of six days mimics the Genesis creation narrative. The BiblicalBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
allusion continues with Rimmer comparing himself to Adam
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
in the Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
, however he seemingly confuses that story with the adventures of Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
in which Jane
Jane Porter (Tarzan)
Jane Porter is a major character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Tarzan novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly film.- In the novels :...
is the love interest of the jungle-dwelling hero. The Thirty Years War and The Hundred Years War are both referenced when Kryten explains how long Rimmer will spend on the other side of the wormhole before help can arrive.
Broadcast
This episode was due to be broadcast as part of a repeat season on 13 March 1996. It was suspended due to the Dunblane massacreDunblane massacre
The Dunblane massacre was a multiple murder-suicide which occurred at Dunblane Primary School in the Scottish town of Dunblane on 13 March 1996. Sixteen children and one adult were killed by Thomas Hamilton before he committed suicide.-Timeline of events:...
when Thomas Hamilton killed sixteen children and a teacher before committing suicide, an event similar to the scene early in this episode in which a crazy female android attempts to kill herself and the Red Dwarf crew.