The Last Day
Encyclopedia
"The Last Day" is the sixth, and last, episode of science fiction
sit-com Red Dwarf
Series III, and the eighteenth in the series run. It premiered on the British
television channel BBC2 on 19 December 1989. Written by Rob Grant
and Doug Naylor
, and directed by Ed Bye
, the story is about Kryten's expiry date and how Lister decides to give him a last day to remember. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.
(Robert Llewellyn
) and the 4000 series of mechanoids. It announces that Kryten's built-in expiry date is almost up and his in-built shut-down chip will automatically activate in twenty-four hours time. Kryten resigns himself to his fate, telling Lister
(Craig Charles
) he's going to get his reward in "Silicon Heaven". Lister tries to tell him there's no such place, to no avail. Lister is sickened that Kryten is forced to shut himself down just to make room for a newer model and is determined Kryten's going to enjoy his last day in a profitless and non-practical way (Kryten's definition of fun). He even goes to the trouble of building the robotic Marilyn Monroe
kit that's been hanging around the ship for years, whilst Holly
(Hattie Hayridge
) knocks up a special android home brew using Vimto
and liquid nitrogen
.
Waking the next morning with a hangover, Kryten realises that he had experienced true pleasure for the first time and decides that he'd much rather delay his departure. He can override his shutdown programme, but the catch is that his replacement mechanoid comes fitted with instructions to kill its predecessor if necessary. But Lister, Rimmer
(Chris Barrie
) and Cat
(Danny John-Jules
) won't let him on board. They're going to stand by their shipmate.
The replacement mechanoid Hudzen's ship lands on the landing gantry, and the crew prepare for his appearance. Lister tells Hudzen that Kryten is staying put and that he should leave. Hudzen refuses to go away and advances down the corridor as having spent million of years travelling alone he's been driven dangerously insane and he tries to kill everyone. Just as Hudzen is finally upon Kryten and about to deliver a killing blow, he is told by Kryten that Silicon Heaven doesn't exist. Hudzen's mind can't cope with this revelation and shuts down. Lister quizzes Kryten about why Hudzen's mind (a later model) can't cope with this revelation, whilst Kryten's can. Kryten replies that he had a distinct advantage over Hudzen: Kryten knew that he was lying.
almost didn't appear in Red Dwarf as the character of Hudzen 10 was actually a last-minute addition to the script.
Robert Llewellyn
makes a brief, unmasked, appearance as Jim Reaper, the Diva-Droid executive and Julie Higginson
plays the Marilyn Monroe
kit android.
is referenced by Lister regarding Silicon Heaven that Kryten mentions. He then says that the notion of Silicon Heaven is "completely wacko, Jacko" referencing Michael Jackson
's nickname. Kryten quotes a line from the Electronic Bible ("the iron shall lie down with the lamp"), which is a parody of a passage in Isaiah
11: "the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid".
Using a build-it-yourself kit droid Lister assembles a Marilyn Monroe
bot as a leaving present for Kryten. Kryten is compared to Action Man
in reference to his lack of genitalia, when asked if he would seduce the Monroe bot. Rimmer's present to Kryten is a tube of General George S. Patton
's sinal fluid.
Star Trek
is mentioned by Lister following the crew's decision to stick up for Kryten when the replacement arrives, Kryten regards this as true friendship, but Lister replies with "don't give me that Star Trek crap, it's too early in the morning".
Hudzen's POV "Hologram. Ex-human. VIABLE TARGET" parodies the Terminator
s similar POV.
Rimmer mentions 1 Corinthians 13 from the Bible
, referring to a (fictional) group called the Seventh Day Advent Hoppists (A play on Seventh-day Adventists
who actually observe Saturday as the seventh day, not Sunday) that based their doctrine on a misprinting that gave the verse (v13, although this is not stated) as "faith, hop and charity... and the greatest of these is hop". In reality, apart from the obvious - 'hop' being 'hope' - the verse actually states that 'charity' (rendered as 'love' in most modern English translations) is the greatest.
special effects of Red Dwarf and many more visual and audio enhancements.
There have been changes made specific to "The Last Day". The opening shot of the post pod approaching Red Dwarf has been replaced with a CGI sequence. Hudzen's ship approaching Red Dwarf has been replaced with a CGI version.
Upon its release on VHS the new re-mastered episodes were generally received poorly by fans of the show, although it has been stated by critics that they are "actually an invigorating new take on a classic series". The re-mastered series was later released, along with other material, on The Bodysnatcher DVD boxset, in 2007.
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 III, and the eighteenth in the series run. It premiered 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 19 December 1989. 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 story is about Kryten's expiry date and how Lister decides to give him a last day to remember. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.
Plot
A message pod reaches Red Dwarf from Diva-Droid International, manufacturers of KrytenKryten
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...
(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:...
) and the 4000 series of mechanoids. It announces that Kryten's built-in expiry date is almost up and his in-built shut-down chip will automatically activate in twenty-four hours time. Kryten resigns himself to his fate, telling 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...
(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...
) he's going to get his reward in "Silicon Heaven". Lister tries to tell him there's no such place, to no avail. Lister is sickened that Kryten is forced to shut himself down just to make room for a newer model and is determined Kryten's going to enjoy his last day in a profitless and non-practical way (Kryten's definition of fun). He even goes to the trouble of building the robotic Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
kit that's been hanging around the ship for years, whilst Holly
Holly (Red Dwarf)
Holly is the ship's computer on the science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf.The character is played by Norman Lovett in Series I and II and, following a "head sex change" to look like his parallel universe alter ego "Hilly", played by Hattie Hayridge in the series 3 episode Backwards, is female...
(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...
) knocks up a special android home brew using Vimto
Vimto
Vimto is a soft drink originating from the United Kingdom. It was first manufactured as a health tonic in cordial form, then decades later as a carbonated drink. It contains the juice of grapes, raspberries and blackcurrants , flavoured with herbs and spices...
and liquid nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
.
Waking the next morning with a hangover, Kryten realises that he had experienced true pleasure for the first time and decides that he'd much rather delay his departure. He can override his shutdown programme, but the catch is that his replacement mechanoid comes fitted with instructions to kill its predecessor if necessary. But Lister, Rimmer
Arnold 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...
(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...
) and 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...
(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...
) won't let him on board. They're going to stand by their shipmate.
The replacement mechanoid Hudzen's ship lands on the landing gantry, and the crew prepare for his appearance. Lister tells Hudzen that Kryten is staying put and that he should leave. Hudzen refuses to go away and advances down the corridor as having spent million of years travelling alone he's been driven dangerously insane and he tries to kill everyone. Just as Hudzen is finally upon Kryten and about to deliver a killing blow, he is told by Kryten that Silicon Heaven doesn't exist. Hudzen's mind can't cope with this revelation and shuts down. Lister quizzes Kryten about why Hudzen's mind (a later model) can't cope with this revelation, whilst Kryten's can. Kryten replies that he had a distinct advantage over Hudzen: Kryten knew that he was lying.
Production
Gordon KennedyGordon Kennedy (actor)
Gordon Kennedy is a Scottish actor. Kennedy grew up in Tranent, East Lothian, and attended George Watson's College in Edinburgh...
almost didn't appear in Red Dwarf as the character of Hudzen 10 was actually a last-minute addition to the script.
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:...
makes a brief, unmasked, appearance as Jim Reaper, the Diva-Droid executive and Julie Higginson
Julie Higginson
Julie Higginson is an English actress who played the part of fictional character Jean Hope in ITV's Emmerdale on a recurring basis until the character was made permanent in 2006 when Susan Penhaligon took over....
plays the Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
kit android.
Cultural references
Brigitte NielsenBrigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen is a Danish model, actress, musician and reality television personality who began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton and several years later made appearances in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV and is also known for her marriage to Sylvester Stallone...
is referenced by Lister regarding Silicon Heaven that Kryten mentions. He then says that the notion of Silicon Heaven is "completely wacko, Jacko" referencing Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's nickname. Kryten quotes a line from the Electronic Bible ("the iron shall lie down with the lamp"), which is a parody of a passage in Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
11: "the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid".
Using a build-it-yourself kit droid Lister assembles a Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
bot as a leaving present for Kryten. Kryten is compared to Action Man
Action Man
Action Man is an action figure boys' toy launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "moveable fighting man": G.I...
in reference to his lack of genitalia, when asked if he would seduce the Monroe bot. Rimmer's present to Kryten is a tube of General George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
's sinal fluid.
Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
is mentioned by Lister following the crew's decision to stick up for Kryten when the replacement arrives, Kryten regards this as true friendship, but Lister replies with "don't give me that Star Trek crap, it's too early in the morning".
Hudzen's POV "Hologram. Ex-human. VIABLE TARGET" parodies the Terminator
Terminator
-Science:*Terminator , the line between the day and night sides of a planetary body*Terminator , the end of a gene for transcription-Technology:*Terminator , a resistor at the end of a transmission line to prevent signal reflection...
s similar POV.
Rimmer mentions 1 Corinthians 13 from the Bible
Bible
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...
, referring to a (fictional) group called the Seventh Day Advent Hoppists (A play on Seventh-day Adventists
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
who actually observe Saturday as the seventh day, not Sunday) that based their doctrine on a misprinting that gave the verse (v13, although this is not stated) as "faith, hop and charity... and the greatest of these is hop". In reality, apart from the obvious - 'hop' being 'hope' - the verse actually states that 'charity' (rendered as 'love' in most modern English translations) is the greatest.
Reception
The episode was originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 19 December 1989 in the 9:00pm evening time slot. Although the episode gained a decent amount of viewers, the episode has been considered to be the weakest from Series III. However, it has been described as "terrific performances all around and one brilliant set piece after another" by 'Reviews by Gavrielle'.Remastering
The remastering of Series I to III was carried out during the late 1990s with the intention of bringing the early production values up to a standard suitable for international television. General changes throughout the series included replacement of the opening credits, giving the picture a colour grade and filmising, computer generatedComputer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
special effects of Red Dwarf and many more visual and audio enhancements.
There have been changes made specific to "The Last Day". The opening shot of the post pod approaching Red Dwarf has been replaced with a CGI sequence. Hudzen's ship approaching Red Dwarf has been replaced with a CGI version.
Upon its release on VHS the new re-mastered episodes were generally received poorly by fans of the show, although it has been stated by critics that they are "actually an invigorating new take on a classic series". The re-mastered series was later released, along with other material, on The Bodysnatcher DVD boxset, in 2007.