Siiiigh...once again, I see everyone who wants to appear 'cool' (I think, anyway) stating how series 7 and 8 were not up to par...people, the show was always EVOLVING...go back and watch series one (mostly characters standing around talking...tho it WAS funny stuff) then jump to 3...then say 6...the series CHANGED as it went along, and ALL of it was fan-smeggin'-tastic, IMO...if they had NOT evolved the series, they would have gotten comments like 'the characters are the same, they never grow!', etc...damned if you do, damned if you don't...I'm just glad they did it as they did, having the characters/show 'grow' as it went along...oh, and my wife and I missed Rimmer when he left for awhile, but we think Kochansky was cute as a bjutton and fun, very self reliant and clever...for US, Rimmer wasn't the 'backbone' of the show...that would be Lister and Kryten...;)

Back to Earth. I thought it was a bit flat the first time I saw this episode. They seemed to have changed the production values or something, i.e there was no laughter (canned or live audience generated) when the jokes were spun.

I hoped it would warm up a bit in the subsequent two episodes and it did much to my relief. Now I've seen the episodes several times now, it has grown on me and I can't wait for a full new series, if they decide to make one.

One thing that put me off a bit was the references to that awful 'Coronation Street'. I'm 51 years old now and have been trying to avoid that trash since I was about 6. So what if Craig Charles is in CS! Everyone has to eat don't they.

On the other hand, it was 'taking the piss' rather, so I won't moan about it to loudly.

By the way, what happened to Holly?

RTE is just a 'Special' as the production company stated. It's no more a series than the Dr Who Christmas Specials were in my opinion. Just one episode shown in three parts. Stupid Radio Times for muddying the waters - if that's where the confusion started.

Great entertainment overall. Roll on the next series. Next Series will definitely have to be 9. Or else Dr Who's ChBring it on.

While this post wasn't so much about the quality of Red Dwarf but its popularity, I have to agree with Hamish and his summation of the way things were, are and should be.

First off, Series 7 was a quite obvious decrease in quality. We went from Out of Time, with the most memorable end in Red Dwarf history, to such twaddle as Tikka to Ride, Duct Soup, and Ouroboros. Series 8 was even worse, with Kryten and Cat's characters being effectively killed leaving you with an odd Lister and the awful character that is the new Kochanski. Seriously, if they make any new Red Dwarf get rid of her once and for all.

On a lighter note, Back to Earth exceeded my expectations. It was funny in places, the CG, while still not Red Dwarf, was half-decent and the writing was better than most of Series 8. I would not be against the idea of them doing more series, but two recommendations: try and bring Rob Grant back and kill of Kochanski now! Just my two cents...

the characters were perfect if you consider there was a 9 year break! Kryten has quite clearly gotten madder each year, and after 9 years has now completely lost the plot (love it)! lister is the only one that has (and could have) gotten more mellow, more human. Cat has continued down a similar route but always will be... a cat! and rimmer, although he (apartantly) cant age, Out of Time (S6) proves otherwise. Therefore the characters were fine, the story was a spin off from Back to Reality. The questions posed from the end of series 8, will be answered in the next series (whether that'll be called 9 or 10 is yet to be seen but i think it will be called 10) because series 9 (Back to Earth) happens after series 10. I know, ive had to try and explain this to the gf... not easy!! you want to know what happened when i told her that lister is his own dad!!

what? series 7 and 8 are no better or worse than the rest of the series', they were just as classic. The new 3 part mini series was really good, I enjoyed it.

All about opinions! I didn't like Kochansky much. Didn't think she was needed, really. Having said that, Kryten took some getting used to!

I loved series 7 and series 8, the others were pants!!

thought it was brill - they can make any story work - great cast & team ^_^ we want more !!

Series 9, as I shall continue to call it, was good but it wasn't 'Red Dwarf', if you know what I mean. I did enjoy the making though. Looking forward to a Series X. The cast are up for it so let's hope.