Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2221 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-03-27
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Esperanto
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 240 minutes

Synopsis
The BBC takes viewers three million years into the future with this science-fiction spoof chronicling the intergalactic adventures of the only human to survive a radiation leak on the ship Red Dwarf. In Series 8 the crew are reinstated by the nanobots. Episodes include:
"Back in the Red - Part 1" - Not only have the Nanobots recreated Red Dwarf, they've also populated the ship with its original crew. This is extremely good news for Rimmer.
"Back in the Red - Part 2" - Rimmer is invited to dinner with the captain and to make the evening go with a swing douses himself with the 'sexual magnetism virus' making him irresistible to the female crew.
"Back in the Red - Part 3" - The Dwarfers face two years in the brig for crimes against the Space Corps. Realising their defence has more holes than Lister's underpants, they escape to prove their innocence.
"Cassandra" - Taking Holly's advice, Lister joins the 'Canaries' - a battle-hardened convict army trained to go on suicide missions, and not, as he'd thought, the prison choir!
"Krytie TV" - Kryten starts his own pirate TV station to entertain the prisoners.
"Pete - Part 1" - When Rimmer and Lister are forced to take on the guards in a basketall game they sabotage the opposition's half-time with 'Boing' - the virility enhancement drug.
"Pete - Part 2" - The Dwarfers discover birds are descended from inosaurs when they de-evolve a sparrow into a T-Rex.
"Only the Good" - Rimmer crosses into a mirror universe where he discovers another version of himself captaining the ship.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful and numerous extra features make this set worthwhi
Red Dwarf VIII, the last Red Dwarf series produced for television, is so far off the original premise and comedic style of the first few series of the show that in many ways it seems like a completely different show. Having an entire ship full of people with whom Lister can interact really shatters the great comedic premise on which Red Dwarf was created, that being that Lister is the last human left in the universe. Personally, I've never enjoyed the premise of bringing back the entire crew and then putting the main characters in prison for nearly the full eight episodes. While amusing, I believe this series has a lot of unwelcome changes and writing difficulties compared to earlier series of the show. The humor is less dense and less clever, often relying on gags that do not even approach the level of razor-edged wit prevalent in earlier episodes of the show.

Nevertheless, there are a few bright spots in this series. Chris Barrie is back and the full cast of regulars is present for the entire series. And there is some occasionally inspired humor that still manages to make this better than most of the other shows on television. Cassandra particularly stands out as a good, "classic" Red Dwarf episode.

Finally, the extra features, as on the other Red Dwarf DVD sets, are terrific, with Smeg Ups, deleted scenes, extended versions of two episodes, a making of documentary, commentary tracks, and much more. The extra features alone are worth the price for any "serious" Red Dwarf fan. Based on that alone, I would recommend this set. Plus, what Red Dwarf fan can resist completing their collection? Sadly, as of this writing, Series VIII is the last Red Dwarf ever produced.

Here is a synopsis of the plot of each episode in this set:

Back In The Red Part I
Kryten's nanobots have recreated the ship Red Dwarf and the original crew as well, which is an especially good thing for Arnold Rimmer.

Back In The Red Part II
Rimmer uses a virus that enhances sexual magnetism to assist him with attracting female crewmembers, but this gets him into trouble when he dines at the captain's table.

Back In The Red Part III
Lister and his bunch face time in the brig for crimes against the Space Corps., so they escape to try and prove their innocence.

Cassandra
Lister joins a special military unit comprised of convicts, only to discover it's basically a suicide squad. Things get interesting when they face the all-knowing Cassandra. This episode is the one in Series VIII that is the most like a classic Red Dwarf episode from earlier series of the show; it is cleverly written and hilarious.

Krytie TV
Kryten's private TV station is most amusing to his fellow prisoners, but the jokes are at the expense of others, which gets him into a bit of trouble.

Pete Part I
Rimmer and Lister are forced play against the guards in a basketball game. They sabotage the opposition's half-time juice with a virility enhancement drug.

Pete Part II
The crew becomes the prey when a sparrow devolves into one of its large dinosaur ancestors.

Only The Good
Rimmer passes into a parallel universe where his other self is the ship's captain.

Trys to return to its roots.....
Red Dwarf has had many face lifts in terms of characters evolving and situations, fair enough it allways revolved around the central story of their long long long trip home, but each series has added another angle to the story. After series 6 came the dissapointing and over budgeted (if thats possble) series 7. So to pick up the show they released series 8 with a twist, it was back on red dwarf instead of starbug.

Series 8 is definately an attempt to rekindle the charm of the first 2 series, the low budget, situation comedy. But the attempt gives mixed results. Although some episodes again dont quite hit the spot, some do shine and push this series above series 7.

Chris Barrie definately takes over this series, he shines above the rest and steals the spotlight more than any others.

If you are new to the show DO NOT start here, go back to any of the first 6 series, each has its charm and will hook you. If you are a collector well you just have to own it to complete your collection.....

On the whole, nice to see RD returning to its roots, just a shame it isnt as funny...

Not mint but after eight could be
This series promised a return to the pre series 7 glory days by being filmed in front of a live studio audience together with the heralded return of Chris Barrie to the ensemble. After the critical reception given to the cinematic style of series 7, perhaps it was inevitable it would revert back. On paper it was probably a good idea to increase the on board crew numbers and have larger upgraded sets. It would have worked as a novel but hasn't translated as well as expected to the small screen. The dynamics of a small eclectic group were diluted with Red Dwarf populated by so many anonymous bodies. The basketball game in Pete 1 and the audience in Krytie TV serve to illustrate this. Except for Captain McDonald and the pantomime performance of the Captain of the prison guards, the other characters are forgettable. When first broadcast Series 8 was a roller coaster ride. The first episode, Back in the Red, opens in a truly thrilling style with unforgettable moments including the genuinely hilarious rat sequence culminating in Starbug's spectacular crash. The whole episode is satisfying but Part 2 has to be the most disappointing episode of Red Dwarf ever only marginally beating part 3 to this claim. The story arc would benefit from being compressed into two episodes rather than protracted over three. Cassandra and Krytie TV are genuinely funny episodes and the highlights of this series. Pete 1 & 2 manages to combine amusing with lacklustre. The series conclusion, Only the Good, finally comes close to a story from the glory days. Overall the problem is that the science fiction has largely been shelved to concentrate on the situation comedy. But it is paramount that both elements are present in good proportion for Red Dwarf to succeed. Slap stick and farcical comedy are uncomfortably present with too much clowning around throughout this series. It does not live up to the expectations that it would emulate the high standards set by series 5 & 6 and consequently is considered a disappointment. Instead of looking like a BBC2 comedy it resembled a mainstream BBC1 show. In isolation Red Dwarf 8 is much funnier than other more lauded and overrated contemporary comedies but it will first and foremost be judged against its predecessors.
Externally Red Dwarf became elongated but the "red pencil" shape is an improvement for a ship that's 5 miles long. Internally and significantly it no longer looked like an industrial mining ship. The colours and the lighting were too bright and the sets were too clean resulting in a style resembling Whitbury Leisure Centre (The Brittas Empire). I see Red Dwarf as a claustrophobic industrial environment like a submarine or a battle ship not a luxury ocean liner as it was transformed into. There were some scenes that managed to convey more familiar interiors, notably in Cassandra when the crew were confined in a corridor set dodging a bullet. That was how series 8 should have looked. Nonetheless true fans and I'm one of them, are at least grateful to have a series 8 with a few great moments to savour rather than nothing at all.

Until series 8 I'd enjoyed every episode of Red Dwarf except Stoke Me A Clipper in series 7. However when seen again on the recent DVD after a long hiatus it's much better than I remember. So has time been good to series 8, enough to soften any initial prejudices? Yes with reservations is the succinct answer though it remains my least favourite series. It remains too bright and colourful with an excessive number of bodies contravening Space Corp Directive 1234567B. Nevertheless, and this is admittedly an unorthodox approach to viewing a DVD, if you listen to it rather than watch it you will develop a new found appreciation for the quality and strength of the comedy in the script. As a result thereafter your viewing pleasure is enhanced. I know it's a TV programme and this is a DVD and 50% or whatever percentage is visual but if you consider Red Dwarf's origins lie in a radio sketch show, Dave Hollins Space Cadet, and there are audio adaptations of the novels and a BBC world service radio series, it's a medium Dwarf has already proved itself successful in. After all this is sci-fi and duly requires imagination to appreciate it fully and what better way to imagine than to just listen and create your own visual interpretation. And don't just confine that experience to this series try it with the others in particular Meltdown from series 4. This episode has a low approval rating because of its visual appearance but as an audio episode it's brilliant.

It goes without saying Grant Naylor work extremely hard and with unbridled passion to ensure that the extras accompany each release are supreme and this will be no exception. In time this series will be more widely appreciated. I know I enjoy it more now than I ever did in 1999. However here and now it is the quality of the extras that will be the main attraction for this release. Overall 4 episodes provide a good standard of viewing pleasure with all 8 shining as an audio only experience. Buy it to complete your collection but also buy it because it's better than you may remember. I love Red Dwarf and it saddens me greatly after much soul searching I can only award this a three star rating. Having given series 7 a four star rating in a previous Amazon review, I would award series 1 the same and a full five stars to series 2 - 6 inclusive. Series 8 falls short of achieving their incredibly high standards so I can't honestly reward this release a higher status. Whatever comes next in the Red Dwarf saga be it the long awaited movie or six one off specials broadcast one a week over 6 weeks can only benefit from the hindsight afforded from this series.