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The Red Dwarf References List (TV)
Version 2.55, December 1997.
Edited by Annette ([email protected]), just to prove that I really don't have enough to do to occupy my time. :-)
This version marked-up by Friday ([email protected]), just to prove that he really doesn't have enough to do to occupy his time either. ;)
NOTICE:
This document, its format, and all material contained herein are
protected by public copyright, except where it conflicts with the
copyright of Grant Naylor. This document may not
be distributed or posted on electronic sites except with the express
permission of the editor or the marker. However, other WWW sites may
link to this document.
It
BOYZ FROM THE DWARF!
The RDRL (TV) deals only with the television show of Red Dwarf, its out-takes tapes, the two pilots of Red Dwarf USA, and any related audio-visual Red Dwarf. To check up on written Red Dwarf, go to the RDRL (BOOK) which deals with the four Red Dwarf novels, the Red Dwarf Log No. 1996 and the Red Dwarf Space Corps Survival Manual.
SO WHAT IS IT?
The Red Dwarf References List (TV), or RDRL (TV), is a list of explanations for those references made in the TV series of Red Dwarf to things outside of Red Dwarf; eg. people, movies, books, historical events, places of peculiar reputation, whatever. It is not an A-Z of Red Dwarf...well, that's what the Programme Guide is for.
HEY, LET'S SEE WHAT WE GOT IN THE MAGIC BAG HERE...
The RDRL (TV) attempts to identify/explain references to movies, books, songs, famous people, certain places, historical events, etc. The reference can be direct, ie. named (eg. Mary, Queen of Scots); or indirect or alluded to (eg. the singing of "See You Later Alligator").
Things which generally will not be counted (though there will be a few exceptions) are: furnishings, decorations and possessions (unless referring to one of the above listings); food (unless a proper name or certain brand names); sayings or expressions (unless containing proper names); broad religious parallels; scientific terminology (unless containing proper names). As well, there are a very few things which are self-explanatory in the context of the show; these are not included as there is nothing left to add. Lastly, a few things must be so well- known there's no need for explanation -- we all know who Jesus was, right? ;-)
PASS ME A 14-B.
The RDRL (TV) at the moment is incomplete and may also contain some information which is downright wrong (eg. for a couple of things I've just put two and two together, and *may* have ended up with five!). Anyone who has a correction to existing information (though let's not split hairs), I'd love to hear from you. Please EMAIL me with the substantiated modification (something I can cross-check ideally, and definitely not a "My friend heard on the radio that..."). Thanks.
Nearly all of the references are essentially complete as they are now -- mostly I'll only have one to four sentences about each reference. Any reference not containing a "[?]" will not be modified unless it is out and out wrong, or there is an additional definite allusion that I have missed. Not all things I've marked in this way will necessarily be true external references; and I may not even have the spelling right in some places.
New references will be gratefully accepted in the following categories ONLY -- all forms of the entertainment media; famous people; historical events; places of character.
SPACE CORPS DIRECTIVE 280360/CB CLEARLY STATES...
That the references contained within this document be true references and not COINCIDENCES. With a few exceptions, every reference in this document should be undoubtedly identifiable to its extraneous source. This does make it difficult though when an instance appears to be almost a true reference, but I cannot prove it. I don't want to include these as precedent for speculation but some of them, if coincidences, are uncanny. I can get around this by listing them here, perhaps! That way I don't have to include them in the RDRL itself right now -- it's just that I'd hate to commit myself at this early stage and wind up looking a fool. I have three examples of "almost, but I'm not sure" to cite here...
By the same token, word puns will also not be listed unless there is additional referencing for them. For example, PSIRENS is included as the episode content backs up the title pun; however TIKKA TO RIDE and DUCT SOUP will not be mentioned in the company of talk about Beatles songs or Marx Brothers movies without corroboration from within the episodes themselves. These might well be cases of the writers making a funny, but without a bearing on the events of the show these instances wouldn't really feel at home in this document.
YOU CAN WORK OUT THE REST OF THE CONTROLS FOR YOURSELF.
The actual references are divided into four sections.
Any reference which contains "[?]" means that I would like more information pretty pretty please. The position of the "[?]" often gives a good indication of the type of information I want, eg. (1926-[?]) means I would like to know the year of death.
HOPE THEY'VE GOT SOME SPARE ODDS 'N' SODS ON BOARD...
The references are listed per episode as:
PARALLEL (where appropriate): "Ideas/inspiration" for the episode.
Direct references: Listed in the order they appear in the episode.
Indirect references (**): Listed in the order they appear in the episode.
If a reference is not listed for a particular episode, check the COMMON REFERENCES section.
Biographies may be given for direct people references.
Birth/death year given for actors playing a character directly mentioned.
The words "recorded by" as applied to songs do not necessarily indicate the original artist, just a well-known one.
Movie dates may be the year of production or year of release.
The term "football" means the game of soccer unless otherwise stated.
LET'S FLAG DOWN A BLACK CAB AND HEAD FOR REAL STREET HERE.
To get a copy of the RDRL (TV):
a) Full RDRLs will no longer be posted on newsgroups, though UPDATE-only versions may sometimes appear if warranted. It's the luck of the draw...
b) For a start on the Web... well, you're reading it!
Too many other sites to mention here also link various versions of the RDRL (TV). Thanks to HTMLers everywhere! :-)
If you can't get the RDRL (TV) by the above means, email me and I'll send you a text copy.
SMELLS LIKE YOUR MOON BOOTS, MAN.
The nature of this document means that it is basically ONE BIG SPOILER. For LOTS OF THINGS (in particular, for the movies Casablanca and Alien). It also deals with episodes of Red Dwarf that not everyone will have seen yet. Consider this a spoiler warning -- read the RDRL (TV) at your own risk.
WELL, AS THEY ALWAYS SAY, FINISH ON A SONG.
The lyrics to many of the songs mentioned in the RDRL (TV) can be found at a song site maintained by Rick Mason (thanks for telling me, Rick!). Check out
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/3981/holrock.htm
This site is excellent and contains not only extraneous songs' lyrics but words to songs made for Red Dwarf -- approximately sixty ditties all up!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Many many thanks to Grant Naylor, for all things Red Dwarf!
Big sloppy thanks to Tom Marwede (who really, really cares about this sort of thing!), and also to Raz (my "foreign" correspondent, constructive critic, and Provider of the ASCII Logo! (Slightly jazzed-up by Friday)). ;-)
Thanks to everyone who gives the RDRL (TV) a web home.
Thanks to Ang Rosin, for answering my mini-mini Scouse questionnaire.
Thank you: Damone, Sea, Elliedra, Bette Llewellyn, FroggyGrem, Andrew Hetherington, Jim Wraith, Phaedrus, John Coleman, Nadine Wallis, Fraser, Kerry Galgano, Friday, Pat Berry, Paul Barnes, Laurence Jason Koehn, George Rudy, Tracie Webster, Alsion Campbell, Richard Lockwood, Steve Howell, Kay Annette Bristol, Alexander Lum, GenMelchit, Alan Moon, Ian D. Jones, John Foster, Allan Jenney, Wendy Lynn O'Boyle, Gavrielle Perry, Jim Shaw, Linda Stephens, Roadwart, Vicky Loebel, Urac Sigma, Mat Page and Todd Pinarchick.
For new assistance since version 2.10, thanks to: Rick Mason (for telling me more about Butlin's than anyone has a right to know), Francis Fernandez (for correcting my abysmal Spanish), Trudi Rosenblum and Aaron Stovall (for having better musical ears than I have), TJ Vanderstoop (for Biographys, odd sods, a resurrection, and valued opinions), Tina Leeuwrik (for a keen eye for Smeg Ups sources), Jon Hope (for pinning down some elusive dates), Rob Grant (for deigning to answer more inane questions than anyone should ever have to be asked), Danny John-Jules (for talking a lot), and Vic Watson (for bits and bobs here and there); Heidi Sackerson, Jeremy Davidson, Bryan Erickson, Alsion Campbell, Dean White, David Foss, Mark and Mandy King, Nigel and Susan Ashton, D. Page, MrFlibble, Tim Mortlock, Daniel Aubrey White, Cindy Marx, Anne Johnston, Colm de Cleir, Lady Katherine of Smeg, Tom Marwede, Tracey Baird, and Dr. Jekyll.
For new assistance since version 2.50, thanks to: Friday (for knowing about old English footballers), Rick Mason (who never stops nagging me), Rob Grant (for saving me having to watch a film), TJ Vanderstoop (for RD Xtended, a reliable URL or three, and just general demi-godness), Aaron Stovall, Heidi Sackerson, VvT, James Farrar, Vic Watson, Chris Bolton, Dr. Jekyll, Sea, Awpy, Tracey Baird, Chris Garrett, David Foss, and John Clayton MacQueen.
Two entries (under ME^2 and HOLOSHIP) feature information from the Red Dwarf Programme Guide, second revised edition (Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons; published 1997 by Virgin Books, ISBN: 0 7535 0103 1). More information on entries marked with "\PG\" can be found in the Programme Guide.
Contents
A) SPACE.
RED DWARF
A red dwarf is a type of star. Red dwarf stars
are very long-lived and are probably the most abundant stars in the
universe. The closest star to Earth (besides its own Sun) is the red
dwarf star Proxima Centauri (magnitude 11, 4.3 light years away), a
companion to the binary star Alpha Centauri. The RED DWARF's shuttle
crafts' names (excepting Starbug) are also types of stars.
Mercury
The closest planet to your actual sun. Named after the
messenger to the Roman gods.
Venus
Second planet from the sun. Named after the Roman goddess of
love.
Mars
Fourth planet from the sun. Named after the Roman god of war.
Jupiter
Fifth from the sun and largest planet. Named after Jupiter,
chief of the Roman gods.
Satellites: Ganymede (named after the cupbearer of Zeus, Greek
equivalent of Jupiter), Io (named after a lover of Zeus), Europa
(named after another lover of Zeus), Callisto (surprise surprise,
yet another of Zeus's conquests).
Saturn
Ringed planet, sixth from the sun. Named after a Roman god of
agriculture.
Satellites: Titan (named for a race of primeval Greek gods),
Mimas, Tethys (named after a Titan sea-goddess), Dione (named
after a Greek earth-goddess), Rhea (named after a Titan mother-
goddess), Hyperion (named after a Titan sun-god), Phoebe (named
after a Titan moon-goddess).
Uranus
Seventh planet from the sun. Named after a Greek sky god,
father of the Titans.
Satellite: Miranda.
Neptune
Eighth or ninth planet from the sun. Named after the Roman
god of water.
Satellite: Triton (named after the merman son of Poseidon, the
Greek equivalent of Neptune).
Pluto
Eighth or ninth planet from the sun. Named after the Roman god
of the underworld.
B) EARTH.
Countries and regions of the world
Fiji, Denmark, Bermuda, Portugal,
Uruguay, India, Spain, The Vatican, Burma, Bulgaria, Bosnia,
France, Poland, Austria, England, Italy, USA, Macedonia, Turkey,
Bahamas, Czechoslovakia, Bolivia, Iran, Taiwan, Belgium, Estonia,
Egypt, Cuba, Japan, Greece, Great Britain, Mexico, Norway, Wales,
Albania, The Netherlands, China, Vietnam, Persia, South Africa,
Germany (and East), Russia, Soviet Union (USSR), Tibet, Luxembourg,
Venezuela, Scotland, Mongolia, Armenia, Australia, Canada, Korea,
Sweden, Tunisia, Tanzania, Morocco, Ireland, Syria, Cornwall,
Prussia, Alsace, Bali, Java, Malagasy Republic, Zanzibar, West
Indies, Flanders, Burgundy, Provence, Corsica, Texas, Oregon,
Indiana, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Arizona, Alaska, New Mexico,
Hawaii, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Yorkshire, Orange County.
World cities/towns
Washington, Chicago, Salzburg, Hilo, London, Paris,
Liverpool, Copenhagen, Helsinki, New York (Manhattan), Moscow, San
Francisco, Houston, Madras, Rome, Berlin, Turin, Florence,
Bangalore, Havana, Warsaw, Casablanca, Bonn, Tokyo, Oslo, Glasgow
(the Gorbals), Newcastle, Acapulco, Boston, Birmingham, Laredo,
Dallas, Gouda, Venice, Marbella, Kiev, Lagos, Los Angeles (and
Beverly Hills and Hollywood), Detroit, Niagara Falls, Las Vegas,
Gettysburg, Calais, Leeds, Dundee, Battenburg, Bombay, Bath, Hue.
Aigburth Arms
A real pub, on Victoria Road, in Aigburth -- an area of
(and former village outside of) Liverpool. Though its pool table
allowed Lister to become the stuff of legend, this pub did not
always have this apparatus on which to be a Cinzano Bianco.
{White Hole, Ouroboros}
Alexander The Great
(356-323 BC) King of Macedonia and conqueror of
the Persian Empire.
{Marooned, Stoke Me A Clipper}
Bates, Norman
Character in Alfred Hitchcock's movie "Psycho" (1960).
Played by Anthony Perkins (1932-1992), Bates had killed his mother
and absorbed her persona into himself; in his insanity he kept his
mother's skeletal remains as part of his delusion that she was
still with him.
{Kryten, Back To Reality}
Bennett, Gordon
(1841-1918) James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American
newspaper magnate (whose father, James Gordon Bennett, founded the
New York Herald in 1835). Bennett was known for his extravagant
and capricious behaviour, and his name has become synonymous with
a feeling of exasperation such as he frequently caused in people.
{The End, Future Echoes, Thanks For The Memory}
Bootle
Town near Liverpool, England.
{Marooned, Duct Soup}
Brando, Marlon
(1924- ) American actor. Best known roles in "A
Streetcar Named Desire" (1947), "The Wild One" (1954) and "On The
Waterfront" (1954), this last for which he won an Oscar. Recently
seen in "Don Juan De Marco" (1995) with Johnny Depp.
{Kryten, Camille}
Casablanca
(1942) Classic film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid
Bergman; love versus political principles in World War II Morocco.
Waiting to be definitively remade starring Peter Beardsley and
Myra Binglebat. ;-)
{Better Than Life, Camille}
Cat
Danny John-Jules has modelled the Cat in part on the American
singer James Brown (1928- ; for his "screech"), the American
singer Little Richard (1935- ; for his bouffant hair) and the
American actor Richard Pryor (1940- ; for his facial mannerisms).
Other minor influences come from the American singers Cab Calloway
(1907- ) and The Artist (formerly known as Prince; 1958- ).
Citizen Kane
(1941) Movie written and directed by, and starring in
the title role, Orson Welles (1915-1985). A psychological study
of the life of a newspaper magnate (Charles Foster Kane), the
movie is much studied and is lauded as a cinematic masterpiece.
{Me^2, Timeslides}
Dibbley, Duane
The Cat's alter-ego owes a lot to the title character
created by Jerry Lewis in the American movie "The Nutty Professor"
(1963).
Eastbourne
Town on the south coast of England with a popular
reputation as a retirement haven for older/elderly people.
{White Hole, Emohawk: Polymorph II}
Einstein, Albert
(1879-1955) Pretty famous physicist actually, and
the theory goes that Einstein = Mister Clever (too).
{Future Echoes, D.N.A., Holoship}
Esperanto
The second language of Red Dwarf, and one that Rimmer has
been trying unsuccessfully to learn for eight years. Esperanto is
an artificial, logical language incorporating principles/words
derived from major European languages. It was devised in 1887 by
Polish philologist Ludwig Zamenhof (1859-1917).
Frankenstein
Novel by Mary Shelley, published 1818. A scientist
(Frankenstein) creates a monster by reanimating corpse tissue, and
then suffers the consequences. Apparently, truly stupid people
(and Cats) erroneously believe that it was the monster, not its
creator, who was called Frankenstein.
{The End, Future Echoes, Waiting For God, D.N.A., Justice,
Quarantine}
Goering, Hermann
(1893-1946) The "bit dodgy, drug-crazed Nazi
transvestite" associate of Hitler. Established the Gestapo and
concentration camps. Committed suicide before he could be
executed for war crimes.
{Balance Of Power, Meltdown, Out Of Time, Blue}
Gone With The Wind
(1939) American movie about love during the
American Civil War. Starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. (A
run-time of three hours and forty minutes.)
{Stasis Leak, Nanarchy}
Hardy, Oliver
(1892-1957) Rotund partner in the American comedy duo
Laurel and Hardy (Stan Laurel was thin), who had great popular
success in over 200 films during the late 1920s to mid-1940s.
Hilarity came from how they set one another off -- Stan was the
worrier and bumbler, Ollie the fastidious one with the slow-
burning temper.
{White Hole, Tikka To Ride}
Hitler, Adolf
(1889-1945) Leader of the runners-up (the nasty Nazis)
in World War II, and generally not a very nice person.
{Parallel Universe, Timeslides, Meltdown, Out Of Time, Blue}
Judas (Iscariot)
The disciple of Jesus who betrayed Him to the
authorities for a reward of 30 pieces of silver. He later
renounced his reward and suicided in his remorse.
{Better Than Life, The Inquisitor, Rimmerworld}
Julius Caesar
(c.100-44 BC) Roman statesman, general and dictator.
{Me^2, Marooned}
Kryten
Kryten's name/character mimics that in the play "The Admirable
Crichton" (1902), by J.M. Barrie. The real Admirable Crichton
was a Scottish adventurer, James Crichton (1560-1593), famous
for his accomplishments and attainments. Robert Llewellyn has
attributed influence for some of Kryten's mannerisms to the character
of Herman Munster (played by Fred Gwynne) in the US TV series
"The Munsters".
Laurel, Stan
(1890-1965) Born in England as Arthur Stanley Jefferson.
Thin partner in the American comedy duo Laurel and Hardy (Oliver
Hardy was "rotund"), who had great popular success in over 200
films during the late 1920s to mid-1940s. Hilarity came from how
they set one another off -- Stan was the worrier and bumbler,
Ollie the fastidious one with the slow-burning temper.
{White Hole, Meltdown, Tikka To Ride}
Lincoln, Abraham
(1809-1865) "Honest Abe", 16th president of the USA
(1861-5, Republican). President during the time of the American
Civil War, he was concerned with preserving the Union and freeing
the slaves. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth while
attending a play.
{Meltdown, Tikka To Ride}
McClure, Doug
(1935-1995) American actor. Leading man in over 20 B-
grade films, including "The King's Pirate" (1967), "The Land That
Time Forgot" (1975) and "The People That Time Forgot" (1977);
recently seen in "Maverick" (1994) with Mel Gibson. Also made
several TV series including "Checkmate", "The Virginian" and "Out
Of This World".
{Backwards, Legion}
Monroe, Marilyn
(1926-1962) American actress and sex symbol. Best-
known films include "How To Marry A Millionaire" (1953),
"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953), "The Seven Year Itch" (1955)
and "Some Like It Hot" (1959).
{Better Than Life, The Last Day, Meltdown}
Moss Bro(ther)s
Clothing/suit hire establishment.
{Future Echoes, Emohawk: Polymorph II}
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
(1756-1791) Austrian genius composer, and
virtuoso piano and violin player.
{Balance Of Power, Confidence And Paranoia}
Munchkin
One of the little people in the American film "The Wizard
Of Oz" (1939) starring Judy Garland. From the novels by L. Frank
Baum.
{Confidence And Paranoia, Parallel Universe}
Napoleon (Bonaparte)
(1769-1821) Born at Ajaccio on the island of
Corsica. General, dictator and Emperor of the French (as
Napoleon I; 1804-1814).
{Me^2, Better Than Life, Marooned, Meltdown}
Nelson, Horatio (Lord)
(1758-1805) British (naval, as opposed
to Space Corps!) admiral. During the French Revolutionary Wars
he lost the sight of his right eye (1794), and lost his right
arm in 1797.
{Camille, Nanarchy}
Nuremberg
German city, site of (1933-1938) the German Nazi Party
rallies, and of Nazi war criminal trials (1945-1946).
{Timeslides, Blue}
Patton, George Smith
(1885-1945) American general during World War
II.
{Marooned, The Last Day, Legion}
Pythagoras
(c.580-500 BC) Greek philosopher and mathematician.
{The End, Meltdown}
RED DWARF, the names
Grant Naylor have said that several names of
characters in the show have come from names of former schoolmates
-- the "Lister" and "Rimmer" names for example, and even the name
of "Kochanski" which was that of the school bully.
RED DWARF, the show
Grant Naylor have credited several sources
with giving them vague inspiration for the show, though *specifics*
are not defined from these sources. Inspirational programmes
include the movies "2001: A Space Odyssey" (Britain, 1968),
"Silent Running" (US, 1971) and "Dark Star" (US, 1974), and
the American TV series "Lost In Space".
Saint Francis of Assisi
(1182-1226) Founder of the Franciscan Friars.
All-round animal lover (healing the sick ones and taming the wild
ones) and patron saint of ecologists.
{Backwards, Meltdown, Holoship}
Samaritans
Telephone suicide counsellors (group established in Great
Britain in 1953). The name derives from the sect Samaritans,
inhabitants of the area of northern Israel called Samaria. See
also from the Bible, the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke
10:25-37).
{The Last Day, The Inquisitor}
Sancerre
Dry white wine derived from Sauvignon Blanc.
{Marooned, Rimmerworld}
Sartre, Jean-Paul
(1905-1980) French writer/philosopher, apparently
with a penchant for poncing around in black polo-neck sweaters...
{Balance Of Power, Meltdown}
Shakespeare, William
(1564-1616) English dramatist (actor and
playwright) and poet.
{Waiting For God, Parallel Universe, Marooned, D.N.A.}
Sinclair ZX81
Computer named for Clive Sinclair (1940- ), inventive
British electronics engineer. Both the Sinclair ZX81 and ZX80
became available in 1980, and were the first sub-UKP100 computers.
{Stasis Leak, Psirens}
Taj Mahal
White marble mausoleum in Agra, India. Built in the mid-
1600s by Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife.
{Me^2, Justice, Tikka To Ride}
Third Reich
Nazi Germany under Hitler's dictatorship.
{Backwards, Timeslides, Meltdown}
Topic Bar
Chocolate bar with fondant and "a hazelnut in every bite"
(this phrase was used as an advertising slogan for Topics).
{Stasis Leak, Marooned}
Venus (de Milo)
Armless statue of the Roman goddess of love. Currently
in the Louvre, Paris.
{Better Than Life, Nanarchy}
Wayne, John
(1907-1979) The Duke. American actor most popularly
known for his roles in Western films (winning an Oscar for "True
Grit", 1969).
{Better Than Life, Meltdown}
Zimmer(frame)
A walking frame (walker) such as might be used by
elderly, infirm or disabled people (from the Zimmer Company, a
worldwide manufacturer of orthopaedic equipment).
{Emohawk: Polymorph II, Blue}
Mary, Queen of Scots
(1542-1587) Queen of Scotland 1542-1567.
Executed on the orders of Elizabeth I of England. Her son James
VI of Scotland later became James I of England.
Pythagoras' Theorem
The square of the hypotenuse of a right-angle
triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of its other two
sides. You will be tested.
** The flag on McIntyre's funeral canister
The flag of Wales -- the
Red Dragon of Cadwallader over a green and white background.
** The song played at McIntyre's funeral
"See You Later Alligator",
an early rock 'n' roll song (1956). Recorded by Bill Haley And
The Comets.
** The song the Cat is singing
"Me And My Shadow"; has been
performed by several artists over the years, including Frank
Sinatra and Judy Garland. Can be heard in the 1981 British
movie "Time Bandits", starring John Cleese and Sean Connery.
Teasy-Weasy
A hairdresser, of course. Here's hoping they're better
at it than Holly is.
Filofax
Personal organiser. For those not important enough to warrant
having a secretary.
Lennon, John
(1940-1980) Singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist
with The Beatles.
McCartney, Paul
(1942- ) Singer, songwriter and rhythm/bass
guitarist with The Beatles.
Green Beret
Crack military group, Special Forces of the US Army. In
1961, the best of the Special Forces were granted the honorific
"Green Beret" by President Kennedy.
Shapiro, Helen
(1946- ) British singer and actress. Famous for
having a hit single at the age of 14, and for wearing bouffant
hair. ;-)
Ladybird Books
Children's books, both fictional and informational.
Starlight Ballroom
Club in Las Vegas.
** The song Lister is singing at the beginning
A spaced-up version of
"My Darling Clementine".
** The song Talkie Toaster is singing
"Fly Me To The Moon", recorded
by Frank Sinatra.
** The tune Rimmer is humming as he contemplates Lister's demise
The
"Death March Of Saul" (1738) by the German composer George
Frideric Handel.
** Rimmer's second hairstyle
Holly has made him into a Beatles
wannabe.
Juno
An asteroid in the main belt of asteroids between Mars and
Jupiter, the third one discovered (named in 1804, after the
Roman goddess of women and childbirth and wife of Jupiter, chief
of the gods).
Mendelssohn, Felix
(1809-1847) German composer, pianist and
conductor.
Motorhead
British heavy metal band.
Boyle, Robert
(1627-1691) British chemist who made quantitative
studies of gases, enabling him to formulate Boyle's Law of Gases.
Of course, he may also have made study of the dangers of eating
greasy food...
PARALLEL -- The play "Waiting For Godot"
(1952) by Samuel
Beckett, about two tramps trapped by delusion, ignorance and hope in
the form of waiting for a mysterious someone called Godot.
Hugo, Victor
(1802-1885) French novelist. Best-known books include
"Notre-Dame De Paris" (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame -- 1831) and
"Les Miserables" (1862).
Galileo (Galilei)
(1564-1642) Italian physicist, mathematician,
astronomer and developer of the astronomical telescope.
Edison, Thomas Alva
(1847-1931) American scientist and prolific
inventor (inventions included the phonograph and the lightbulb).
Columbo
Scruffy detective played by Peter Falk (1927- ) in the
American TV series/movies of the same name. Not to be confused
with Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer who
discovered America (1492), and generally was believed to dress
quite nicely (except when portrayed in the movies by Gerard
Depardieu).
Bermuda Triangle
Area of the Atlantic Ocean (roughly bounded by the
southern USA coast, Bermuda, and the Greater Antilles) in which
more than 70 ships and aeroplanes have allegedly disappeared.
Alien abductions constitute a favourite "explanation" for these
supposed disappearances. Songs by this name have probably been
recorded by many artists by Lister's time, but two recordings
of songs by this name that became hits in this time were made by
Barry Manilow and Fleetwood Mac.
** "I toast, therefore I am."
Variation on the "I think, therefore
I am" principle by Rene Descartes.
** "You might get some squiggly, slimy thing stuck to your face!"
In
the movie "Alien" (1979) starring Sigourney Weaver and John Hurt,
this is precisely what happened to Hurt's character Kane when he
went off investigating alien "eggs".
** The music that plays as Lister enters the Cat "cathedral"
Toccata
and Fugue in d minor, by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
Keegan, Kevin
(1951- ) British (former) footballer. Ex-manager of
the team Newcastle United, current manager of Second Division Fulham
FC.
Christie, Agatha
(1890-1976) British writer, author of more than 70
detective novels.
Poirot, Hercule
Belgian detective character in several Agatha Christie
novels.
Beethoven, Ludwig van
(1770-1827) German composer, conductor and
pianist; continued composing even after being afflicted with
deafness in 1801.
** Jim in the movie Lister is watching
Perhaps not surprisingly,
sounds very like the American actor James Stewart (1908-1997),
star of the movie "It's A Wonderful Life" (1946).
** "Hercule Poirot's just stepped off the steaming train. And if you
want my opinion, I think they all did it."
Holly is reading
Agatha Christie's "Murder On The Orient Express" (1934). The
Orient Express is the train in question. And Holly is on the case
and kicking bottom -- they *did* all do it.
** "In space, no one can hear you cha-cha-cha..."
The movie "Alien"
(1979), starring Sigourney Weaver and John Hurt, had as its cinema
publicity tag, "In space, no one can hear you scream."
Kama-Sutra
Textbook on erotica and other forms of human pleasure.
Named after Indian god of love (Kama).
Blu-Tack
Sticky substance used for attaching posters to walls (for
those for whom chewing-gum doesn't quite do the trick).
G & E drawing
Geometric and Engineering Drawing. A GCSE subject, also
known as Technical Drawing (or Mechanical and Engineering Drawing
at "O" Level).
Gazpacho soup
Came to Red Dwarf as a result of Rob Grant and Doug
Naylor also not realising that the cold soup they were eating was
*supposed* to be that way. \PG\
NorWEB
North West Electricity Board.
Welles, Orson
(1915-1985) American actor, director, writer and
producer. Notable works include the 1938 "War Of The Worlds"
radio broadcast, and the movie "Citizen Kane" (1941) which won
him an Oscar for Original Screenplay.
Pluto's moon
Charon. Named after the ferryman on the River Styx in
the underworld (Hades) in Greek mythology.
** Close-up of Rimmer's mouth as he utters his dying words, "Gazpacho
soup!", his outstretched hand, and the breaking of the globe
containing Red Dwarf
Reminiscent of the opening scene of
"Citizen Kane" (1941) starring Orson Welles, in which Kane
(Welles) in close-up utters his dying words, "Rose bud", then drops
from his outstretched hand a snow-globe which shatters on the
stairs.
** The gag glasses Holly is wearing
Patterned after Groucho Marx
(1890-1977), American comedy actor.
** Dialogue
Rimmer: "I could've been an admiral by now! Instead of a nothing, which is what I am, let's face it."Paralleled lines from the movie "On The Waterfront" (1954) with Marlon Brando in his Oscar-winning role as Terry Molloy, a thuggish dockside worker who bemoans to his brother (Rod Steiger) his lost opportunity of making something of himself (in this case, in the boxing world).
Terry: "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody. Instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it."
** The salute that Lister performs at the end
A Boy Scout salute.
Red Dwarf: The End, Future Echoes, Balance of Power,Waiting for God, Confidence and Paranoia, Me^2
Red Dwarf II: Kryten, Better Than Life,Thanks for the Memory,Stasis Leak,Queeg,Parallel Universe
Red Dwarf III: Backwards,Marooned,Polymorph,Bodyswap,Timeslides,The Last Day
Red Dwarf IV: Camille,DNA,Justice,White Hole,Dimension Jump,Meltdown
Red Dwarf V: Holoship,The Inquisitor,Terrorform,Quarantine,Demons and Angels,Back to Reality
Red Dwarf VI: Psirens,Legion,Gunmen of the Apocalypse,Emohawk: Polymorph 2,Rimmerworld,Out of Time
Red Dwarf VII: Tikka to Ride,Stoke me a Clipper,Ouroboros,Duct Soup,Blue,Beyond a Joke,Epideme,Nanarchy
PARALLEL -- The play "The Admirable Crichton"
(1902) by J.M.
Barrie. Made into a film (1957) starring Kenneth More (1914-1982).
A nobleman and his family are shipwrecked, and the manservant (Crichton)
proves his mettle.
Champion The Wonder Horse
Champion was the horse of American cowboy
singer/actor Gene Autry. From 1955-1956 Champion was the star
of a CBS children's show called "The Adventures Of Champion".
This show starred Barry Curtis as 12 year old Ricky North, who
was always getting into serious scrapes and being rescued by his
Wonder Horse, Champion, and his faithful German shepherd dog
called Rebel.
Clive of India
Robert, Baron Clive of Passey (1725-1774). British
soldier/administrator who established British rule in India.
Governor of Bengal.
The Wild One
(1954) American film about hoodlum motorcyclists who
terrorise a small town. Starring Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin.
Easy Rider
(1969) American film about two drop-out motorcyclists.
Starring Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson.
Rebel Without A Cause
(1955) American film about a troubled/
troublesome poor little rich boy. Starring James Dean and
Natalie Wood.
** Androids
Parody of the Australian soap opera "Neighbours", which
starred for a time the Australian actress/singer *Kylie* Minogue
(recently seen in the movie "Streetfighter", 1995, with Jean-
Claude Van Damme). The lines "Androids, everybody needs good
androids" and "Androids have feelings too" of the "Androids" theme
song mimic the lines "Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours"
and "That's when good neighbours become good friends" of the
"Neighbours" theme song. One thing though -- if the androids are
supposed to have Australian accents, Ms. Gwenlyn went too far east
because they sound more like New Zealanders (though still wide of
that mark, too!) than Australians.
** Gwenlyn, Kylie
Producer and director of "Androids", whose surname
is also used by Lister as an insult. Named after a producer, and
former head of comedy at the BBC, Gareth Gwenlan.
** The song the Cat sings when going off to prepare to meet the Nova 5
crew
Only two words "Twenty-four hours!" but definitely the
tune of "Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa". Recorded by Gene Pitney.
** The book Lister is reading in the Blue Midget cockpit
A
children's book from the "Spot" (a dog) series, by Eric Hill.
** "I serve, therefore I am."
Variation on "I think, therefore I am"
by Rene Descartes.
** Dialogue
Rimmer: "What are you rebelling against?"Lines from the movie "The Wild One" (1954) starring Marlon Brando as Johnny, leader of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club, and wearer of leather (a la Kryten as he prepares to leave Red Dwarf on Lister's space-bike).
Kryten: "Whaddya got?"
Girl: "Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?" Johnny: "Whaddya got?"
Berni Inn
A chain of steak-house restaurants.
Pinky and Perky
Two falsetto-voiced singing puppet piglets on the
1950s-1960s BBC (later ITV) children's show "Pinky And Perky"
(created by Jan and Vlasta Dalibor).
Blind Pew
Blind villain in the novel "Treasure Island" (1883) by
Robert Louis Stevenson.
Friday The Thirteenth
Nine movies to date, about this deathly date.
Horror movies in which teenagers meet their deaths in a variety of
ways at the hands of the unkillable Jason. It's just surprising
that in Lister's time they're only up to Part 1649.
Beardsley, Peter
(1961- ) British footballer. Former captain of
Newcastle United, now playing for Bolton Wanderers.
Philistines
A 12th century non-Semitic race of people. The name has
become synonymous with one who is uncivilised in artistic and
intellectual terms.
Shields, Brooke
(1965- ) American actress and former child model.
Best-known roles in "Pretty Baby" (1978), "The Blue Lagoon" (1980)
and "Endless Love" (1981); star of the US sitcom "Suddenly Susan".
Fitzgerald, (Francis) Scott
(1896-1940) American writer, author of
the novel "The Great Gatsby" (1925).
Geldof
Presumably named after ("Sir") Bob Geldof (1954- ), lead singer
of the former band Boomtown Rats (best-known song "I Don't Like
Mondays"); later solo artist and sometime-actor. Also humanitarian,
co-organiser of Live Aid 1985, and Nobel Prize nominee.
Mount Sinai
Where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.
Mary Magdalene
Allegedly sinful woman, and follower of Jesus after she
was cured by Him of possession by evil spirits. The first person
to meet Jesus after the Resurrection.
Hefner, Hugh
(1926- ) American publisher, and founder of "Playboy"
magazine (1953).
** Dialogue
Holly: "Of all the space-bars in all the worlds, you had to rematerialise in mine."Line from the definitive version of "Casablanca" (starring Myra Binglebat and Peter Beardsley) which mimics a line in the original version (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart as Rick.
Rick: "Of all the gin-joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
** Outland Revenue
Presumably what the Inland Revenue Service will
become once humankind moves off into space.
** The motorcycle Lister wishes for in the game Better Than Life
A
Harley Davidson.
** Rimmer's cars in the game Better Than Life
In order of appearance,
a Reliant Robin, a Series 1 E-Type Jaguar, and a Morris Minor.
Shake 'N' Vac
A carpet-deodorising powder which is shaken onto a
carpet and which releases an odour-killing fragrance when the
carpet is vacuumed.
Odour Eaters
Shoe inserts which will absorb/eliminate foot odour or
your money back.
Osmond, (Little) Jimmy
(1963- ) Youngest of the singing Osmond
family from Utah, having a successful solo career at age nine.
Best-known song "Long-Haired Lover From Liverpool".
From Here To Eternity
(1953) American film about love and frustration,
set in the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor (from the novel by
James Jones). Starring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. Contains
the famous scene of Lancaster and Kerr kissing on the beach (in the
film they are wearing swimsuits) while the waves break over them.
Mantovani
(1905-1980) Italian-born violinist, composer and conductor.
Godzilla
Japanese movie dinosaur-monster, star of several "Godzilla
Versus..." movies.
Johnson's Baby Bud
A wad of cotton on a stick, the most romantic thing
that Rimmer has ever had in his ear.
** The song Rimmer is singing
"Someone To Watch Over Me" -- written
by George and Ira Gershwin; recently recorded by Linda Ronstadt.
** The tune Rimmer is humming while exercising
"Peter And The Wolf"
(1936) by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev.
** Dialogue
Lister "Well play it, Sam."In the movie "Casablanca" (1942), Sam (Dooley Wilson; 1894-1953) is the piano player in Rick's (Humphrey Bogart) Cafe Americain. Rick wants Sam to play the tune "As Time Goes By", and is often erroneously "quoted" as having said, "Play it again, Sam."
Rick: "Play it!"Alternatively (but less often mimicked), it may be Ingrid Bergman (as Ilsa) that Lister is imitating. When Ilsa first comes to Rick's cafe, she asks Sam to play the tune...
Ilsa: "Play it once Sam. <...> Play it Sam."
Kendall, Felicity
(1946- ) British actress (seen in the sitcom
"The Good Life") having a much-admired derriere -- once voted Rear
Of The Year.
Planet Of The Apes
(1968) American movie about a futuristic Earth
society composed of highly-evolved apes. Starring Charlton Heston
and Roddy McDowall.
Agoraphobia
Fear of open spaces.
Daz
Heavy-duty clothes-washing powder.
Cartland, Barbara
(1904- ) British romantic novelist.
Purley
Part of London.
Newton-John, Olivia
(1948- ) British-born Australian singer and
actress. Best-known movie role as Sandy in "Grease" (1978) with
John Travolta. Songs include "Banks Of The Ohio", "You're The
One That I Want" (duet with John Travolta), "Magic" and
"Physical".
Run For Your Wife
1980s play, written by Ray Cooney. Stars included
Jack Smethurst and David McCallum.
** Come Jiving
Perhaps a later version of the TV dance competition
"Come Dancing".
** Captain Paxo
Paxo is a British brand of chicken stuffing.
** Attack Of The Killer Gooseberries
Perhaps a future film to be made
in the style of "Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes" (1978).
PARALLEL -- From the novel "The Caine Mutiny"
(1951) by Herman
Wouk. The book tells the story of the incompetent sea-captain, Phillip
Queeg, whose crew eventually mutinies and takes command from him. Made
into a film in 1954, starring Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) in his
Oscar-nominated role of Queeg.
Tess Of The D'Urbervilles
(1891) Novel about the seduction (and its
consequences) of a peasant girl. Written by Thomas Hardy.
Hardy, Robert
(1925- ) British actor, well-known for his portrayal
of Siegfried in the TV series "All Creatures Great And Small".
Deganwy
Region of Wales.
Tottenham Hotspur
English football club.
Butlin's (aka Holiday Worlds)
A chain of family holiday-camp
establishments founded by Sir Billy Butlin (1899-1980), featuring
on-site entertainment. Now much modernised, they have never
shaken a reputation for knobbly knees and glamorous grandmother
competitions, or for keeping customers isolated from the outside
world.
Subbuteo
Mini table-football game.
** Rimmer cheering himself on during the draughts game
Imitative of
the style of English football supporters.
** Dialogue
Holly: "This is mutiny Mr. Queeg. I'll see you swing from the highest yardarm in Titan Docking Port for this day's work."Parallel of lines attributed to Captain William Bligh of the HMS Bounty; said to the master's mate Fletcher Christian, when Christian led the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789. Several versions of the lines exist. From the book "Mutiny On The Bounty" (1932) by Charles Nordhoff and James Hall...
Bligh (to Christian): "You mutinous dog! I'll see you hung <..> I'll see you swinging from a yardarm before two years have passed!"From the film "Mutiny On The Bounty" (1935) starring Charles Laughton as Bligh and Clark Gable as Christian...
Bligh (to Christian): "I'll live to see you -- all of you -- hanging from the highest yardarm in the British Fleet..."
** The song Holly sings as he goes to challenge Queeg
"High Noon (Do
Not Forsake Me)" recorded by Frankie Laine. Oscar-winning song
(aka "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darlin'") sung in the western "High
Noon" (1952; starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly) by Tex Ritter.
** The song Holly sings before he is "erased"
"Goodbye To Love",
recorded by The Carpenters.
Mesmer, Friedrich Anton
(1734-1815) Austrian physician who
experimented with hypnosis (formerly called mesmerism).
Sandwich, (4th) Earl of (John Montagu)
(1718-1792) British politician
who, in order not to interrupt his card-playing, developed the
habit of eating beef between two slices of toast, and thus
invented the sandwich.
Morse, Samuel
(1791-1872) American inventor who greatly improved the
electric telegraph and (with assistant Alexander Bain) invented
Morse code.
Plato
(c.428-347 BC) Ancient Greek philosopher.
Ringo (Starr)
(1940- ) Drummer with The Beatles.
I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy
Song by vaudevillian George M. Cohan.
Miranda, Carmen
(1909-1955) Portuguese singer and dancer with a
penchant for extravagant costumes, most notably a headdress made
of fruit.
** Armstrong, Nellie
Female universe equivalent of Neil Armstrong
(1930- ), the first man on the moon (July 20, 1969).
** The Male Eunuch, by Jeremy Greer
The female universe equivalent
of "The Female Eunuch" (1970) by Germaine Greer (1939- ).
** Rachel III; The Taming Of The Shrimp
both by Wilma Shakespeare:
Female universe equivalents of William Shakespeare's plays
"Richard III" and "The Taming Of The Shrew".
** "I'm off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!"
Line
from the title song of the movie "The Wizard Of Oz" (1939)
starring Judy Garland.
Red Dwarf: The End, Future Echoes, Balance of Power,Waiting for God, Confidence and Paranoia, Me^2
Red Dwarf II: Kryten, Better Than Life,Thanks for the Memory,Stasis Leak,Queeg,Parallel Universe
Red Dwarf III: Backwards,Marooned,Polymorph,Bodyswap,Timeslides,The Last Day
Red Dwarf IV: Camille,DNA,Justice,White Hole,Dimension Jump,Meltdown
Red Dwarf V: Holoship,The Inquisitor,Terrorform,Quarantine,Demons and Angels,Back to Reality
Red Dwarf VI: Psirens,Legion,Gunmen of the Apocalypse,Emohawk: Polymorph 2,Rimmerworld,Out of Time
Red Dwarf VII: Tikka to Ride,Stoke me a Clipper,Ouroboros,Duct Soup,Blue,Beyond a Joke,Epideme,Nanarchy
PARALLEL
The opening scroll and its musical accompaniment,
akin to those in the movie "Star Wars" (1977) starring Mark Hamill,
Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
The Flintstones
Indisputably-classic cartoon from Hanna-Barbera,
about two Bedrock suburban couples (Fred and Wilma Flintstone, and
Barney and Betty Rubble).
Muggins
Slang meaning "The one who has to do all the work" and used
only in the first person (in the manner of "Yours truly").
Genghis Khan
(c.1167-1227) Mongol conqueror and great military
leader. Ruler of all Mongol peoples, across a vast empire ranging
from the Yellow Sea (China/Korea) to the Black Sea (south-east
Europe), from 1206.
ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries, one of the largest companies of
Britain.
** "Or a herd of flesh-eating dinosaurs feeding off the bones of Doug
McClure?"
McClure made several "dinosaur" movies, including
"The Land That Time Forgot" (1975) and its sequel, "The People
That Time Forgot" (1977).
** The man sucking smoke out of the air and putting it into his
cigarette
Is Rob Grant.
** The mask Kryten is wearing
Ronald Reagan (1911- ) Former
Hollywood actor, and 40th president (Republican) of the USA
(1981-1989).
** Ellis, Michael
Enigmatic title character of a "Monty Python's
Flying Circus" episode (Series 4, Show 2).
Sindy
Girls' doll, more middle-class than Barbie.
Birdseye
Frozen food company, products include frozen fish-fingers
and packets of small garden peas.
Newcastle Brown
Beer -- Newcastle Brown Ale.
Shrove Tuesday (Christian)
The day before the beginning of Lent.
Ascension (Sunday?)
Ascension Thursday is the feast day commemorating
Christ's ascension into Heaven.
Pentecost (Christian)
The day the Apostles experienced inspiration
by the Holy Spirit. Commemorated on Whit Sunday.
Lamb, Charles
(1775-1834) British essayist and critic.
Wouk, Herman
(1915- ) American novelist, and winner of the Pulitzer
Prize (1952) for "The Caine Mutiny" (1951); more recent novels
include "The Winds Of War" (1971) and "War And Remembrance"
(1978).
Bacon, Sir Francis
(1561-1626) English politician, philosopher and
essayist.
Lustbader, Eric (Van)
(1946- ) American novelist, and music
industry influence (eg. introduced Elton John to the American
music scene).
Pinter, Harold
(1930- ) British dramatist and former actor. Author
of "The Caretaker" (1960).
Richard, (Sir) Cliff
(1940- ) Enduring British pop singer and
sometime actor. And I still can't believe that "Wired For Sound"
only made it to No. 132 on the US charts. Philistines! ;-)
Ryder Cup
Golf tournament for professional men's teams from the USA
and Europe; played biennially. Begun in 1926, and named after
Samuel Ryder (1858-1936).
Lewis'
Department store. So we know Michelle Fisher was *beautiful*
enough to get a job behind the perfume counter, but was she also
vicious enough? I mean, that killer ability to leap out and
spray customers with perfume as they pass the counter...that can
only come from *instinct*, not training.
Biggles
Flying ace character in the books by Captain W.E. Johns.
West Side Story
American musical. Film (1961) starring Natalie Wood
and Richard Beymer. Based on William Shakespeare's play "Romeo
And Juliet" but transferred to the contemporary setting of gang
feuding on the New York waterfront.
Lolita
(1955) Best-known novel of the Russian writer Vladimir
Nabokov, it tells the story of a middle-aged man's obsession with
a 12 year old girl.
Islington
Area of London.
Paul, Les
(1915- ) American guitarist and inventor.
** The song Lister plays on his guitar
"She's Out Of My Life",
recorded by Michael Jackson.
** The tune Rimmer trumpets as his soldiers burn
The military send-
off "The Last Post".
** "Au revoir mes amis, a bientot."
Farewell my friends, see you
soon (French).
The Three Musketeers
(1844) Novel by French writer Alexandre Dumas
(pere). The musketeers were Athos, Porthos and Aramis, with
D'Artagnan as a fourth.
Osmond family
Family of singing Mormons; the seven children all had
(have) successful singing careers for a time, especially Donny,
Marie and (Little) Jimmy. The Osmonds were recognised as much
for their big cheesy grins (with perfect teeth) as for their
music.
** The eight-foot tall, armour-plated killing machine
Bears an
*uncanny* resemblance to the creature from the movie "Alien"
(1979) starring Sigourney Weaver and John Hurt.
** The song that Rimmer sings as the Boyz go hunting the polymorph
"All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles.
Hitchcock, Alfred
(1899-1980) Producer/director lauded for his style
of movie-making, combining suspense, humour and romance. Films
include "The Thirty-Nine Steps" (1935), "Dial M For Murder" (1954)
and "The Birds" (1963). A portly man, Hitchcock also hosted an
anthology TV series called "Alfred Hitchcock Presents"; his
"trademark" was his body silhouette in profile.
Atlas, Charles
(1893-1972) American bodybuilder and founder of the
mail-order bodybuilding course. The original weakling who turned
to bodybuilding after a lifeguard kicked sand on him at the beach
and stole his girlfriend.
Goodyear
Tyre company known for floating advertising blimps over major
sporting events.
Super Bowl
Post-season championship game for American football.
Mr. Spock
The half-Vulcan, half-human Science Officer on the Starship
Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" series; also appearing in
the later "Star Trek" movies. Played by Leonard Nimoy (1931- ).
I suppose the logical question to ask now is -- is his urine really
green? (How sad that I am asking that question. How much sadder
though that someone, somewhere, probably knows the answer!)
Grimsby
Aptly-named, northern industrialised "seaside" town by the
River Humber on the east coast of England.
** "I look like Captain Emerald!"
Perhaps a descendant of Captain
Scarlet, title character from the British (Supermarionation) TV
series "Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons", done by Gerry Anderson
(of "Thunderbirds" and "Terrahawks" fame) in 1967-1968. Rimmer's
uniform (in particular, his hat) is strongly modelled on the
uniform of Captain Scarlet.
** The song Rimmer (in Lister's body) is humming as he prepares to go
to the toilet
"The Grand Old Duke Of York."
** The music playing as Rimmer (in Lister's body) leaves Red Dwarf in
Starbug
The "Light Cavalry Overture" (1866) by the Austro-
Italian composer Franz von Suppe.
** Dialogue
Lister: "Go ahead punks! Make my day!"Parallel of lines spoken and terms used by Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry Callahan in eg. "Sudden Impact" (1983)...
Dirty Harry: "Go ahead. Make my day."
Stauffenberg, Claus von
(1907-1944) German colonel who attempted to
assassinate Hitler via a bomb planted in Hitler's headquarters'
conference room at Rastenburg in East Prussia, July 1944 (see
also the PIP). Hitler had von Stauffenberg executed for his
trouble.
Hoffman, Dustin
(1937- ) American stage and screen actor. Films
include "The Graduate" (1967), "Kramer Vs. Kramer" (1979),
"Tootsie" (1982) and "Rainman" (1988, for which he won his second
Best Actor Oscar). Stage/TV work includes "Death Of A Salesman".
Ishtar
(1987) Absolute bomb of a movie about two hapless singer/
songwriters, starring Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty.
Freemasons
Free and Accepted Masons. The largest worldwide secret
society, evolved from stonemasons and cathedral builders guilds
of the Middle Ages.
Buckingham Palace
The Queen's place.
Xanadu
Charles Foster Kane's mega-mansion in the movie "Citizen Kane"
(1941), starring Orson Welles as Kane.
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick And Tich
A 1960s UK beat group, originally
known as Dave Dee And The Bostons. The members were vocalist Dave
Dee (1943- ), bassist Trevor "Dozy" Davies (1944- ), rhythm
guitarist John "Beaky" Dymond (1944- ), drummer Mick Wilson
(1944- ) and lead guitarist Ian "Tich" Amey (1944- ). The group
had a No. 1 hit in 1966 with "Legend Of Xanadu".
Swiftian
Descriptive of the type of satire in which outrageous
statements are offered in a straight-faced manner. Named after
the Irish-born British satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745 --
author of "Gulliver's Travels", 1726) who gained this notoriety
after he published a pamphlet in 1729 entitled "A Modest Proposal
for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being
A Burden to their Parents or Country, and for Making them
Beneficial to the Public" in which Swift proposed that the children
of the poor Irish families be served up as food for the rich.
** The music that Kryten is dancing to while developing his first lot
of photographs
"Bad News", a song written and performed by
Craig Charles (with his band, The Sons Of Gordon Gekko -- see
also below). This song does have lyrics, including "Bad news,
I got bad news; I said, I got no money for my fags and my booze"
with the instrumental bit heard either part of the lead break
between choruses (vocal version), or part of the instrumental
version.
** "We could go to Dallas, in November 1963, stand on the grassy knoll
and shout 'Duck!'."
Reference to the assassination of John
F(itzgerald) Kennedy, 35th president of the USA (1961-1963,
Democrat), who was shot and killed at this place and time, by
(officially accepted) Lee Harvey Oswald.
** Lifestyles Of The Disgustingly Rich And Famous
Obviously a TV show
for those who are just too well-off to go on "Lifestyles Of The
Rich And Famous" (hosted by Robin Leach).
** The song playing as Lister arrives at Xanadu
"Cash" by Craig
Charles's band The Sons Of Gordon Gekko, named after Michael
Douglas's character in the movie "Wall Street" (1987).
** The music playing before Lister and Sabrina Mulholland-Jjones are
served their meals
From the concerto "Four Seasons (Spring)"
(c.1725) by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi.
** The song Rimmer sings after he leaves the photo of his boarding
school dormitory
"If I Were A Rich Man" from the stage musical
"Fiddler On The Roof" by Joseph Stein (movie, 1971, starring
Topol).
Nielsen, Brigitte
(1963- ) Danish actress and singer more famous for
her breast implants, and for being the former wife of Sylvester
Stallone, than for her acting or singing. Movies include "Red
Sonja" (1985), "Cobra" (1986) and "Beverly Hills Cop 2" (1987).
Action Man
Boys' toy, a doll in the style of G.I. Joe.
Vimto
Brand of British soft drink, bought as a concentrate and diluted
with water. Also comes (less commonly) in carbonated form.
Eiffel Tower
Famous Parisian landmark named after and constructed by
the French engineer Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), for the Paris
Exhibition of 1889.
Montmartre
Area of Paris ville.
Pollock, Jackson
(1912-1956) American painter. Developer of the
painting style known as "action painting" (1946). Also a pioneer
of Abstract Expressionism (or put more simply, paintings that
look like vomit -- http://www.netcom.ca/~tj_/jackson.html).
** "The iron shall lie down with the lamp."
Parallel of passages in
the Bible dealing with lions and lambs coexisting as friends and
not enemies. The wording of the passages varies depending on the
Bible version, but the relevant verses are Isaiah 11:6 and Isaiah
65:25.
** The music playing before "the morning after"
"Morning Mood" (from
"Peer Gynt", 1876) by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.
** The song Hudzen 10 is singing
"Goodbyee" (composed by Weston/Lee).
Blackadder fans can hear a nice rendition of this song by Bob
Parkhurst (Gabrielle Glaister) in the episode "Major Star" of
"Blackadder Goes Forth". And that's probably the most gratuitous
sentence in this document, but what's one more, eh?
Red Dwarf: The End, Future Echoes, Balance of Power,Waiting for God, Confidence and Paranoia, Me^2
Red Dwarf II: Kryten, Better Than Life,Thanks for the Memory,Stasis Leak,Queeg,Parallel Universe
Red Dwarf III: Backwards,Marooned,Polymorph,Bodyswap,Timeslides,The Last Day
Red Dwarf IV: Camille,DNA,Justice,White Hole,Dimension Jump,Meltdown
Red Dwarf V: Holoship,The Inquisitor,Terrorform,Quarantine,Demons and Angels,Back to Reality
Red Dwarf VI: Psirens,Legion,Gunmen of the Apocalypse,Emohawk: Polymorph 2,Rimmerworld,Out of Time
Red Dwarf VII: Tikka to Ride,Stoke me a Clipper,Ouroboros,Duct Soup,Blue,Beyond a Joke,Epideme,Nanarchy
PARALLEL -- The movie "Casablanca"
(1942). Rick (Humphrey
Bogart) must choose between holding on to the woman he loves (Ilsa,
played by Ingrid Bergman) or sending her away with her husband (Victor
Laszlo, played by Paul Henreid) for the ultimate good of both Ilsa and
Laszlo.
Tales Of The Riverbank
A Canadian series (heard narrated by Johnny
Morris), this was a children's show about the adventures of a
community of animals living by a riverbank. The show put real
animals in highly anthropomorphised settings and situations. The
star of the original show was Hammy Hamster. Presumably the
show Lister was watching was a followup to the original "Tales", in
the style of "The Next Generation" (a la "Star Trek"). Since 1996
there has been a true sequel to the original show ("Once Upon A
Hamster", also Canadian), with an all-new Hammy Hamster.
St. Elsewhere
American hospital drama series of the mid-to-late 1980s,
starring Denzel Washington and Ed Begley, Jr. Emphasis on realism
and not always a "happy ever after" ending.
Spiderman
Comic and cartoon superhero, born when reporter Peter Parker
was bitten by a radioactive spider. Created by Stan Lee in the
early 1960s.
Valkyrie
One of the nine virgin semidivine priestesses of Freya
(goddess of love and beauty) in Norse mythology.
The Sphinx
In Egyptian mythology, a sphinx was a creature with the
body of a lion and the head of a man. The Sphinx's face is believed
to be that of King Khafre (c.2500 BC), whose nearby pyramid
the Sphinx was originally set to guard.
Malden, Karl
(1914- ) American actor with a distinctive bulbous
nose. Most famous roles include the movie "A Streetcar Named
Desire" (1951; for which he won an Oscar), the TV series "The
Streets Of San Francisco" (mid-1970s, first with Michael Douglas
and later with Richard Hatch), and the commercials for American
Express ("Don't leave home without it").
McQueen, Steve
(1930-1980) American actor. Best known movie roles
in "The Blob" (1958), "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), "The Great
Escape" (1963), "Papillon" (1973) and "The Towering Inferno"
(1974).
The Blob
(1958) American movie starring Steve McQueen, in which the
people of a small town are terrorised by an invading blob from
space.
** (Nelson) "I see no ships."
At the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801,
Nelson put a telescope up to his blind eye in order to avoid
seeing a signal from his commander (Sir Hyde Parker) telling him
to withdraw, which would have prevented Nelson from crippling
the Danish fleet.
Nelson's remark at the Battle
"I have only one eye --
I have a right to be blind sometimes...I really do
not see the signal."
** At the end of "Casablanca", Humphrey Bogart lies to Victor Laszlo
to protect Laszlo's feelings
Rick (Bogart) lies to Laszlo,
saying that Ilsa does not love him (Rick) any more, in order to
save Laszlo jealousy and heartache if he were to believe that his
wife did not love him.
** Parrot's Bar on G deck
Appears to have been modelled after the
Blue Parrot bar from "Casablanca", which had as decorations
parrot statuettes and live parrots on perches.
** The music playing as Kryten and Camille head out in Starbug
"The
Blue Danube" (1867), a waltz by Austrian composer Johann Strauss.
** The song playing when Kryten and Camille are in the cinema
They
are watching "Casablanca" and this song from it is called "As
Time Goes By".
** Hector, Camille's husband
The something-that-dropped-out-of-the-
Sphinx's-nose equivalent of Victor, Ilsa's husband, in
"Casablanca".
** Dialogue
Camille: "Why my bag, Kryten?"Lines from the airport scene in "Casablanca" where Rick is convincing Ilsa to leave on the aeroplane with Victor.
Kryten: "Because you're getting on that craft with Hector, where you belong."
Camille: "No, Kryten."
Kryten: "Now you've got to listen to me. Do you have any idea what you've got to look forward to if you stay here?"
Camille: "You're saying this only to make me go."
Kryten: "We both know you belong to Hector -- you're part of his work, you're what keeps him going. If you're not on that craft when it leaves the hangar, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, for the rest of your life."
Camille: "What about us?"
Kryten: "We'll always have Parrot's. <...> I'm no good at being noble, kid, but it's pretty obvious the problems of two blobs and a droid don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy cosmos."
Hector: "Are you ready, Camille?"
Camille: "I'm ready. Goodbye, Kryten. And bless you."
Ilsa: "But, why my name Richard?"
Rick: "Because <...> you're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong. <...>"
Ilsa: "But Richard no, I, I... <...>"
Rick: "Now you've got to listen to me. Do you have any idea what you've got to look forward to if you stay here? <...>"
Ilsa: "You're saying this only to make me go."
Rick: "<...> we both know you belong with Victor, you're part of his work -- the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life."
Ilsa: "But what about us?"
Rick: "We'll always have Paris. <...> I'm no good at being noble but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. <...>"
Victor: "Are you ready, Ilsa?"
Ilsa: "Yes I'm ready. Goodbye Rick. God bless you."
** Dialogue
Lister: "Kryten, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."This line, as Lister and Kryten walk away together at the end, is from the final shot of "Casablanca", where Rick and the Prefect of Police, Louis (Claude Rains), walk away together across the airport ground.
Rick: "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
The Bride Of Frankenstein
(1935) American movie starring Elsa
Lanchester (1902-1986) as the Bride created for Frankenstein's
monster. Her hair was swept straight up stiffly a la the Cat's
here, though the Bride's also had a white wavy stripe up each
side.
Miller, Glenn
(1904-1944) American trombonist, and big band leader
and melody arranger. Hits included "Little Brown Jug",
"Pennsylvania 6-5000", "Moonlight Serenade", "Chattanooga Choo
Choo" and "In The Mood". On his way from England to France to
entertain troops during World War II, Miller's plane disappeared
without trace (probably ditched into the English Channel);
although a popular notion is that he was abducted by aliens with
a taste for swing music.
Quantel
Video effect whereby a sequence of footage is split into a
series of discrete single-image frames. Also, the manufacturers
of a high-quality 2D painting and animation software/hardware
package.
Como, Perry
(1912- ) American singer, and sometime actor and TV
variety show host. Hits included many songs from movies, such as
"Blue Moon" (from "Words And Music", 1958) and the No. 1 "Some
Enchanted Evening" (from "South Pacific", 1949). Although, my
hopelessly inadequate book fails utterly to mention what was
stashed in his slacks during the singing of "Memories Are Made Of
This".
Descartes, Rene
(1596-1650) French philosopher and mathematician.
Famous for "I think, therefore I am" (cogito ergo sum)
which the Red Dwarf posse like to adapt to *any* given situation.
Popeye
Created by E.C. Segar. Cartoon sailor who gets a strength
boost from the goodness of spinach. Also a bit of a philosopher
for his Popeye Principle "I am what I am." Frequently confused
with Descartes.
The Louvre
Objets d'art museum (former palace) in Paris, home to such
works as the "Mona Lisa" and the "Venus De Milo".
Nutkin
Squirrel character created by British author Beatrix Potter.
Appearing in her children's book "The Tale Of Squirrel Nutkin"
(1903).
Lake Michigan
A poppadom the size of this American lake would be 58020
square kilometres in area (22395 square miles).
** Dialogue
Lister: "How can the same smeg happen to the same guy twice?"From the 1990 American movie "Die Hard 2: Die Harder", which had as its cinema publicity tag "How can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?!" Starring Bruce Willis as John McClane, who muses aloud as he finds himself in another basement, another elevator...
McClane: "How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?"
** The Chomp Thing
Not half man, half extra-hot Indian curry; but
half man, half plant -- this is the title character of the "Swamp
Thing" (1981 -- original idea from a comic book), an American film
starring Louis Jourdan and Adrienne Barbeau.
** The "Man-Plus" Lister gets turned into
Looks *very* much like
the title character of the cyborg-policeman in the 1987 American
film "Robocop", starring Peter Weller as Robocop, and Nancy Allen.
The Elephant Man
(1862-1890) Joseph (commonly erroneously referred
to as John) Merrick, a man with hideous deformities in the form of
huge masses of bulbous flesh, thought by some to have been the
result of a rare disease called Proteus syndrome, and by others
to have been a condition called neurofibromatosis.
Ripley's Believe It Or Not
Newspaper feature, books, TV show and tourist
attraction in which fantastic and "unbelievable" things and/or
events are presented to the eager public.
The Bengals
American-football team -- the Cincinnati Bengals -- whose
players wear orange-and-black striped helmets.
Iranian jird
A small cute member of the rodent family, more properly
called the Persian jird (Meriones persicus), this animal
nonetheless has more discretion than Cats because if Cat's
statement about its sex life is true, then the jird itself
certainly isn't telling.
Pussy Cat Willum
Puppet cat character (animated by Janet Nichols)
appearing in the British ITV children's shows of the 1950s/60s "Small
Time" and "Musical Box". Willum's human companions variously
included Rolf Harris, Wally Whyton and Muriel Young, and his puppet
friends were Ollie Beak (an owl) and Spotty Dog.
Hess, Rudolf
(1894-1987) German Nazi leader -- former private
secretary, and later deputy Fuhrer, to Adolf Hitler. Captured in
England in 1941, and sentenced to life imprisonment after the
Nuremberg Trials, he died in Spandau Prison, Berlin.
Crunchie Bars
Scrumdiddlyumptious chocolate-covered honeycomb bars,
made by Cadbury.
Long John Silver
One-legged, parrot-carrying, cook-wannabe pirate
character in Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure story "Treasure
Island" (1883).
** Florence Nightingdroid
Presumably the mechanoid equivalent of
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the British nurse who (during
the Crimean War) established nursing practices that led (along
with her later founding of a nursing school/home in London) to
the revolutionising of nursing as a profession.
** Barbra Bellini in her lead-lined pod
A conjectured reference.
Given the sentiments of Cat ("What a dilemma! Inside this pod is either death or a date"), this situation happens to mimic a story by Frank R. Stockton, called "The Lady, Or The Tiger?" in which a justice system is described thusly -- an accused man is subjected to trial by choice, where the choice is his of one of two identical doors, one of which hides a tiger which will devour the accused (and thus he is presumed guilty), the other of which hides a lady who will marry the accused (and thus he is presumed innocent). However, in combination with this, the use of the actual name "Bellini" might be presumed too relevant for mere chance, and might not unreasonably be construed as a homage to a type of logic puzzle, in which a candidate must attempt to discern the whereabouts or not of some object placed into one of several caskets. The puzzles tell of two Renaissance Florentine casket-makers, Bellini and Cellini. Whenever one made a casket, he inscribed it with some clue to the puzzle -- the catch was that while Bellini's inscription *always* told the truth, and Cellini's inscription *always* lied, the candidate had no way of knowing which casket had been made by which craftsman. The puzzles popularly involved choosing between a gold, a silver and a lead casket -- reflecting the Cat's "What a dilemma!" of Barbra or not in the lead(-lined) pod/casket. So, are we now crying out for an example of this puzzle? Here is the one that FroggyGrem sent to me (and which I'm relieved to say I did figure out -- eventually! Whew!)...
Gold casket inscription: The dagger is in this casket.
Silver casket inscription: This casket is empty.
Lead casket inscription: At most, one of these three
caskets was fashioned by Bellini.
The puzzle: Avoid choosing the dagger!
** "Take the Fifth!"
Meaning the broad interpretation of the Fifth
Amendment of the United States Constitution, which (among other
things) protects an individual against self-incrimination during
legal process. Commonly and simplistically put as "I refuse to
answer, on the grounds that I may incriminate myself."
** Make my day
Written on the simulant's gun, this line is used by
Dirty Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood), eg. in "Sudden Impact"
(1983).
Raison d'etre
Reason for being (French).
Ramses (or Rameses)
Name shared by 11 kings of ancient Egypt.
Oates, Captain Laurence Edward Grace
(1880-1912) British Antarctic
explorer, one of the party accompanying Robert Falcon Scott on
the second expedition to the South Pole. After reaching the Pole
in January 1912, the party was trapped by extreme blizzards on
their return journey to their supply depot. Oates, suffering
from severe frostbite and believing that the others would have a
better chance of surviving if not held back by him, went out into
the storms for his "legendary walk". His last words were recorded
in Scott's diary (see below).
Scott, Robert Falcon
(1868-1912) British naval officer and explorer
who led the second expedition to reach the South Pole (success in
January, 1912). On the return journey all five members of the
party perished. Their bodies and records were found in November
of that year. Scott's diary, one of the surviving records,
contains the last words of Captain Oates, spoken as Oates left
the shelter for the last time. As noted by Scott in the diary,
entry 16-17 March 1912, Oates said, "I am just going outside and
may be some time."
Stan and Ollie
The American comedy acting duo Stan Laurel and Oliver
Hardy.
Robeson, Paul
(1898-1976) American bass (called baritone) singer,
and sometime actor.
** "I toast, therefore I am."
Variation on the "I think, therefore
I am" principle by Rene Descartes.
PARALLEL
Music and "heroic fighter pilot" type akin to the
music and theme of the movie "Top Gun" (1986), starring Tom Cruise and
Kelly McGillis. The music parallels the movie's love song "Take My
Breath Away", by Berlin.
Jaws
(1975) American movie about a man-eating shark which terrorises
a small Long Island community. Starring Roy Scheider, Robert
Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss.
Hammond organ
Electric organ invented in America in 1934 by Laurens
Hammond (1895-1973).
Morris dancing
English folk dancing involving dressing up in belled
costumes and being subjected to the clonk of wood on wood; the
dancers' faces may also sometimes be blacked. Possibly derived
from the Moresca/Morisco (meaning "Moorish"; a 15th century
Spanish dance) or from other Moorish (morys) dances.
Delius, Frederick
(1862-1934) British composer. Works range from
opera and orchestral music, to chamber music and songs.
Wagner, Richard
(1813-1883) German opera composer. Works include
"Tristan Und Isolde" (1865) and "Parsifal" (1882).
** Condom fishing in the canal
Most likely Lister is talking about
the Leeds Liverpool Canal, which has recently been subjected to
a program of urban regeneration; including the reintroduction of
fish. Apparently they didn't take...
** "We could try and hire a dance band and get them to play 'Abide
With Me'."
Seeing as how Starbug is sinking, this is very
possibly a reference to the sinking of the RMS Titanic in the
North Atlantic Ocean on April 14-15, 1912, with the loss of over
1500 lives. The dance band played as the Titanic sank (and
perished along with the ship), although the hymn they are alleged
to have played at the last was actually "Nearer My God To Thee".
** Kids' TV series about a boy and his bush kangaroo
This would
be "Skippy" (1970s, starring Ed Devereaux and Tony Bonner) an
Australian kids' TV series about, amazingly enough, a boy and his
bush kangaroo. Skippy was "our friend ever true" of the boy,
whose name was in fact Sonny (played by Garry Pankhurst) and
not Ace.
** Masonic handshake
Apparent secret handshake of the Freemasons (or
Free and Accepted Masons), the largest worldwide secret society
(evolved from stonemasons and cathedral-builders' guilds of the
Middle Ages).
PARALLEL -- The movie "Westworld"
(1973) starring Yul Brynner
and Richard Benjamin. The androids of a futuristic robot theme park
(with sections such as the Wild West and Ancient Rome) go against their
programming, running amok and killing the human guests.
Irkutsk
Province and city of east-central Russia.
Goebbels, Paul Josef
(1897-1945) German Nazi leader and minister of
propaganda from 1933. Poisoned himself when Berlin fell to the
Allies.
Presley, Elvis
(1935-1977) The King is (officially!) dead. Long live
the King!
Pope Gregory
Let's face it, I still don't know for sure *which* Gregory
this is, but I'm sick to death of this being the only entry without drivel
in it -- I've been offered a suggestion for this pope's identity and in
the absence of anything more concrete I shall take it; what the hell.
Let's say for now that this is Pope Gregory XIII (1502-1585) who
was pope from 1572. His claim to fame is that he reformed our
current "Gregorian calendar", which provides that a century
year is not a leap year unless it is divisible by 400.
Tweety Pie
Cartoon canary character created by Warner Brothers
Studios for their Loony Tunes series of cartoons.
Capone, Al
(1898-1947) American (Chicago) gangster/mafia man, head
of a large criminal organisation which he had built up during the
time of Prohibition. Capone spent 1931-1939 in prison for tax
evasion. He eventually died of syphilis.
Mussolini, Benito
(1883-1945) Italian dictator and founder of the
Fascist Movement; ally of Hitler during World War II.
Richard III
(1452-1485) King of England 1483-1485. Last Plantagenet
king and last English king to die on the battlefield (defeated by
Henry Tudor at Bosworth Field). Most famous for allegedly
instigating the murder of his nephews (Edward V and his brother,
Richard of York -- "The Princes in the Tower"), although
personally *I* believe that the villain was more likely to have
been, say, the Duke of Buckingham (but don't get me started on
this...).
Last, James
(1929- ) German-born cabaret/dance band leader and
musician. Big success in Europe. Albums such as "Polka Party"
and "Violins In Love" indicate both why Rimmer likes him so much
and why he's in with the cream of evil on Waxworld! ;-)
Winnie-the-Pooh
A bear of very little brain. Teddy bear character
created (1926) by the British writer A.A. Milne; Pooh and his
cohorts being based on the toys of Milne's son Christopher Robin.
Sir Lancelot
Best fighting knight of the Round Table fellowship, in
the legend of King Arthur.
Joan of Arc
(c.1412-1431) French girl who (after inspiration from
holy "voices") led the French army in battles against the English,
to free France from English domination. Eventually captured by
the English, she was interrogated and tricked into admissions of
witchcraft; soon afterwards she was burned at the stake in Rouen.
She was canonised in 1920.
Day, Doris
(1924- ) American actress, singer and animal rights
activist. Movies include "Lullaby Of Broadway" (1951), "Calamity
Jane" (1953) and "The Pajama Game" (1957). Best-known song
probably "Que Sera Sera"; oh well, what will be will be!
Messalina
(c.22-48) Wife of Roman emperor Claudius I. Promiscuous
and conniving, Messalina manipulated Claudius into executing poor
unfortunates who had displeased her in some way. She eventually
received her come-uppance when she made a secret second marriage
while still married to Claudius (who naturally was not going to
stand for this, and so executed Messalina).
Caligula
(12-41) Gaius Caesar. Mentally unstable, cruel and depraved
Emperor of Rome (37-41). Besides the "excesses" mentioned by
Lister in this episode, Caligula ("Little Boots") also made a
consul of his favourite horse Incitatus. Finally an officer of
the guard could stand this sort of rot no longer, and so Caligula
was assassinated.
Boston Strangler
(1931-1973) Mutilating rapist who murdered 13
women (aged 19-85) in Boston, Massachusetts, from June 1962 to
January 1964. His name came from his leaving of bows tied
around his victims' necks or legs. In 1965 Albert de Salvo
was arrested for lesser sexual offences; he later confessed to
being the Boston Strangler but due to a legal technicality was
never tried for these murders. He was sentenced to life
imprisonment for his lesser crimes, but died in jail of stab
wounds at the age of 42.
Boone, Pat
(1934- ) American singer. Songs include "Love Letters
In The Sand" and "Speedy Gonzales".
Rasputin, Grigory
(1871-1916) "Holy" man whose rather-too-well-heeded
counsel to Tsarina Alexandra of Russia certainly did nothing to
hinder the inevitability of the Russian Revolution. His
debauchery and incredible political power could not be tolerated
by the Russian nobles, a group of whom murdered Rasputin by
poisoning him, shooting him, clubbing him on the head and then
throwing him into the river where he finally drowned.
Gandhi, Mohandas (Mahatma)
(1869-1948) Pacifist Indian nationalist
leader, pushing for Indian independence from Britain, in a non-
violent way. He was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist after
the partition of the country into India and Pakistan.
Mother Teresa
(1910-1997) Albanian-born Catholic nun, founder
of a Charity order dedicated to helping the poor and destitute of
India. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Dalai Lama
(1935- ) Self-exiled (as a protest against Chinese
oppression) spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet.
Victoria
(1819-1901) Queen of Great Britain 1837-1901. Longest-
reigning British monarch, and called "Grandmother of Europe" by
virtue of the marriages of her nine children and their descendants
into the royal houses of Europe.
Coward, Noel
(1899-1973) British playwright, director, actor,
composer and producer. Well-known play -- "Private Lives" (1930).
The Dirty Dozen
(1967) American/Spanish movie set during World War
II, about a commando suicide squad recruited from lifer convicts
(starring Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson). Novel by E.M.
Nathanson.
** The monsters of Prehistoric World
The footage comes from a
Japanese film called "Gappa, The Triphibian Monster" (1967).
** Rimmer's abuse of his troops, and the training of "Arnie's Army"
Are military ploys and training to get the most out of the troops
and weed out the incompetent individuals, as demonstrated in such
movies as "An Officer And A Gentleman" (1981) and "Full Metal
Jacket" (1987).
Rimmer: "There's only two kinds from Assisi -- steers and queers. Which are you boy?"Mimics for example lines from "An Officer And A Gentleman", starring Richard Gere and Louis Gossett, Jr. (as Sergeant Foley).
Foley: "Only two things come out of Oklahoma (/Arizona) -- steers and queers. Which one are you, boy?"
** The white-hooded waxdroid in the Third Reich building
A member of
the Ku Klux Klan, an American secret society (founded after the
American Civil War) dedicated to white supremacy.
** The motorbike Rimmer is "riding"
Apparently a Norton.
Red Dwarf: The End, Future Echoes, Balance of Power,Waiting for God, Confidence and Paranoia, Me^2
Red Dwarf II: Kryten, Better Than Life,Thanks for the Memory,Stasis Leak,Queeg,Parallel Universe
Red Dwarf III: Backwards,Marooned,Polymorph,Bodyswap,Timeslides,The Last Day
Red Dwarf IV: Camille,DNA,Justice,White Hole,Dimension Jump,Meltdown
Red Dwarf V: Holoship,The Inquisitor,Terrorform,Quarantine,Demons and Angels,Back to Reality
Red Dwarf VI: Psirens,Legion,Gunmen of the Apocalypse,Emohawk: Polymorph 2,Rimmerworld,Out of Time
Red Dwarf VII: Tikka to Ride,Stoke me a Clipper,Ouroboros,Duct Soup,Blue,Beyond a Joke,Epideme,Nanarchy
King Of Kings
It is likely that Lister, given his taste in films, is
talking about the Cecil B. de Mille version of the story of Jesus
(1927, silent; starring H.B. Warner) rather than the less
critically-accepted 1961 remake.
Pilate, Pontius
Roman governor of Judea (26-36) who condemned Jesus
to death. Gospels portray Pilate as reluctant to condemn Christ,
but succumbing to mass pressure and releasing the thief Barabbas
instead of Jesus.
Geronimo
(1829-1909) Chief and war leader of Chiricahua Apache
Indians, who fought against US federal troops and settlers
encroaching onto the Indian lands. Also the name popularly
shouted when parachuting or performing some other exciting
leap...
Camus, Albert
(1913-1960) French existentialist novelist; won the
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957.
Euclid
(c.330-c.260 BC) Greek mathematician specialising in plane
and solid geometry, and in number theory.
Haiku
Form of Japanese verse, usually consisting of three lines, the
first and third having five syllables, the second line having
seven syllables.
Satsuma
A Japanese orange of the tangerine family.
** Crane, Nirvanah
In Buddhism, nirvana is the attainment of serenity
and enlightenment through the eradication of all desires. Jane
Horrocks is quoted as saying that she based her character on (the
British actress) Joanna Lumley, of "Absolutely Fabulous" fame. \PG\
PARALLEL -- The 1984 American movie "The Terminator"
(starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn) about a cyborg
from the future, on a mission of termination. Sequel (1991) "Terminator
2: Judgment Day".
Virgil
(70-19 BC) Roman poet who wrote the "Aeneid", the epic poem
about the adventures of the hero Aeneas after the fall of Troy --
from his wandering the Mediterranean to his eventual settling/
founding of Rome. See also the PIP.
Agamemnon
Hero of Greek mythology (son of the King of Mycenae) who led
the capture of Troy. After receiving the prophetess Cassandra as
his prize, he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover
during his return home.
Helen of Troy
Most beautiful woman in Greek mythology, the daughter of
Leda and Zeus. Married to King Menelaus of Sparta, her abduction
by Prince Paris of Troy precipitated the Trojan War (after which
she returned to Sparta with her husband).
Taylor, A(lan) J(ohn) P(ercivale)
(1906-1990) British historian and
TV lecturer, specialising in modern British and European history.
Sistine Chapel
Chapel in The Vatican, most famously decorated with
frescoes (by Michelangelo, done between 1508-1512) of scenes from
the Book of Genesis.
Archangel Gabriel
Angel close to God, and variously a trumpeter,
revealer, and foreteller of the births of John the Baptist (to
Zacharias) and Jesus (to the Virgin Mary).
Poitier, Sidney
(1924- ) American actor and director. Films include
"Lilies Of The Field" (1963, for which he won an Oscar), "Guess
Who's Coming To Dinner" (1967) and "To Sir, With Love" (1967).
Curtis, Tony
(1925- ) American actor. Films include "Some Like It
Hot" (1959), "Spartacus" (1960) and "The Great Race" (1965).
** Who's Nobody
Presumably the version of the book "Who's Who" that
deals with Nobodies rather than Somebodies.
** "They're chained together like Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis."
A
reference to the movie "The Defiant Ones" (1958) starring Poitier
and Curtis as respectively one black and one white convict chained
together, who escape custody and must deal not only with being on
the run but also with the issues of racism and their mutual
animosity towards one other.
Gandalf, Master Wizard
Character created by British writer J.R.R.
Tolkien in the book "The Hobbit" (1937) and its following "The
Lord Of The Rings" (1954-1955). An adventure game of "The
Hobbit" was written for early 8-bit computers; however it appears
that the "buying a potion from Gandalf" option doesn't exist...
well, no one said that the Cat was good at these games, and maybe
this is why...
** The muzak playing as Kryten offlines after his accident
The song
"Copacabana" by American singer/songwriter Barry Manilow (not
in the NTSC video release of Terrorform).
** Rimmer's journey to the dungeon of the Unspeakable One
The crown
-of-thorns headpiece and the attachment to the cross is akin to
Christ's last journey to His Crucifixion.
** The Hooded Legions (with "rather unconvincing red eyes")
Must be
related to the Jawas of Tatooine in the movie "Star Wars"
(1977), starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
** Rimmer's Self-Respect and Self-Confidence
Are musketeer-wannabes
-- all for one and one for all!
Algarve
Historical coastal region of southern Portugal, with a
booming tourist trade.
Betty Boop
Early cartoon character created by Grim Natwick (who later
went on to animate for the Disney Studios). Recently seen in the
movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988), helping Eddie Valiant
(Bob Hoskins) to mind his manners.
Schopenhauer, Arthur
(1788-1860) German philosopher who saw the world
as a conflict of wills resulting in frustration and pain -- the
only purpose in life must be to escape "will" and its accompanying
painful strivings.
Dixon, Reggie
(1904-1985) English organist.
Turner, Joseph Mallord William
(1775-1851) Prolific British artist
famed for his landscapes (and apparently seascapes which look like
the contents of Lister's nasal passages).
Nobel Prize
Prize awarded annually (began 1901) as recognition for
great achievements in several areas, including Peace, Literature
and Medicine. Named after their instigator, Alfred Nobel (1833-
1896), a Swedish engineer and chemist who invented dynamite
(1867).
** Toastie Toppers
Presumably an inferior Low version of the toast-
topping savoury snack made by Heinz; called, aptly enough, Toast
Toppers. These are tasty savoury snacks which come in a ring-pull
can, and are heated and eaten on toast. Simple.
The Wailing Wall
AKA Western Wall -- a Temple ruin in Jerusalem,
sacred site of pilgrimage, mourning and prayer for Jews. One way
to offer up prayer is to speak, or "wail", the prayer aloud.
Salvation Army
An international Christian evangelical organisation
founded in Great Britain in 1865 by Methodist minister William
Booth.
Red Dwarf: The End, Future Echoes, Balance of Power,Waiting for God, Confidence and Paranoia, Me^2
Red Dwarf II: Kryten, Better Than Life,Thanks for the Memory,Stasis Leak,Queeg,Parallel Universe
Red Dwarf III: Backwards,Marooned,Polymorph,Bodyswap,Timeslides,The Last Day
Red Dwarf IV: Camille,DNA,Justice,White Hole,Dimension Jump,Meltdown
Red Dwarf V: Holoship,The Inquisitor,Terrorform,Quarantine,Demons and Angels,Back to Reality
Red Dwarf VI: Psirens,Legion,Gunmen of the Apocalypse,Emohawk: Polymorph 2,Rimmerworld,Out of Time
Red Dwarf VII: Tikka to Ride,Stoke me a Clipper,Ouroboros,Duct Soup,Blue,Beyond a Joke,Epideme,Nanarchy
PARALLEL -- The Greek legend (told by Homer) of the Sirens.
The Sirens were sisters, half bird and half woman, who lived on an
island near the Straits of Messina. The Sirens sang, and any sailor
hearing the song could not help but go to the island and be compelled
to listen to the singing until his dying day.
Hendrix, Jimi
(1942-1970) American singer and master guitar wizard.
Songs include "Hey Joe", "All Along The Watchtower" and "The
Star-Spangled Banner" (at Woodstock, 1969).
Yukon
Territory of Canada, settled during the gold rush of 1896-1910.
Liquid oxygen
The Cat is going to get *mighty* cold taking a shower in
this -- to the tune of colder than minus 183 degrees C (minus 298
degrees F).
King Kong
Giant ape character from the 1933 American movie of the same
name, starring Robert Armstrong and Fay Wray (also, a 1976 remake
with Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange). King Kong is taken from his
island home to New York, where he causes much havoc before falling
to his death off the Empire State Building.
Ulysses
Roman name for the Greek mythological hero Odysseus. Hero of
the Trojan War, subject of Homer's "Odyssey" and also appearing in
his "Iliad".
Eiger
Mountain in the Swiss Alps, 3970 metres (about 13025 feet) high.
And that is one *big* pile of laundry.
** Dialogue
Cat: "There's an old Cat proverb -- 'It's better to live one hour as a tiger, than a whole lifetime as a worm'."Lines from the second pilot of Red Dwarf USA.
Rimmer: "There's an old human proverb -- 'Whoever heard of a worm-skin rug?'."
Cat (Terry Farrell): "There's an old Cat proverb that says it's better to live an hour as a tiger, than a lifetime as a worm."
Rimmer (Anthony Fuscle): "There's an old human saying -- 'Whoever heard of a worm-skin rug?'."
** The spaceship graveyard
One of the asteroids is home to a derelict
Eagle ship, from the 1970s TV series "Space
1999", starring
Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. Elsewhere there is also a ship
from the 1986 movie "Aliens" (starring Sigourney Weaver and
Michael Biehn), as well as a Klingon ship from "Star Trek".
** "Like with Ulysses in that ancient Turkish legend."
Lister is
twice confused. Firstly, as Kryten points out, the legend was
Greek. Secondly, the Greek legend speaks of the hero as Odysseus
(Ulysses is the Roman variation). Odysseus was a hero of the
Trojan War (the Trojan Horse strategy was his idea), mentioned by
Homer in both the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey". After the Trojan
War Odysseus journeys home to Ithaca; on the way he must pass the
Sirens' island. He fills the ears of his crew with wax, and
binds himself to the mast of his ship, in order that none can
hear or act upon the temptation of the Sirens' song.
** "This is Captain Tau of the SCS Pioneer."
Captain Tau was the
captain of the Red Dwarf in the first pilot of Red Dwarf USA
(the US Tau was played by Lorraine Toussaint).
PARALLEL -- The Bible, Mark 5:9 and Luke 8:30.
Around these
verses tells of the healing of a man possessed by demons. In both
stories the man gives his name as "Legion", because many demons have
possessed him. See below.
Munster, Herman
Character created by Fred Gwynne (1926-1993) for the
US TV series "The Munsters" (also two spin-off films). Herman
Munster was a caricature of the Frankenstein's monster a la Boris
Karloff.
Jovian
Descriptive of the planet Jupiter.
Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi Da
(1573-1610) Italian baroque
painter. Of course it's one of his paintings that Rimmer is
contemplating, not the painter himself...
** "Like General George S. Patton, I believe in reincarnation."
Patton believed that in a previous incarnation he was a foot-
soldier in Alexander The Great's army during the siege of Tyre
(in modern Lebanon) in 332 BC.
** "Some of the physicists involved -- Heidegger, Davro, Holder,
Quayle."
One more concession to pure speculation! Possibly these
physicists are descended from some famous people of these names.
Perhaps even Martin Heidegger (1889-1976; German philosopher),
Bobby Davro ([?]- ; British comedian/entertainer), Alfred
Theophil Holder (1840-1916; Austrian language scholar) and Dan
Quayle (1947- ; former American vice president -- here's hoping
that his descendant, with all his brilliance, knew how to spell
"potato").
** Legion
"My name is Legion, for we are many."
Line from the Bible (Mark 5:9, new King James Version)...
When Jesus asked the demon-possessed man his name, the
man replied
"My name is Legion; for we are many."
PARALLEL -- From the Bible (Revelation 6), the Four Horsemen of
the Apocalypse;
War (on a red horse), Famine (on a black horse), Death
(on a pale horse) and Pestilence (on a white horse). These four were
given power "over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger,
with death, and by the beasts of the earth".
PARALLEL
For the detective AR game Lister is playing, the
British movie "Gumshoe" (1971); starring Albert Finney as a Liverpudlian
who dreams himself as a private eye involved in a murder case.
Sing Sing
American prison having a well-used electric chair.
Wimbledon
British lawn-tennis tournament.
Tarka Dhal
Chick-pea-based Indian dish.
Bhindi Bajhii
Potato- or okra-based Indian dish.
Armageddon
The site of the final battle of nations that will lead to
the end of the world (the Bible, Revelation 16:16).
** The car in Gumshoe
A 1938 Bentley.
** "No, the last thing they'll be expecting is for us to turn into
ice-skating mongooses and dance the Bolero."
British ice-dancers
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won Winter Olympic gold medals
(Sarajevo, 1984) with programmes that included their popular
routine danced to Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" (1928).
** Streets Of Laredo
The name of the A.R. western game is probably
borrowed from the site of filming of the western sequences for this
episode -- the location shooting was done in the replica western
town of Laredo in Kent.
** Butch Accountant And The Yuppie Kid
Parody of the American movie
"Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid" (1969) starring Paul Newman
and Robert Redford.
** "Senorita, tres tequilas, por favor."
Miss, three tequilas please
(Spanish, pronounced very badly by Danny John-Jules such that it
comes out with a heavily Italian motif).
** "Vamonos, muchachos."
Let's go, guys (Spanish).
Cavaliers
During the English Civil War (1642-1651), supporter of
Charles I. The Cavaliers generally wore courtly dress and had
long hair. See below.
Roundheads
During the English Civil War (1642-1651), supporter of
Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarian cause. The Roundheads
wore their hair short as was typical of men of the lower classes.
See below.
** "One-nil to the pudding basins."
The conflict between Charles I
(1600-1649; King of Great Britain 1625-1649) and Parliament (led
by Oliver Cromwell, 1599-1658) resulted in the beheading of the
King in 1649, and the establishment of the Commonwealth (1649-
1660) with Cromwell as Protector (1653-1658). Monarchy was
restored in 1660 with Charles I's son Charles II (1630-1685; King
of Great Britain 1660-1685).
** The man behind the grassy knoll
"Gunman" (besides Lee Harvey
Oswald) allegedly involved in the assassination of American
president John F. Kennedy in Dallas, November 1963.
** Victory for the home eleven
A reference to the marvellous game
of cricket, in which there are eleven standard playing members
per team.
Aneurysm
Often-congenital weakening of the wall of an artery, making
the blood vessel prone to rupture (which may prove fatal) at
any time.
Thirty Years' War
(1618-1648) Major European war beginning as a
religious conflict in Germany and shifting to a struggle for
power by the Hapsburgs.
Hundred Years' War
(1337-1453) Conflicts between England and France
over political alliances and English claims on the French throne.
Crusoe, Robinson
Shipwrecked title character of the novel (1719) by
Daniel Defoe. See below.
Jane
Companion of Tarzan of the Apes (character created by Edgar Rice
Burroughs, 1912).
** A two-storey home with running water and a balcony-stroke-sun patio
The type of house built by victims of another shipwreck, "The
Swiss Family Robinson" (novel by Johann Wyss, 1812-1813; a
deliberate adaptation of Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe").
Mogadon Cluster
Not in any of *my* astronomy books, but sure is a
handy group of tablets to have in an emergency!! ;-) The
sedative Nitrazepam, popularly taken by drug users to "come down".
Nixon, Richard Milhous
(1913-1994) 37th president (1969-74) of the
USA, a Republican. He resigned over scandals including his
involvement in the Watergate cover-up.
Hapsburgs
European royals, imperial family of Austria-Hungary.
Dating from the 10th century, the family members then came to
rule as kings of Germany and as Holy Roman Emperors. At the
height of their power the Hapsburg families ruled a large portion
of Europe. Several Hapsburg divisions occurred, the last line of
which ended rule early this century.
Borgias
15th/16th century Italian (originally Spanish) noble family
who had great political power in Renaissance Italy, and whose
lifestyles were anything but sedate. The better-known members
were the corrupt Pope, Alexander VI, and his two illegitimate
children -- Cesare (cardinal and general) and Lucrezia (Duchess
of Ferrara and political intriguer, and alleged to have had
incestuous relationships with both her brother and father).
Louis XVI
(1754-1793) King of France 1774-1793. After the French
Revolution in 1789, Louis and his family lost power, but not
until 1792 were the royal family taken prisoner by the French
government. After being tried for treason, Louis was guillotined
in 1793.
** "Don't Nixon me, man!"
Accusation of a cover-up, a la former
American president Richard Nixon's (1913-1994) cover-up relating
to the political scandal of Watergate.
** "His wife's an absolute cutie!"
The wife of Louis XVI was Marie
Antoinette (1755-1793).
Red Dwarf: The End, Future Echoes, Balance of Power,Waiting for God, Confidence and Paranoia, Me^2
Red Dwarf II: Kryten, Better Than Life,Thanks for the Memory,Stasis Leak,Queeg,Parallel Universe
Red Dwarf III: Backwards,Marooned,Polymorph,Bodyswap,Timeslides,The Last Day
Red Dwarf IV: Camille,DNA,Justice,White Hole,Dimension Jump,Meltdown
Red Dwarf V: Holoship,The Inquisitor,Terrorform,Quarantine,Demons and Angels,Back to Reality
Red Dwarf VI: Psirens,Legion,Gunmen of the Apocalypse,Emohawk: Polymorph 2,Rimmerworld,Out of Time
Red Dwarf VII: Tikka to Ride,Stoke me a Clipper,Ouroboros,Duct Soup,Blue,Beyond a Joke,Epideme,Nanarchy
Moses
(c.13th century BC; attributed lifespan 120 years.) Old Testament
figure who led the Israelites out of Egypt and accepted the Ten
Commandments from God on Mount Sinai.
The Lone Ranger
Masked Texas Ranger hero first appearing in 1933 in an
American radio serial. His famous sidekicks were his horse Silver
and "that Indian bloke" Tonto. The Lone Ranger soon graduated to
celluloid beginning with a 1938 fifteen-part serial and moving into
TV and feature films up until 1981. Several actors have taken on
the roles of both the Lone Ranger and Tonto, but the best known Lone
Ranger is probably Clayton Moore (1914- ) with as his Tonto Jay
Silverheels (1919-1980); both appeared in the US TV series of
"The Lone Ranger" (1949-1957) and two feature films in 1955 and
1958.
Gemini
The Greek/Roman demigods Castor and Pollux, twin brothers whose
exploits included journeying with Jason and the Argonauts, and who
eventually were placed in the sky by Zeus as the constellation Gemini.
Also a 1960s US space program, so named for having two astronauts
per flight.
Bay City Rollers
Scottish 1970s teen-idol pop band. Several UK hits,
including the No. 1 "Bye Bye Baby" which was a cover of a Four
Seasons song.
Kennedy, John F(itzgerald)
(1917-1963) 35th president of the USA,
1961-1963 (Democrat). The youngest president to die in office.
Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas, November 22
1963.
Oswald, Lee Harvey
(1939-1963) Officially-accepted lone assassin
who shot John F. Kennedy (from the sixth floor of the Texas School
Book Depository), Harvey was himself shot and killed by Jack Ruby
two days after Kennedy's assassination.
Giancana, Sam
(1905?/8?-1975) Chicago Mafia boss. Said to have
swung votes for Jeff Kay in the 1960 US presidential election,
then alleged to have had a hand in Kennedy's assassination when
the Kennedy administration subsequently declared war on organised
crime.
Hoover, J(ohn) Edgar
(1895-1972) Powerful and controversial director
of the FBI for 48 years, with a particular interest in the fight
against organised crime. Alleged by some to have been a cross-
dressing homosexual.
Achilles
Greek hero (featured in Homer's "Iliad") whose mother Thetis
attempted to make immortal by dipping him in the River Styx. She
held him by his heel which was not exposed to the water and thus
remained his vulnerable spot (he died when shot in the heel with an
arrow) -- thus the phrase for a vulnerable spot has become "Achilles
heel".
** Jeff Kay's wife, in the pink suit
Was of course Jackie Kennedy
(later Onassis), 1929-1994.
** That poster of the tennis girl scratching her butt
A photograph
called "Tennis Girl", taken by Martin Elliott in 1970, which
apparently became the biggest-selling poster image of all time.
The tennis girl is walking away from the camera across a tennis
court, and lifting her dress to scratch at her behind. See this
famous poster, still known even three million years on, at
http://www.netcom.ca/~tj_/tennisgirl.html.
** "Ask not what your country can do for you...ask what you can do for
your country..."
Portion of the speech made by John F. Kennedy
upon his inauguration as US president, January 20, 1961. Read/hear
this speech at http://members.aol.com/JFKin61/inuagural.html (sic).
Bonjella
A type of gum ointment (as mentioned by Rimmer in MAROONED).
Listerine
An antiseptic mouthwash. Named after Joseph Lister (1827-
1912), the British doctor who founded antiseptic surgery.
Camelot
Site of the legendary court of King Arthur and his Knights of
the Round Table.
Galahad
Sir Galahad was the most peerless and pure of King Arthur's
Knights of the Round Table, and one of only two to successfully
fulfil the Quest of the Holy Grail.
Wilde, Oscar
(1854-1900) Irish writer, author of the novel "The
Picture Of Dorian Gray" (1891) and the play "The Importance Of
Being Earnest" (1895).
Von Trapp, Maria
Character played by Julie Andrews (1935- ) in
the 1965 American movie "The Sound Of Music". The movie was
set in Austria, where the hills (and the mountains presumably)
are alive with the sound of music (or hamsters running in wheels).
** Voorhese's aeroplane
A Heinkel.
Ouroboros
Greek compound word meaning "tail devouring/devourer"
(adjective/noun).
Oxfam
Charity organisation with its own shops for funding itself by the
sale of donated items (clothing etc).
Hello!
Glossy magazine devoted to gossip of the rich and famous.
A.W.O.L.
Absent WithOut Leave.
Deely-boppers
Toy "antennae", balls (or other novelty shapes such as
stars or hearts) on springs attached to a head band.
** Priscilla, Queen Of Deep Space
A reference to the original (or a
remake!) of the 1994 Australian movie "The Adventures Of Priscilla,
Queen Of The Desert" (starring Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and
Guy Pearce) about the travels of a transsexual and two transvestites
across the Australian desert. The movie won an Oscar for its
elaborate and flamboyant costume design.
Princess Leia
Character played by Carrie Fisher (1956- ) in the
Star Wars movie trilogy (1977-1997). Princess Leia first
appeared sporting a distinctive hairstyle in the form of a roll of
hair over each ear.
"Mister" Skywalker
Luke Skywalker, character played by Mark
Hamill (1952- ) in the Star Wars movie trilogy (1977-1997);
ally and brother of Princess Leia.
Heimlich Manoeuvre
First aid procedure to assist victims of choking,
developed by the American surgeon Henry J. Heimlich (1920- )
in the 1970s.
The Importance Of Being Earnest
Play written by Oscar Wilde in
1895.
** "To pee or not to pee, that is the question..."
Parallel of the
line from William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (Act III, Scene I),
spoken by Hamlet, which reads -- "To be or not to be; that is
the question..."
** "...said he was gonna drop me in the canal..."
Lister is probably
referring to the Leeds Liverpool Canal.
Parker Knoll
A manufacturer of furniture, including reclining chairs.
Wellington boots
Knee-high waterproof (usually rubber) boots, named
after the first Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley, 1769-1852).
Reading Festival
Annual open-air music festival held at the town of
Reading in Berkshire, England (1997's festival dates were 22-24
August and the line-up listed Metallica, Bush, The Cardigans,
You Am I and Marilyn Manson). The communal latrines are probably
pretty standardly gross as far as open-air music festivals go; in
addition apparently the best time to use them is mid-morning just
after they are cleaned and the worst times to be anywhere near
them at all are
a) if you're standing down-wind (no surprise there...);
b) at the end of the festival's weekend, when over-
exuberant music fans are liable to tip the toilets over
as an expression of appreciation for their entertaining
weekend, or else as an aid to making the apples easier to
get hold of. You pick.
The Magic Flute
Opera written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1791,
about two men in search of love and enlightenment via trials of
fire and water; through which they are aided by the gifts of a
magic flute and magic pipes. One of the men is Papageno the
Birdcatcher, whose job it is to catch birds for the Queen of Night
and whose chief desire is to fall in love, as evidenced by these
words from The Birdcatcher's Song:
I'm sure that there could never be
A more contented man than me,
I earn my living as I please
I charm the birds from out the trees;
If only I could cast a spell
And catch a pretty girl as well,
I'd hold her close the pretty thing
And she would sleep beneath my wing.
Garden strimmer
A weed-destroying garden instrument, of the family
also known as weed whackers or whipper-snippers.
Brynner, Yul
(1915-1985) Russian-born American actor most
famous for his role as the King of Siam in first the Broadway
musical "The King And I" and then the 1956 film version of the
same name; the role for which he won an Oscar and which
established his bald-headed look which he retained throughout
his career. Other films include "The Magnificent Seven" (1960)
and "Westworld" (1973).
Freud, Sigmund
(1865-1839) Austrian physician who pioneered the
study of the unconscious mind, and laid foundations for the
principles of psychoanalysis.
** "Wir mussen in total Krieg glauben, du Scheisskerl..!"
We must
believe in total war, you shithead/bastard (German).
Centauri
The closest star to the sun, Proxima Centauri, is located in
the constellation of Centaurus in the southern sky.
Tales Of The Unexpected
American TV anthology series (1979) created
by the author Roald Dahl; the stories are also published in book
collections of the same name.
Austen, Jane
(1775-1817) English author whose novels included
"Persuasion", "Sense And Sensibility", "Emma" and "Pride And
Prejudice" (all published in the 1810s).
Pride And Prejudice
Novel by Jane Austen; published 1813. The
story of five sisters and their search for husbands. Mr. and Mrs
Bennet's five daughters in descending order of age are Jane,
Elizabeth (Lizzy), Mary, Kitty and Lydia. Mr. Bingley (the
gazebo owner and rich neighbour of the Bennets) is the suitor
of Jane (treed and blowpiped); Mr. Darcy (Mr. Bingley's friend)
courts Elizabeth (Kryten's first victim). Mary is the studious
sister, while the two youngest girls are giggly and flirtatious
and have a particular penchant for soldiers.
BAFTA Awards
Annual British awards ceremony for achievements
in film and television, presented by the British Academy of
Film and Television Arts.
Turner, Tina
(1938- ) American singer and sometime actress.
Hits include "What's Love Got To Do With It?" and "We Don't
Need Another Hero" from the 1985 Australian film "Mad Max
Beyond Thunderdome", in which she starred.
** "He ain't heavy, sir. He's my brother."
The song "He Ain't
Heavy, He's My Brother" was released in 1969 by the British
group The Hollies.
Curie, Marie (Madame)
(1867-1934) Polish physicist who, along
with her husband Pierre Curie, discovered and isolated the radio-
active elements polonium and radium. Winner of Nobel Prizes in
1903 and 1911.
Batman
The Caped Crusader; comic book hero created by Bob Kane in
1938/1939. Has been portrayed by Adam West (1929- ) in
the TV series of the late 1960s, and by three actors so far (we
know who they are) in the American movie series that began in
1989 with "Batman" and shows no signs of abating.
Tutankhamen
(c.1360-1350 BC) Boy pharaoh of ancient Egypt, and
one of the few whose tomb survived to the present day largely
unplundered by thieves (discovered by Howard Carter, 1922).
His famous gold death mask is presently in a Cairo museum.
Salt Lake City
The capital of the state of Utah in the USA.
The Grim Reaper
Death, portrayed as a skeleton in hood and cloak,
carrying a scythe to cut away a dying person's life.
Marx, Zeppo
(1901-1979) One of the Marx Brothers (others were
Chico, Groucho and Harpo), a team of American comedy actors very
successful during the 1930s. Films included "Monkey Business"
(1931) and "Duck Soup" (1933), before Zeppo left the group and
the remaining Marx Brothers continued making films such as "A
Night At The Opera" (1935) and "A Day At The Races" (1937).
Swindon
Town in Wiltshire, England.
** The tune Epideme hums before he switches off
The first line of
the British National Anthem, "God Save The Queen".
Van Gogh, Vincent
(1853-1890) Dutch Post-Impressionist painter.
Given to bouts of insanity, after one of which he cut off his own
ear. He shot himself at the age of 37 during another spell of
madness. Paintings include "Still Life With Sunflowers" (1888),
"Cornfield With Cypresses" (1889) and "Self-Portrait" (1890).
The Fugitive
US TV series of the mid-1960s, in which Dr. Richard
Kimble (David Janssen, 1931-1980) is falsely accused of
his wife's murder and goes on the run to find the real killer,
the One-Armed Man (Bill Raisch, 1904-1984). The 1993
American movie "The Fugitive" starred Harrison Ford (1942- )
as Dr. Kimble and Andreas Katsulas ([?]- ) as the One-Armed
Man.
Now, Voyager
1942 American movie starring Bette Davis as a
browbeaten spinster who is helped by a psychiatrist and in
turn identifies with and helps a lonely little girl while
embarking on a doomed love affair with the girl's father.
** Van Gogogoch
Reference to the name of the town in Gwynedd, Wales
(Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch)
which has the longest place-name in the UK. The made-up title
means "St. Mary's Church by the pool of the white hazel trees,
near the rapid whirlpool, by the red cave of the Church of St.
Tysilio".
** Florence Nightingdroid
Presumably the mechanoid equivalent
of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the British nurse who
(during the Crimean War) established nursing practices that
led (along with her later founding of a nursing school/home in
London) to the revolutionising of nursing as a profession.
Red Dwarf, Related Productions
Weenies
An American name for hot-dog sausages or frankfurters.
Amish
Most insular and conservative faction of Mennonites, a
Protestant religious group rejecting worldliness (eg. in the
form of using no modern technology and wearing no modern
clothing styles) and living simple lives in emulation of early
Christians. The main American community is in Pennsylvania.
** "We saw this Cuban guy who kept hitting bongo drums and calling for
'Lucy!'."
Apparently the ship was picking up transmissions of
the 1950s TV show "I Love Lucy", starring Lucille Ball (1911-1989)
and her then-husband, Desi Arnaz (1917-1986), a Cuban conga
musician, singer, and later actor.
** The scroll format and lettering "Not so long ago, in a universe not
so very far away..."
Mimics the eventual scroll format and the
initial words from the 1977 American movie "Star Wars" (starring
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford) -- "A long time ago
in a galaxy far, far away...."
** "What if they're...the kind [aliens] that want to enter your bodily
orifices and then burst out at inappropriate moments?"
A
reference to the 1979 British movie "Alien", starring Sigourney
Weaver and John Hurt. In the movie, Hurt's character Kane has
an alien "embryo" deposited in his digestive system via an
ovipositoral insertion through his mouth. The "embryo" then
chooses to burst out of Kane's upper abdomen during the Nostromo
crew's meal, killing Kane and effectively ruining the appetites
of the remaining, living diners. Most inappropriate indeed, and
certainly not covered by Emily Post.
** Green, acid-filled butts
Another reference to the abovementioned
movie "Alien". "Green" is probably a matter of opinion, but the
aliens in the movie (and its sequels) certainly had concentrated
acid for "blood".
Noel Edmonds (BACK TO REALITY)
([?]- ) British "personality" and
practical joker. Star of his own show called "Noel's House
Party".
The Oakland (HOLOSHIP)
A town in northern California which is home to
a sports stadium called the Oakland-Almeda County Coliseum.
"Eeeextraordinary!" (BACK TO REALITY etc)
One of Chris Barrie's
impressions is of David Coleman (a British sportscaster, [?]- ;
that's him talking to Lester Piggott at Wembley in the later
MELTDOWN piece), in which he uses the word "extraordinary" a lot.
The Red Dwarf cast have now taken to doing an impression of Chris
Barrie doing an impression of David Coleman.
Billy The Kid (JUSTICE)
Nickname of American outlaw William Bonney
(1859-1881) who had allegedly killed over 20 men (the first at
age 12) by the time he died.
Kenneth Williams (MELTDOWN etc)
(1926-1988) British actor best known
for his roles in the "Carry On" series of movies (also starring
for the most part Sid James and Joan Sims), eg. "Carry On Henry"
(1971) and "Carry On Matron" (1972).
Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea (TERRORFORM)
(1961) American
movie about a futuristic undersea odyssey in an atomic submarine.
Starred Walter Pidgeon and Joan Fontaine, and spawned a TV series.
It is actually the TV series (1964-1967, starring Richard Basehart
and David Hedison) that Craig Charles and Robert Llewellyn would
be taking off -- the schlock "special effects" are trademark of
Irwin Allen, the producer/director responsible for both the movie
and the series; and whose other notable projects include the TV
series "Land Of The Giants" and "Lost In Space", and the movies
"The Poseidon Adventure" (1972) and "The Towering Inferno" (1974).
Fiennes, Sir Ranulph (RIMMERWORLD)
(1944- ) British explorer who
made the first surface journey around the world's polar
circumference.
Wembley (MELTDOWN)
Sports stadium in London at which the FA (Football
Association) Cup Final is held every year (since 1923).
Piggott, Lester (MELTDOWN)
(1935- ) Champion British jockey;
imprisoned in 1987 for tax evasion (returned to racing 1990).
Vat '69 (MELTDOWN)
VAT is value added tax, Vat '69 is a type of
whiskey.
** One of the model shots of Starbug leaving the Red Dwarf
Shows
the blue police box TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In
Space) that is the transport vehicle for the Doctor (in the
British time-travel science-fiction show "Doctor Who"). All
right yes I know we all know that, but it's just included for
completeness' sake, okay?
"Just pretend it's scrumpy." (MAROONED)
Scrumpy is an alcoholic apple
cider, most particularly from the West Country of England.
"Who's the most unpopular man at a Borussia Munchengladbach match?"
(THE LAST DAY)
A German football team.
Orion
A hunter in Greek mythology, whose name is given to an equatorial
constellation.
Heathrow
International airport of London.
Ringway
Manchester Ringway Airport.
** John, Paul, George and Ringway
Referencing of course The Beatles,
John Lennon (1940-1980), Paul McCartney (1942- ), George Harrison
(1943- ) and Ringo Starr (1940- ).
** A between-meal snack that does ruin your appetite
The advertising
slogan for Milky Way chocolate bars (fluffy whipped chocolate
covered in milk chocolate, made by Mars) is of the format -- "The
sweet/snack you can eat between meals, without ruining your
appetite."
Crunchie Bars
Scrumdiddlyumptious chocolate-covered honeycomb bars,
made by Cadbury.
Last, James
(1929- ) German-born cabaret/dance band leader and
musician. Big success in Europe. Albums include "Polka Party"
and "Violins In Love". The album covers apparently are more
useful than in just protecting vinyl. See an example of such a
cover at http://www.netcom.ca/~tj_/james.html (and good luck!).
Miss Brodie
Character from the 1965 novel by Muriel Sharp, "The Prime
Of Miss Jean Brodie". The novel chronicles the prime and fall of
a charismatic teacher at a Scottish girls' school. Made into a
movie (1969) starring Maggie Smith (1934- ) in her Oscar-winning
role of Miss Brodie.
Mr. Chips
Latin/English/Literature schoolmaster character Mr. Chipping
of the 1934 novel "Goodbye Mr. Chips", by James Hilton. Made into
films, notably in 1939 with Robert Donat (1905-1958) as Mr. Chips.
Disraeli, Benjamin
(1804-1881) Prime Minister of Great Britain,
1868 and 1874-1880.
Genghis Khan
(c.1167-1227) Mongol conqueror and great military
leader. Ruler of all Mongol peoples, across a vast empire ranging
from the Yellow Sea (China/Korea) to the Black Sea (south-east
Europe), from 1206.
Shakespeare, William
(1564-1616) English dramatist (actor and
playwright) and poet.
Dickens, Charles
(1812-1870) English novelist. Books include
"Oliver Twist" (1838) and "Great Expectations" (1861).
** "What if we're down here for days and end up having to eat each
other like those dudes from that plane crash?"
In 1972 a
chartered plane carrying 45 people, including a Uruguayan boys'
school rugby team (known as "The Old Christians") and several of
their friends and family, crashed in the Andes mountains en
route from Argentina to Chile. Sixteen people were eventually
rescued 72 days later, these survivors having subsisted on the
remains of their dead companions while stranded in the snow.
The story was told in the 1992 US film "Alive".
Like being back in jail (DUCT SOUP)
For those who still don't know,
Craig Charles spent several weeks in jail in 1994 while awaiting
(his 1995) trial on a rape charge. He was found Not Guilty.
TO BE CONTINUED... ;-)