Rob Grant, creator of Red Dwarf, has died
120 points
1 hour ago
| 16 comments
| beyondthejoke.co.uk
| HN
ColinEberhardt
1 hour ago
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My random claim to fame; I was the support act (juggler) for Norman Lovett (the red dwarf ships computer), for one night only in the Welsh town of Bangor.

What a life I’ve lived.

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nephihaha
21 minutes ago
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Yes, I remember him. He briefly had his own show called "I Lovett" or something like that. Also spent time in Bangor back in the mid nineties.
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nullhole
1 hour ago
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RIP, thanks for the memories.

No sci fi effect has ever given me the same sense of wonder that I got from the shot of the camera slowly travelling over the gigantic ship in the Season 1/2 intro.

Btw: @dang : Grant was the co-creator, alongside Doug Naylor, who is still kicking

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JojoFatsani
21 minutes ago
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There was nothing like Red Dwarf on TF (British or American) back then - a laugh-tracked show that could be simultaneously the most hilarious dry wit, not-so-dry bawdy humor, and a compelling and thought-provoking sci-fi action-adventure all at the same time.

I fell off it after they had that comeback season roughly in 2000 where the whole ship got revived. Then I saw a few clips from a later season where everyone was pretty schlubby. I'll need to track down some way to re-watch the whole thing.

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mrwh
1 hour ago
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It's cold outside

There's no kind of atmosphere

I'm all alone

More or less

Let me fly Far away from here

Fun fun fun

In the sun sun sun

I want to lie

Shipwrecked and comatose

Drinking fresh

Mango juice

Goldfish shoals

Nibbling at my toes

Fun fun fun

In the sun sun sun

Fun fun fun In the sun sun sun

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danielodievich
45 minutes ago
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As fresh immigrant to USA, watching it on local PBS on the gigantic back projection jumbotron TV someone offloaded on us back in mid-90es, it made a huge impact with its absurdity and silliness. I sing "Drinking Fresh Mango Juice" every time I get it out of the fridge, and when my wife and I visited Egypt and got room service with fresh mango juices, it was in heavy rotation. And every time I leave and it's cold outside, I tend to sing "It's cold outside!". RIP
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zabzonk
1 hour ago
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One of my favourite happy happy songs.

> Shipwrecked and comatose

is how I have often felt.

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ddellacosta
48 minutes ago
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As an American, Red Dwarf along with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy created a deep appreciation both for British humor and funny sci-fi in my adolescent self. I now own the box set on DVD and even have a random Red Dwarf novel I got at a yard sale (I forget which one of them wrote it though).

RIP Rob! Will be having a vindaloo, lager, and maybe some fish (Fish! Fish! Fish!) later in your honor

(EDIT: 100% talking about the UK version here, had no idea or forgot there _was_ an American version)

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afandian
38 minutes ago
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Maybe it was written by:

> Grant Naylor is a gestalt entity occupying two bodies, one of which lives in north London, the other in south London. The product of a horribly botched genetic-engineering experiment, which took place in Manchester in the late fifties, they try to eke out two existences with only one mind. They attended the same school and the same university, but, for tax reasons, have completely different wives.

> The first body is called Rob Grant, the second Doug Naylor. Among other things, they spent three years in the mid-eighties as head writers of Spitting Image; wrote Radio Four's award-winning series Son of Cliche; penned the lyrics to a number one single; and created and wrote Red Dwarf for BBC television.

> They have made a living variously by being ice-cream salesmen, shoe-shop assistants and by attempting to sell dodgy life-assurance policies to close friends. They also spent almost two years on the night shift loading paper into computer printers at a mail-order factory in Ardwick. They can still taste the cheese 'n' onion toasties.

> Their favourite colour is orange.

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ddellacosta
35 minutes ago
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Haha I went and actually looked and yep, that's it...no wonder I couldn't remember
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afandian
33 minutes ago
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Somehow enough fragments of that stayed in my brain since 2004 to google it. My first and last real-life encounter with the word 'gestalt'.
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beloch
38 minutes ago
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Red Dwarf is an absolute classic, but I think people of all nations can agree that the American version was better off cancelled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mlnntKi2no

Even the second attempt at it, with Star Trek DS9's Terry Farrell (as Cat), was a bad idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfJsViD9SjM

The original was lightning in a bottle.

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nephihaha
16 minutes ago
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I have watched the American pilot, and one thing I found curious was that the two female characters were the most interesting (Cat and the Computer played by Terry Farrel and Jane Leeves who were both in major series - Deep Space Nine and Frasier). Holly/Computer has been female for much of the British series and Cat did work as a female character. Contrast with the British show which was very male except for computer (sometimes) and Kochanski when she became a regular character (Chloe Annette didn't really work. I wish Clare Grogan had been a regular instead.)
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moffers
1 hour ago
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They’re all dead, Dave! What a great franchise.
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bravoetch
1 hour ago
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I used to stay up late to watch Red Dwarf. [dark reference to the show incoming] Maybe he's moved on to somewhere Better Than Life.
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codeulike
30 minutes ago
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Loved the show back in its heyday. From what I remember, the novels are pretty good too
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thx4allthefish
1 hour ago
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Smeeeeeeeeg head
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dwb
27 minutes ago
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Fab show, great memories! Thanks for the laughs Rob, RIP.
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hermitcrab
37 minutes ago
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Kryton is one of the greatest characters to ever grace a tv screen.
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Lio
35 minutes ago
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“It’s a banana. It always has been a banana and always will be a banana. It’s a yellow fruit you unzip and eat the white bits. It’s a banana!“
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solomonb
1 hour ago
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Wow 2 in one day with Dan Simmons :(

Rest in peace.

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alephnerd
1 hour ago
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I'll pour out a lager and grab some chicken vindaloo in his memory.
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petermcneeley
1 hour ago
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RIP with the calculators.
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stevekemp
45 minutes ago
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Silicon heaven .. hopefully free of talking-toasters.
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arprocter
23 minutes ago
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Not now, not ever. No toast.
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busterarm
1 hour ago
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Smeg
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jl6
1 hour ago
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Damn. Guess I’ll be smoking some kippers in his memory.

Can we get a black bar?

On second thoughts, that would mean changing the CSS.

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tarkin2
46 minutes ago
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Ah, there are so many jokes like that which still make me smile. I'm grateful Red Dwarf and his books were part of my childhood.
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