Red Dwarf X

So, a mere thirteen years after the last full series, we finally get more Red Dwarf. And it's pretty good! It may not always hit the heights of the first six seasons, and it may have regularly reminded me that the show is better at female characters when it doesn't have any, but crucially, it IS a proper series of Red Dwarf. It returns to the classic formula of the last living human stranded on a derelict mining ship three million years into deep space with a hologram of his dead bunkmate, a cat and a mechanical lifeform for company. It's the first time since 1997 that they've attempted that, and arguably the first time since 1993 that they've actually succeeded.

Also, I'm delighted to say that Red Dwarf X has the best writing for the Cat since Kryten showed up. He's been consistently hilarious, and the scripts have remembered to include all his personality traits. (Yes, he has more than one.) Really nice to see after so many years of him being an afterthought.

I thought the first and last episodes were the strongest, although that might be the Rimmer fangirl talking in the case of Trojan. Episodes two through four had some good ideas but didn't always execute them effectively, and episode five was pretty terrible. The Beginning, though, was good stuff that I wouldn't hesitate to put on a list of my favourite Red Dwarf episodes ever.

( Spoilery reasons I liked it. )

All in all, Back to Earth worked as a tribute, but this is proper Red Dwarf. Here's hoping it actually is The Beginning.