Red Dwarf - The Promised Land [Blu-ray] [2020]

After an almost 2 and a half year hiatus since the series 12 finale (though the AA adverts were pretty good) - fairly long but thankfully not as massive as the 4 years between series 10 and 11 - Red Dwarf returned to television in its thirteenth, this time extended length outing in April 2020. While it is an exceptional achievement for there to be brand new material from a show over 32 years since its screen debut, has it still got that Dwarfy magic and is this feature length effective?Series 10 was very good and series 11/12 were generally excellent and fortunately The Promised Land carries on that path. For a start, filling in the history of the Cat race was the correct opening scene because it makes the special understandable for either the casual RD viewer or someone who has never watched the programme before. There was some concern at this being the longest Red Dwarf episode in history due to Back in the Red Part 3 having a bit of padding, Pete Part 1 and 2 being the weakest RD story ever and Back to Earth being a bit lacklustre but showrunner Doug Naylor has pulled it off this time with aplomb. The plot finally resolving what happened to the rest of the Cat race is epic and spectacular, reminding me somewhat of fan favourite The Beginning - but with the special's greater length it realises that series 10 finale's potential to an even greater level and is even more thrilling. It is bigger in scope as it feels like The Promised Land has three sections - the first half hour is pure comedy on the mothership and there is the usual flow of high-quality gags and one liners. The second half hour or so varies because it is - while still retaining just about enough humour - more dramatic and emotional with Rimmer experiencing an existential crisis in his interesting low power, black and white appearance (how he was originally intended to be displayed back in series 1). In fact, the scene with the sun and moon imagery - stated by Lister to keep Rimmer alive - is one of the most touching moments ever of arguably Red Dwarf's two most important characters (though they are all sensational!). Even though at this point 30 years on the antagonism is less between them than in the earlier series, it is realistic too because Lister and the other Dwarfers do not quite tell this petty, odious hologram that they like him and Kryten's lack of a nod is an amusing visual gag. The final around 20 minutes makes The Promised Land even more versatile rounding it off with an all action climax to defeat the Feral Cats.All four regular cast members are superb in terms of their acting ability yet again. Although they were a bit wooden in the 2009 specials (due to only just being reunited after a decade's long hiatus), this time - like in the recent couple of series - they fully display all facets of the crew's distinctive and iconic personalities to the maximum. The numerous guest cast are all fantastic too and provide the Feral Cats with a mixture of malevolence and humour - Ray Fearon as the Cat leader is particularly impressive providing a sinister threat while others like his lackey Count Ludo are sillier. This blend will satisfy both the fans who want to see more of Naylor's antagonists who play it straight and those who prefer the daft but comical ones. Meanwhile, the Cat Clerics who worship Lister - while very similar - all have quite strong performances. Their ridiculousness is understandable as their "God" is a barely washed space bum and the "Lister Lister" song is extremely catchy, hilarious and never tiresome, despite being repeatedly sung throughout.Norman Lovett's return as ship computer Holly was very welcome, well-handled and the floppy disc gag (like the Ferals' cat flap) was one of the funniest moments of the night - absurd slapstick and yet comedy gold. It is a positive how he does not remain restored for the whole of the episode back to his original settings when he is Queeg-like, as it is pleasurable to see the contrast later on when he returns to his typical, senile self. The fact that it was Rimmer who suggested the load last save action is also like The Beginning with him starting (and later continuing) the process of saving them. This may have received some criticism from a few fans wondering why none of the crew had considered this option before they had to flee Red Dwarf in the first place, but it fits in with the Dwarfers general level of incompetence. But anyhow Holly performing the next "miracle" to please the Cat Clerics by exploding the moon sending them hurtling back to Red Dwarf worked because although it appeared clever it was actually a fluke and the subsequent dialogue that he forgot to inform the crew/clerics that the Ferals had boarded the ship confirms his comical stupidity of old. Still it is nice for Norman Lovett's Holly to have a more triumphant moment for once but it is even better for his dialogue to return to more like the standard it was at in series 1/2 and his 4 minutes in Skipper (though I did enjoy most of his performances as a joke cracking tool in series 8 too).In fact, one slight negative about The Promised Land was an aspect of the rest of the tiny bit rushed resolution. It was established earlier on in the episode when the Dwarfers were on the Iron Star (the Cat Clerics’ greatly technologically advanced ship) that Rimmer had the potential to be upgraded to Diamond Light. But the fact that the Anubis stone - that fuels this superhero ability - is never explained as to how it holds this power does make the pay off slightly deus ex machina. Naylor never filmed a bit that was meant to be in the opening few minutes in which the property of the dung-covered stone was revealed due to concerns that the Dwarfers arrival would be too slow, but to make the resolution slightly more sci-fi it should really have been included. But overall, it is successful because it is reminiscent of first New Who showrunner Russell T Davies' similar simple but powerful resolutions and Rimmer then manipulating the light to shine on Rodon attracting the other Ferals to attack him was pretty smart and satisfying too. The Anubis Stone then being used to save Kryten - who had lost charge due to his lack of a service - provided it with a clever double purpose and was likewise a fine additional pay off. The twist at the end that the Cats now praise Rimmer as their God is hilarious, rounding off the show superbly.There are only another few minor criticisms of the special that make it not completely perfect. Kryten's new mechanoid suit appeared a bit too cheap and pale initially, though to be fair it was explained that he required a service throughout the episode. Also although a lot of the script is tight, there is an occasional wasted line on a few occasions when for example a re-used joke from a previous series misfires or it descends into slightly too puerile series 8 humour (though half of that 1999 run was classic Dwarf anyway). The final little nit-pick would be the usage of pure CGI on this occasion and there being no more of the charming, pretty models of old - they looked stunningly realistic in series 11/12 and as that was only a few years ago why were they ditched? Still the CGI is clearly significantly better than that used in Back to Earth and perhaps due to budget restrictions they could not be used anymore.Ultimately, this new special is a fantastic way to briefly escape these really troubled times at present - at feature length and like a TV Movie but in sitcom episode form still, it is all encompassing of a lot of different styles ranging from the legendary comedy of old to some of Red Dwarf's most effective more thoughtful material ever. Naylor has finally done long form Red Dwarf true justice after a few disappointments (though Back in the Red was overall pretty strong) with plenty of time for the script to breath and little sagging. Even though there are sadly no models present anymore the visual effects look mostly rather beautiful - with the usual excellent sets - and despite the fact that the budget was probably quite tight again, Paul Farrer's music score was fabulous and similarly provided it with an epic atmosphere. In fact, though he did want to experiment with feature length Red Dwarf first, The Promised Land is so largely successful that it would have been preferable for Naylor to have accepted the offer of the money for 2 specials this year. That would have taken the duration of new Red Dwarf material in 2020 up to 3 hours which is the same as the length of a typical Red Dwarf series to make up for a lack of a full thirteenth run. Still, perhaps due to lockdown too and wisely there being no way of previewing the episode before TV broadcast this time around, the viewing figures of over 2 million watches in a month are incredible for a show this old and should pave the way for future Red Dwarf when the Covid pandemic eventually ends, all being well. The fan base has mixed feelings as to whether it should be a conventional 6-episode series or another 1/2 specials to resolve more loose plot ends from the show's history (e.g. what happened to Kochanski? Do they ever return to Earth?). But if one last crack at a full series is not feasible, then more specials would be a fine career move too. If however, it does end up being the last episode of Red Dwarf - though certainly hopefully not - it is pleasing that it is in the form that series 11/12 showed and it finishes openly with no surreal, perplexing cliffhanger like the last BBC episode Only the Good... disappointingly had. Even without other co-creator Rob Grant - although series 2-6 will always be Red Dwarf's peak years - Naylor is phenomenal and remarkable to keep producing Red Dwarf of such a genuine very strong quality. So, with the great TV rating and the general adoration towards The Promised Land on social media, hopefully there will be some more new Red Dwarf material in whatever form as soon as possible to continue this late career purple patch.

At this point it feels like we're 3 million years away from Red Dwarf's heyday, but thankfully we're also light years from the nadir of series 7 and 8.Like the rest of Dave era Dwarf, this feature length special has a handful of great gags, lovely character moments and a lot of by-the-numbers stuff that at this point is so well worn that it could be written by machine learning.Visually, it's a mixed bag that veers between truly cinematic and done on the cheap - but considering the budget, it's all on screen.The story harkens back to the earliest day of the show...and whilst perfectly intelligible to those who aren't steeped in Dwarf lore, there's lots of visual references that casual viewers will miss or be baffled by.It's a decent disc (I plumped for the DVD version due to the reversible cover that matches the rest of the Dwarf discs on the shelf) and only really bother with Blu-Ray when it's something with a high budget that stands up to high-def (or there's extra content not on the DVD). For something like Red Dwarf, it just makes the seams more obvious.Extra features are decent - not a patch on the BBC era discs, but they just don't make DVDs like they used to. There's a documentary that's long enough for a one-off special, a handful of smeg ups that are as joyous as always and a short documentary from the perspective of the audience that attended the filming. They're hardcore Dwarfers, which is who this special is really made for. And there's nothing wrong with that.Things are looking hopeful for the future, with more specials possibly on the horizon. It feels like we're entering the twilight era of the show and if we get a few more of these from Doug Naylor, wrapping up the dangling plot threads from and celebrating the history of the show, it will be a fitting conclusion to an epic journey.

after 32 years this 'not a movie' is definitely for the fans. in fact the 'red dwarf family' is how the fans are known and referred to by the cast. see the extras for evidence of this, and while we're on the subject of extras the usual suspects are all present and correct. 'the promised doc' details the making of this feature length episode, there's a collection of smeg ups, of deleted scenes and of course a look at the fans that keep this show coming back decade after decade.since the move from the bbc to dave the budget has obviously improved and the production values here are of a suitably high quality. the cgi works well and the sets look great. the show itself, as always, is a combination of visual and verbal gags but the glue that holds it all together is the chemistry between the four leads. add in some great supporting roles and the show still feels fresh even into its fourth decade.