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Backwards (Red Dwarf episode)
Encyclopedia
"Backwards" is the first episode of science fiction
sitcom
Red Dwarf
Series III, and the thirteenth in the series run. It premiered on the British television channel BBC2
on 14 November 1989. Written by Rob Grant
and Doug Naylor
, and directed by Ed Bye
, the episode has the crew travel to an alternate Earth
where time runs backwards.
The episode marks the first appearance of Robert Llewellyn
's Kryten, Hattie Hayridge
's version of Holly, the new spaceship Starbug, better production values, and a change in direction of story themes that would cement the show's cult status. The story was later reformulated as a novel by the same name
. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.
-esque pre-title sequence revealing the events after what happened in "Parallel Universe". Lister has
given birth to twins, but unfortunately, they suffered from highly accelerated growth rates and became 18 years old within three days, and his twins were returned to the universe of their own origin. Meanwhile, the ship's computer Holly
had a head sex-change operation to become like Hilly, a female computer with whom he once fell madly in love. And then, Kryten
, who was last seen
leaving the Nova 5 on Lister's space-bike was found in pieces on an asteroid, which meant Lister ended up rebuilding the droid, but unfortunately, he was incapable of recapturing Kryten's former personality, which gives him a brand-new personality and he became a permanent member of the crew.
Rimmer
(Chris Barrie
) takes Kryten
(Robert Llewellyn
) out in Starbug 1 for his piloting test and while answering recognition questions they travel through a time hole. They crash-land on a planet which appears similar to Earth. As they reach a roadside they notice a sign which says "Nodnol, 871 selim". Although Rimmer is confused, Kryten correctly states that the sign reads London, 178 miles, and that they're on a backwards Earth.
Meanwhile Lister
(Craig Charles
) and Cat
(Danny John-Jules
) have been flying around in Starbug 2 for the past three weeks searching for them. They come across the same "time hole" that Starbug 1 did and, despite Cat's reservations, go through it. They close in on Starbug 1 using a homing device and land near the lake where it crash-landed. Upon exiting Starbug 2 Lister complains of feeling some pain—he suddenly has a black eye and his ribs feel like they've been cracked.
Kryten and Rimmer are initially disgusted with this "backwards" world. Here, people take money from buskers' hats, and cafes are populated by customers who spit tea back into teacups and messily disgorge chocolate éclairs. Newspapers report events that have yet to happen, and advertise job vacancies that offer good demotion prospects. Rimmer and Kryten quickly discover that they can use their forwardness to their advantage, however, starring in an act called "The Sensational Reverse Brothers".
Lister and Cat eventually track down Kryten and Rimmer at the club where they work, whereupon Lister finally discovers that everything is backwards, after initially thinking they had landed in Bulgaria
. However, Kryten and Rimmer are quite content on this planet. Lister tries to convince them to come back, but they intend to stay. The club owner then fires them for starting a fight, but Kryten argues that they have not started any fight. At the same time, a man takes offence to Lister and Cat "uneating" his pie, and punches Lister twice, healing his black eye and broken rib. Kryten realises that this is actually the beginning of the barroom brawl that got them fired, and a huge fight breaks out in reverse. Eventually everything is restored to its original state and they realise that they cannot stay on a backwards Earth. The final reinforcement of that occurs when Cat attempts to relieve himself in the bushes, forgetting that everything happens in reverse.
With Rob Grant and Doug Naylor directly involved with the third series, under their Grant Naylor Productions team, they radically changed the look of the show. The opening credits sequence sported a new rock guitar version of the Red Dwarf theme tune playing over clips from the series. The opening sequence ends with the first appearance of the official logo of the show which was designed by DeWinters. Mel Bibby had also come on board the crew and re-designed the sets. His influence of Ridley Scott
's Alien
film clearly shown in the new sets as murky and run-down feel.
Costumes were overhauled as well as Costume designer Howard Burden brought in a new stylish look to the crew. Lister's jacket outfit, having been designed with his art school background in mind, included a voluptuous woman riding a rocket on the back. This woman had indeed been intended to be Wilma Flintstone
but was changed to a generic looking female once the legality of using The Flintstones
image arose. Rimmer's tunic uniform served as implying his devotion to duty as well as his hologrammatic status. While the Cat's wardrobe reached new heights in the fashion stakes, Kryten's appearance was based on the Series II look but produced more successfully.
Effects also featured more heavily in the new series. The barroom brawl with plenty of fake glass featured a stunt double hurling through a window on the set. Bluescreen backgrounds were used for the actors to film against which was then merged with the cloaked Starbug location footage. Close-up shots were merely filmed on top of a raised platform with only the sky visible in the background.
Starbug was introduced as the new spaceship in place of Blue Midget. Grant and Naylor felt that Blue Midget didn't work well set-wise because of size constraints so they requested that Peter Wragg, and his visual effects team, come up with a design for another ship. The final design, initially called White Midget, was shown to Grant and Naylor and they liked it, but they thought it looked more like a bug so settled on the name Starbug.
The Series III pre-credits scroll detailing the back story was actually intended to be an episode in its own right. Titled "Dad", the episode would have tied the loose ends from series two's "Parallel Universe" where Lister would have given birth to the twins and given them back to the parallel universe Lister version. Grant and Naylor had partially written the script but they decided to scrap the idea as they felt it to be unfunny and potentially offensive to women.
Many of the location scenes for "Backwards" were filmed in and around Manchester
. Series creator and writer Rob Grant can be seen standing on the street with sunglasses smoking a cigarette backwards. The episode's theme gave the writers an opportunity to insert some in-joke dialogue that otherwise wouldn't have been put in. In one scene the bar manager comes into Rimmer and Kryten's dressing room to tell them that they're sacked for un-starting a barroom brawl. In fact he says: "I'm addressing the one prat in the country who has bothered to get a hold of this recording, turn it round and actually work out the rubbish that I'm saying. What a poor sad life he's got!" At the very end (beginning?) of the reverse barroom brawl, an "Action!", said by Ed Bye
can be heard.
The character of Kryten was originally intended as a one-off appearance in the series-two episode "Kryten
". The character returned mainly to broaden the story potential as Lister was the only person who could really do anything. Rimmer, a hologram, couldn't touch anything, the Cat couldn't be bothered to touch anything, and Holly was incompetent. The show was becoming difficult to write for. At the insistence of Naylor, Kryten returned to complete the team.
Grant and Naylor had approached David Ross
with the intention of bringing him back to play the regular role of Kryten. Ross was in a stage play Flea In Her Ear and wasn't available, so they went to see Robert Llewellyn
at the advice of Paul Jackson. Llewellyn was in a stage show called Mammon, playing a robot. They saw his performance and were impressed.
The very first scene that Llewellyn filmed involved him lighting candles with his fingers. He was wired up for the flame to ignite from his fingertip. The problem was that it was wet on the set and he was sweating so the wiring was backfiring and shocking him. The scene was cut out from the show.
"Backwards" world guest stars includes Maria Friedman
as the Waitress, Tony Hawks
as a Compere, Anna Palmer as a Customer in Cafe and Arthur Smith
as the Pub Manager.
A Star Wars
style scroll is used to explain all the occurrences that had happened between Series II and III. (See also Dad (Red Dwarf episode)
). In the opening scene between Lister and the Cat, they discuss whether The Flintstones
Wilma Flintstone
is sexy or not. They come to the conclusion that they are insane for discussing such things, since she would never leave Fred
.
Kryten's spaceship examination, which includes registration reading, "if you'd like show me to your vehicle", "in your own time", direction instructions, recognition test and stopping distances all mirrors the same examination that UK citizens take with DSA
examinations.
Both Genghis Khan
and Doug McClure
are referenced by Rimmer when trying to ascertain the time period.
Lister sings the line, "I didn't come here looking for trouble, I just came here to do the Red Dwarf Shuffle", an obvious homage to the 1985 Chicago Bears
song Super Bowl Shuffle
.
The Big Bang
theory, as well as expansion and contraction, is explained by Holly as the reason why this universe is running backwards. To look inconspicuous Kryten walks into the cafe wearing a Ronald Reagan
rubber mask. The newspaper that Kryten is titled Yadretsey, or Yesterday forwards — a parody of the Today
newspaper that was published at time of production. Kryten reads a headline from the paper, about a bank robbery committed by a man named "Michael Ellis" - a recurring character in the Monty Python
series.
Kryten and Rimmer think that the backwards world is wonderful, pointing out that when the second world war
comes around again, millions of people will come back to life, and Hitler will retreat across Europe, liberating France and Poland. Lister though looks at the other side of the argument and states that in this universe St. Francis of Assisi is the petty-minded little sadist who maims small animals and that Santa Claus
is a big guy who sneaks down chimneys and steals all the kids' favourite toys.
special effects of Red Dwarf and many more visual and audio enhancements.
Changes made specific to "Backwards" include an animated shot of the ejected Rimmer has been added to the opening scene with Starbug with scream and thump sounds enhanced. Starbugs sounds have been remixed and enhanced throughout. A new time-hole tunnel sequence has been added when Starbug travels through it. POV landscape shots have been added as Starbug enters the backwards Earth. Fire elements and sound effects have been added to the Starbug crash. The cafe exterior has been added as a transitional shot. The cloaking Starbug has been added to the existing empty shot of Lister and Cat arriving on 'backwards' Earth. The end credit sequence has been flipped and reads in reverse.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
Series III, and the thirteenth in the series run. It premiered on the British television channel BBC2
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 14 November 1989. Written by Rob Grant
Rob Grant
Robert Grant is a British comedy writer and television producer, who was born in Salford and studied Psychology at Liverpool University for two years....
and Doug Naylor
Doug Naylor
Douglas R. Naylor is a British comedy writer, science fiction writer, director and television producer.Naylor was born in Manchester, England and studied at the University of Liverpool. In the mid-1980s, Naylor wrote two regular comedy sketch shows for BBC Radio 4 entitled Cliché and Son of Cliché...
, and directed by Ed Bye
Ed Bye
Edward Richard Morrison Bye is a British film and TV producer and director. He is best known for his work with Grant Naylor, Harry Enfield and Jasper Carrott, and has worked with many of British TV's best known comedians and comedy actors...
, the episode has the crew travel to an alternate Earth
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
where time runs backwards.
The episode marks the first appearance of Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn is an English actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known as the mechanoid Kryten in the hit sitcom Red Dwarf, and for his role as presenter of Scrapheap Challenge.-Early career:...
's Kryten, Hattie Hayridge
Hattie Hayridge
Hattie Hayridge is a British stand-up comedienne and actress, best known for the role of the female version of Holly in Red Dwarf during the third, fourth and fifth series, along with the role of Hilly in Parallel Universe, the final episode of the second series.After graduating from the...
's version of Holly, the new spaceship Starbug, better production values, and a change in direction of story themes that would cement the show's cult status. The story was later reformulated as a novel by the same name
Backwards
Backwards is the fourth Red Dwarf novel. It is set on the fictional backwards universe version of Earth.The novel was written by Rob Grant on his own. It follows on directly from the second Grant Naylor novel, Better Than Life, ignoring Last Human...
. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.
Plot
This story starts with a Star WarsStar Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
-esque pre-title sequence revealing the events after what happened in "Parallel Universe". Lister has
given birth to twins, but unfortunately, they suffered from highly accelerated growth rates and became 18 years old within three days, and his twins were returned to the universe of their own origin. Meanwhile, the ship's computer Holly
Holly (Red Dwarf)
Holly is the ship's computer on the science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf.The character is played by Norman Lovett in Series I and II and, following a "head sex change" to look like his parallel universe alter ego "Hilly", played by Hattie Hayridge in the series 3 episode Backwards, is female...
had a head sex-change operation to become like Hilly, a female computer with whom he once fell madly in love. And then, Kryten
Kryten
Kryten is a fictional character in the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf. Kryten's registration code on Red Dwarf is "Kryten additional 001". The name Kryten is a reference to the head butler in the J.M...
, who was last seen
Kryten (Red Dwarf episode)
"Kryten" is the seventh episode from science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf, the first from series two, and was first broadcast on BBC2 on 6 September 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, this episode introduced the mechanoid character Kryten...
leaving the Nova 5 on Lister's space-bike was found in pieces on an asteroid, which meant Lister ended up rebuilding the droid, but unfortunately, he was incapable of recapturing Kryten's former personality, which gives him a brand-new personality and he became a permanent member of the crew.
Rimmer
Arnold Rimmer
Arnold Judas Rimmer is a fictional character in the science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, played by Chris Barrie. He is unpopular with his crew mates, and is often the target of insults or pranks...
(Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie is a British actor. He first achieved success as a vocal impressionist, notably in the ITV sketch show Spitting Image...
) takes Kryten
Kryten
Kryten is a fictional character in the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf. Kryten's registration code on Red Dwarf is "Kryten additional 001". The name Kryten is a reference to the head butler in the J.M...
(Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn is an English actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known as the mechanoid Kryten in the hit sitcom Red Dwarf, and for his role as presenter of Scrapheap Challenge.-Early career:...
) out in Starbug 1 for his piloting test and while answering recognition questions they travel through a time hole. They crash-land on a planet which appears similar to Earth. As they reach a roadside they notice a sign which says "Nodnol, 871 selim". Although Rimmer is confused, Kryten correctly states that the sign reads London, 178 miles, and that they're on a backwards Earth.
Meanwhile Lister
Dave Lister
David "Dave" Lister, commonly referred to simply as Lister, is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, portrayed by Craig Charles...
(Craig Charles
Craig Charles
Craig Joseph Charles is an English actor, stand-up comedian, author, poet, radio and television presenter, best known for playing Dave Lister in the British cult-favourite science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf...
) and Cat
Cat (Red Dwarf)
The Cat is a character in the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. He is played by Danny John-Jules.-Character development:According to Danny John-Jules, the character of Cat is based on a combination of Little Richard's look, James Brown's moves and Richard Pryor's facial...
(Danny John-Jules
Danny John-Jules
Daniel "Danny" John-Jules is a British actor, singer and dancer. John-Jules attended Rutherford Comprehensive School, Penfold Street, Marylebone, from 1972 to 1977. He is best known for portraying Cat in the television programme Red Dwarf.-Dance and song:John-Jules is a baritone...
) have been flying around in Starbug 2 for the past three weeks searching for them. They come across the same "time hole" that Starbug 1 did and, despite Cat's reservations, go through it. They close in on Starbug 1 using a homing device and land near the lake where it crash-landed. Upon exiting Starbug 2 Lister complains of feeling some pain—he suddenly has a black eye and his ribs feel like they've been cracked.
Kryten and Rimmer are initially disgusted with this "backwards" world. Here, people take money from buskers' hats, and cafes are populated by customers who spit tea back into teacups and messily disgorge chocolate éclairs. Newspapers report events that have yet to happen, and advertise job vacancies that offer good demotion prospects. Rimmer and Kryten quickly discover that they can use their forwardness to their advantage, however, starring in an act called "The Sensational Reverse Brothers".
Lister and Cat eventually track down Kryten and Rimmer at the club where they work, whereupon Lister finally discovers that everything is backwards, after initially thinking they had landed in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. However, Kryten and Rimmer are quite content on this planet. Lister tries to convince them to come back, but they intend to stay. The club owner then fires them for starting a fight, but Kryten argues that they have not started any fight. At the same time, a man takes offence to Lister and Cat "uneating" his pie, and punches Lister twice, healing his black eye and broken rib. Kryten realises that this is actually the beginning of the barroom brawl that got them fired, and a huge fight breaks out in reverse. Eventually everything is restored to its original state and they realise that they cannot stay on a backwards Earth. The final reinforcement of that occurs when Cat attempts to relieve himself in the bushes, forgetting that everything happens in reverse.
Production
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
's Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
film clearly shown in the new sets as murky and run-down feel.
Costumes were overhauled as well as Costume designer Howard Burden brought in a new stylish look to the crew. Lister's jacket outfit, having been designed with his art school background in mind, included a voluptuous woman riding a rocket on the back. This woman had indeed been intended to be Wilma Flintstone
Wilma Flintstone
Wilma Anna Flintstone is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones. She was the red-headed wife of caveman Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, mother of Pebbles Flintstone and a grandmother...
but was changed to a generic looking female once the legality of using The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
image arose. Rimmer's tunic uniform served as implying his devotion to duty as well as his hologrammatic status. While the Cat's wardrobe reached new heights in the fashion stakes, Kryten's appearance was based on the Series II look but produced more successfully.
Effects also featured more heavily in the new series. The barroom brawl with plenty of fake glass featured a stunt double hurling through a window on the set. Bluescreen backgrounds were used for the actors to film against which was then merged with the cloaked Starbug location footage. Close-up shots were merely filmed on top of a raised platform with only the sky visible in the background.
Starbug was introduced as the new spaceship in place of Blue Midget. Grant and Naylor felt that Blue Midget didn't work well set-wise because of size constraints so they requested that Peter Wragg, and his visual effects team, come up with a design for another ship. The final design, initially called White Midget, was shown to Grant and Naylor and they liked it, but they thought it looked more like a bug so settled on the name Starbug.
The Series III pre-credits scroll detailing the back story was actually intended to be an episode in its own right. Titled "Dad", the episode would have tied the loose ends from series two's "Parallel Universe" where Lister would have given birth to the twins and given them back to the parallel universe Lister version. Grant and Naylor had partially written the script but they decided to scrap the idea as they felt it to be unfunny and potentially offensive to women.
Many of the location scenes for "Backwards" were filmed in and around Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Series creator and writer Rob Grant can be seen standing on the street with sunglasses smoking a cigarette backwards. The episode's theme gave the writers an opportunity to insert some in-joke dialogue that otherwise wouldn't have been put in. In one scene the bar manager comes into Rimmer and Kryten's dressing room to tell them that they're sacked for un-starting a barroom brawl. In fact he says: "I'm addressing the one prat in the country who has bothered to get a hold of this recording, turn it round and actually work out the rubbish that I'm saying. What a poor sad life he's got!" At the very end (beginning?) of the reverse barroom brawl, an "Action!", said by Ed Bye
Ed Bye
Edward Richard Morrison Bye is a British film and TV producer and director. He is best known for his work with Grant Naylor, Harry Enfield and Jasper Carrott, and has worked with many of British TV's best known comedians and comedy actors...
can be heard.
The character of Kryten was originally intended as a one-off appearance in the series-two episode "Kryten
Kryten (Red Dwarf episode)
"Kryten" is the seventh episode from science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf, the first from series two, and was first broadcast on BBC2 on 6 September 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, this episode introduced the mechanoid character Kryten...
". The character returned mainly to broaden the story potential as Lister was the only person who could really do anything. Rimmer, a hologram, couldn't touch anything, the Cat couldn't be bothered to touch anything, and Holly was incompetent. The show was becoming difficult to write for. At the insistence of Naylor, Kryten returned to complete the team.
Grant and Naylor had approached David Ross
David Ross (actor)
David Ross is an English actor who has worked in theatre, cinema, and television.His best-known roles include playing the first appearance of Kryten and the voice of the Talkie Toaster on the science fiction comedy series Red Dwarf, Elgin on the BBC sitcom The Green Green Grass, and as Mr...
with the intention of bringing him back to play the regular role of Kryten. Ross was in a stage play Flea In Her Ear and wasn't available, so they went to see Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn is an English actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known as the mechanoid Kryten in the hit sitcom Red Dwarf, and for his role as presenter of Scrapheap Challenge.-Early career:...
at the advice of Paul Jackson. Llewellyn was in a stage show called Mammon, playing a robot. They saw his performance and were impressed.
The very first scene that Llewellyn filmed involved him lighting candles with his fingers. He was wired up for the flame to ignite from his fingertip. The problem was that it was wet on the set and he was sweating so the wiring was backfiring and shocking him. The scene was cut out from the show.
"Backwards" world guest stars includes Maria Friedman
Maria Friedman
Maria Friedman is an English actress working in television, musical theatre, and concerts. She has won three Olivier Awards for her stage work.-Early years:...
as the Waitress, Tony Hawks
Tony Hawks
Antony Gordon Hawksworth, better known as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author.-Early life:Born in Brighton in 1960, Hawks was educated at Brighton Hove and Sussex Grammar School and Brighton College...
as a Compere, Anna Palmer as a Customer in Cafe and Arthur Smith
Arthur Smith (comedian)
Brian Arthur John Smith is an English alternative comedian and writer. He was born in Bermondsey, South London, brother to Richard Smith...
as the Pub Manager.
Cultural references
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
style scroll is used to explain all the occurrences that had happened between Series II and III. (See also Dad (Red Dwarf episode)
Dad (Red Dwarf episode)
"Dad" is the title of a so-called "lost episode" of the British science fiction comedy television series, Red Dwarf. The planned first episode of the show's third series, Dad was never filmed or even fully scripted: writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor abandoned it halfway through writing it...
). In the opening scene between Lister and the Cat, they discuss whether The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
Wilma Flintstone
Wilma Flintstone
Wilma Anna Flintstone is a fictional character in the television animated series The Flintstones. She was the red-headed wife of caveman Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, mother of Pebbles Flintstone and a grandmother...
is sexy or not. They come to the conclusion that they are insane for discussing such things, since she would never leave Fred
Fred Flintstone
Frederick Joseph “Fred” Flintstone, also known as Fred W. Flintstone or Frederick J. Flintstone, is the protagonist of the animated sitcom The Flintstones, which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960-66. He is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles...
.
Kryten's spaceship examination, which includes registration reading, "if you'd like show me to your vehicle", "in your own time", direction instructions, recognition test and stopping distances all mirrors the same examination that UK citizens take with DSA
Driving Standards Agency
The Driving Standards Agency is an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport .DSA’s vision is 'Safe Driving for Life'. Its overall mission is to contribute to the public service agreement objective to achieve 40% reduction in riders and drivers killed or seriously injured in road...
examinations.
Both Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
and Doug McClure
Doug McClure
Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
are referenced by Rimmer when trying to ascertain the time period.
Lister sings the line, "I didn't come here looking for trouble, I just came here to do the Red Dwarf Shuffle", an obvious homage to the 1985 Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
song Super Bowl Shuffle
Super Bowl Shuffle
"The Super Bowl Shuffle" is a rap song performed by players of the Chicago Bears football team during 1985, slightly prior to their win in Super Bowl XX.-Song and video:...
.
The Big Bang
Big Bang
The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model that explains the early development of the Universe. According to the Big Bang theory, the Universe was once in an extremely hot and dense state which expanded rapidly. This rapid expansion caused the young Universe to cool and resulted in...
theory, as well as expansion and contraction, is explained by Holly as the reason why this universe is running backwards. To look inconspicuous Kryten walks into the cafe wearing a Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
rubber mask. The newspaper that Kryten is titled Yadretsey, or Yesterday forwards — a parody of the Today
Today (UK newspaper)
Today was a national newspaper in the United Kingdom, which was published between 1986 and 1995.-History:Today, with the American newspaper USA Today as inspiration, launched on Tuesday, 4 March 1986, with the front page headline, "Second Spy Inside GCHQ". At 18 pence, it was a middle-market...
newspaper that was published at time of production. Kryten reads a headline from the paper, about a bank robbery committed by a man named "Michael Ellis" - a recurring character in the Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
series.
Kryten and Rimmer think that the backwards world is wonderful, pointing out that when the second world war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
comes around again, millions of people will come back to life, and Hitler will retreat across Europe, liberating France and Poland. Lister though looks at the other side of the argument and states that in this universe St. Francis of Assisi is the petty-minded little sadist who maims small animals and that Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
is a big guy who sneaks down chimneys and steals all the kids' favourite toys.
Reception
The episode was originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 November 1989 in the 9:00pm evening time slot. As with all episodes in the third series, "Backwards" gained healthy viewing figures, increasing on Series II efforts. Although Series III was received well as a whole, "Backwards" was picked out as a highlight, Sci-Fi Dimensions describing it as "the best", while Sci-Fi.com agreed that the episode was "the season's best" and "has the season's best philosophical rant". The Red Dwarf Smegazine readers poll listed the episode at number four with 7.1% of the votes.Remastering
The remastering of Series I to III was carried out during the late 1990s. Changes included replacement of the opening credits, giving the picture a colour grade and filmising, computer generatedComputer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
special effects of Red Dwarf and many more visual and audio enhancements.
Changes made specific to "Backwards" include an animated shot of the ejected Rimmer has been added to the opening scene with Starbug with scream and thump sounds enhanced. Starbugs sounds have been remixed and enhanced throughout. A new time-hole tunnel sequence has been added when Starbug travels through it. POV landscape shots have been added as Starbug enters the backwards Earth. Fire elements and sound effects have been added to the Starbug crash. The cafe exterior has been added as a transitional shot. The cloaking Starbug has been added to the existing empty shot of Lister and Cat arriving on 'backwards' Earth. The end credit sequence has been flipped and reads in reverse.
See also
- BackwardsBackwardsBackwards is the fourth Red Dwarf novel. It is set on the fictional backwards universe version of Earth.The novel was written by Rob Grant on his own. It follows on directly from the second Grant Naylor novel, Better Than Life, ignoring Last Human...
, the fourth Red Dwarf novel which uses the Backwards theme for most of the plot. - Time loopTime loopA time loop or temporal loop is a common plot device in science fiction in which time runs normally for a set period but then skips back like a broken record. When the time loop "resets", the memories of most characters are reset...
- Time travelTime travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...