GELF
Encyclopedia
G.E.L.F. or simply GELF is an acronym for Genetically Engineered LifeForm
. It was used in two science fiction
television programs, originally appearing in the BBC
's cult sitcom
Red Dwarf
, and later on in the U.S. drama seaQuest DSV
.
to exist in their show's universe; but as the series continued, in order to provide a stream of characters for the main crew to interact with, their cosmos was gradually populated with deranged robots and bizarre creatures that turned out to be the result of genetic engineering
.
The Kinitawowi are bulky humanoids that stand in at around six feet high; they are covered in wart
s and shaggy dull orange
/copper
/brown
fur
similar to that of an orangutan
. Kryten
states some GELFs (though he does not detail whether this is a feature unique to the Kinitawowi, affects certain species or is an invidual mutation) have their sphincteral orifice
in their face, and as such touching of the face can be considered highly offensive to them. Their bodies are extremely tough; a direct blast of plasma
from a bazookoid merely stunned a Kinitawowi at close range.
The Kinitawowi were originally bred as quartermaster
s aboard deep space
starship
s. They lead a primitive tribal existence on various moon
s and asteroid
s. Their space is bordered by gigantic stone warning beacons that resembled skull
s many miles across carved out of asteroid
s. Arnold Rimmer
recalled from old space legends that unfortunate humans that unwittingly wandered into Kinitawowi space were often skinned alive
to make beanbags.
Nevertheless, the Kinitawowi were one of the friendlier "kintetiakh" (or tribe
s) of humanoid GELFs and that they didn't always kill on sight as other humanoid GELFs apparently do. Indeed, not skinning
strangers alive on sight was considered a warm greeting.
Kinitawowi villages resemble African tribal
village
s, dimly-lit by flaming torches. The structures of these villages are simple huts or "watunga". After a successful trade, instead of a handshake
, Kinitawowi custom is to hold the ankle
of the other individual with one hand whilst the other does the same; and then jumping up and down on the spot.
The Red Dwarf crew first met the Kinitawowi when they were in need of supplies, especially an oxygen
-generation unit. The Kinitawowi had one to trade but required Lister to marry the chieftain's
daughter in exchange. A disgusted Lister married the chief's daughter, but fled in the night. The furious chief (played by celebrity chef
Ainsley Harriott
), sent his Emohawk after the Red Dwarf crew to drain their emotion
s.
The Kinitawowi pursued Starbug across space in a battle cruiser, in a bid to return Dave Lister
to his Kinatawowi wife
until the Kinitawowi battle cruiser was crippled when it crashed onto an ice
planet
during a chase with Starbug.
of humanoid GELFs, who appeared in the "lost episode" of the seventh series, Identity Within
. They are vaguely similar in appearance to the Kinitawowi tribe except the Brefewino are taller, more muscular, hairy, mercantile and aggressive
then their Kinitawowi counterparts. Brefewino tribesmen stand on average seven or eight feet high, but despite this their beard
s often almost reach the ground. They also weigh on average two tonnes.
They were initially bred as butchers and are prolific gamblers, merchants, and slave traders, and amongst their favourite commodities are Felis sapiens. The universal currency
of the Brefewino is Brefewinan, a kind of green lumpy paste in jars (made from small delicately preserved pulses).
In order to enter a Brefewino trading post one must show exactly what their specific profession is with a "badge of merchantship". For example, Lister
wore a potato
to signify he was a farmer
. Brefewino gambling dens resemble a Star Wars cantina
. Brefewino music
utilises more traditional instruments but is still fairly raucous and their beer
is exceptionally strong.
, Lister and the Cat pretend to be members of a GELF species called the Vindaloovians in an attempt to outwit a rogue Simulant. While they are considered mere fiction in the television series, Vindaloovians were expanded into being an actual GELF race in the Red Dwarf role-playing game, appearing first as racial stats in The Series Sourcebook, then receiving a more detailed description in the Extra Bits Book. Vindaloovians are a small, but proud, martial culture who descended from experimental GELFs that were left to evolve over millions of years with the aid of 20th century war movies and a plentiful supply of curry and other spicy foods (the Vindaloovian colonies are described as having "garlic naan
trees" and rivers of madras).
In appearance, Vindaloovians basically resemble a humanoid egg with a single prominent, blue eye placed in their tiny forehead above a horizontal mouth, their only other facial feature. They stand roughly 1 meter tall and are almost as broad, and have a wide variety of skin tones and hair colors (though they often shave their heads bald). They have only three digits (a thumb and two roughly equal length fingers) on either hand. Vindaloovian fashion leans heavily towards ostentatious military costumes; if doesn't have epaulets, spurred jackboots and a half-cape, they don't want it.
Vindaloovians originally were highly xenophobic and aimed to destroy all other intelligent lifeforms (a policy referred to as Wipe Out Everyone!, or WOE!), but have in recent times relaxed this to merely hating humans with a passion (Wipe Humans Out All Over!, or WHOA!). Imperial edict is that humans are absolute scum, intergalactic vermin who cannot be trusted, and the official strategy, enforced by their aggressive society, is "brutally dismember first, ask questions later".
Vindaloovian society consists of three tiers. The topmost tier are the high officials, a member of which is referred to as a Tarka, from whose number is selected the Emperor or Empress of the Vindaloovian Empire. Below them are the skilled middle class, which includes the military officers, whose official title is Bindi. The final tier makes up the majority of the labor and soldiery, and carries the title of Grunti. Social mobility is possible through invidual deeds, but does not apply to the Vindaloovian's family unit (mainly because Vindaloovians reproduce through cloning vats and offspring are raised by the state).
Some Vindaloovians do rebel against the Imperial doctrine (which, among other things, requires a devout love of Wagner and Prokofiev) and are banished to wander deep space, either with fellow renegades or with motley bands of space drifters, such as other GELFs, mechanoids, evolved pets... and even humans and holograms.
Pleasure Gelfs are, in their natural form, amorphous, green slimy blobs around 1.5 metres high. In this default form they have a single tentacle
-like appendage with an eye
on the end. At least one Pleasure GELF has resolved to finding a "cure" for its "condition".
Pleasure GELFs are telepathic. They can sense whatever the people around them would be attracted to, and make them believe that this is what they're seeing. The Pleasure GELF named Camille took the form of a female Series 4000 GTi mechanoid when rescued from a wreck by Kryten
.
Unlike several other genetically engineered life forms, such as the manipulative polymorphs and the aggressive beastmen-GELFs, pleasure GELFs are actually benevolent and non-threatenting.
Each of the Dwarfers saw their dream partners, and Camille was forced to reveal her true nature. Despite its natural form, Kryten began dating it. Camille eventually left to help her partner, a Pleasure GELF named Hector, in a manner similar to Casablanca
.
A polymorph is a shape-shifting organism that can change into anything it pleases. It survives by draining a person of a negative emotion
. It was designed to be the perfect warrior, blending into any background, causing confusion and disarray amongst the enemy by playing with their emotions, but the creature mutated into something terrifying and insane its creators couldn't control. One of the polymorph's forms appears somewhat similar to the Xenomorph
Alien from the movie Alien
(1979). Polymorphs and emohawks appear to be able to drain emotions from mechanoids and holograms, and are able to physically touch soft-light holograms.
The Grant Naylor novel Better Than Life provides a slightly different origin to the polymorphs. According to that book, the surviving gelf of a great war were dumped on a Garbage world (actually future Earth) and left to die. Most did die, except for those specifically suited to survive in such an environment. The polymorphs evolved from these organisms.
The "Emohawk" is a Polymorph whose natural form is something similar to a large bird
or hawk
. Like all Polymorphs, the Emohawk is emotion
al leech
- it steals emotion
s from other living creatures.
Emohawks are domesticated variants of Polymorphs that are spayed
at birth, raised by the Kinitawowi and trained to do their bidding. Emotions drained by the Emohawks are a highly valued trading
commodity
amongst the Kinitawowi.
The Emohawk seems to be able to drain specific aspects of an individiual's personality as well as mere emotion
s; it drains Arnold Rimmer
of his bitterness and Cat
of his cool
, turning them into Ace Rimmer and Duane Dibbley.
Psirens
are GELFs which can telepathically
alter the perception of humans, in order to suck out their brain
s with a straw. In their natural form, Psirens are insect
oids standing at around two metres high and look something like giant beetle
s, with giant bulbous eyes and a large carapace
. Their name and manner are similar to the Siren
s of Greek mythology
.
features a GELF called a Symbi-morph which is very similar to the Pleasure Gelf, but seems to have actual shape-shifting abilities. Its neutral or "true" form is an androgynous humanoid with a black and white matrix colour scheme. It has five telepathic hooks which it can fire into someone to read their mind and shape-shift accordingly, with each additional hook making the connection more powerful. Lister was allowed to spend a night with a symbi-morph but rather than being given a "broken" one (one who is not bonded telepathically to anyone) he was given Reketrebn, a symbi-morph who was bonded with four hooks to an abusive Dingotang named Deki. Although they were only bonded with one hook, Lister managed to convince Reketrebn to help him escape and run away from Deki, by whom it was being severely mistreated.
, they are chimera-type GELFs: orangutan
s with the heads of dingo
es.
, they are chimera-type GELFs with the heads of dolphin
s, the bodies of chimpanzee
s and the legs of giant locust
s.
, they are chimera-type GELFs with the heads of albatross
es, the bodies of bear
s and the legs of giant frog
s. Alberogs make up most of the population of the asteroid Arranguu 12, the site of the Gelf Forum of Justice. The Regulator of Justice is an Alberog.
, they are chimera-type GELFs with the heads of cobra
s, the bodies of giant slug
s and the legs of giraffe
s, who also appear to have had a bucket of mucus thrown at them. Snugiraffes are called the most repulsive creatures ever to have lived, with the exception of George Formby — even just seeing them can trigger vomiting (or, in the case of holograms and mechanoids, dry-retching). They are still highly prized, however, because they eat everyone else's effluence and process it into a smokeless fuel. The warden of Cyberia, the cyber-prison on the asteroid Lotomi 5, is a Snugiraffe. It isn't troubled by the reaction other beings have to its appearance, considering vomiting to be a form of greeting.
decided they wanted more science fiction oriented episodes for the second season of seaQuest DSV
, G.E.L.F.s were introduced to the program, primarily via Peter DeLuise
's main character Dagwood.
Dagwood was the imperfect prototype "Dagger", a group of G.E.L.F.s intended as supersoldiers. Unlike the other Daggers, Dagwood was less intelligent than normal and his fighting skills were not fully developed, although he had great physical strength. He was assigned to the seaQuest cleaning crew.
In the show's canon
, the G.E.L.F.s were created during the dark age of genetics (2001 to 2003). They were manufactured solely for the purpose of waging war. United Nations Resolution
G-932 outlawed them by 2004. The existing G.E.L.F.s were rounded up and exiled to an island colony, "Dagger Island". The second season's opening episode Daggers
established much of their background, and also introduced Mariah, the leader of the G.E.L.F. uprising. Portrayed by actress Sam Jenkins
, she would reappear in the episode Dagger Redux.
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
. It was used in two science fiction
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...
television programs, originally appearing in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's cult 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...
, and later on in the U.S. drama seaQuest DSV
SeaQuest DSV
seaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032. Set in "the near future", seaQuest mixes high drama with realistic scientific fiction...
.
Red Dwarf
The writers of the series had stated early on in production that they did not want any aliensExtraterrestrial life in popular culture
In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
to exist in their show's universe; but as the series continued, in order to provide a stream of characters for the main crew to interact with, their cosmos was gradually populated with deranged robots and bizarre creatures that turned out to be the result of genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
.
Kinitawowi
Wart
A wart is generally a small, rough growth, typically on a human’s hands or feet but often other locations, that can resemble a cauliflower or a solid blister. They are caused by a viral infection, specifically by human papillomavirus 2 and 7. There are as many as 10 varieties of warts, the most...
s and shaggy dull orange
Orange (colour)
The colour orange occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum at a wavelength of about 585–620 nm, and has a hue of 30° in HSV colour space. It is numerically halfway between red and yellow in a gamma-compressed RGB colour space, the expression of which is the RGB colour wheel. The...
/copper
Copper (color)
Copper is a reddish brown color that resembles the metal copper.At right is displayed the color copper.The first recorded use of copper as a color name in English was in 1594.-Pale copper:...
/brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
similar to that of an orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
. 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...
states some GELFs (though he does not detail whether this is a feature unique to the Kinitawowi, affects certain species or is an invidual mutation) have their sphincteral orifice
Anus
The anus is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, unwanted semi-solid matter produced during digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, may be one or more of: matter which the animal cannot digest,...
in their face, and as such touching of the face can be considered highly offensive to them. Their bodies are extremely tough; a direct blast of plasma
Plasma (physics)
In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
from a bazookoid merely stunned a Kinitawowi at close range.
The Kinitawowi were originally bred as quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
s aboard deep space
Outer space
Outer space is the void that exists between celestial bodies, including the Earth. It is not completely empty, but consists of a hard vacuum containing a low density of particles: predominantly a plasma of hydrogen and helium, as well as electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, and neutrinos....
starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
s. They lead a primitive tribal existence on various moon
Natural satellite
A natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....
s and asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
s. Their space is bordered by gigantic stone warning beacons that resembled skull
Human skull
The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...
s many miles across carved out of asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
s. Arnold 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...
recalled from old space legends that unfortunate humans that unwittingly wandered into Kinitawowi space were often skinned alive
Skinning
Skinning, a gerund from the verb to skin, commonly refers to the act of skin removal.The process is usually done with animals, mainly as preparation of the meat beneath and/or use for the fur...
to make beanbags.
Nevertheless, the Kinitawowi were one of the friendlier "kintetiakh" (or tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
s) of humanoid GELFs and that they didn't always kill on sight as other humanoid GELFs apparently do. Indeed, not skinning
Skinning
Skinning, a gerund from the verb to skin, commonly refers to the act of skin removal.The process is usually done with animals, mainly as preparation of the meat beneath and/or use for the fur...
strangers alive on sight was considered a warm greeting.
Kinitawowi villages resemble African tribal
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
s, dimly-lit by flaming torches. The structures of these villages are simple huts or "watunga". After a successful trade, instead of a handshake
Handshake
A handshake is a short ritual in which two people grasp one of each other's like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up and down movement of the grasped hands.-History:...
, Kinitawowi custom is to hold the ankle
Ankle
The ankle joint is formed where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle, or talocrural joint, is a synovial hinge joint that connects the distal ends of the tibia and fibula in the lower limb with the proximal end of the talus bone in the foot...
of the other individual with one hand whilst the other does the same; and then jumping up and down on the spot.
The Red Dwarf crew first met the Kinitawowi when they were in need of supplies, especially an oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
-generation unit. The Kinitawowi had one to trade but required Lister to marry the chieftain's
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
daughter in exchange. A disgusted Lister married the chief's daughter, but fled in the night. The furious chief (played by celebrity chef
Celebrity chef
A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...
Ainsley Harriott
Ainsley Harriott
Ainsley Harriott is a British celebrity chef and television presenter.-Early career:Trained at Westminster College of Catering, Ainsley obtained an apprenticeship at Verrey's restaurant in the West End and later worked as a commis chef...
), sent his Emohawk after the Red Dwarf crew to drain their emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
s.
The Kinitawowi pursued Starbug across space in a battle cruiser, in a bid to return Dave 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...
to his Kinatawowi wife
Wife
A wife is a female partner in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the wife regarding her spouse and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time.-Origin and etymology:...
until the Kinitawowi battle cruiser was crippled when it crashed onto an ice
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
during a chase with Starbug.
Brefewino
The Brefewino are a separate tribeTribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
of humanoid GELFs, who appeared in the "lost episode" of the seventh series, Identity Within
Identity Within
"Identity Within" is described as a 'lost episode' of the British science fiction comedy television series Red Dwarf.-A 'lost episode':"Identity Within" was originally the supposed second episode in the seventh series...
. They are vaguely similar in appearance to the Kinitawowi tribe except the Brefewino are taller, more muscular, hairy, mercantile and aggressive
Aggressive
“Aggressive” is a New York-based Grammy award-winning music video and commercial directing team of Alex Topaller and Daniel Shapiro.Aggressive has been described by Movie Creation Mag as “having a fascination with the wonderful, in the likes of the surrealist Rafal Olbinski” and “tenacious about...
then their Kinitawowi counterparts. Brefewino tribesmen stand on average seven or eight feet high, but despite this their beard
Beard
A beard is the collection of hair that grows on the chin, cheeks and neck of human beings. Usually, only pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards. However, women with hirsutism may develop a beard...
s often almost reach the ground. They also weigh on average two tonnes.
They were initially bred as butchers and are prolific gamblers, merchants, and slave traders, and amongst their favourite commodities are Felis sapiens. The universal currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
of the Brefewino is Brefewinan, a kind of green lumpy paste in jars (made from small delicately preserved pulses).
In order to enter a Brefewino trading post one must show exactly what their specific profession is with a "badge of merchantship". For example, 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...
wore a potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
to signify he was a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
. Brefewino gambling dens resemble a Star Wars cantina
Mos Eisley Cantina
The Chalmun's Cantina is a fictional bar of the Star Wars universe located in the "pirate city" of Mos Eisley on the planet Tatooine...
. Brefewino music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
utilises more traditional instruments but is still fairly raucous and their beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
is exceptionally strong.
Vindaloovian
In the series six episode Gunmen of the ApocalypseGunmen of the Apocalypse
"Gunmen of the Apocalypse" is the third episode of series VI of the science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf. It was first broadcast on 21 October 1993, on BBC2, and went on to win an International Emmy Award. The episode was written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor, and directed by Andy de Emmony...
, Lister and the Cat pretend to be members of a GELF species called the Vindaloovians in an attempt to outwit a rogue Simulant. While they are considered mere fiction in the television series, Vindaloovians were expanded into being an actual GELF race in the Red Dwarf role-playing game, appearing first as racial stats in The Series Sourcebook, then receiving a more detailed description in the Extra Bits Book. Vindaloovians are a small, but proud, martial culture who descended from experimental GELFs that were left to evolve over millions of years with the aid of 20th century war movies and a plentiful supply of curry and other spicy foods (the Vindaloovian colonies are described as having "garlic naan
Naan
Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is typical of and popular in South and Central Asia, in Iran, and in South Asian restaurants abroad. Influenced by the large influx of South Asian labour, naan has also become popular in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.Originally, naan is a...
trees" and rivers of madras).
In appearance, Vindaloovians basically resemble a humanoid egg with a single prominent, blue eye placed in their tiny forehead above a horizontal mouth, their only other facial feature. They stand roughly 1 meter tall and are almost as broad, and have a wide variety of skin tones and hair colors (though they often shave their heads bald). They have only three digits (a thumb and two roughly equal length fingers) on either hand. Vindaloovian fashion leans heavily towards ostentatious military costumes; if doesn't have epaulets, spurred jackboots and a half-cape, they don't want it.
Vindaloovians originally were highly xenophobic and aimed to destroy all other intelligent lifeforms (a policy referred to as Wipe Out Everyone!, or WOE!), but have in recent times relaxed this to merely hating humans with a passion (Wipe Humans Out All Over!, or WHOA!). Imperial edict is that humans are absolute scum, intergalactic vermin who cannot be trusted, and the official strategy, enforced by their aggressive society, is "brutally dismember first, ask questions later".
Vindaloovian society consists of three tiers. The topmost tier are the high officials, a member of which is referred to as a Tarka, from whose number is selected the Emperor or Empress of the Vindaloovian Empire. Below them are the skilled middle class, which includes the military officers, whose official title is Bindi. The final tier makes up the majority of the labor and soldiery, and carries the title of Grunti. Social mobility is possible through invidual deeds, but does not apply to the Vindaloovian's family unit (mainly because Vindaloovians reproduce through cloning vats and offspring are raised by the state).
Some Vindaloovians do rebel against the Imperial doctrine (which, among other things, requires a devout love of Wagner and Prokofiev) and are banished to wander deep space, either with fellow renegades or with motley bands of space drifters, such as other GELFs, mechanoids, evolved pets... and even humans and holograms.
Pleasure GELFs
Tentacle
A tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...
-like appendage with an eye
Eye
Eyes are organs that detect light and convert it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons. The simplest photoreceptors in conscious vision connect light to movement...
on the end. At least one Pleasure GELF has resolved to finding a "cure" for its "condition".
Pleasure GELFs are telepathic. They can sense whatever the people around them would be attracted to, and make them believe that this is what they're seeing. The Pleasure GELF named Camille took the form of a female Series 4000 GTi mechanoid when rescued from a wreck by 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...
.
Unlike several other genetically engineered life forms, such as the manipulative polymorphs and the aggressive beastmen-GELFs, pleasure GELFs are actually benevolent and non-threatenting.
Each of the Dwarfers saw their dream partners, and Camille was forced to reveal her true nature. Despite its natural form, Kryten began dating it. Camille eventually left to help her partner, a Pleasure GELF named Hector, in a manner similar to Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
.
The Polymorph
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
. It was designed to be the perfect warrior, blending into any background, causing confusion and disarray amongst the enemy by playing with their emotions, but the creature mutated into something terrifying and insane its creators couldn't control. One of the polymorph's forms appears somewhat similar to the Xenomorph
Xenomorph (Alien)
The Alien is a fictional endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species that is the primary antagonist of the Alien film series. The species made its debut in the 1979 film Alien, and reappeared in its sequels Aliens , Alien 3 , and Alien Resurrection , two crossovers Alien vs...
Alien from the movie 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...
(1979). Polymorphs and emohawks appear to be able to drain emotions from mechanoids and holograms, and are able to physically touch soft-light holograms.
The Grant Naylor novel Better Than Life provides a slightly different origin to the polymorphs. According to that book, the surviving gelf of a great war were dumped on a Garbage world (actually future Earth) and left to die. Most did die, except for those specifically suited to survive in such an environment. The polymorphs evolved from these organisms.
Emohawk
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
or hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
. Like all Polymorphs, the Emohawk is emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
al leech
Leech
Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...
- it steals emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
s from other living creatures.
Emohawks are domesticated variants of Polymorphs that are spayed
SPAYED
Spayed is an independent punk band from Mexico, which also spends time in Spain and the UK.Spayed was originally formed by songwriter and guitarist Cecile....
at birth, raised by the Kinitawowi and trained to do their bidding. Emotions drained by the Emohawks are a highly valued trading
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
commodity
Commodity
In economics, a commodity is the generic term for any marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs. Economic commodities comprise goods and services....
amongst the Kinitawowi.
The Emohawk seems to be able to drain specific aspects of an individiual's personality as well as mere emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
s; it drains Arnold 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...
of his bitterness 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...
of his cool
Cool (aesthetic)
Something regarded as cool is an admired aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance and style, influenced by and a product of the Zeitgeist. Because of the varied and changing connotations of cool, as well its subjective nature, the word has no single meaning. It has associations of...
, turning them into Ace Rimmer and Duane Dibbley.
Psirens
Psirens
"Psirens" is the first episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series VI and the 31st in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 October 1993. Written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor and directed by Andy de Emmony...
are GELFs which can telepathically
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
alter the perception of humans, in order to suck out their brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
s with a straw. In their natural form, Psirens are insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
oids standing at around two metres high and look something like giant beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s, with giant bulbous eyes and a large carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
. Their name and manner are similar to the Siren
Siren
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
s of Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
.
Symbi-morph
The novel Last HumanLast Human
Last Human is the title of a 1995 science fiction comedy novel written by Doug Naylor. It is part of the Red Dwarf series of novels, based on the popular television show created by Naylor and his partner Rob Grant...
features a GELF called a Symbi-morph which is very similar to the Pleasure Gelf, but seems to have actual shape-shifting abilities. Its neutral or "true" form is an androgynous humanoid with a black and white matrix colour scheme. It has five telepathic hooks which it can fire into someone to read their mind and shape-shift accordingly, with each additional hook making the connection more powerful. Lister was allowed to spend a night with a symbi-morph but rather than being given a "broken" one (one who is not bonded telepathically to anyone) he was given Reketrebn, a symbi-morph who was bonded with four hooks to an abusive Dingotang named Deki. Although they were only bonded with one hook, Lister managed to convince Reketrebn to help him escape and run away from Deki, by whom it was being severely mistreated.
Dingotangs
Seen in the book Last HumanLast Human
Last Human is the title of a 1995 science fiction comedy novel written by Doug Naylor. It is part of the Red Dwarf series of novels, based on the popular television show created by Naylor and his partner Rob Grant...
, they are chimera-type GELFs: orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
s with the heads of dingo
Dingo
The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is a free-roaming wild dog unique to the continent of Australia, mainly found in the outback. Its original ancestors are thought to have arrived with humans from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to...
es.
Dolochimps
Seen in the book Last HumanLast Human
Last Human is the title of a 1995 science fiction comedy novel written by Doug Naylor. It is part of the Red Dwarf series of novels, based on the popular television show created by Naylor and his partner Rob Grant...
, they are chimera-type GELFs with the heads of dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s, the bodies of chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s and the legs of giant locust
Locust
Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
s.
Alberogs
Seen in the book Last HumanLast Human
Last Human is the title of a 1995 science fiction comedy novel written by Doug Naylor. It is part of the Red Dwarf series of novels, based on the popular television show created by Naylor and his partner Rob Grant...
, they are chimera-type GELFs with the heads of albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
es, the bodies of bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s and the legs of giant frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s. Alberogs make up most of the population of the asteroid Arranguu 12, the site of the Gelf Forum of Justice. The Regulator of Justice is an Alberog.
Snugiraffes
Seen in the book Last HumanLast Human
Last Human is the title of a 1995 science fiction comedy novel written by Doug Naylor. It is part of the Red Dwarf series of novels, based on the popular television show created by Naylor and his partner Rob Grant...
, they are chimera-type GELFs with the heads of cobra
Cobra
Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
s, the bodies of giant slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
s and the legs of giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
s, who also appear to have had a bucket of mucus thrown at them. Snugiraffes are called the most repulsive creatures ever to have lived, with the exception of George Formby — even just seeing them can trigger vomiting (or, in the case of holograms and mechanoids, dry-retching). They are still highly prized, however, because they eat everyone else's effluence and process it into a smokeless fuel. The warden of Cyberia, the cyber-prison on the asteroid Lotomi 5, is a Snugiraffe. It isn't troubled by the reaction other beings have to its appearance, considering vomiting to be a form of greeting.
seaQuest DSV
When NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
decided they wanted more science fiction oriented episodes for the second season of seaQuest DSV
SeaQuest DSV
seaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032. Set in "the near future", seaQuest mixes high drama with realistic scientific fiction...
, G.E.L.F.s were introduced to the program, primarily via Peter DeLuise
Peter DeLuise
Peter John DeLuise is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, perhaps best known for directing episodes of science fiction television shows, particularly in the Stargate franchise.-Career:...
's main character Dagwood.
Dagwood was the imperfect prototype "Dagger", a group of G.E.L.F.s intended as supersoldiers. Unlike the other Daggers, Dagwood was less intelligent than normal and his fighting skills were not fully developed, although he had great physical strength. He was assigned to the seaQuest cleaning crew.
In the show's canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
, the G.E.L.F.s were created during the dark age of genetics (2001 to 2003). They were manufactured solely for the purpose of waging war. United Nations Resolution
United Nations resolution
A United Nations resolution is a formal text adopted by a United Nations body. Although any UN body can issue resolutions, in practice most resolutions are issued by the Security Council or the General Assembly.-Legal status:...
G-932 outlawed them by 2004. The existing G.E.L.F.s were rounded up and exiled to an island colony, "Dagger Island". The second season's opening episode Daggers
Daggers (seaQuest DSV episode)
"Daggers" is the first episode of seaQuest DSV`s second season. It was originally shown on September 18, 1994, and originally aired as a two-hour television movie....
established much of their background, and also introduced Mariah, the leader of the G.E.L.F. uprising. Portrayed by actress Sam Jenkins
Sam Jenkins
Sam Jenkins is an American actress best known for playing the role of Serena on the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys...
, she would reappear in the episode Dagger Redux.