Me²
Encyclopedia
"Me²" is the sixth and final episode from series one of the science fiction
sitcom Red Dwarf
, which was first broadcast on BBC2
on 21 March 1988. Written by Rob Grant
and Doug Naylor
, and directed by Ed Bye
. The script was written, as a late addition to the series, following an electrician's strike at the BBC. The episode follows on from the cliffhanger set by "Confidence and Paranoia
" - there are now two Rimmers on board Red Dwarf. The episode was remastered, along with the rest of the first three series', in 1998, to bring the episode up to a standard suitable for international broadcast.
Rimmers (Chris Barrie
) on board. If Lister
(Craig Charles
) thought things were bad before, they're certainly worse now. The original Rimmer
moves out to share a room with his double but leaves behind a video of his own death. Grabbing popcorn, Lister happily sits down to watch the death of his nemesis. After a very lengthy monologue from Rimmer, the moment finally arrives, and shows Rimmer being blasted by the radiation surge. As he lies dying, he says his final words... "Gazpacho soup!" leaving Lister confused and determined to solve the mystery of why Rimmer made those his dying words. Initially things go well. Lister is happy to have the room to himself and the two Rimmers get on, both encouraging each other through their routines of study, exercise, sleep. But as both Rimmers continue to compete against each other tempers start fraying and soon the original Rimmer moves back in with Lister.
After a heated argument between the two Rimmers it is decided that one must go. The original Rimmer loses out and is to be erased. Rimmer turns up to the drive room in his uniform with his medals awarded for Three Year Long Service, Six Years Long Service, Nine Years Long Service and Twelve Years Long Service. Before Rimmer is erased Lister asks about gazpacho soup. Reluctantly, and seeing as he was about to be erased, Rimmer tells him the story of how he had once been invited to the Captain's Dinner. Gazpacho soup was being served for starters and he didn't realise that it was meant to be served cold. He had called over the chef and told him to take it away and bring it back hot. Later he says that he discovered the reason why the crew were laughing. He thought they were laughing at the chef. Rimmer considers this was the end of his career and the worst moment in his life. Rimmer tells Lister to get on with the erasure, but Lister says that he's already done it. He erased the double Rimmer before the original Rimmer arrived. Rimmer is upset that Lister tricked him into telling him the gazpacho soup story and demands he tells no one of it. Lister agrees as they exit the drive room, saying "Souper".
, "Me²" didn't exist. It was originally planned to end the series with "Confidence and Paranoia", but after the BBC electrician strike disrupted the production. This gave the writers, Grant and Naylor, a chance to write a different finale to the series. They discarded the then-second episode "Bodysnatcher", about Rimmer
stealing body parts from Lister
to build a new body for himself, and wrote "Me²". The plot of "Me²" is partly based on "Bodysnatcher", which featured Lister not getting along with his own hologram — Grant and Naylor took this basic concept and centred it around Rimmer instead.
The two Rimmer scenes were shot using a split screen
process, meaning that Chris Barrie would do a take on one half of the screen and then go over to the other half and do another take. The takes would be spliced together in the editing process. Rimmer's embarrassing and reputation-damaging incident with gazpacho
soup is based on a real incident that was only narrowly avoided by writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. At a meeting at Thames Television
, the pair were bewildered when they received cold soup, but fortunately they refrained from saying anything about it as something in the back of their head said that it was meant to be cold, so they didn't send it back. They breathed a sigh of relief afterwards upon discovering that gazpacho soup is meant to be served cold, and by not complaining they had averted much embarrassment.
Although Mac McDonald
returned to play Captain Hollister his scene was filmed at the same time as his appearances in the first episode; "The End".
Additionally, the line "What a guy!" used by Rimmer 1 when spoken to Rimmer 2 was re-used in later series by other characters in reaction to the actions of Rimmer's parallel universe alter-ego Ace Rimmer.
special effects of Red Dwarf and many more visual and audio enhancements.
Changes specific to "Me²" include new music and sound effects over Rimmer's tribute video, fireball corridor shot added to flashback of cadmium explosion, new explosion and sound effects added to scene, shots of Lister smoking tightened or removed to keep in line with current TV standards and Rimmer 2 calling Rimmer 1 a "great nancy" was removed.
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 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...
, which was first broadcast on 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 21 March 1988. 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 script was written, as a late addition to the series, following an electrician's strike at the BBC. The episode follows on from the cliffhanger set by "Confidence and Paranoia
Confidence and Paranoia
"Confidence and Paranoia" is the fifth episode from series one of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 March 1988...
" - there are now two Rimmers on board Red Dwarf. The episode was remastered, along with the rest of the first three series', in 1998, to bring the episode up to a standard suitable for international broadcast.
Plot
Now there are twoConfidence and Paranoia
"Confidence and Paranoia" is the fifth episode from series one of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 March 1988...
Rimmers (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...
) on board. If 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...
) thought things were bad before, they're certainly worse now. The original 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...
moves out to share a room with his double but leaves behind a video of his own death. Grabbing popcorn, Lister happily sits down to watch the death of his nemesis. After a very lengthy monologue from Rimmer, the moment finally arrives, and shows Rimmer being blasted by the radiation surge. As he lies dying, he says his final words... "Gazpacho soup!" leaving Lister confused and determined to solve the mystery of why Rimmer made those his dying words. Initially things go well. Lister is happy to have the room to himself and the two Rimmers get on, both encouraging each other through their routines of study, exercise, sleep. But as both Rimmers continue to compete against each other tempers start fraying and soon the original Rimmer moves back in with Lister.
After a heated argument between the two Rimmers it is decided that one must go. The original Rimmer loses out and is to be erased. Rimmer turns up to the drive room in his uniform with his medals awarded for Three Year Long Service, Six Years Long Service, Nine Years Long Service and Twelve Years Long Service. Before Rimmer is erased Lister asks about gazpacho soup. Reluctantly, and seeing as he was about to be erased, Rimmer tells him the story of how he had once been invited to the Captain's Dinner. Gazpacho soup was being served for starters and he didn't realise that it was meant to be served cold. He had called over the chef and told him to take it away and bring it back hot. Later he says that he discovered the reason why the crew were laughing. He thought they were laughing at the chef. Rimmer considers this was the end of his career and the worst moment in his life. Rimmer tells Lister to get on with the erasure, but Lister says that he's already done it. He erased the double Rimmer before the original Rimmer arrived. Rimmer is upset that Lister tricked him into telling him the gazpacho soup story and demands he tells no one of it. Lister agrees as they exit the drive room, saying "Souper".
Production
When Red Dwarf first went into the studios at BBC ManchesterManchester
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...
, "Me²" didn't exist. It was originally planned to end the series with "Confidence and Paranoia", but after the BBC electrician strike disrupted the production. This gave the writers, Grant and Naylor, a chance to write a different finale to the series. They discarded the then-second episode "Bodysnatcher", about 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...
stealing body parts from 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 build a new body for himself, and wrote "Me²". The plot of "Me²" is partly based on "Bodysnatcher", which featured Lister not getting along with his own hologram — Grant and Naylor took this basic concept and centred it around Rimmer instead.
The two Rimmer scenes were shot using a split screen
Split screen (film)
In film and video production, split screen is the visible division of the screen, traditionally in half, but also in several simultaneous images, rupturing the illusion that the screen's frame is a seamless view of reality, similar to that of the human eye...
process, meaning that Chris Barrie would do a take on one half of the screen and then go over to the other half and do another take. The takes would be spliced together in the editing process. Rimmer's embarrassing and reputation-damaging incident with gazpacho
Gazpacho
Gazpacho is a cold Spanish/Portuguese tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalucía. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal and parts of Latin America...
soup is based on a real incident that was only narrowly avoided by writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor. At a meeting at Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
, the pair were bewildered when they received cold soup, but fortunately they refrained from saying anything about it as something in the back of their head said that it was meant to be cold, so they didn't send it back. They breathed a sigh of relief afterwards upon discovering that gazpacho soup is meant to be served cold, and by not complaining they had averted much embarrassment.
Although Mac McDonald
Mac McDonald
Mac McDonald is an American actor. He is best known for playing Captain Hollister on the BBC TV series Red Dwarf and frequently plays American characters in other British TV shows...
returned to play Captain Hollister his scene was filmed at the same time as his appearances in the first episode; "The End".
Additionally, the line "What a guy!" used by Rimmer 1 when spoken to Rimmer 2 was re-used in later series by other characters in reaction to the actions of Rimmer's parallel universe alter-ego Ace Rimmer.
Cultural references
- Orson WellesOrson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' film Citizen KaneCitizen KaneCitizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
is referenced both directly and indirectly during this episode. Lister tells Rimmer that he and Cat are going to be watching Citizen Kane at the ship's cinema. The more subtle references appear in Rimmer's death scene, where a snow globe drops off the Captain's desk next to his hand, thus mirroring Kane's death in the film, and utters his cryptic last words "gazpacho soup" which hold importance in the episode. Kane's last word, "Rosebud", was the theme of the film.
- 'My Diary, by Arnold J. Rimmer' was Rimmer's journal of his thoughts and deeds. He had hoped it would someday be placed alongside his historic heroes' own work; 'Napoleon's War Diaries' and 'The Memories of Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
'.
- To elaborate on an April fool joke, Holly wears a Groucho MarxGroucho MarxJulius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
comedy glasses-nose-and-moustache.
Reception
The episode was originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 21 March 1988 in the 9:00pm evening time slot. Both co-creators/writers, Grant and Naylor, consider "Me²" as one of the successes of the first series. Grant stating that it is one of his favourite shows and the idea of how you would react if you met yourself was an intriguing story. Despite coming 25th in a Red Dwarf Smegazine readers poll, with 0.9% of the votes, the episode was considered one of the better efforts from the first series.Remastering
The remastering of Series I to III was carried out during the late 1990s. Changes throughout the series 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 specific to "Me²" include new music and sound effects over Rimmer's tribute video, fireball corridor shot added to flashback of cadmium explosion, new explosion and sound effects added to scene, shots of Lister smoking tightened or removed to keep in line with current TV standards and Rimmer 2 calling Rimmer 1 a "great nancy" was removed.
See also
- Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers - The first Red Dwarf novel which expands on the episode's premise.
External links
- Red Dwarf Episode Guide for Series I on Silicon Hell, which includes a transcript of this episode
- Red Dwarf Episode Guide for Series I on britannia.org