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Polymorph (Red Dwarf episode)
Encyclopedia
"Polymorph" is the third episode of science fiction
sitcom Red Dwarf
Series III, and the fifteenth in the series run. It premiered on the British
television channel BBC2 on 28 November 1989. It is considered by some to be the series' best. Written by Rob Grant
and Doug Naylor
, and directed by Ed Bye
, the episode has the crew fighting a shapeshifting
, emotion
-stealing creature. It is the only Red Dwarf episode to feature a pre-credits warning about the content. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.
(Hattie Hayridge
) detects a non-human life-form aboard Red Dwarf and alerts Rimmer
(Chris Barrie
). Meanwhile Lister
(Craig Charles
) is preparing a meal, his own recipe — Shami Kebab Diablo. The shape-changing creature then appears as a basketball and bounces into the sleeping quarters where Lister is enjoying his meal. Lister catches the basketball, places it on the table and when he goes to look outside the corridor, the creature then changes shape to that of a shami kebab. Lister returns to his meal and as he prods the kebab it attacks him and changes shape into a huge, fleshy, slimy-appendaged creature. From between the jaws, a thin, slimy sucker comes out and attaches to Lister's forehead, and with a quiet, squishy splat Lister's fear is taken from him.
As Lister recovers in the medical unit, Kryten
and Holly explain that a "polymorph" is a shape-changing genetic
mutant
that went wrong, the 'Ultimate Warrior' that leeches off negative emotions like fear, guilt, anger, paranoia and drains them out of its prey. They discuss their options and decide to run off rather than take it on. They seal Lister (who, due to having no fear, is all too eager to take on the Polymorph) in the medical unit and go off to prepare Starbug for a getaway.
As they travel through the cargo decks, Rimmer nervously points out what he believes to be the polymorph. The Cat
(Danny John-Jules
) and Kryten quickly let off a couple of heat-seeking bazookoid bolts down the corridor. As the bolts head down and turn back, Rimmer apologises for the false alarm. However, the bolts are now homing in on Cat, and he makes a run for it. He manages to trap the bolts behind a door, and on his way back, he is joined by a woman (Frances Barber
) who goes on to flatter the Cat on his good looks, but she then turns out to be the polymorph and drains the Cat's vanity. Kryten rushes around the corner, followed by Rimmer. Rimmer tells Kryten that this is his fault, then changes into the polymorph and drains out Kryten's guilt. On their arrival back at the medical unit, Rimmer finds his mother (Kalli Greenwood) lying down with Lister. This angers Rimmer, and his mother quickly changes into the polymorph and drains Rimmer's anger.
In the sleeping quarters, the emotionally crippled crew try to work out their next move, but things do not go well. Rimmer plans to hit the polymorph with a major leaflet campaign followed up by a series of charity drives, Lister is determined that whatever plan they think up must be as violent as possible (and would hopefully involve him killing himself), the Cat feels he is too worthless to have an opinion, and Kryten tries to work out how he can save himself by handing over the other three while dishing out insults. Despite the disadvantage, the four head down to the cargo decks to confront the creature. Although things don't start well, the two heat-seeking bazookoid bolts are released and finally find their original target, and the polymorph is destroyed.
The four are then restored to normal, with the Cat desperate to clean himself up and Kryten ready to commit suicide to make up for his bad behaviour. The pod that floats by near Red Dwarf reveals a sign that states "Contents 2". Back on the cargo bay, the group walk in line, first Cat appears, then Kryten, Rimmer, Lister - and finally a second Lister. This Lister stops and turns into another eight-foot slimy creature.
The Remastered version replaces the second-Lister scene with another shot of a bouncing ball, with a caption explaining that the second Polymorph, which was less intelligent than the first, stowed away in Lister's clean underpants drawer....where it died of old age many years later. According to Doug Naylor
, the reason the ending was changed in the Remastered version was that he was getting tired of fans asking what happened to the second Polymorph.
Director Ed Bye drew inspiration for the look and design of the episode from watching the 1979 film Alien
just before shooting began. For the cargo bay scenes a warehouse in Manchester was hired for the shooting. Empty cardboard boxes were strategically stacked up and down the warehouse floor to give the illusion of a stocked cargo bay.
Although the episode had a pre-credits warning, about the episode's content, this was more of a plot device as the episode was broadcast past the 9:00 pm watershed
. During the filming of the Polymorph morphing into Lister's boxer shorts scene the audience laughed so loud for so long that Chris Barrie had to wait several minutes until things had calmed down (the scene is now considered by many to be one of the funniest of the entire series). This also provided extra work in the editing room as the sequence required more work than usual to edit together a workable shot.
The episode also had some of the show's most effects intensive scenes done yet. Animatronic versions of both the small and large Polymorph creature versions were created. The small version was voiced by production manager Mike Agnew. The larger model, which was prone to tipping over, collapsed before the final shot. Blue screen
was used to shoot the creature and added to existing footage of the crew. To achieve the Polymorph morphing into all the different objects the traditional locked-off camera and jump-cut procedure was used. The newly introduced Bazookoids provided more video effects as two heat-seeking laser bolts were fired and ended up chasing the Cat. The heat-seekers were given sound effects borrowed from the lightsabers of Star Wars
.
Guest appearances included actress Frances Barber
who took on a scene as 'Genny Mutant', Kalli Greenwood, who played Rimmer's mother, and the show's first appearance of Rimmer as a young boy, played by Simon Gaffney.
's 1979 Alien film which features a Xenomorph. The Polymorph's transformations also resemble the Alien's various transformations, from the early small worm to its large incarnation with a huge jaw holding an extendable emotion sucking tongue. Rimmer also says "What about the Rimmer directive, which states never tangle with anything that's got more teeth than the entire Osmond Family." This a reference to the band
.
special effects of Red Dwarf and many more visual and audio enhancements.
Changes specific to "Polymorph" include:
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...
Series III, and the fifteenth in the series run. It premiered on the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television channel BBC2 on 28 November 1989. It is considered by some to be the series' best. 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 fighting a shapeshifting
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
, 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,...
-stealing creature. It is the only Red Dwarf episode to feature a pre-credits warning about the content. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.
Plot
HollyHolly (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...
(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...
) detects a non-human life-form aboard Red Dwarf and alerts 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...
). 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...
) is preparing a meal, his own recipe — Shami Kebab Diablo. The shape-changing creature then appears as a basketball and bounces into the sleeping quarters where Lister is enjoying his meal. Lister catches the basketball, places it on the table and when he goes to look outside the corridor, the creature then changes shape to that of a shami kebab. Lister returns to his meal and as he prods the kebab it attacks him and changes shape into a huge, fleshy, slimy-appendaged creature. From between the jaws, a thin, slimy sucker comes out and attaches to Lister's forehead, and with a quiet, squishy splat Lister's fear is taken from him.
As Lister recovers in the medical unit, 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...
and Holly explain that a "polymorph" is a shape-changing genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
mutant
Mutant
In biology and especially genetics, a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not...
that went wrong, the 'Ultimate Warrior' that leeches off negative emotions like fear, guilt, anger, paranoia and drains them out of its prey. They discuss their options and decide to run off rather than take it on. They seal Lister (who, due to having no fear, is all too eager to take on the Polymorph) in the medical unit and go off to prepare Starbug for a getaway.
As they travel through the cargo decks, Rimmer nervously points out what he believes to be the polymorph. The 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...
) and Kryten quickly let off a couple of heat-seeking bazookoid bolts down the corridor. As the bolts head down and turn back, Rimmer apologises for the false alarm. However, the bolts are now homing in on Cat, and he makes a run for it. He manages to trap the bolts behind a door, and on his way back, he is joined by a woman (Frances Barber
Frances Barber
Frances Barber is an Olivier Award-nominated English actress with a long and distinguished stage career. She has also appeared in numerous television productions...
) who goes on to flatter the Cat on his good looks, but she then turns out to be the polymorph and drains the Cat's vanity. Kryten rushes around the corner, followed by Rimmer. Rimmer tells Kryten that this is his fault, then changes into the polymorph and drains out Kryten's guilt. On their arrival back at the medical unit, Rimmer finds his mother (Kalli Greenwood) lying down with Lister. This angers Rimmer, and his mother quickly changes into the polymorph and drains Rimmer's anger.
In the sleeping quarters, the emotionally crippled crew try to work out their next move, but things do not go well. Rimmer plans to hit the polymorph with a major leaflet campaign followed up by a series of charity drives, Lister is determined that whatever plan they think up must be as violent as possible (and would hopefully involve him killing himself), the Cat feels he is too worthless to have an opinion, and Kryten tries to work out how he can save himself by handing over the other three while dishing out insults. Despite the disadvantage, the four head down to the cargo decks to confront the creature. Although things don't start well, the two heat-seeking bazookoid bolts are released and finally find their original target, and the polymorph is destroyed.
The four are then restored to normal, with the Cat desperate to clean himself up and Kryten ready to commit suicide to make up for his bad behaviour. The pod that floats by near Red Dwarf reveals a sign that states "Contents 2". Back on the cargo bay, the group walk in line, first Cat appears, then Kryten, Rimmer, Lister - and finally a second Lister. This Lister stops and turns into another eight-foot slimy creature.
The Remastered version replaces the second-Lister scene with another shot of a bouncing ball, with a caption explaining that the second Polymorph, which was less intelligent than the first, stowed away in Lister's clean underpants drawer....where it died of old age many years later. According to 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...
, the reason the ending was changed in the Remastered version was that he was getting tired of fans asking what happened to the second Polymorph.
Production
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...
just before shooting began. For the cargo bay scenes a warehouse in Manchester was hired for the shooting. Empty cardboard boxes were strategically stacked up and down the warehouse floor to give the illusion of a stocked cargo bay.
Although the episode had a pre-credits warning, about the episode's content, this was more of a plot device as the episode was broadcast past the 9:00 pm watershed
Watershed (television)
In television, the term watershed denotes the time period in a television schedule during which programs with adult content can air....
. During the filming of the Polymorph morphing into Lister's boxer shorts scene the audience laughed so loud for so long that Chris Barrie had to wait several minutes until things had calmed down (the scene is now considered by many to be one of the funniest of the entire series). This also provided extra work in the editing room as the sequence required more work than usual to edit together a workable shot.
The episode also had some of the show's most effects intensive scenes done yet. Animatronic versions of both the small and large Polymorph creature versions were created. The small version was voiced by production manager Mike Agnew. The larger model, which was prone to tipping over, collapsed before the final shot. Blue screen
Blue screen
Blue screen may refer to:*Blue Screen of Death, a fatal system error screen in Microsoft Windows*Blue white screen is an assay useful in biotechnology*Blue screen compositing, a technique for combining two still images or video frames...
was used to shoot the creature and added to existing footage of the crew. To achieve the Polymorph morphing into all the different objects the traditional locked-off camera and jump-cut procedure was used. The newly introduced Bazookoids provided more video effects as two heat-seeking laser bolts were fired and ended up chasing the Cat. The heat-seekers were given sound effects borrowed from the lightsabers of Star Wars
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...
.
Guest appearances included actress Frances Barber
Frances Barber
Frances Barber is an Olivier Award-nominated English actress with a long and distinguished stage career. She has also appeared in numerous television productions...
who took on a scene as 'Genny Mutant', Kalli Greenwood, who played Rimmer's mother, and the show's first appearance of Rimmer as a young boy, played by Simon Gaffney.
Cultural references
The theme of the episode is a parody of Ridley ScottRidley 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 1979 Alien film which features a Xenomorph. The Polymorph's transformations also resemble the Alien's various transformations, from the early small worm to its large incarnation with a huge jaw holding an extendable emotion sucking tongue. Rimmer also says "What about the Rimmer directive, which states never tangle with anything that's got more teeth than the entire Osmond Family." This a reference to the band
The Osmonds
The Osmonds are an American family music group with a long and varied career—a career that took them from singing barbershop music as children, to achieving success as teen-music idols, to producing a hit television show, and to continued success as solo and group performers...
.
Reception
The episode was originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 21 November 1989 in the 9:00pm evening time slot, and was well received by fans, many considering it to be the series' best. It came second in a Red Dwarf Smegazine readers poll, gaining 9.3% of the votes. In DVD Talk's review of the episode, the reviewer highlighted the comedy value that comes from the actors dealing with their transformed character attitudes. Genre Online described it as "an absolute classic", while 'Reviews by Gravielle' stated that "it’s brilliant. It has everything."Production Error
- When Kryten, Rimmer, and Cat are going down on the lift, they are in a different position than when they are just after Kryten looks at his scanner device.
Remastering
The remastering of Series I to III was carried out during the late 1990s. General 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 "Polymorph" include:
- The original pre-opening credits warning for viewer discretion on the following episode has been removed.
- The polymorph entering Red Dwarf CGI duct systems has been added.
- Lister wrestling with the dummy snake has been re-worked and tightened.
- Kryten's lines have been re-dubbed to remove the English accent from a cargo bay scene.
- Mrs Rimmer's voice has been re-dubbed with a new actress to fit in more with the character.
- The end sequence of the second Lister following the crew has been replaced with an epilogue shot, which explains that the second polymorph hid in Lister's sock drawer and died of old age.
See also
- The Polymorph, the title character of this episode.
- Better Than LifeBetter Than LifeBetter Than Life is a science fiction comedy novel by Grant Naylor, the collective name for Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, co-creators and writers of the Red Dwarf television series, on which the novel is based...
novel which uses, and expands, on the Polymorph premise. - "Emohawk: Polymorph IIEmohawk: Polymorph II"Emohawk: Polymorph II" is the fourth episode of the British science fiction sitcom TV show Red Dwarf VI and the 34th in the series run. It was first broadcast on BBC2 on 28 October 1993. Written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor and directed by Andy de Emmony, the episode features the crew again being...
", an episode from Series VI which is a pseudo-sequel.