Terrorform
Encyclopedia
"Terrorform" is the third episode of science fiction
sit-com Red Dwarf
Series V and the twenty seventh in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British
television channel BBC2 on 5 March 1992. Written by Rob Grant
& Doug Naylor
, and directed by Juliet May
. The episode's plot has the Red Dwarf crew rescuing Rimmer from a terraformed moon based on his own psyche.
and Rimmer
go moon-hopping in the Starbug, but run into trouble on one particular moon when Rimmer is abducted and Kryten sustains fearful injuries as the landscape starts to reform itself. Lister
and Cat
come and rescue Kryten, although Rimmer is nowhere to be seen. Back on board Red Dwarf Kryten is patched up by Lister and tells his story.
Lister, Cat and Kryten return to the moon, and discover it is a psi-moon - an artificial planetoid that can tune into an individual's psyche and adapt its terrain to mimic his mental state. In this instance, it has reconfigured itself using Rimmer's subconscious as a template. Here, not only is Rimmer given a physical presence (thanks to a side-effect from the moon) but so are his personal demons - and there are quite a few of them.
A rescue attempt is proven futile as Rimmer's captor, a monster created from his dominant feelings of self-loathing, is invulnerable to bazookoid fire and his hooded legions - themselves the personifications of Rimmer's negative emotions - are many. However there is one way to defeat the creature and escape: all Lister, Kryten and Cat have to do is boost Rimmer's self confidence by persuading him that they really do like him and think he's one hell of a guy.
Other small cuts included the Master who was fully built, but cut down to show only a hand, foot or shadow. This was considered more effective than seeing the character full on.
Some scenes from this episode were incorporated into the second pilot (actually, a promo reel) for the prospective American Red Dwarf series.
Sara Stockbridge
and Francine Walker-Lee both appeared as Handmaidens.
, magenta
, taupe
, marigold, heliotrope
and tangerine
.
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...
sit-com 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 V and the twenty seventh in the series run. It was first broadcast 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 5 March 1992. 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....
& 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 Juliet May
Juliet May
Juliet May is a British television director. She has directed a variety of television shows, including Challenge Anneka, Dalziel and Pascoe, Hope and Glory New Tricks and the award-winning Miranda....
. The episode's plot has the Red Dwarf crew rescuing Rimmer from a terraformed moon based on his own psyche.
Plot
KrytenKryten
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 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...
go moon-hopping in the Starbug, but run into trouble on one particular moon when Rimmer is abducted and Kryten sustains fearful injuries as the landscape starts to reform itself. 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...
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...
come and rescue Kryten, although Rimmer is nowhere to be seen. Back on board Red Dwarf Kryten is patched up by Lister and tells his story.
Lister, Cat and Kryten return to the moon, and discover it is a psi-moon - an artificial planetoid that can tune into an individual's psyche and adapt its terrain to mimic his mental state. In this instance, it has reconfigured itself using Rimmer's subconscious as a template. Here, not only is Rimmer given a physical presence (thanks to a side-effect from the moon) but so are his personal demons - and there are quite a few of them.
A rescue attempt is proven futile as Rimmer's captor, a monster created from his dominant feelings of self-loathing, is invulnerable to bazookoid fire and his hooded legions - themselves the personifications of Rimmer's negative emotions - are many. However there is one way to defeat the creature and escape: all Lister, Kryten and Cat have to do is boost Rimmer's self confidence by persuading him that they really do like him and think he's one hell of a guy.
Production
Another episode that was cut in the edit room although this time it was felt that some of the dialogue didn't work. The final scenes with the crew gathering around Rimmer to make him feel wanted was trimmed down.Other small cuts included the Master who was fully built, but cut down to show only a hand, foot or shadow. This was considered more effective than seeing the character full on.
Some scenes from this episode were incorporated into the second pilot (actually, a promo reel) for the prospective American Red Dwarf series.
Sara Stockbridge
Sara Stockbridge
Sara Stockbridge is an English model and actress who achieved a certain level of high fashion notoriety in the mid to late 1980s as the muse of designer Vivenne Westwood...
and Francine Walker-Lee both appeared as Handmaidens.
Cultural references
- We see Rimmer's 'self respect' and 'self confidence' rise from the dead, looking like two members of The Three MusketeersThe Three MusketeersThe Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
. - The word 'Terrorform' is a play on words introduced on the terraforming in the AliensAliens (film)Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
films. - At the start of the episode when KrytenKrytenKryten 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...
is knocked offline, his CPU plays him a musak version of CopacabanaCopacabana (song)"Copacabana", also known as "Copacabana ", is a 1978 song which was sung by Barry Manilow and written by Jack Feldman, Barry Manilow, and Bruce Sussman.-Song information:...
.
Kryten's Colours
During the episode, the viewer can see Kryten's internal display, which among other things shows his system status as various shades of red: MauveMauve
Mauve is a pale lavender-lilac color, one of many in the range of purples. The color mauve is named after the mallow flower....
, magenta
Magenta
Magenta is a color evoked by light stronger in blue and red wavelengths than in yellowish-green wavelengths . In light experiments, magenta can be produced by removing the lime-green wavelengths from white light...
, taupe
Taupe
Taupe is a dark grayish-brown color. The word "taupe" derives from the Latin name for the European Mole, Talpa europaea.Originally, this referred only to the average color of the French mole, but like the colors pink and lavender, the name expanded to encompass a wide range of varying...
, marigold, heliotrope
Heliotrope (color)
Heliotrope is a pink-purple tint that is a representation of the color of the heliotrope flower.The first recorded use of Heliotrope as a color name in English was in 1882.-Heliotrope in culture:Film...
and tangerine
Tangerine (color)
Tangerine is an orange color hue used to give the impression of the tangerine fruit. Just like there are a variety of shades of tangerine fruit, there are a variety of color mixes employed to give the impression...
.