Red Dwarf

Original title : Backwards
First Aired : 14.11.1989 (UK)
Director : Ed Bye
Writing credits : Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Cast : Maria Friedman (Waitress), Tony Hawks (Compere), Arthur Smith (Pub Manager), Anna Palmer (Customer in Cafe)

The Story : The episode opens with 'Star Wars' style text explaining that Lister gave birth to twin boys that were returned to the other dimension, Holly has changed his face to look like his counterpart from that universe, and that Kryten has returned and become part of the crew. Kryten and Rimmer take the Starbug for a piloting lesson in order for them to become more independent. They accidentally pass through a time hole and appear on Earth where everything runs in reverse order. While Lister and Cat attempt to find them, they get a job as a novelty act in a pub, showing off their 'forwards' actions. Lister and Cat finally find them but Rimmer and Kryten don't want to leave claiming that the world makes more sense this way. They are soon fired for causing a pub brawl and then proceed to start the fight in true bar-room brawl fashion (or rather a bar-room tidy).

Original title : Marooned
First Aired : 21.11.1989 (UK)
Director : Ed Bye
Writing credits : Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Cast :

The Story : The crew evacuate the ship after Holly spots five black holes in the distance. Rimmer and Lister leave together in Starbug but hit a meteor and crash on a snow planet with no way to escape. With little food and heat, Lister begins to open up to Rimmer to try and take his mind off the situation, including talking about Rimmer's fascination with war and when they both lost their virginities. Soon the fire dies down and the only thing left to burn is Lister's guitar and Rimmer's priceless camphorwood chest. Lister makes him think that he will burn the guitar but instead cuts a guitar-shaped hole in the back of the chest and burns that. However, his smugness turns to guilt when Rimmer says that the chest belonged to his father and is worth more to him than life. When Kryten and Cat finally find them, Lister grabs his guitar and hightails it before Rimmer can realise what he did.

Original title : Polymorph
First Aired : 28.11.1989 (UK)
Director : Ed Bye
Writing credits : Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Cast : Kalli Greenwood (Rimmer's Mom), Simon Gaffney (young Rimmer), Frances Barber (Genny)

The Story : A pod arrives aboard Red Dwarf containing a genetic mutant which can change itself into any shape whatsoever. It appears to Lister in it's true form, bringing him to the height of his fear, and then sucking his fear right out of him. While they are searching for it, Cat is chased by his own heat-seeking bazookoid balls, and eventually manages evade them and lock them in a room. It gets the Cat, and takes away his vanity by appearing as a beautiful woman and flattering him. It then appears as Rimmer and blames Kryten for the Cat's accident, thereby taking away Kryten's guilt. Later, when the three get back it appears as Rimmer's mother, pretending to have slept with Lister, angering Rimmer so much that it feeds off him also.. The gang now have very different personalities: we have Rimmer, a "wannabe" hippy, (T-shirt saying "Give quiche a chance"), Lister with nerves of steel and willing to sacrifice his life to kill it, Kryten with no sense of loyalty or guilt, and the Cat, a bum. They continue their search for the Polymorph and suddenly it comes up and attacks from behind. Luckily, an automatic door opens, releasing the bazookoid balls that were chasing the cat. The crew duck and the polymorph is destroyed. All the crew get their emotions back and they are free from the polymorph. Or so it may seem.....

Original title : Bodyswap
First Aired : 05.12.1989 (UK)
Director : Ed Bye
Writing credits : Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Cast : Lia Williams (Voice of Carol Brown)

The Story : A scutter has gone mad and rerouted the entire ships circuitry and Rimmer and Kryten can't find the self-destruct mechanism but Lister accidentally activates it when he orders a milkshake and chocolate bar from a vending machine. Needing one of the senior officers to deactivate it, Kryten introduces them to a mind-swap, which involves implanting another crew-members brain (via a disc on which all of their brain patterns were kept), into Lister's body. Even though the technique works it does not fool the computer into deactivating the auto-destruct. The count-down finishes, and Lister recieves his milkshake and choc bar from the vending machine as there is no bomb on board the ship. Rimmer decides that the brain-switching idea is a good one and he persuades Lister to loan him his body, promising to get it fit for Lister. Lister finally agrees, but takes it back when he finds out how badly Rimmer has been treating his body. Rimmer, with the help of Kryten (who is programmed to obey), steals Lister's body during the night, and does a runner with Starbug. Lister, Cat and Kryten give chase in Blue Midget, but as they catch up, Rimmer crashes. Back in his own body Lister gives Kryten the third degree, whose guilt chip is in overload. Rimmer walks in with a stunned look and speaks in the Cat's voice. Cat walks in and in Rimmer's voice, promises to give his body back in a few days and starts to gorge himself on a pile of food.

Original title : Timeslides
First Aired : 12.12.1989 (UK)
Director : Ed Bye
Writing credits : Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Cast : Robert Addie (Gilbert), Emile Charles (young Lister), Simon Gaffney (young Rimmer), Stephen McKintosh ('Thicky' Holden), Koo Stark (Sabrina Mulholland-Jjones), Ruby Wax (Blaize Falconberger), Rupert Bates (Bodyguard), Richard Hainsworth (Bodyguard), Louisa Ruthven (Ski Woman), Mark Steel (Ski Man)

The Story : Lister declares he is sick of life on Red Dwarf and wishes that he never joined the JMC in the first place. Kryten is developing photos in the photo lab when he discovers that they can move, to which Holly suggests that the developing fluid must have mutated. Kryten shows some moving slides to the crew and Lister finds that he can walk into the projection and really be there, only he cannot move outside the frame of the picture. Lister uses this as his ticket off Red Dwarf by making himself unbelievably rich. He takes a tension sheet (just bubble-wrap packing paper painted red), and goes into a photo of himself at 17 and tells himself to patent the invention. When they return, Lister, Cat and Kryten disappear. (Kryten wasn't rescued and the Cat race never existed), Rimmer cannot bear being on his own and goes to convince Lister to come back. Upon failing that, he goes further back in time to give the invention to himself at boarding school. Lister, Cat and Kryten are returned, although he only succeeded in putting things back the way they were. As a consequence of his actions, Rimmer discovers that he is not a hologram anymore, but is alive. This doesn't last long though, as in his excitement he hits two crates of dynamite and blows himself up.

Original title : The Last Day
First Aired : 19.12.1989 (UK)
Director : Ed Bye
Writing credits : Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Cast : Gordon Kennedy (Hudzen 10), Julie Higginson (Marilyn Monroe android), Robert Llewellyn (Jim Reaper)

The Story : A mail pod arrives containing a message indicating that the "out-dated" Kryten must be dismantled and his replacement will arrive within 24 hours; a new, and improved "Hudzen 10". Kryten is not upset though, because now he goes to Silicon Heaven. Lister is shocked at this idea, and explains that there's no such thing as silicon heaven, but Kryten isn't convinced. The crew throw a "going away" party for Kryten, in which we find out that Lister was an orphan and Rimmer got his first french kiss from his uncle Frank, who thought he was his mother. The next morning, the crew wake up with hangovers and Kryten decides that he wants to stay. A ship requests docking, and the crew meet the replacement in the docking bay. They try and fight off the Hudzen 10 so Kryten will not have to leave, but he is too strong. Eventually Kryten informs him of the absence of silicon heaven, which causes Hudzen 10's circuits to overload.