Red Dwarf/Back in the Red (3)

Back in the Red (3)
Season 8, Episode 3
Airdate	March 4, 1999
Written by	Doug Naylor
Directed by	Ed Bye
← 8x02 Back in the Red (2)	8x04 → Cassandra
Red Dwarf — Season Eight

Back in the Red (3) is the third episode of the eighth season of Red Dwarf, and the forty-seventh episode overall.

Guest Stars: Mac McDonald (Captain Hollister), Graham McTavish (Governor Ackerman), Karl Glenn Stimpson (MP Thornton), Yasmin Bannerman (1st Ground Controller), Jeillo Edwards (2nd Ground Controller)

Plot Overview

Rimmer, frightened by the sheer brutality of life in the Tank, visited the prison social worker that afternoon. The social worker beat him up, calling him a "whining Nancy-boy with girly white legs." He was so shocked that he went to see the priest. The priest called him a "whining baby who was missing his mum," and proceeded to beat him as well.

The next thing we see is Captain Hollister's video diary:

• Kryten, Lister, Kochanski, and the Cat are in forced AR to observe their reactions and gather evidence. They think they are escaping, but they are actually in a simulation, and their every action is being recorded
• Hollister suspects that Rimmer has the sexual magnetism virus. Hollister wants it for himself.
• He also suspects that Lister has given Rimmer access the the ship's confidential files.
• He admits that he used blackmail and trickery to achieve his rank as captain (see quotes below).

When Rimmer discovers that the others are in an AR simulation designed to discover any secrets they may have, he realises that they may learn of his deal with Lister for access to the ship's confidential files in exchange for helping Lister to escape. He tries to enter the AR suite, but it is being guarded by Thornton. To gain access, Rimmer blantantly reveals that he knows about the time Thornton was admitted to the hospital totally naked, attached to the suction end of a vacuum cleaner ... Thornton takes a smoke break.

Inside the suite, the others are standing, twitching occasionally, but completely unaware of their surroundings. Rimmer uses the control console to delete all references to his agreeement for access to the ship's confidential files.

Inside the simulation Lister notices a deletion -- every time he mentions the agreement, that moment of time is deleted! Kryten guesses that they are in an artificial reality simulation. It all must have started when they licked the envelopes, agreeing to the use of psychotropic drugs.

Kryten also reasons that there must be some kind of in-game escape switch (for emergencies). The other's look around, but it is the Cat who actually finds a button labelled "E11T" and presses it. The moment he presses the button, everyone turns into claymation figures in an arctic setting, complete with igloos.

Kochanski's suggests that they need to turn off the simulation's power. Cat comes through again with a bottle of ketchup, labelled "Tomato Source," ... power sauce. He presses the button, and they all regain consciousness.

Rimmer desperately pushes buttons on the control console to try to regain control of the simulation. The others confront him, calling him a backstabber, etc. Now in close proximity to him, Kochanski begins to respond to Rimmer's sexual magnetism virus. As the effect strengthens, Lister has to physically restrain her. She wants to have his babies! Rimmer takes a small dose of the luck virus, and Kochanski returns to normal, very, very embarrassed.

Despite his trickery, they ask Rimmer to come with them. He can be head of safety, in charge of five buttons! He considers his alternatives and accepts.

They board Blue Midget. This time the ground controller is not an attractive young woman, but a middle-aged woman with a Jamaican accent. There is no song and dance this time, they just run. After a short while in space, Holly works out that they are still in an AR simulation.

Outside the simulation, Captain Hollister watches as these events unfold, discussing the situation with the smart, competent, resurrected Holly. Despite the fact that Hollister actually believes their story about eveyone dying and nanobots resurrecting the ship and crew, he concludes that he must sentence them to a two year statutory sentence for misuse of confidential information.

They are roused from the simulation back to consciousness. The outlook is bleak, but Kryten reminds Rimmer that he still has the luck virus from before licking the envelopes. Believing they still have a chance, he pulls out the vial of luck virus, but before he can use it, Captain Hollister confiscates the vial and demands that Rimmer hand over the sexual magnetism virus as well (see below).

And that is the story of how Lister, Rimmer, Kryten, and Kochanski got a two year prison term in the Tank.

Arc Advancement

Characters

• Thornton's full name is Angus Lionel Thornton.

Referbacks

This episode marks the final mention of the original hologram Rimmer.

Trivia

The Show

• The button to exit the escape simulation was marked "E11T": 11 is XI in Roman numerals, yielding E-XI-T or "EXIT!"
• When Captain Hollister is confiscating the positive viruses, Rimmer secretly hands the sexual magnetism virus to Lister.

Allusions and References

• In their jail cell Lister and Rimmer receive a Gideons Bible.
• In a cute little scene aboard Blue Midget, ground control requests their identity, resulting in Cat's response, "Ground control this is uh ..." In the back of the cockpit Lister pops up and suggests, "Major Tom," completing a famous line from the hit David Bowie song.
• In their simulated escape, Kryten suggests they plot a course for the S.S. Einstein (obviously a namesake of Albert Einstein).

Memorable Moments

• In order to impress the ground controller, who happens to be a beautiful woman, with his his ability to control Blue Midget, Cat tap dances alongside the ship. After a moment, a chorus line of four Blue-Midget-class ships can be seen dancing with him to a Latin/rock beat. When he finishes, all the woman can say is "Wow!" He takes advantage of the moment to ask her on a date (Saturday, three days time). She agrees.

• At the end when Captain Hollister takes the luck virus, he asks where the sexual magnetism virus is. Rimmer replies that he lost it. This causes Hollister to throw a child-like tantrum: "God damn it Rimmer! I wanted that ... I mean the lab boys wanted it ..."
• During their "Welcome to the Tank" orientation, Lister secretly sprinkles some of the sexual magnetism virus on Rimmer. The other inmates -- an unruly lot -- start to take notice of Rimmer, looking amorously toward him and gathering around him.

Quotes

• Captain Hollister admits in his diary that "if the crew discover I'm really Dennis the Doughnut Boy, I'm finished!"
• Rimmer describes the inmate population of Red Dwarf as "people who are so unbalanced and debauched they could even get elected as President of the United States."

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