Red Dwarf/Balance of Power

Balance of Power
Season 1, Episode 3
Airdate	February 29, 1988
Written by	Rob Grant, Doug Naylor
Directed by	Ed Bye
← 1x02 Future Echoes	1x04 → Waiting for God
Red Dwarf — Season One

Balance of Power is the third episode of the first season of Red Dwarf, and the third episode overall.

Guest Stars: Clare Grogan (Kochanski), Mark Williams (Petersen), Paul Bradley (Chen), David Gillespie (Selby), Rupert Bates (Food Dispenser/Video Chef)

Plot Overview

Rimmer is a hologram, and as such he cannot move physical objects himself -- He must get others to do it for him. In order to coerce Lister into doing his bidding, he has somehow hidden the ship's supply of cigarettes where Lister can't find them.

As the episode opens Rimmer is reading items off a checklist and Lister must answer "check". It's Saturday night and Lister wants to have fun. So he tries to take his cigarettes and leave, but Rimmer threatens to eject the remaining cigarettes into space. Lister eventually is allowed to leave with only his designated ration of cigarettes (minus one-half for doing the homogenized puddings in a variety of silly voices).

Back in his quarters Lister asks Holly "Why Rimmer?" He was the least liked person on the ship. He even had to organize his own surprise birthday parties. Holly apparently felt that Rimmer was the best candidate to keep Lister sane on the return voyage to Earth.

Lister goes to the now empty disco/club and reminisces about one particular night when he was drinking with his friends. At one point Rimmer pushes his way across the dance floor to their table in order to ask where his revision timetable is. Rimmer admits that he needs it because he is taking (illegal) learning drugs. The flashback ends when as friends are teasing him about how they have all slept with Kristine Kochanski.

After failing to talk Rimmer into disclosing the location of the hologram discs of the rest of the crew (Rimmer has hidden them as well). Lister decides to take action. He will take the Chef's exam and become an officer in order to out-rank Rimmer.

At one point Rimmer's physical data disc becomes corrupted and he get's what appears to be Olaf Petersen's arm. After directing a round of verbal abuse at Holly, Rimmer's renegade arm begins hitting Rimmer himself. When the arm finally stops, a satisfied Holly says that's he's gotten it fixed.

When the Cat discovers Rimmer's cigarette stash, Rimmer bribes the cat with six fish to put them back. Not long afterward, the Cat can be seen getting up from a console with at least four empty plates. He then goes to the food dispenser and says "Fish!" six times, receiving "Trout ala Creme" each time.

When Rimmer is unable to dissuade Lister from taking the Chef's exam, he changes himself so that he looks and sounds like Kristine Kochanski. As Kochanski he interrupts Lister during his Chef's exam and tries to talk him out of it. Eventually though, Lister sees through the ruse and completes his exam.

Arc Advancement

Characters

After this episode, Rimmer is no longer able to boss Lister around in quite the same way.

Trivia

The Show

• Rimmer has inventoried (among other things) 4691 irradiated haggis.

Memorable Moments

Rimmer has apparently taught the Cat how to order from the food dispensers ... The Cat walks up to one and yells "Fish!", the food dispenser responds saying "Today's fish is Trout ala Creme ... Please enjoy your meal.". The Cat waits silently until the plate of fish is safe in his arms, then he starts again with "Fish!". He does this six times, until he can't carry anymore. When the food dispenser has said "Please enjoy your meal" for the sixth time, the Cat says "I will!", and walks off with his fish.

Quotes

• When Lister is trying to talk Rimmer into turning himself off for a few hours so he can go on a date with Kristine Kochanski ...
  Lister: ... do you remember Kristine Kochanski?
  Rimmer: Navigation officer? Yes, I remember her. Snooty cow. She used to look down on me. She used to call me "Rimmer."
  Lister: Everybody called you "Rimmer."
  Rimmer: Well, it's the way she said it, though. "Rimmer". "Rimmer". To rhyme with "scum." ...

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