Red Dwarf: Back To Earth - Director's Cut (2009/BBC Blu-ray + DVD)

 

 

Picture: B-/C+     Sound: B/B-     Extras: A     Main Program: A-

 

 

Back to Earth, a revival of the very popular series Red Dwarf, takes place 9 years after the lost (supposedly) of crew member Kochanski (Chloe Annett).  The crew of the Red Dwarf after discovering an alien in their water tank is flung into a dimensional worm hole in which the reach the 'real world'.  They then discover they are just characters from a TV series and will die in the final episode, so then in the spirit of Blade Runner the attempt to get more life they must seek their creator and plead him to keep writing more so they could live longer.  Along the way they must not only try and blend in, but run into the various actors and people who created and promoted the series... could this be the end?
 
This is a BBC comedy filled series about 4 wayward space travelers: Lister (Craig Charles), the last human, Rimmer (Chris Barrie), a neurotic hologram, Cat (Danny John-Jules), a humanoid evolved feline, and Kryten (Robert Llewellyn), a humanoid robot droid.  After discovering a tentacled creature the crew falls through a wormhole to the 20th century reality where they find out what 'Reality' really thinks of them, but more alarmingly they discover they can only exist as long as the series keeps going, and they maybe in the final episode!  In hysterical (literally) attempts to prolong their life they search for their creator... wondering will they find 'The End' or 'Happily ever after.'
 
This is a great British comedy; it makes fun of many Sci-Fi/Drama movies and series, sometimes even polymorphing them.  Created in the 1988 and resurfacing on and off since, it is well written with many witty dialog moments with comedic situations that will keep the viewers laughing both with the characters and at them.  What is even more hilarious is in this film when the characters enter the 'real world', they strive to blend in is anything but.  If I could say this similar to any other series it would be like Mystery Science Theater crossed with Spaceballs with a British twist.

 

The 1080p 1.78 X 1 image on the Blu-ray is pretty good for a new HD production, but typical of how good the BBC HD releases have been overall despite more motion blur and softness that expected, while the anamorphically enhanced DVD holds its own for being in the older format.  The DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1 mix on the Blu-ray is also solid and it always puzzles me why they are not DTS-MA releases, while the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix on the DVD is active and just fine, but not as good as the DTS on the Blu-ray.  The soundfield is one of the best for a TV program to date.

 

Extras include both commentary with cast and director, deleted scenes, smeg ups, photo galleries, and more.... even the extras are comedic and various mess/smeg ups and outtakes are just as funny to watch as the show itself.

 

 

-   Ricky Chiang & Nicholas Sheffo