DwarfCasts (a Red Dwarf podcast)

"If it wasn't shit, it would be perfect." We thought we ought to do something slightly out of the ordinary for our landmark 169th episode, so here's two specials in one - it's time for some Christmas Waffles. Once again our lovely listeners slash readers provided us with a veritable smorgasbord of tasty topics, which we gobbled up whilst writing fan-fiction about the ship's Secret Santa, sharing our ultimate Red Dwarf Christmas wishes, pondering the best box sets of all time, weighing up the current state of the fandom, and coming up with a really good idea for a Christmas special. Plus, like all great festive episodes, we end on a good old sing-song. We apologise for nothing.Show notes Our fellow Dwarfy podcasters / YouTubers: The Garbage Podcast, Everyone's Dead Dave, Shipwrecked & Comatose, Better Than Life, Red Dwarf Nerd, Gallifrey Gals All the leaves are brown... Frank Kelly's Christmas Countdown

"Magnum Ed Bye" It's been far too long, but we are finally back on the Rack to continue our odyssey through the wonderous world of early 90s publishing. Join Cappsy, Danny and Ian as we take a deep dive into the epic Jake Bullet story that graces the cover, welcome another legendary Red Dwarf fan writer to the fold, marvel at the versatility of Chris Barrie's face, discover an obscure sci-fi writer that none of us have heard of, and attempt to figure out why a parody of Red Dwarf USA bears absolutely no resemblance to Red Dwarf USA. Mostly though, we rip the absolute shit out of everyone who took part in the all-episodes survey. Without looking, see if you can guess what the people of 1992 thought the second worst episode ever was. The 1992 idiots.Show notes The famous Casablanca poster that the magazine's cover pastiches The Last Temptation of Kryten (the fan fiction that launched a thousand headcanons) Oh Bosanquet, Howard Goodall's second contribution to Not The Nine O'Clock News Disturbing content warning - what became of Hoggle from Labyrinth The Kryten tissue dispenser, as featured in this article on Gazpacho Soup

"Doctor Fitzwilliam: Village Rectologist" At 6:30pm on Tuesday 23rd August 1983, unsuspecting Radio 4 listeners were ambushed by the very first episode of a seminal new sketch show. Featuring a hugely talented cast, performing the work of two writers who were on the fast track to greatness, it was notable not only for its inherent quality, but for what it would eventually spawn. The programme was, of course, Son of Cliché, without which this podcast would not exist. So in a break from the usual format, we present our fortieth anniversary tribute in the form of a documentary, showcasing some highlights from the series, analysing what made it so great, and of course focusing on the moments that had the biggest influence on Red Dwarf. Think it was just Dave Hollins: Space Cadet that Rob and Doug drew upon? Think again.Show notes The complete series of Cliché and Son of Cliché on archive.org The original "Father of Dwarf" article, published nearly 20 years ago Our old SoC section on an ancient version of the site John Hoare's History of a Joke article Oh, and we also recommend looking at the original Radio Times listings for the show, for bonus jokes

"The Gall of Gary Barlow" The third Red Dwarf DVD was released twenty years ago this November. It's time for another voyage of re-disc-overy, as we cast our minds back to a time of the online retail wild west, blossoming friendships and intense fansite rivalry. Although in practice, we probably spend more time reminiscing about our early Dimension Jump experiences than anything else, thanks to the choice of extra to receive the commentary treatment this time round, Hattie's DJ Diary. The surrounding, extremely waffley discussion takes in such topics as Red Dwarf's history with the AA, Craig Charles's overdue royalty payments, and farting in Ronnie Corbett's face. Each and every special feature is covered, we just hope that whatever you're using to watch your DVDs these days can actually access the menus...Show notes Celebrity Home Secrets was the programme in which Craig Charles revisted his former houses, but we couldn't find a copy online. Our Backwards Forwards commentary from 2013 Some Saturday morning quim for you Our Series III deleted scenes commentary, also from 2013 There are no further Series III trailers to be found on YouTube sadly, but here's a link to Jim Lynn's VHS Video Vault anyway. G&T's 2003 report on the fake DVD cover, and the subsequent explanation.

"Could you make Patrick Stewart come in the middle of my television programme, please?" The second Red Dwarf DVD was released twenty years ago (as of a month and a half ago). Any bets as to whether we can get the next one done before this November? Back in early 2003 we had barely had chance to watch the first DVD more than two or three thousand times before another release was thrust into our sweaty palms. As is expected, the Series 2 DVD was very closely related to the first so you'd be forgiven for thinking this release might be a little less interesting, but as you will hear Danny, Ian and Cappsy still had plenty to talk about as they continue on their voyage re-disc-overy.Show notes "Very very nearly 20 years ago" is now "slightly over 20 years ago". "New Years Eve this year" is now "New Years Eve last year." 17-year-old Ian's breakdown of the A-Z Dalek 63•88 identifying which Daleks were used James O'Brien reveals all on RHLSTP Saint and Greavsie meet Donald Trump Tom Scott talking about sync claps and that 16-year-old Ian whinging about the Alternate Personalities featurette

"Let wideons be wideons" Ian Symes, Jonathan Capps and Daniel Stephenson are delighted to announce that the ongoing DwarfCast hiatus has been resolved. Moving onwards and upwards, Ian, Cappsy and Danny hope to launch many iterations of DwarfCasts covering various media, working again with Jimmy Nail and other valued partners, and wish each other the very best. Smoke a kipper, DwarfCasts will eat all your kippers!!Show notes A collection of 1970s tumble dryers. We couldn't find the clip from You Bet! of the German man identifying stamps purely from the taste of the glue, but trust us, it's phenomenal.

The first Red Dwarf DVD was released twenty years ago today. Yes, we regret to inform you that you're old. The fourth of November 2002 is a date indelibly printed on the brains of fans who spent months being teased and tantalised into a frenzy. Kids today with your YouTubes and your Netflixes and your Ministry of Sound may not appreciate just how big of a deal it was for Dwarf to join the digital revolution in such a wholehearted way, so gather round and listen to your Uncles Cappsy, Danny and Ian as we kick off a new series of DwarfCast retrospectives. For each edition of Re-Disc-overy, we're going to be sharing our memories of each DVD release, looking back on the media and fandom landscapes of the time, and of course revisiting and reassessing the many, many special features. Plus, we've picked out one extra per series to receive the commentary treatment, and this time it could only be Launching Red Dwarf. So get that lovely red box off your shelf, remove the dust from your ageing DVD player and join us as we discuss Red Dwarf's greatest unsung hero, unicycling jugglers, embarrassing Dimension Jump memories, the glory of Woolworths and much much more.Show notes "Because the Red Dwarf movie's happening at the moment, we thought now would be an ideal time." Ian's contemporary review, published on the day of release Cappsy's contemporary review, published 26 days after release. Just saying. The Series 1 extras don't have subtitles, because Doug Naylor hates deaf people. So Danny has compiled subs for Launching Red Dwarf if anyone wants them. The TOS archives aren't conclusive about whether or not the commentaries and Launching Red Dwarf interviews were recorded on the same day, but note that none of them are wearing the same things in the doc as they are in these pictures from the commentary session. A double page spread from the Making Of book, the context of which will become clear when you listen. Maybe. Eeeeeeggs dot com The link between Red Dwarf's menus and the "follow the white rabbit" feature of The Matrix DVD originated on TOS's Easter Egg guide Original BBC Two continuity, courtesy of Jim Lynn Sixteen-year-old Ian's entirely pointless but time-consuming analysis of the Drunk featurette The old Lee & Herring website is still online, as is Rob Sedgebeer's Mudhole - Ian just misremembered the URL.