Red Dwarf - Themes

Themes

Red Dwarf was founded on the standard sitcom trope of a disparate and frequently dysfunctional group of individuals living together in a restricted setting. With the main characters routinely displaying their cowardice, incompetence and laziness, while exchanging insulting and sarcastic dialogue, the series provided a humorous antidote to the fearless and morally upright space explorers typically found in science fiction shows, with the main characters acting bravely only when there was no other possible alternative. The increasing science fiction elements of the series were treated seriously by Grant and Naylor. Satire, parody and drama were alternately woven into the episodes, referencing other television shows, films and books. These have included references to the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Top Gun (1986), RoboCop (1987), Star Wars (1977), Citizen Kane (1942), The Wild One (1953), High Noon (1952), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Easy Rider (1969), The Terminator (1984) and Pride and Prejudice (1813).

The writers based the whole theme of some episodes on the plots of feature films. The series III episode "Polymorph" references and parodies key moments from Alien (1979); series IV's "Camille" echoes key scenes from Casablanca (1942); "Meltdown" borrows the main plot from Westworld, (1973); and "Back to Earth" was partially inspired by Blade Runner (1982). The series' themes are not limited to films or television, having also incorporated historical events and figures. Religion also plays a part in the series, as a significant factor in the ultimate fate of the Cat race, and the perception of Lister as their "God", and of the crew meeting a man they believe to be Jesus Christ in "Lemons". The series also makes a literary reference to the Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot in the title for the episode Waiting for God. The episode titled Ouroboros derives its name and theme from the ancient mythological snake by the same name.

The series explores many science fiction staples such as time-travel paradoxes (including the grandfather paradox), the question of determinism and free will (on several episodes), the pursuit of happiness in virtual reality and, crucially to the show's premise of Lister being the last human, the near certainty of the human species' extinction some time in the far future.

Aliens do not feature in the series as Rob Grant and Doug Naylor decided very early in the process that they did not want aliens in the show. However, there are non-human life forms such as evolutions of Earth species (e.g. the Cat race), robotic or holo-life forms created by humans, and a "Genetically Engineered Life Form" (GELF), an artificially created creature. Most of the enemies within the later series are some variant on GELFs or Simulants.