Out of all the unanswered questions Red Dwarf has thrown up over its 33 years, the one fans have been clamouring for an answer to is definitely: what happened to all the other Cats? For the uninitiated, Red Dwarf began with Third technician Dave Lister refusing to let his pregnant pet cat Frankenstein be put down, an offence for which he was put into stasis. A radiation leak then wiped out the crew, but Frankenstein was safely sealed in the hold, where her descendants began to evolve into a new species. Eventually, following a series of religious wars, they left Red Dwarf (leaving behind the character we would come to know as “Cat”), seeking their God “Cloister” and the promised land, roaming deep space in a fleet of their own.
None of this is a massive spoiler, nor will casual/first time viewers have to worry about absorbing tonnes of series lore, as it is all succinctly explained within the first minute. And with the first of what will be many glorious cat jokes, we are launched straight into the story. The Promised Land is a 90 minute, feature-length story (but is most emphatically not the long-delayed and long-awaited movie, as it has still been filmed in front of a live audience), that sees three disciples of Cloister fleeing from Rodon, King of the feral cats (Ray Fearon) who doesn’t want his followers to worship anyone other than him. Upon actually meeting their God, Lister finds that no good deed ever goes unpunished and that being a God comes with responsibilities.
There are so many great jokes and lines in The Promised Land that there’s a real temptation to go through them all, but as that would a) make this review really boring and b) not give you any incentive to actually watch it, all I will say is this: the jokes come thick and fast, and they all nail the landing.
Red Dwarf is no stranger to religion as subject matter – though wearing them incredibly lightly, the show has covered scientific, philosophical, and historical concepts ranging from DNA and free will, to morality and the nature of evil; all with a healthy dose of sneery one-liners and slapstick – from the very first series, where the Cat religion was introduced, to the series X episode ‘Lemons’. An episode with which The Promised Land actually has a little in common, as it explores how the Cats’ religion, and the conflicts that resulted from it, is the product of stories that have been retold and misinterpreted so many times over the years that they have been twisted into something completely different, much like how ‘Lemons’ explored the same phenomenon in Christianity. The 90 minute run time, for once, allows these themes to be explored in a bit more depth without having to rush, but without sacrificing the pacing. The story speeds up and slows down exactly when and where it needs to, to the point where, once it’s finished, you’ll feel like you happily could’ve watched more.
The regular cast – Chris Barrie (Rimmer), Craig Charles (Lister), Danny John-Jules (Cat), and Robert Llewellyn (Kryten) – are on top form, knowing these characters inside out by now, and there’s not a duff performance among the guest stars either. We even welcome back original series Holly, Norman Lovett, moving on from his cameo in series XII’s ‘Skipper’, so it really feels as if the gang’s finally all here (now all we need is something for Hattie Hayridge and we’re golden). Lister and Rimmer have an arc that dovetails neatly: Lister finds that the responsibilities that come with being a God are not all pleasant; Rimmer receives something of a promotion early on in the story, only to be swiftly demoted to the point where it leads to him experiencing an existential crisis, culminating in one of the sweetest and most poignant scenes the show has ever had, as well as one of the best character moments between them. In fact, there are quite a few moments of genuine pathos amongst the comedy, something that was a lot more common in the early series and was nice to see a return of here.
There are a few references and treats for long-time fans (including a special effect that Grant and Naylor wanted to implement from the first series) but not to the point where it overshadows the current action; if you found the last special Back To Earth (2009) underwhelming for more or less the same reason, you’ll have a much better time here. And judging by the fact it managed to achieve ratings of around 1.67 million within its first week of broadcast, breaking records for digital channel Dave, this unique blend of science fiction and sitcom still has enough legs to run away from genetically engineered cheese for quite some time yet!
