ThunderPeel2001

It's true that they probably got a bit looser with cutting and pasting their scripts into the second book, but did you know that the whole White Hole storyline was actually written for the book? It's the only time they took an idea from one of the books and turned it into an episode. Just an FYI: There isn't a single line used from the TV series used in Backwards, and only four ideas. The only episode copied was Gunmen of the Apocalypse and it features all new dialogue, FWIW. Also, there IS an over-arching storyline to Backwards, although I missed it the first time through: Rimmer's personality and neuroses actually act as a backbone for the entire book. It's quite a satisfying read when you realise it. Last Human on the other-hand is outrageously guilty of copying from the series. Christ, I think there are moments where Doug Naylor spent more time removing "INT. NIGHT - RED DWARF CREW QUARTERS" than actually writing anything new. There's times where all he's done it add, "said Lister" or "said Kryten". Pretty amazing considering only co-wrote what he was using for his book. No wonder Rob Grant was annoyed with him (and subsequently didn't use any dialogue from the show in his book). Good job on making it the end of Last Human. When I attempted it the second time, I just couldn't get through it.

Gunmen of the Apocalypse probably wouldn't feature in a list of my favourites Red Dwarf shows, but I also don't really care what Terry Pratchett says. Gunmen is actually widely considered to be one of the best RD episodes, if not THE best. It won an International Emmy, the only RD episode ever to do so. It also placed second (after Back to Reality) in a massive fan vote (that's out of 53 episodes). Second. Series 6 also won Best BBC Comedy at the Best British Comedy Awards (the only RD series to do so) and had consistently the highest ratings in Red Dwarf's history. All this success directly led to NBC making a pilot for a US TV... It is literally no exaggeration to say that Series 6 was the pinnacle of Red Dwarf's success. (Which is one of the reasons why the split between Naylor and Grant came as such a shock.) Quite the opposite of suggesting that it, or Gunmen, was where it "started to get a bit shaky". Sorry to rag on you, but this was a pure .

The episode Backwards (which is considered very good -- much better than say, Meltdown) was co-written by Doug Naylor and Rob Grant. In fact all episodes from Series 1 through 6 were written by both of them. Series 7, 8 and this new "mini-series" was written by Doug Naylor on his own (or sometimes with help from other writers) but Rob Grant was not involved at all.

It's definitely true that that's the general consensus, but it's absolute horseshit. Naylor did the one-liners, and his attempts at sci-fi are amazingly pathetic. I tried re-reading Last Human a while back and keeerrist if it wasn't filled with stomach churningly bad sci-fi. Did you know, for example, that StarBug was fitted with a "Hubble Telescope"? No, that's because it makes zero sense... except in the mind of Doug Naylor. Grant did the sci-fi, plot, structure and characterization. He even wrote a chunk of his Red Dwarf novel where all the events occur backwards... carefully writing it so it all makes sense (apparently). That's exploring a sci-fi concept (living in a world where time is reversed) - not just bunging a bit of half-assed research into a sentence and hoping it sounds sufficiently impressive. I really have no idea how the idea that Naylor was the "sci-fi man" came about... Everything is secondary to laughs to him (which is fine, providing he's got someone to figure out all the "heavy stuff").

Agreed. Woo, there was better special effects. Ugh, it was horrendously written. Doug Naylor 'Dwarf has always been like this, though. Without Rob Grant to help with structure and story, he's always floundered around with one-liners. Ah, well.

Can anyone with the Steam version tell me what the "achievements" are? Edit: Ah, they're the same as the 360. Tip for new PC players: The Speedruns are actually puzzles in themselves. They're not necessarily about being superfast, but usually involve solving the puzzle in a different, more efficient, way. Damned clever.

It seems like the official website has crashed?! Guess America is awake EDIT: Hmph. The site is back but still no official announcement of where to buy it... So far there's: Steam $14.99/£9.99GBP (+ has Steam achievements) Greenhouse $14.95/£10.24GBP Impulse $14.95/£10.22GBP (software must be installed first) GamersGate $14.95/£13.45GBP(?!) (pretty lax on DRM -- they'll happily reset your install count, apparently) I've checked out the demo and it's sweeeeeeeet to see the gorgeous artwork properly for once. I think it needs a 360 pad (or similar) to be enjoyed fully, though.

There's a bunch of places to pick it up... but which one is the best (least DRM'd)?

Sorry, elmuerte... No wait a minute: It's here! (And presumably on Steam, as well.) Nifty trailer, too.

Have to disagree re: Stuart Lee's Comedy Vehicle. Admittedly some haven't been as strong as Lee's best (Stand-Up Comedian is absolutely brilliant) but it's far from dreadful, IMHO. In fact I'm loving that he's back on my TV screen!

Well Sbore was a bit of let down from most accounts

I think it's entirely up you...

I meant as a result of playing (and enjoying) Psychonauts.

BioShock's ending was its weakest part, but it's still a great game.

Yeah, I was amazed too. I knew he played games but... Psychonauts? You mean Jack Black is a fan of Tim Schafer, just like me? It's pretty awesome.

Damn. I need this! It sounds excellent!

Yikes... You don't *have* to play games, you know

Oooh! Excellent. Thanks for that, I think you've just increased my interest in them enough to actually play and complete them (finally!).

Nooooooooooooooooooo... Maybe I can get them to try Rock Band. Do the GHWT instruments work with it?

Good lord. It's like they're saying, "We must never progress! We must freeze our culture precisely how it is now and never let it grow... The rest of the world must accommodate US!"

Thanks for the link

What the hell?? Reminds me of an observation a stand-up comedian made: KFC is known as "KFC" the world over. In France it is known as KFC. But in Quebec it's known as PFK (Poulet Frit Kentucky)... It's just fucking idiotic.

Turns out that all of my friends have become addicted to GHWT, they've never even played Rock Band - doh. I'm going to a big GHWT party in a few weeks... I hope it's not as bad as Guitar Hero III was.

I wonder if it's because the medium itself has progressed quicker than any other medium in history? Fashion can be called "retro" and it progresses, changes and ages very quickly. I think the term "retro" is used affectionately, and for a lot of people it means bringing back fond memories... Does The White Album bring back fond memories? Or Citizen Kane? *shrugs*

Really? I've played the first two episodes... does it get better?