Red Dwarf (TV Series) Fathers & Suns (2012) User Reviews

Wit - and even a touch of wisdom

[michael-1151 · 9/10 · 9 May 2020]

Like a snake that swallows itself, you're sometimes unsure of the beginning, middle and end with Red Dwarf, nothing is as it seems, in this episode, Dave Lister confronts his son, Dave Lister. According to a historic plotline, Lister is apparently his own father, we're not talking Bethlehem here, more a case of the father leaving the son in a cardboard box (hopefully recycled - the box, not the son).

As well as good video therapy between father and son, there were great belly laughs as the new computer replacing Holly, the gothic and assertive Pree, excellently played by Rebecca Blackstone, used the equivalent of predictive text to determine what the crew wanted before they could say it, negating the need for instruction. Until she took over everything - which might have been predicted - until Lister saved the day, which presumably made both father and son very proud.

There was a great running gag on Chinese Whispers, with vending machines varying each message, a little bit of bathos or pathos - Pree could have known which before they arose - and great ensemble playing.

The dark moments of One Foot In the Grave, nostalgia of Dads Army and farce of Fawlty Towers are sometimes matched by the boys of the Dwarf. Regrettably, Mrs Brown and her Boys have not yet appeared as extras, a shame, really, they would be as expendable as Pree, although not missed quite as much.

Lister gets tough with his underachieving son... Lister!

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 12 October 2012]

It looks as though the previous episode wasn't a fluke as this one was just as good if not better. After it is pointed out to Lister has been a poor father to himself he decides to help himself out... of course things don't go according to plan; in fact they go so badly that the ship's new computer flushes him out of an airlock then informs the others that now their mission to return Dave to Earth has been cancelled the ship will be flown into the nearest sun. There is also a secondary subplot where Rimmer's question about whether or not 'Chinese Whispers' is racist leads to an unintentional game of Chinese Whispers as the question changes as it goes though the ship.

This episode was classic Red Dwarf with lots of really good laughs; particular favourite moments included Kryten and Rimmer discussing the personality of the new computer... Rimmer says it doesn't really matter but chooses: female, blonde, and twenty six with 36D breasts... he is quite adamant on the last point. The Chinese Whispers gag was funny as the game itself obviously isn't racist but the 'Taiwan Tony' 'Oriental Food Dispenser' spoke in voice that was clearly a stereotyped 'Chinese' accent only used by people pretending to sound Chinese; I took this to be mocking the stereotype rather than being racist itself although others may disagree. The way Lister's story played out was fun in the silly way fans will expect; the special effects had a delightfully retro '80s quality that would look ropey if this were serious sci-fi made today but just served to add to the charm of the episode.

Amusing episode

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 30 December 2020]

Lister examines his father/son relationship with himself whilst the others install a new computer.

I enjoyed this episode for the performance of Craig Charles, the continuity with a previous story and how the plot unfolds, but I struggled to take much humour out of it.

This episode is focussed on Lister and whilst it is character driven, the plot is quite clever and comes together in a pretty amusing way in the second half.

Craig Charles, who in this series shows how far he has come as an actor since the show's inception, gives a solid performance doing an almost father/son Gollum like routine. He is well supported by the remaining cast who make the most of the material.

The comedy mostly misses the mark for me as I only really laughed in few scenes. However, my ongoing philosophy is that humour is very much dependent on what an audience finds funny, so it may work much better for someone else. Doug Naylor has seemingly corrected the course from the past few series and gone back to a type of set-up that works better.

For me it was a 6.5/10, but as always I round upwards.

Best Episode in Years

[dramafreak42 · 10/10 · 6 January 2015]

I've loved "Red Dwarf" from the very beginning, but I'd also be the first to tell you that it hasn't exactly been consistent in its quality. While rarely flat out terrible, there are almost as many middling episodes as there are great ones. This thankfully is one of the truly great ones.

This is a case where the A and B stories merge together into near perfection, culminating in a pitched perfect climax. Lister has seemingly come to terms with the fact that he is in fact his own father (see Series 7) but when he truly starts looking at the relationship he has with himself in father/son terms, he suddenly feels inadequate in both roles. While he tries to sort this out in a way that only Lister would ever think of, the rest of the crew try to install a new operating system for the ship with predictably non-ideal results. The actual way this pans out is quite clever despite the initial set up being predictable.

All performers are in top form, but Craig Charles as Lister really knocks this one out of the park. It's hilarious, exciting, oddly touching at points and genuinely clever in its execution.

Red Dwarf classic as only Red Dwarf can do

[stevesharonwilletts · 10/10 · 17 February 2019]

This episode is pure perfection. Dave Lister gives parental advice to his son Dave Lister. Nobody else could pull this humour off, but Craig Charles completely nails it. Interestingly only Red Dwarf could pull this type of humour off. It's hysterically funny without being ridiculously stupid. The boys from the Dwarf certainly prove they are back, and they are as funny as ever.