What's bad is that time isn't running in quite the right direction. Dave Lister has finally found his way back to the planet Earth. If his crewmates can't help him, Lister will carry on growing younger until he becomes a baby, then an embryo, meeting a very sticky end indeed. And if he doesn't get off the planet soon, he's going to have to go through puberty again - backwards.

What's bad, however, is that time isn't running in quite the right direction. We join them just as Dave Lister has finally found his way back to planet Earth - which is good. This is the third adventure of the unlikely space heroes of the cult TV hit Red Dwarf - Lister, Rimmer, Kryten, Holly and the Cat - as they continue their epic journey through frontal-lobe-knotting realities. It provides valuable insight into why Rimmer is the way he is, while also adding layers to the dynamic between him and the other characters, particularly Lister, as they try to help him deal with his grief.Īll of this plays out against the backdrop of the game, which Rimmer's messed-up psyche inevitably ruins, establishing a pattern that would crop up again in the likes of 'Terrorform' amongst other episodes.Book Description Paperback. He receives the very delayed news that his father has died, and while he of course knows all his family is dead, reading it in a letter from his mother causes him to grieve anew while also reflecting on his father's abusive treatment of him. But as it so often is, the true power of the episode lies in the emotional depth - specifically, and unsurprisingly, in Rimmer. This allows for a lot of funny and surreal jokes (like the Cat's wish for a reverse mermaid). This episode widens the world of the Dwarfers through a virtual reality game called 'Better Than Life' that allows them to live out their deepest desires. Not to be repetitive, but the highlight of the episode is definitely past Rimmer going slightly insane when confronted with his future self - and future Lister(s) - and putting the whole thing down to some mushrooms Lister slipped him.

This is one of the first time travel episodes, and it sets up some plot points that never quite eventuate, but it's a lot of fun to see a complicated sci-fi concept tackled in this way. Interestingly, none of them actually try to prevent the accident from happening at all. They each use the opportunity for their own purposes - Lister tries to save Kochanski, Rimmer tries to save himself, and the Cat is just happy to be around real live women for once. 'Stasis Leak' sees the boys, as the name suggests, find a stasis leak that enables them to travel back in time to three weeks before the incident that killed the entire Red Dwarf crew (except Lister). Hey, it's not a Rimmer episode! At least, not entirely.

Backwards by Rob Grant