Dwarfcasts (a Red Dwarf Podcast)

The long wait is finally over. Red Dwarf is BACK and so are our LIVE DwarfCasts - in a change from Series XI, these are now happening at UKTV pace, meaning they're back to being (almost) Instant Reactions. First up, a rather under-strength G&T team was represented by Ian Symes, joined by a trio of guests: Jo Sharples of The Official Red Dwarf Fan Club fame, Helena Raymonde of hanging round car parks with Robert Llewellyn fame, and Clayton Hickman of actual fame. Yes, the former editor of Doctor Who Magazine and writer for The Sarah Jane Adventures and Wizards vs Aliens popped round to G&T Towers to chat all things Cured. Topics included Hitler, wheelchair ramps, shooting someone in the face, UKTV Originals branding, Hitler again, Stalin's lookalikes, the quality of Series XII's special effects, the quality of Series XII's episode titles, more Hitler, and whether or not Lister should just fuck off.

With just over a month until Red Dwarf XII debuts on Dave (and most likely just under a month until it debuts on UKTV Play), what the world needs right now is another discussion about Series VII. Luckily, we've picked one of the better episodes of that particular run as the subject for our latest commentary. Get ready to update your spreadsheets at home, and tick off Stoke Me A Clipper. Join Cappsy, Danny, Ian and the Fan Club's Jo Sharples (who, by the way, has recently announced the dates for the next Dimension Jump), as we discuss such diverse topics as the perils of a cold opening for a small child, Craig Charles's secret past as a Leeds United supporter, the similarities between Ace Rimmer and Ford Prefect, another early role on Red Dwarf for Richard Naylor, plastikkrokodil and why Lister's tie is so shiny. Plus, we offer up a possible solution to a plot hole that's been bugging Cappsy for over twenty years.

It can't have escaped anyone's attention that things have been a bit slow on the old DwarfCast front of late. It's becoming increasingly difficult to get sufficient numbers of us together in the same room, but we managed to gather three on a Friday night last month. And how did we mark this rare and joyous occasion? By watching the fourth worst Red Dwarf episode of all time. You're welcome. So join Jonathan Capps, Danny Stephenson, Ian Symes and the Fan Club's Jo Sharples as we discuss mostly the bad bits of Only The Good..., covering such diverse topics as how to amuse yourself in prison, multiple piss-poor fonts, Danny John-Jules's cracking set of pins, having it off with Hollister, what the opposite of lemon is, and Richard Naylor's first producer job.

It has now been a full seven days since the start of The Official Red Dwarf Fan Club's nineteenth convention, but the feeling of elation is yet to wear off, along with the taste of the booze and the total physical and mental exhaustion. To preserve the memories for years to come, as well as to fill in those who were unable to attend, a merry band of extremely tired people congregated in a hotel room on the Sunday night to record the traditional post-DJ DwarfCast.

All around the world, Red Dwarf fans have been on tenterhooks for the past seven days, desperately longing to find out the G&T team's semi-retrospective thoughts on the second half of Series XI. Rejoice, because the moment you've been waiting for his finally here, as Cappsy, John, Tanya, Danny and Ian conclude their revisit by documenting their thoughts on Officer Rimmer, Krysis and Can of Worms, as well as touching on the DVD/Bluray release, conclusions on the series as a whole, and the forthcoming Series XII.

Yes, DwarfCasts are finally back, following a four month wait between the end of Series XI and a day on which almost all of us could be in the same room. Has this additional thinking time enabled us to process our thoughts on the series enough to provide a coherent and insightful analysis as to where it went right and where it went wrong, or will it be the usual mix of ranting, swearing and giggling? Join Jonathan Capps, John Hoare, Tanya Jones, Danny Stephenson (down the line from our Yorkshire branch) and Ian Symes to find out.

So here we are, after seven weeks Red Dwarf XI has finally been released in its entirety and so ends our own immediate coverage of the series. At least until the DVD and Bluray come out, that is! So, for the final time this year, please join Ian Symes, Tanya Jones, John Hoare, Jonathan Capps, Danny Stephenson and perma-guest Jo Sharples as they pick through the final episode and the series as a whole and try to work out where XI currently places in the pantheon of Dwarf.

As we hurtle towards series end, we gather to analyse the living fuck out of Krysis. Join Ian Symes, John Hoare (in his triumphant return to the land of the not hospitalised), Tanya Jones, Daniel Stephenson and Jonathan Capps along with the Fan Club's Jo Sharples as they lift their respective cloches, revealing the tasty, tasty opinions within.

Prepare yourself for a damn good Rimming as we round up our immediate post-broadcast coverage of Officer Rimmer in our live reaction DwarfCast, presented to you here to be enjoyed at your leisure. Join Ian Symes, Jonathan Capps, Danny Stephenson, the Fan Club's Jo Sharples as they thrash through the many talking points generated by the episode, and try to pick through the many and varied opinions generated. Oh, and we also have a massive moan about UKTV Play.

Rounding out our immediate coverage of Give & Take we now present to you the archived version of this Thursday's LIVE DwarfCast, where we dissected the episode for all of its jucy, jucy kidneys. Present were Ian Symes, Tanya Jones, Jonathan Capps, Danny Stephenson, the Fan Club's Jo Sharples and an intermittently snoring and purring black short hair called CJ. Discussion topics this week include the large number of talking points generated by the episode, as well as some breaking DVD news, speculation as to how the mobile game will eventually represent the events of the episode and finally a preview of what's to come next week / today.

Samsara sara, whatever will be will be. The future's not ours to see, so instead, head very slightly into the past with this downloadable version of Thursday night's live reaction DwarfCast for Samsara. Jonathan Capps, Tanya Jones, Danny Stephenson, Ian Symes and TORDFC's Jo Sharples were on hand to talk you through all their complicated feelings about the episode, along with some little known facts, an update on Red Dwarf XI: The Game, a preview of Give & Take and a round-up of the latest Dwarfy news, including the DVD details, a teased plot for Series XII and more rumblings about a stage show.

Message incoming: G&T are back with their first live DwarfCast in nearly four years. Consequently there's a bit of rustiness, and an inexplicable moment where the host gets the name of his star guest wrong even though he's reading from a script, but there's also a tremendous amount of laughs, breaking news and searing insight, as Jonathan Capps, Danny Stephenson and Ian Symes are joined by guests Alex Newsome, Joey Newsome, Tom Pyott and Jo Sharples to discuss all things Twentica. As well as the biggest and smallest talking points from the episode, we also cover the fan screening event, first impressions of Red Dwarf XI: The Game, some preliminary spoiler-free previewing of Samsara and to cap it all. an exclusive interview with Big Bang Beryl herself Rebecca Blackstone, presented for the first time at an audible level.

It's the end! No, wait, the opposite of that. It's The Beginning, as we draw our coverage of Series X to a close, just in time for the coverage of Series XI to begin. Join Jonathan Capps (via Skype), Tanya Jones, Danny Stephenson, Ian Symes and the Fan Club's Jo Sharples as we discuss such burning issues as how many of the Rimmer brothers are illegitimate, what Arnold's dying words actually were, including whether or not he even said "gazpacho soup" in the first place, and our feelings on Series X as a whole, with the benefit of nearly four years of thinking time. Plus, we bring you a round-up of all the major Red Dwarf XI news that didn't make it to the front page of G&T in the last week, and the long-awaited announcement of how exactly we'll be covering the new series, bearing in mind that the release schedule for each episode is a confusing, divisive mess. Listen to the DwarfCast for far too much detail about our reasoning, but the short version is this: Live DwarfCasts at broadcast pace. Written mat

Rejoice as we finally reach everyone's favourite episode of Series X, Dear Dave. Your intrepid team - Tanya Jones, Danny Stephenson, Ian Symes and TORDFC's Jo Sharples - tackle such topics as the nature of the JMC on-board computer, the best burial place for a shit episode, Alphonse Areola, and a potential spin-off series for Asso: Spanish Detective. Oh, and sexism. Let's see if this shitty little (mostly) boys' club can sort out that thorny problem once and for all. But before all that, a round-up of the latest Red Dwarf XI news, and all the details you need to get your hands of one of five pairs of tickets to Dave's exclusive fan screening of the first two episodes. Yes, you have to listen to the actual DwarfCast in order to get the instructions, but don't worry, it's quite near the start.

By a remarkable coincidence, our run of Series X commentaries continues with Entangled. Join Cappsy, Ian, John, Tanya and TORDFC's Jo Sharples as we discuss such topics as Chris Barrie's status as an attractive man, a particularly obscure Doctor Dwarf moment, burnt tea, whether it's better to kill a chimp or a woman, and shoving spoons up one's arse. Plus, considering this was recorded months ago, some remarkably prescient comments about the release schedule of trailers, and Britain's relationship with the European Union. But wait! There's more. At the end of a particularly busy week of Red Dwarf XI news, Ian and Danny provide a fairly waffley round-up of all the little bits we've noticed, including a deeper look at the shots from the teaser that didn't make it into the full trailer.

Our countdown to the launch of Series XI - whichever of the two launch dates you choose to acknowledge - continues as we present our commentary for the third episode of Series X, Lemons. Recorded a few weeks after the last two commentaries, join Jonathan Capps, John Hoare, Tanya Jones, Ian Symes and TORDFC's Jo Sharples as we propose an alternative ending to the Shakespeare running gag, have a remarkably prescient discussion about the option to watch Red Dwarf on UKTV Play (despite recording this in May), debate the canonical status of Still Open All Hours, speculate about Doug Naylor's arse, and attempt to establish whether or not Jesus Christ really existed. Let’s see if this room full of atheists can sort out that thorny problem once and for all.

Yes, we've stuck to something for two weeks in a row. Here's the second of our Series X commentaries, which predictably enough covers Fathers & Suns. John, Danny, Ian and TORDFC's Jo Sharples return to discuss such matters as how much help Lister got in creating his video, how this is the show's third Holly-centric episode, Alf Garnett, and a hidden cock and balls. Oh, and racism. Let's see if this room full of white people can sort out that thorny problem once and for all. As well as that, we bring you an excessively angry one-man rant about UKTV's decision to premiere Red Dwarf XI episodes online a week before broadcast, and how this is going to play merry havoc with our content plan, along with the rest of the news from the last seven days.

We estimate that we're about six to seven weeks away from the first broadcast of Red Dwarf XI. What better way to clear the decks ahead of the new series than by wrapping up our coverage of the last one? Over the next six weekends, we'll be marking the countdown to new Dwarf by releasing weekly commentaries for all six episodes of Series X. Unless XI starts earlier than we're anticipating, in which case we'll either rush them all out or pretend the whole thing never happened.

Years after we first started these commentaries we've managed to tick another series off the list, this time with Series V, as we mop up Demons & Angels. Join Jonathan Capps, Ian Symes, John Hoare, Tanya Jones and TORDFC's Jo Sharples as we unpick one of the show's more unusual episodes and arguably the show's best series.

Okay, suckers. Get this into your stupid thick heads. There's only one thing I'm going to say to you: please listen to our episode commentary for Queeg. Danny, John, Ian and TORDFC's Jo Sharples gather around to discuss such topics as Ed Bye's directorial flair, the nature of Holly's consciousness, how the show might have developed had Norman Lovett stayed on, and the surface area of peas. There's also a somewhat startling new theory about how long Holly's joke lasted - was "Queeg" actually in charge for five months? Join us for an uncharacteristically competent chinwag.