You know what's sad looking at the world today? I'm black, Red Dwarf was one of my favorite shows back in the day but I never once cared that Lister or Cat were black or that Holly/Hilly was a man/woman or that Rimmer was a white man - those differences never once crossed my mind. In reality part of me just doesn't bloody care but race and racism/sexism in the 21st century has been blown out of all proportion. Makes me miss the 80's and early 90's when we cared more about the quality of peoples character and not immutable characteristics that they have no control over. Dimension jump is one of the greatest episodes and the ending always brings a tear to my eyes.
I'm white. It's weird but don't think I even saw the skin colour. They were Lister and Cat: end of. It was years before something made me see it consciously and that was Craig Charles' fault!
It was the testament of the how good the show was. I too never saw colour or gender through the show. I was brought up in a family where there was no parental prejudice (normally when kids start to see differences) so for me it was just a great TV show. It just made me laugh and resonated with me for some strange reason.
It's the politicians and the media that are bringing racism and gender back. The UK is one of the least racist countries ever to exist, and still is. You wont hear Labour, Lib Dems, BBC or the Guardian say that though. They're dividing the country and I'm sick of it. As for Red Dwarf, absolutely brilliant show. I'm 41 and I didnt (and still don't) look at the colour of people's skin, on their gender effect how I look at you. It's the strength of your character and how you treat others.
@@GaryDownes Nah, it is is the educational institutions who have brainwashed the younger generations and now media and politicians are pandering to it.
Well said that man! I'm white, 54 and watched from the begining when I was young. I didn't see Craig or Danny as black, just good actors who took me away from life stressess. I spent 4 years with a working partner who was black, he was my mate and we got on as mates, never ever did colour come into it we did not see it. It is down to the PC brigade on both sides that has bought us to the divisions of today. Stay safe my friend.
13:00 -- that clear plastic thing with the gold flowing face on "Kryten"'s desk is a Royal Television Society award that they won for special effects -- love the fact they used it as a prop. Having said that, Top Gear use their Emmy as a paperweight!
0:00 "Bingo. Down there, they've ditched into the drink. I'm bailing out computer." "But Ace, it's a suicide mission." "I caused the crash, should apologise, only manners." I love this brief back and forth. Brilliant writing, brilliant delivery. "Stiff upper modem old girl, smoke me a kipper, i'll be back for breakfast."
watching this show for 27 years i had never thought of race, never even considered that craig or danny were different to chris, just a few guys hanging out. Its kind of said that the people who claim to be the ones against it are the people who seem to be keeping the outdated idea that we are what we are born into and not the individuals we are. anyway just needed to get that off of my chest.
I agree 1000%. And I'm glad that Craig said during this interview 11:39 that he hates that kind of Tele. As do I. Sadly, it was mentioned enough times during this video to make up for all those years.
I think it had something to do with Barry being an upper middle class guy who took his profession very seriously and Charles was a guy not unlike his character who seldom took his job seriously and was always late, smoking on set, drinking every night etc. I bet most of the hatred of the feud was justifiably aimed at Craig Charles.
@@SonnyK248 I think it was more so because they were both very young and suddenly became rich and moderately famous and during their rehearsals they would argue who would get the feed lines and who would get the punchline, who would do the set up for the joke and who would ultimately delivered the joke, hence why all the characters in the show were funny because they fought for the limelight. I think they got on outside of the show when they went out in Manchester after filming finished, its just the rehearsal period that I think there was some tension and issues, stress of people making the show really
That was a lot of the reason why they moved away from having the scenes primarily in their quarters, and moved them to other areas of the ship or off ship.
While I always appreciated Chris's character-portrayal of Rimmer, his true acting genius shined steadfast, as alter-ego Ace Rimmer. Truly spectacular acting, including his body gestures and overall composure. Chris is a masterful Actor! It's a shame, beyond Lara Croft Tomb Raider movies, Chris wasn't involved in a broad range of filmworks.
CHRIS is amazing ACE was some of my favorite bits. RIMMER actually became my favorite charicters of all time. Specifically the Rimmer vs Rimmer about how he is not that guy any more. That he had changed. In the books he has a son who is gusto a real hero always trying to live up to a fake memory of Rimmer as a hero... Rimmer has to become a hero to save him. Chris has become a really spectacular actor. Danny is a fantastic singer and well Craig is a pretty interesting guy Poems and beer. ROBERT is a treasure. All of them are a JOY.
I always thought they changed the ending because they realized that it made no sense for Rimmer (who had not yet attained hard light status) to be covered in anything.
Can't believe how many comments already mentioned that not once had skin colour even crossed my mind thru all the years and years of watching the Boys from the Dwarf.... That's what I was gonna say! 😁
The padre role made sense to me, because Rimmer always wanted to be the hero, but never got the lucky break. Dave was always more capable than he let on, but never applied himself. The cat was always a cat of faith, but could never see past his own selfish vanity. If the inquisitor was aware of alternate dimensions and judged them as well, it brings a new context to the compassion extended to Cat and Rimmer, because he'd know that somewhere it works out. Their flawed character presentation is a matter of circumstance in a harsh universe, but it contains the essence of greatness which is playing out somewhere. After the encounter with the inquisitor, Dave and Kryten grew. It was almost like an intervention. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole event was planned, and the inquisitor's end was a ruse, and he's still out there.
It’s because these days they point it out, ironically being racist. Something I miss about old sitcoms is not thinking about race and sex, and jsut enjoying the show and it’s characters as people and not black, white, gay and so forth and so forth edit: Although life is good and the internet makes everything seem worse
Its NOT cliche or bull S but Red Dwarf fans dont see colour in it, and probably not in life either. I see them as a cat and a lister. I truly adore the show. real non racist views truly dont see colour. to even mention it even trying to be positive is not as un racist as just not even seeing it or noticing it. I hate even having to say that
I don't think it's wrong to see colour or affirm the reality of systemic racism. What's wrong is when a person sees EVERYTHING through that lens and allows it to dictate too much of the way they live.
It's not racist to notice a person's skin colour and It would be fucking weird if you didn't. Just like you notice a person clothes, body language, personality, you will see their skin colour, to act as if race doesn't exist is more wrong. It's not sexist to point out that someone is a woman, it's not homophobic to point out someone is gay, It's not ableist to point out someone has a disability, It's not racist to point out someone has a different skin colour. What makes it sexist/homophobic/ableist/racist is how you react to that information. At this point in time, and especially back in the 80's being a person of colour will affect your life, and when people ignore race they also ignore all the struggles that comes with being a person of colour and without acknowledging the issues, how are when ment to fix them. They shouldn't have to lose their identity as a black, asian, indigenous etc... person just to be accepted, they should be able to be a person of colour while being accepted. I can only speak as a lesbian, but I don't want people to ignore that i'm a woman or that im gay. I want people to understand that i'm a lesbian and then not give a shit, that's true acceptance.
Why would Chris want to play a 'normal' guy when Rimmer is one of the best characters in any show ever??? Yep I love Ace Rimmer but I'd take Arnold Judas over him any day.
because as barrie mentioned in this he was playing not just one idiot but two, youre forgetting he was busy being Gordon brittas as well so its no surprise he wanted to be positive for once.
I hear Chris Barrie is a nice person in real life and so different from his character Arnold Rimmer. He was born to play Ace Rimmer and he made the part his own.
He now thinks "the new world order" is controlling everything and that "insane wokery" is ruining everything. Without explaining what he means at all. Check out his website, he's gone full tinfoil hat
Where once we came from Africa soon we'll come from everywhere. Beautiful statement. Race has never been mentioned in 52 shows. 73 and now going. Red Dwarf is beyond special. 2019 November mofos. G
Spot on. And neither should it have been. Unfortunately, it's always the Black community pushing for their own exclusive shows, magazines, tele channels, etc. I wish it weren't so, as it only prolongs the "future", as Craig so well words it during this interview. Proof? Name any of the above that is ALL WHITE. You can't. But there are plenty of all black.
It was accidental, as Craig Charles wasn't first choice for the Lister role, but in the RD universe the last human alive is also of direct African descent so there's a nice symmetry to that in a way. IRL though, Craig Charles is also half Irish which never gets mentioned.
You know, I never even thought of colour in all the years I watched this, I saw this as "people" I was brought up in a family of "we are all the same" Did not think people seperated this any more..... We are one
Once we got onto Starbug and Craig and Danny got the front seats I never really batted an eyelid. Even though Rimmer and Kryten are the much more professional and driven of the 4.
I never even thought about Craig or Danny's race when I watched Red Dwarf. Same goes for Colin McFarlane and Felix Dexter on The Fast Show, which I rewatched recently. I never even clocked that they were black the first time around.
Being American, I had to wait a few years before the show aired in the US on our PBS, educational TV, channel in my state. Until now, it never occurred to me to think about Dave Lister being a person of color. I just, especially as a kid, thought he was just very tan.
The way Red Dwarf handled race was brilliant. I actually have to make a conscious effort to associate Lister with anything beyond a beer-swilling, curry-obsessed slob with a heart of gold.
I always think this. I’ve never looked at red dwarf and thought white guy and black guy live together I’ve just seen it as two guys. And I think it’s because the show itself never mentions it. It’s great.
This is a very satisfying trope with ace rimmer or Stephan urkelle of barclay from Star Trek but I think it usually works the other way like flowers for algernon. Weakening as opposed to strengthening is the more relevant narrative for our time
+monica mattox I kinda have that affect on women like that and I'm 70 years old. I wonder what a sci-fi sit-com would be like with a young woman and an old black guy who of course was funny. He has to get the laughs but you'd have two generation gaps and all that material.
Yeah, the 'race' concept doesn't apply to the cat characters at all. I liked that in Waiting For God, the cat priest had a black hand and a white hand :)
Wow - regarding the racial discussion: I grew up in a VERY dominantly white town - lots of racist jokes - remarks at colours and cultures, yet to be racist always seemed completely alien to me. I never understood it and it didn't make me angry, it just confused me more than anything. - The greatest sign of inequality you'd see from me is perhaps double-taking a black guy in the streets when I was younger - and that I feel is slightly forgivable as, as I said, I'd rarely ever seen anyone with darker skin where I grew up. Weirdly enough though, only a year or so ago I finally acknowledge that one of my closest friends about 10 years ago was black. - I'm not even trying to play the "THAT racially oblivious" card, that's just how it was. He was a lighter complexion than what ill jokes tell you "black" is and I just never thought about it. I grew up with shows like Red Dwarf which I feel explains a lot of helping craft my opinion of things that I didn't really get a head start at. I'm far away from diverse places like London, so I never really got the chance to blend - and the WORST thing shows can ever do is "force equality" which in my opinion causes more racism than actual intended racist content. But with Red Dwarf coupled with a few other shows, equality was just... on silent mode. It was just there, in the background, never spoken about, just existing and... being. It's the best thing. - I mean, if we think about other equality attempts, such as women's equality, content with a woman on par with a man or vice-versa without having to be mentioned is the best thing. Odd example, but I remember in the sitcom Scrubs. As funny as that should can be at times, it really kicked a lot of women in the vagina. I recall the character Carla given a teary-eyed "do you know how women feel?!" speech and I just thought to myself "this isn't equality. You're saying she feels like a woman, thus she acts weak - right." Meh. Food for thought. I always say you don't change the world by "making points", you change the world via leading by example. By not trying to take away, but by adding a warmer avenue. Just hearing Robert giving the purposefully dud hypothetical of thinking to yourself "I'm watching a sitcom with 2 black guys and 2 white guys" surprised me. I never even thought about Craig Charles being black or not, and I'm pretty content with not caring and feeling it and unimportant matter. Apologies for the long comment. I'm watching through the various Red Dwarf documentaries and found this one strangely thought provoking! Have a great day, and thanks for sharing this video!
Look, I get what you're saying, but it's very, very easy to say stuff like 'I'm pretty content with not caring and feeling it and unimportant matter' if you've never had to care about it because you've never experienced it, and it's very easy to complain about 'enforced equality' if you've always been on the beneficial side of inequality. It's a shame that 'check your privilege' has become so ridiculed, because it's great advice.
I didn't know Lister was black prior to this. I'm used to the really dark skinned variety, with more prominent African features. When they're third or fourth generation black, I get confused as to what race they are, if I even notice to begin with. Once I got into a massive fight with this perverted IT guy when I was on the council, and he said I was only bothering him because he was black, and I went You're not black, as he just looked like a tanned bald English guy, hell my dad is darker skinned than he is, and he's of Jewish stock. I still don't don't believe he was black. Lister looks twenty times more black than he did. I had a go at him because he didn't do his job, and kept flirting with the under aged girls in the building.
@GooglyEyed Joe werent he on the substances at the time? I know he had loads of trouble with it, whatwas it, in 2012. I know it was in the papers because he was in Corry
my sister asked me which episode was the scene where Lister is on a windy planet and spits a sweet out which blows back in and sticks to his face? it's not marooned I don't think ... hope someone can guide me to the answer!! ❤
Its just occurred to me I never even REALISED Craig and Danny are Black? My mind has never thought 'race' or 'colour' or 'different' never enters my mind watching such a quality series as RD!
grew up in the 70s.A very racist period but had black neighbours had black classmates listened to black music and watched pretty racist tv but after a while was able to choose what i watched.For a while comedians were racist there were not many black people on the telly and roles were limited to criminals and stereotypes.There was racist graffiti and racist chants and racist violence and that was just the police.Then the 80s came along and us social justice warriors said enough and things got a bit better.Now we have a facist in the whitehouse and Europes facists are up to no good.We can be civilised and tolerant or we can go back to violence and war.
There's a stereotype of black people as slovenly janitors? I've never heard of that one before. Although to be fair, only 0.16% of my country's population is black so I guess it's not surprising that I haven't heard of it..
The idea that Charles and Chris didn't get along is a bit sad. Charles said that it was mainly between season 2 and 5. But while watching red dwarf I noticed in the episode stock me a clipper S7 E2. When ace first meets the guys he shakes lister hand and nearly rips his arm off! You can even see lister say oww maybe it's nothing but just found it odd.
IMHO the reason it makes sense to make the Cat's alter ego a priest is because he's selfish, so the opposite of that would be someone who's life is dedicated to others. Kryten who is the most useful member of the crew OTOH becomes the most useless thing ever: a bureaucrat!
Me being American and not savvi with different British accents, I figured Craig was just Scottish and Danny was just a cat that danced well and had a great sense of style :)
oh, do shut up 🙄 several new series of the show have been made since 2016 I bet bell ends like you don't even know what 'woke' is or what your actually angry about 🙄🙄
how would woke people ruin it? You understand that while making red dwarf they were conscious of the fact that Craig and Danny were black and that racism is an issue right? I mean they literally asked Craig to look over the Cat's character to check if it was racist.
forget the 'stronger ending', rimmer was still soft-light at this point. although he was also able to press the buttons on marooned for 'mayday'. im a geek.....
Rimmer's device in Marooned was supposed to be hologrammatic. You can tell because it was green, that was the hologram colour for S3, instead of sticking Hs on things. How it was generated without Holly being there is the real issue. ;)
its the usual pc alarmist rubbish it was the bbc and they were scared of putting black people in lowly positions lest they inadvertently be depicting slavery even though the whole premise of the show is lister being a subordinate to a white man, load of rott
@@optimisticwhovian1726 The difference was that we were fighting actual racists, sexists, and homophobes back in the 80s and 90s. While there are still racists, sexists, and homophobes out there they no longer have the power they once held over society. But some people just enjoy arguing and finding menace in their own shadow.
Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not, in fact, since the show and intended audience aren't American. But either way, you either misheard or are being subtly funny to the point of nobody noticing.
As much as I like Craig, in this interviews he comes across as pretty damn arrogant at times, I personally can see why Chris Barrie must have fell out with him because Craig reminds me of Wlliam Shatner in Star Trek, Shatner would bug the director for more screentime than the rest, would talk about them behind their backs, I get both Craig and Shatner were the stars of the show but I think they both let their main role get to their head a bit at times.
duno id call it arrogance they were just from different backgrounds the same as in show, craig was a lower class northern scouse lad and chris was a more middle class refined southern gentleman type. the norths and souths of blighty have always rubbed wrongly.
Your 'concerns' are ridiculous as there is zero racism in any of the examples you've listed. What, so the obnoxious, power hungry Rimmer character can't talk down to the Lister character without it being 'racist' to you? Even though Rimmer is always the one to look the fool, not Lister.
You know what's sad looking at the world today? I'm black, Red Dwarf was one of my favorite shows back in the day but I never once cared that Lister or Cat were black or that Holly/Hilly was a man/woman or that Rimmer was a white man - those differences never once crossed my mind. In reality part of me just doesn't bloody care but race and racism/sexism in the 21st century has been blown out of all proportion. Makes me miss the 80's and early 90's when we cared more about the quality of peoples character and not immutable characteristics that they have no control over. Dimension jump is one of the greatest episodes and the ending always brings a tear to my eyes.
I'm white. It's weird but don't think I even saw the skin colour. They were Lister and Cat: end of. It was years before something made me see it consciously and that was Craig Charles' fault!
It was the testament of the how good the show was. I too never saw colour or gender through the show. I was brought up in a family where there was no parental prejudice (normally when kids start to see differences) so for me it was just a great TV show. It just made me laugh and resonated with me for some strange reason.
It's the politicians and the media that are bringing racism and gender back. The UK is one of the least racist countries ever to exist, and still is. You wont hear Labour, Lib Dems, BBC or the Guardian say that though. They're dividing the country and I'm sick of it. As for Red Dwarf, absolutely brilliant show. I'm 41 and I didnt (and still don't) look at the colour of people's skin, on their gender effect how I look at you. It's the strength of your character and how you treat others.
@@GaryDownes Nah, it is is the educational institutions who have brainwashed the younger generations and now media and politicians are pandering to it.
Well said that man! I'm white, 54 and watched from the begining when I was young. I didn't see Craig or Danny as black, just good actors who took me away from life stressess. I spent 4 years with a working partner who was black, he was my mate and we got on as mates, never ever did colour come into it we did not see it. It is down to the PC brigade on both sides that has bought us to the divisions of today. Stay safe my friend.
I still love Ace Rimmer all these years later.
Chris gushing over the ace wig 😂
13:00 -- that clear plastic thing with the gold flowing face on "Kryten"'s desk is a Royal Television Society award that they won for special effects -- love the fact they used it as a prop. Having said that, Top Gear use their Emmy as a paperweight!
0:00 "Bingo. Down there, they've ditched into the drink. I'm bailing out computer." "But Ace, it's a suicide mission." "I caused the crash, should apologise, only manners." I love this brief back and forth. Brilliant writing, brilliant delivery. "Stiff upper modem old girl, smoke me a kipper, i'll be back for breakfast."
They are so spot on. Not once when watching this did I ever think about race.
I love the music that plays when Ace Rimmer is around.
Top Gun
watching this show for 27 years i had never thought of race, never even considered that craig or danny were different to chris, just a few guys hanging out. Its kind of said that the people who claim to be the ones against it are the people who seem to be keeping the outdated idea that we are what we are born into and not the individuals we are.
anyway just needed to get that off of my chest.
Danny is a cat.
I agree 1000%. And I'm glad that Craig said during this interview 11:39 that he hates that kind of Tele. As do I. Sadly, it was mentioned enough times during this video to make up for all those years.
Regardless of colour...best cast for the job! One of my favourite timeless series!
I had no idea Craig and Chris had that rocky relationship for so long. I always assumed it was only the first couple of series'
I think it had something to do with Barry being an upper middle class guy who took his profession very seriously and Charles was a guy not unlike his character who seldom took his job seriously and was always late, smoking on set, drinking every night etc. I bet most of the hatred of the feud was justifiably aimed at Craig Charles.
@@SonnyK248 I think it was more so because they were both very young and suddenly became rich and moderately famous and during their rehearsals they would argue who would get the feed lines and who would get the punchline, who would do the set up for the joke and who would ultimately delivered the joke, hence why all the characters in the show were funny because they fought for the limelight. I think they got on outside of the show when they went out in Manchester after filming finished, its just the rehearsal period that I think there was some tension and issues, stress of people making the show really
That was a lot of the reason why they moved away from having the scenes primarily in their quarters, and moved them to other areas of the ship or off ship.
They mellowed and got along better in later years, and they became best friends.
While I always appreciated Chris's character-portrayal of Rimmer, his true acting genius shined steadfast, as alter-ego Ace Rimmer. Truly spectacular acting, including his body gestures and overall composure. Chris is a masterful Actor! It's a shame, beyond Lara Croft Tomb Raider movies, Chris wasn't involved in a broad range of filmworks.
CHRIS is amazing ACE was some of my favorite bits. RIMMER actually became my favorite charicters of all time. Specifically the Rimmer vs Rimmer about how he is not that guy any more. That he had changed. In the books he has a son who is gusto a real hero always trying to live up to a fake memory of Rimmer as a hero... Rimmer has to become a hero to save him. Chris has become a really spectacular actor. Danny is a fantastic singer and well Craig is a pretty interesting guy Poems and beer. ROBERT is a treasure. All of them are a JOY.
Unless its needed in the plot the RACE should never be an issue.
I always thought they changed the ending because they realized that it made no sense for Rimmer (who had not yet attained hard light status) to be covered in anything.
Can't believe how many comments already mentioned that not once had skin colour even crossed my mind thru all the years and years of watching the Boys from the Dwarf.... That's what I was gonna say! 😁
What A Guy
Race never entered my mind with this show even once but I guess it never enters my thoughts anyway until someone mentions it online
I'd forgotten how good this was 😍
Top rated BBC sitcom..... Which they axed and and was never talked about again.... Idiots. Thanks to DAVE for bringing back the dwarf.
Huge fan from day one
I met Craig Charles 2x, my hero, well Lister is my hero!!!
The padre role made sense to me, because Rimmer always wanted to be the hero, but never got the lucky break. Dave was always more capable than he let on, but never applied himself. The cat was always a cat of faith, but could never see past his own selfish vanity.
If the inquisitor was aware of alternate dimensions and judged them as well, it brings a new context to the compassion extended to Cat and Rimmer, because he'd know that somewhere it works out. Their flawed character presentation is a matter of circumstance in a harsh universe, but it contains the essence of greatness which is playing out somewhere.
After the encounter with the inquisitor, Dave and Kryten grew. It was almost like an intervention. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole event was planned, and the inquisitor's end was a ruse, and he's still out there.
It never even occured to me that Craig Charles was black until Angela Bruce played his female equivalent.
It’s because these days they point it out, ironically being racist. Something I miss about old sitcoms is not thinking about race and sex, and jsut enjoying the show and it’s characters as people and not black, white, gay and so forth and so forth edit: Although life is good and the internet makes everything seem worse
Its NOT cliche or bull S but Red Dwarf fans dont see colour in it, and probably not in life either. I see them as a cat and a lister. I truly adore the show. real non racist views truly dont see colour. to even mention it even trying to be positive is not as un racist as just not even seeing it or noticing it. I hate even having to say that
Unfortunately real life isn't a television sitcom set in the future!
I don't think it's wrong to see colour or affirm the reality of systemic racism. What's wrong is when a person sees EVERYTHING through that lens and allows it to dictate too much of the way they live.
It's not racist to notice a person's skin colour and It would be fucking weird if you didn't. Just like you notice a person clothes, body language, personality, you will see their skin colour, to act as if race doesn't exist is more wrong. It's not sexist to point out that someone is a woman, it's not homophobic to point out someone is gay, It's not ableist to point out someone has a disability, It's not racist to point out someone has a different skin colour. What makes it sexist/homophobic/ableist/racist is how you react to that information. At this point in time, and especially back in the 80's being a person of colour will affect your life, and when people ignore race they also ignore all the struggles that comes with being a person of colour and without acknowledging the issues, how are when ment to fix them. They shouldn't have to lose their identity as a black, asian, indigenous etc... person just to be accepted, they should be able to be a person of colour while being accepted. I can only speak as a lesbian, but I don't want people to ignore that i'm a woman or that im gay. I want people to understand that i'm a lesbian and then not give a shit, that's true acceptance.
Ace is awesome :)
+RachelNo1mjfan88 Yes, very awesome. I wish they would bring it back. LISTER... lol.. and the cat, and a robot doing laundry? lol
Thank you, my vlogging vixen. Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
Why would Chris want to play a 'normal' guy when Rimmer is one of the best characters in any show ever??? Yep I love Ace Rimmer but I'd take Arnold Judas over him any day.
because as barrie mentioned in this he was playing not just one idiot but two, youre forgetting he was busy being Gordon brittas as well so its no surprise he wanted to be positive for once.
@Stefano Pavone He played Lara Croft's butler!
Oh Alli, you wound my heart, young lady. If you're still interested, I'll be in my quarters covered in fondue a la truffe.
I hear Chris Barrie is a nice person in real life and so different from his character Arnold Rimmer. He was born to play Ace Rimmer and he made the part his own.
He now thinks "the new world order" is controlling everything and that "insane wokery" is ruining everything.
Without explaining what he means at all. Check out his website, he's gone full tinfoil hat
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast
Pul5ar Stoke me a clipper, I'll be back for Christmas.
@@Sailorsega 😂👍🏾
Where once we came from Africa soon we'll come from everywhere. Beautiful statement. Race has never been mentioned in 52 shows. 73 and now going.
Red Dwarf is beyond special.
2019 November mofos. G
Spot on. And neither should it have been. Unfortunately, it's always the Black community pushing for their own exclusive shows, magazines, tele channels, etc. I wish it weren't so, as it only prolongs the "future", as Craig so well words it during this interview. Proof? Name any of the above that is ALL WHITE. You can't. But there are plenty of all black.
It was accidental, as Craig Charles wasn't first choice for the Lister role, but in the RD universe the last human alive is also of direct African descent so there's a nice symmetry to that in a way.
IRL though, Craig Charles is also half Irish which never gets mentioned.
You know, I never even thought of colour in all the years I watched this, I saw this as "people" I was brought up in a family of "we are all the same" Did not think people seperated this any more..... We are one
+BiLL Hughes Me too Bill... It was like I could leave the Earth and its prejudices and see what life was like without color or race, it was funny.
Once we got onto Starbug and Craig and Danny got the front seats I never really batted an eyelid. Even though Rimmer and Kryten are the much more professional and driven of the 4.
Loved the episode! :-)
Class episode
Wouldn't it be amazing to have an Ace Rimmer spin-off series.
Funny, up until listening the 10min mark, it never really occurred to me of the colour of the crew … they are just human.
Cat's different persona still worked. In the main universe, he's vain, and in the alternate universe, he's considerate.
-Now come on Chris, hand it over.
%What?
-The Wig.
What a guy!
6:39 I like the way Ace hits poor Kryten.
Craig Charles is fantastically high throughout this.
“What a guy”!
I never even thought about Craig or Danny's race when I watched Red Dwarf. Same goes for Colin McFarlane and Felix Dexter on The Fast Show, which I rewatched recently. I never even clocked that they were black the first time around.
Good team this!
We have all had a crush on ace tho... 😂
I've had a crush on Sidney. Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
I’m with the majority here. Race never even crossed my mind. I just enjoyed the comedy and brilliance of the show.
What a guy...
"What a guy" 👍👍👍👍😂
Smoke me a kipper, my alternate dimension doppelganger.
@@acerimmer8338 all part of basic space corps training 👍👍👍🤣
Being American, I had to wait a few years before the show aired in the US on our PBS, educational TV, channel in my state. Until now, it never occurred to me to think about Dave Lister being a person of color. I just, especially as a kid, thought he was just very tan.
The way Red Dwarf handled race was brilliant. I actually have to make a conscious effort to associate Lister with anything beyond a beer-swilling, curry-obsessed slob with a heart of gold.
I always think this. I’ve never looked at red dwarf and thought white guy and black guy live together I’ve just seen it as two guys. And I think it’s because the show itself never mentions it. It’s great.
This is a very satisfying trope with ace rimmer or Stephan urkelle of barclay from Star Trek but I think it usually works the other way like flowers for algernon. Weakening as opposed to strengthening is the more relevant narrative for our time
Lister: OMG i've such a wet crush on him and the actor....pant
the british accent, the edgy sexy sci fi nature of it....
(blush) xooxo
:)
+monica mattox I kinda have that affect on women like that and I'm 70 years old. I wonder what a sci-fi sit-com would be like with a young woman and an old black guy who of course was funny. He has to get the laughs but you'd have two generation gaps and all that material.
I always thought the Padre was meant to be Irish!
What a guy
Why has Bongo got a BAFTA on his desk? Just noticed that.
Good spot! It’s actually a Royal Television Society award, which the previous series had one for best visual effects.
Yeah, the 'race' concept doesn't apply to the cat characters at all. I liked that in Waiting For God, the cat priest had a black hand and a white hand :)
Thanks, I'll make sure to put extra attention next time I see an episode.
The phrase is "johnny-come-lately".
Ace would be a great character to play in mass effect ☺️
What the heck happens to Craig Charles' eye at 11:43? A glitch in the matrix?
Yeah very odd if you pause it at 11:44 he looks like vin desiel lol. Im not sure why that happens.
Wow - regarding the racial discussion: I grew up in a VERY dominantly white town - lots of racist jokes - remarks at colours and cultures, yet to be racist always seemed completely alien to me. I never understood it and it didn't make me angry, it just confused me more than anything. - The greatest sign of inequality you'd see from me is perhaps double-taking a black guy in the streets when I was younger - and that I feel is slightly forgivable as, as I said, I'd rarely ever seen anyone with darker skin where I grew up.
Weirdly enough though, only a year or so ago I finally acknowledge that one of my closest friends about 10 years ago was black. - I'm not even trying to play the "THAT racially oblivious" card, that's just how it was. He was a lighter complexion than what ill jokes tell you "black" is and I just never thought about it.
I grew up with shows like Red Dwarf which I feel explains a lot of helping craft my opinion of things that I didn't really get a head start at. I'm far away from diverse places like London, so I never really got the chance to blend - and the WORST thing shows can ever do is "force equality" which in my opinion causes more racism than actual intended racist content.
But with Red Dwarf coupled with a few other shows, equality was just... on silent mode. It was just there, in the background, never spoken about, just existing and... being. It's the best thing. - I mean, if we think about other equality attempts, such as women's equality, content with a woman on par with a man or vice-versa without having to be mentioned is the best thing.
Odd example, but I remember in the sitcom Scrubs. As funny as that should can be at times, it really kicked a lot of women in the vagina. I recall the character Carla given a teary-eyed "do you know how women feel?!" speech and I just thought to myself "this isn't equality. You're saying she feels like a woman, thus she acts weak - right."
Meh. Food for thought. I always say you don't change the world by "making points", you change the world via leading by example. By not trying to take away, but by adding a warmer avenue.
Just hearing Robert giving the purposefully dud hypothetical of thinking to yourself "I'm watching a sitcom with 2 black guys and 2 white guys" surprised me. I never even thought about Craig Charles being black or not, and I'm pretty content with not caring and feeling it and unimportant matter.
Apologies for the long comment. I'm watching through the various Red Dwarf documentaries and found this one strangely thought provoking!
Have a great day, and thanks for sharing this video!
+Edgar Slam Wow... you had a lot to say. It was good to read
Look, I get what you're saying, but it's very, very easy to say stuff like 'I'm pretty content with not caring and feeling it and unimportant matter' if you've never had to care about it because you've never experienced it, and it's very easy to complain about 'enforced equality' if you've always been on the beneficial side of inequality.
It's a shame that 'check your privilege' has become so ridiculed, because it's great advice.
scrubs was also bad for racist lines too
I didn't know Lister was black prior to this. I'm used to the really dark skinned variety, with more prominent African features. When they're third or fourth generation black, I get confused as to what race they are, if I even notice to begin with. Once I got into a massive fight with this perverted IT guy when I was on the council, and he said I was only bothering him because he was black, and I went You're not black, as he just looked like a tanned bald English guy, hell my dad is darker skinned than he is, and he's of Jewish stock. I still don't don't believe he was black. Lister looks twenty times more black than he did. I had a go at him because he didn't do his job, and kept flirting with the under aged girls in the building.
@@NexusDarkworld338 lister is mixed actually, but he seems to identify as being black, so whatevs.
Shut up Chris, we're supposed to be space heroes
I never seen Lister as black guy. Strange.
@GooglyEyed Joe werent he on the substances at the time? I know he had loads of trouble with it, whatwas it, in 2012. I know it was in the papers because he was in Corry
+Radiovarietyshow who was on substances?
neil froggy crompton Charles was done for rape - he got off.
What happened?
my sister asked me which episode was the scene where Lister is on a windy planet and spits a sweet out which blows back in and sticks to his face? it's not marooned I don't think ... hope someone can guide me to the answer!! ❤
Nanarchy - series seven, episode eight. 👍🏻
@@Ellardent just trying to find :)
I hope ace rimmer is in the new series
Its just occurred to me I never even REALISED Craig and Danny are Black? My mind has never thought 'race' or 'colour' or 'different' never enters my mind watching such a quality series as RD!
Ace getting water boarded for our viewing pleasure.
Smoke me a kipper Skipper, I’ll be back for breakfast.
I love that Idea that the future, in space, race is meaningless. Hell, the cat isn't even human, exactly, so does racism apply to him?
The hair is real, dammit!
You do know that the phrase he's using is 'Me laddo', don't you? As in 'my lad'? Not 'mulatto'. Amusing mishear, though. :)
So, they accidentally water boarded Chris Barrie
Back then they probably would have.
lol.. until this I never even noticed that there were black/white characters.. it just never occurred to me
What a guy 😂
6:39 LOL
Craig and Chris kissing.
What the peach cobbler are you talking about?
When I see someone acting a part I do not see the colour of their skin, I only see the quality of their acting skill.
How could a hologram be covered by real kippers, anyway?
grew up in the 70s.A very racist period but had black neighbours had black classmates listened to black music and watched pretty racist tv but after a while was able to choose what i watched.For a while comedians were racist there were not many black people on the telly and roles were limited to criminals and stereotypes.There was racist graffiti and racist chants and racist violence and that was just the police.Then the 80s came along and us social justice warriors said enough and things got a bit better.Now we have a facist in the whitehouse and Europes facists are up to no good.We can be civilised and tolerant or we can go back to violence and war.
I dont get why people are so pressed that we care about other people's feelings now.
sweet people
There's a stereotype of black people as slovenly janitors? I've never heard of that one before. Although to be fair, only 0.16% of my country's population is black so I guess it's not surprising that I haven't heard of it..
I have never ever realized that Cat is black actor nor I have never taken Lister as black person. Ma daaaaai..
Wait... Chris Barrie is black???
Mind absolutely blown
The idea that Charles and Chris didn't get along is a bit sad. Charles said that it was mainly between season 2 and 5. But while watching red dwarf I noticed in the episode stock me a clipper S7 E2. When ace first meets the guys he shakes lister hand and nearly rips his arm off! You can even see lister say oww maybe it's nothing but just found it odd.
@CaptainBollocks....maybe
IMHO the reason it makes sense to make the Cat's alter ego a priest is because he's selfish, so the opposite of that would be someone who's life is dedicated to others.
Kryten who is the most useful member of the crew OTOH becomes the most useless thing ever: a bureaucrat!
And also: Lister, the laziest human since the dawn of time becomes a hard working engineer, and Holly the disembodied entity is... yup.
11:39 Well said, Craig! 80 million (aka majority) of Americans feel the same .. yet, the MINORITY opinionators constantly effitup for the rest of us.
Danny has a very nice voice, want him to read bed time storys to me lol.... and im 18 ha ha!
You are 26 now. Do you still feel the same?
They talk about cleaners like it's a bad thing. Think how bad places would be without them. Every workplace would look like bus station toilets.
Me being American and not savvi with different British accents, I figured Craig was just Scottish and Danny was just a cat that danced well and had a great sense of style :)
Why was it creepy for dannyto play a cleaner
Imagine if the woke mob tried to remake Red Dwarf today. They would absolutely RUIN it. Red Dwarf nailed MLKs vision. We watched people. Equals.
oh, do shut up 🙄
several new series of the show have been made since 2016
I bet bell ends like you don't even know what 'woke' is or what your actually angry about 🙄🙄
how would woke people ruin it? You understand that while making red dwarf they were conscious of the fact that Craig and Danny were black and that racism is an issue right? I mean they literally asked Craig to look over the Cat's character to check if it was racist.
forget the 'stronger ending', rimmer was still soft-light at this point. although he was also able to press the buttons on marooned for 'mayday'. im a geek.....
Rimmer's device in Marooned was supposed to be hologrammatic. You can tell because it was green, that was the hologram colour for S3, instead of sticking Hs on things. How it was generated without Holly being there is the real issue. ;)
What's so wrong about a black man portraying a cleaner? My mum was a cleaner. Black people can be working class too you know.
its the usual pc alarmist rubbish it was the bbc and they were scared of putting black people in lowly positions lest they inadvertently be depicting slavery even though the whole premise of the show is lister being a subordinate to a white man, load of rott
What? Back then there was far less political correctness compared to now.
anyone who says back then was far less pc clearly never lived through the 80s and 90s....
@@optimisticwhovian1726 The difference was that we were fighting actual racists, sexists, and homophobes back in the 80s and 90s. While there are still racists, sexists, and homophobes out there they no longer have the power they once held over society. But some people just enjoy arguing and finding menace in their own shadow.
Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not, in fact, since the show and intended audience aren't American. But either way, you either misheard or are being subtly funny to the point of nobody noticing.
Craig is black? I didn't know.
would've thought it was obvious, he has darker skin and curly afro style hair, he's biracial.
As much as I like Craig, in this interviews he comes across as pretty damn arrogant at times, I personally can see why Chris Barrie must have fell out with him because Craig reminds me of Wlliam Shatner in Star Trek, Shatner would bug the director for more screentime than the rest, would talk about them behind their backs, I get both Craig and Shatner were the stars of the show but I think they both let their main role get to their head a bit at times.
duno id call it arrogance they were just from different backgrounds the same as in show, craig was a lower class northern scouse lad and chris was a more middle class refined southern gentleman type. the norths and souths of blighty have always rubbed wrongly.
CAN WE GET CRAIG IN FOCUS FFS? EPIC FAIL
Your 'concerns' are ridiculous as there is zero racism in any of the examples you've listed. What, so the obnoxious, power hungry Rimmer character can't talk down to the Lister character without it being 'racist' to you? Even though Rimmer is always the one to look the fool, not Lister.
Even if lister was made to look the fool it still wouldn’t be racist as they’ve never referenced their skin colours once.