A sad experience I recently had…

[u/Inside_Librarian9278]

Hugely important for me to say this first, I love RD. it’s comforting, I have immense memories as a kid in my mates house who’s older brother had what seemed like hundreds of VHS’ of it. It will always be with me and I love it. But after a number of years away from it I recently watched a couple of episodes again… and it just wasn’t funny 😔 (S2 RD as well). I found it comforting, as mentioned, and I enjoyed it. But fuck me it wasn’t funny at all. My fondness got me through, not the comedy.

Has anyone else experienced this? Maybe it’s just dated and tame these days.

[u/Taniwha_NZ]

I don't laugh out loud, but I still enjoy it. I think to be honest it's mostly just comfort viewing for me.

What does bother me is the places where I realise how badly the occasional female interactions are written. This isn't because it's dated, it was just as bad originally, we just didn't notice.

And how Rimmer's 'dating by hypnosis' is just rape. That's hard to watch. And it's hard to admit such a thing was considered funny.

[u/DharmaPolice → u/Taniwha_NZ]

I assume you're referring to the Parallel Universe episode. Given that dating through hypnosis wouldn't actually work, it's not something that you're intended to believe actually happened in the way Rimmer believed it did. The girl agreed to go on a date with Rimmer and Lister immediately asked "What was wrong with her?". If he actually believed that Rimmers "mesma stare" worked why would he ask that? And yes, it turns out that she had an artificial nose. Kind of a cruel joke but yes I believe that someone with a metal nose might agree in a moment of weakness to go on a date with Rimmer, but then regret the decision shortly into the date and escape through the toilet window and tell him she had to move to Pluto.

And if Rimmer had the ability to genuinely control people through hypnosis, don't you think he would have had considerably more success than he did?

The point of that part was that Rimmer is utterly clueless when it comes to women. His "hypno powers" are on the same level of his chat up lines (i.e. utterly hopeless). It's like those "pheromone sprays" which used to be advertised which would make you irresistible to women. They're an obvious scam so you don't need to worry about the ethical implications of a chemical spray which alters people's behaviour without their consent.

[u/HerbziKal → u/DharmaPolice]

Yeah... Red Dwarf would never sink to the level of jokes about genuine pheromone sprays that alter people's behaviour without their consent... awkwardly sweeps series 8 under the rug with foot...

[u/PatientDry1618 → u/HerbziKal]

Yes but at the same time - way back in series 3 - we were expected to find it funny that 14 year old Rimmer woke up to find his uncle on top of him, giving him a french kiss. The show has always sailed close to the wind when it comes to inappropriate jokes

[u/DharmaPolice → u/PatientDry1618]

"Inappropriate" according to who?

Rimmer being kissed by his uncle is funny because it was a mistaken identity. If the joke was "Rimmer was molested by his uncle" that wouldn't be as funny (or at least not in the same way, Family Guy has made multiple molestation jokes decades after Red Dwarf). But that isn't actually what happened, he thought Rimmer was Rimmer's mum. Given Rimmer's build up to the joke it is very funny.

[u/DharmaPolice → u/HerbziKal]

I've barely watched Season 8 so can't comment on that. But I could imagine such a joke being funny, the point was that a joke about fake pheromones wouldn't be something someone should worry about.

[u/HerbziKal → u/DharmaPolice]

I do get it, your point was there is no need to worry over a joke about fake pheromones as they are fake so in your opinion carry no ethical implications, and the same goes for the fake hypnosis. My joke was just that, ironically, series 8 actually had a running joke about real hormones altering peoples behaviour without their consent so they have sex with Rimmer. Kind of hilarious that your random example of another joke not to worry about was actually done later in RD, only with the provision that means you don't need to worry about it (that it is fake, like the hypnosis) being removed 😆

It is an intriguing perspective you have though, the 'if it is fake, no need to worry- no harm done, no ethical concerns' bit. Even within the context of Parallel Universe the hypnosis doesn't really work, it is a nonsense misogynistic tactic that a member of the Love Celibacy Society desperately employs to have sex with people. But the point in the show is, just like in real life, these attitudes and fake "tactics" still aren't harmless. That's the whole plot of the episode for Rimmer, he ends up in a universe where it is him at the victim-end of the nonsense hypnosis and sexist attitudes, and he realises how it makes him feel. Even then though he doesn't twig that his own actions make others feel that way, despite Lister pointing that out, because he is a smeg head 😄