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Ain’t no place in the whole of cyberspace… |
Future Echoes |
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Recorded:
18/10/1987, Broadcast 22/2/1988
Written by: Rob
Grant and Doug Naylor
Directed by: Ed Bye What is it? When Red Dwarf
breaks the speed of light, time dilates and the new crew begin to experience
visions from their own futures. Sadly for Lister his future appears to include
being reduced to his component atoms by a rather large explosion. Happily for
Rimmer, Lister’s appears to include being reduced to his component atoms by a
rather large explosion. Observation Dome. Sanity F.M. 1. Holly’s Intro. HOLLY: I am
Holly, the ship's computer, with an IQ of 6000. The same IQ as 6000 PE teachers. 2. Thanks For The Memory. People... I've Met. References: Einstein, Albert: (1879-1955) Pretty famous physicist. Bennett, Gordon: (1841-1918) James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American newspaper
magnate (whose father, James Gordon Bennett, founded the New York Herald in
1835). Bennett was known for his
extravagant and capricious behaviour, and his name has become synonymous with
a feeling of exasperation such as he frequently caused in people. Frankenstein:
Novel by Mary Shelley, published 1818. A scientist (Frankenstein) creates a monster by reanimating
corpse tissue, and then suffers the consequences. Apparently, truly stupid people erroneously believe that it was
the monster, not its creator, who was called Frankenstein. Moss Bro(ther)s: Clothing/suit hire establishment. Teasy-Weasy: A hairdresser, of course. Here's hoping they're better at it than
Holly is. Filofax: Personal organiser. For those not important enough to warrant
having a secretary. Lennon, John: (1940-1980) Singer,
songwriter and rhythm guitarist with The Beatles. McCartney, Paul: (1942- ) Singer, songwriter and rhythm/bass
guitarist with The Beatles. Green Beret: Crack military group, Special Forces of
the US Army. In 1961, the best of the
Special Forces were granted the honorific "Green Beret" by
President Kennedy. Shapiro, Helen: (1946- ) British singer and actress. Famous for having a hit single at the age
of 14, and for wearing bouffant hair. Ladybird Books: Children's books, both
fictional and informational. Starlight Ballroom: Club
in Las Vegas. The song Lister is singing at the beginning: A
spaced-up version of "My Darling Clementine". The song the Toaster is singing:
"Fly Me To The Moon", recorded by Frank Sinatra. The tune Rimmer is humming as he contemplates Lister's demise: The
"Death March Of Saul" (1738) by the German composer George Frideric
Handel. Rimmer's second hairstyle: Holly has made him into a Beatles wannabe. Yow Twonk! Plot Inconsistencies: ? Lister has a picture of his father,
but he said he was abandoned in a pub (The Last Day, 3-6) and never knew his
biological parents. - Lister's
familial life is quite strange. This could either be a picture of his foster
father, or perhaps his real father left him a picture when he abandoned him. ? When Cat is wheeling his suits in
front of Lister by the stasis booth, it says 'Level 159.' After witnessing
Bexley's 'death' in the Drive Room, the sign is 'Level 147.' It is also
'Level 147' in Me2. - There is a
continuity break between the Cat and Lister calling to him from the Drive
Room, so it is conceivable that the Cat wasn't at the Drive Room yet, and the
Drive Room and stasis booth are on different levels. ? Lister goes from the sleeping
quarters (Level 348) to the Drive Room (Level 147) via Level 132. Why? ? Why would Lister put his stuff into
long-term storage now, seeing as it had survived for three million years the
way it was? - There is no
proof that his stuff *wasn't* in long term-storage to begin with, and just
removed by the skutters previous to his awakening. ? If the food dispenser's vocabulary
unit isn't working, why can it hold a complex and intelligent conversation
with Lister, actually above and beyond what its vocabulary unit should
normally have to deal with? ? In the scene where Rimmer is
talking to himself with Lister watching, Lister should be able to see himself
as well in the future echo. - Lister stands
by the doorway at a point where the Echo Lister would also be were he
visible, and perhaps this 'overlapping' of a physical being with its Echo
doppelganger cannot occur in the space-time continuum. Thus Lister can only
see those parts of the future echo that would never be involved in such a
situation. ? The malfunctioning food dispenser
produces boots and a bucket. How does a *food* dispenser have access to these
items? - Assuming that
the dispensers either create the objects themselves or have the objects
delivered to them, it is feasible that the malfunction caused a cross up in
the ordering/creation matrix of the machine and switched it with that of a
maintenance dispenser or the like. ? There is a problem with the whole
idea of 'future echoes.' Namely, why do they appear on the ship? If they are
from the future, they should appear where the ship is *going* to be at that
time in the future, not where the ship currently *is* in the past. This is
because the ship is travelling in space. For example, at the speed of light,
the ship would travel 90 million kilometres in five minutes, therefore an
echo from five minutes in the future would also occur *more than* 90 million
kilometres *ahead* of Red Dwarf (because at the time it was travelling faster
than light). - Since no one
has ever travelled faster than light, it is *extremely* likely that most
common-sense applications of physics would go out the window since you are
doing something that is impossible by the laws of physics. ? Lister can't see himself in the
'space crazy' future echo. One explanation may be that the present situation
cannot see the future echo if the future echo ever crosses the path of the
present situation (see above). Why then can Lister see his future-echo
reflection in the mirror when he is shaving? If this 'crossing the path'
explanation holds, then the present reflection should cancel out the
future-echo reflection. - This rule
apparently applies to corporeal things, but not necessarily to reflected
light images (whether it works with the hologram light projection of Rimmer
is unknown, as a relevant situation does not arise). Production Errors: ?
The sign above the stasis booth seems to have changed colour as opposed to
The End. ?
For the future echo in the Drive Room, Rimmer first says 'You're space
crazy,' then the second time clearly says '*You** are space crazy.'' ?
Lister and Rimmer both use a door in the Captain's Office that wasn't there
before this episode. ?
When the skutters are hitting their heads on the wall, one skutter (the far
one) constantly misses, and the person controlling it cannot get it
straightened up correctly during the shot (even though he tries). ?
As Holly gives Rimmer a clean uniform after Rimmer's jog, Holly's image can
be seen to jump, due to his transposition between the two shots not being
perfect. ?
The gashes on the non-working goldfish are not visible when it is seen
swimming around in the tank seconds later. ?
Sound travels much, much slower than light. Why is the sound in synch with
the future echo speakers, when some sounds are supposed to be coming from in
excess of 140 years in the future?? Credits. This
page last updated: 5th October 02
Website: © Ian Symes 2002Red Dwarf: © Grant Naylor Productions This website is unofficial and non-profit making. All content may be freely distributed, but only with express permission from the author. |
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