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@6 ------------------------------------------------------- THE "RED DWARF" FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS LIST ------------------------------------------------------- Maintained by Patrick M. Berry RD.faq Version 4.1 ------------------------------------------------------- @2_____________________ @1CONTENTS OF THIS LIST 1. THE SERIES 1.1 What is "Red Dwarf"? 1.2 Where can I see "Red Dwarf" in the United States? 1.3 Is there an episode guide for "Red Dwarf"? 1.4 Did "Red Dwarf" start on radio? 1.5 Is there an American "Red Dwarf"? | 1.6 Who is "Grant Naylor"? 2. THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 2.1 What does "smeg" mean? 2.2 What are the lyrics to the theme song from the end credits? 2.3 What does "LEVEL NIVELO" mean? 2.4 What are some of the foods mentioned on the show? 2.5 Why is Holly now a woman? How did Kryten change? | 2.6 Did the show end with Series 6? 3. TRIVIAL MATTERS 3.1 What's the title of the last episode of Series Two? 3.2 What are the lyrics to "Tongue Tied"? 3.3 What are they really saying in "Backwards?" 3.4 Who is Gordon Bennett? 3.5 How many times has Rimmer had sex? 3.6 How many people were in Red Dwarf's crew? 3.7 How can Rimmer leave the ship? 3.8 How did the Polymorph touch Rimmer? 3.9 How many times has Starbug crashed? 4. I WANT MORE! 4.1 Are there "Red Dwarf" novels? 4.2 Are there other books about "Red Dwarf"? 4.3 Are there "Red Dwarf" fan clubs? 4.4 Is there a "Red Dwarf" ftp site? 4.5 Where else can I find out more about "Red Dwarf"? New or changed information is marked with a vertical line in the left margin. @2_____________ @11. THE SERIES _________________________ 1.1 What is "Red Dwarf"? "Red Dwarf" is a British science fiction comedy series that has been on the air for six seasons, each season lasting for six episodes. It is the brainchild of "Grant Naylor", a creative team consisting of Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who write and produce the show. The show's sixth series has recently finished its first airing in England. The premise of the show is best summed up by the opening narration used in the first series: "This is an S.O.S. distress call from the mining ship Red Dwarf. The crew are dead, killed by a radiation leak. The only survivors are Dave Lister, who was in suspended animation during the disaster, and his pregnant cat, who was safely sealed in the hold. Revived three million years later, Lister's only companions are a life form who evolved from his cat, and Arnold Rimmer, a hologram simulation of one of the dead crew." --- Holly, the ship's computer ______________________________________________________ 1.2 Where can I See "Red Dwarf" in the United States? "Red Dwarf" is seen on public television stations across the country. If your local PBS station doesn't show it, write to them, and convince your friends to write to them, until they do! The first five series are all available for purchase by PBS stations. The BBC has also started to release videotapes. Series One through Four have been released, and these tapes are now available in the U.S. _______________________________________________ 1.3 Is there an episode guide for "Red Dwarf"? Otto Heuer maintains a very good guide, available by anonymous ftp on toaster.ee.ubc.ca, but here's a quick list to get you started: Series 1 - 1988 Series 2 - 1988 --------------- --------------- 1. The End...................15 Feb. 7. Kryten................... 6 Sept. 2. Future Echoes.............22 Feb. 8. Better Than Life.........13 Sept. 3. Balance of Power..........29 Feb. 9. Thanks for the Memory....20 Sept. 4. Waiting For God........... 7 Mar. 10. Stasis Leak..............27 Sept. 5. Confidence & Paranoia.....14 Mar. 11. Queeg.................... 4 Oct. 6. Me^^2.....................21 Mar. 12. Parallel Universe........11 Oct. Series 3 - 1989 Series 4 - 1991 --------------- --------------- 13. Backwards................14 Nov. 19. Camille..................14 Feb. 14. Marooned.................21 Nov. 20. D.N.A....................21 Feb. 15. Polymorph................28 Nov. 21. Justice..................28 Feb. 16. Bodyswap................. 5 Dec. 22. White Hole................7 Mar. 17. Timeslides...............12 Dec. 23. Dimension Jump...........14 Mar. 18. The Last Day.............19 Dec. 24. Meltdown.................21 Feb. Series 5 - 1992 Series 6 - 1993 --------------- --------------- 25. Holoship.................20 Feb. 31. Psirens.................. 7 Oct. 26. The Inquisitor...........27 Feb. 32. Legion...................14 Oct. 27. Terrorform............... 5 Mar. 33. Gunmen of the Apocalypse.21 Oct. 28. Quarantine...............12 Mar. 34. Emohawk: Polymorph II....28 Oct. 29. Demons and Angels........19 Mar. 35. Rimmerworld.............. 4 Nov. 30. Back To Reality..........26 Mar. 36. Out of Time..............11 Nov. ____________________________________ 1.4 Did "Red Dwarf" start on radio? Not exactly. Rob Grant and Doug Naylor wrote an episode of the short-lived Radio 4 series "Son of Cliche" that contained several ideas they later incorporated into "Red Dwarf". A space cadet named Dave is trapped all alone on a spaceship with a slightly senile computer called HAB. (The voice of HAB, by the way, was provided by Chris Barrie, who later went on to star as Rimmer.) While this was clearly the forerunner for "Red Dwarf," there isn't any direct connection. The script for this radio episode is included in the RED DWARF OMNIBUS (see 4.2). ______________________________________ 1.5 Is there an American "Red Dwarf"? No, not really. A pilot was produced for NBC, involving Grant Naylor as technical consultants, Craig Bierko as Lister, Chris Eigelman as Rimmer, Jane Leeves as Holly, Tony award winner Hinton Battle as Cat, and Robert Llewellyn reprising his role as Kryten from the British cast. Historically, many English shows have been redone for an American audience ("Max Headroom" being an example), but many fans were apprehensive about the uniquely British humor not translating too well. Some fans who had a chance to see the filming report that some surprising and odd changes were made: for example, the transformation of Lister to a clean-cut and well-dressed Causcasian, and the replacement of the "H" on Rimmer's forehead with a glowing red dot. The pilot reportedly was a retelling of "The End", with some elements of "Future Echoes" thrown in for good measure. After rejecting this version, NBC commissioned a *second* pilot, which fixed some problems (such as restoring Rimmer's "H"), but which had some further odd changes, such as casting a woman as the Cat. (Interestingly, the Cat was played by Terry Farrell, who is now better known in the U.S. for her role as Jadzia Dax on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.") Both pilots are finished, but it doesn't seem at this point that either of them will ever air. It's very unlikely that the option to make the series will be picked up. Sounds like we won't be missing much, however. [Does anyone know *when* the NBC pilots were filmed? -- PMB] ___________________________ | 1.6 Who is "Grant Naylor"? | | The "About the Author" note in the book RED DWARF (see 4.1) has | this to say about the creator(s) of the series: | | "Grant Naylor is a gestalt entity occupying two bodies, one of | which lives in north London, the other in south London. The | product of a horribly botched genetic-engineering experiment, | which took place in Manchester in the late fifties, they try to | eke out two existences with only one mind. They attended | the same school and the same university, but, for tax reasons, | have completely different wives. | | The first body is called Rob Grant, the second Doug Naylor. | Among other things, they spent three years in the mid-eighties | as head writers of "Spitting Image;" wrote Radio Four's | award-winning series "Son of Cliche;" penned the lyrics to a | number one single; and created and wrote "Red Dwarf" for BBC | television. | | They have made a living variously by being ice-cream salesmen, | shoe-shop assistants and by attempting to sell dodgy | life-assurance policies to close friends. They also spent | almost two years on the night shift loading paper into computer | printers at a mail-order factory in Ardwick. They can still | taste the cheese 'n' onion toasties. | | Their favourite colour is orange." @2______________________________________ @12. THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ___________________________ 2.1 What does "smeg" mean? The characters in the show use it as an all-purpose profanity. Apparently derived from "smegma," the term for a particularly unpleasant bodily secretion, the slang term "smeg" was reportedly in use in England before the show premiered, although not commonly. Grant Naylor presumably adopted this little-known bit of Scouse profanity as a blanket replacement for all other swearing, to keep them out of trouble with the BBC and to poke fun at the long-standing convention in science-fiction of inventing futuristic slang. ________________________________________________________________ 2.2 What are the lyrics to the theme song from the end credits? It's cold outside, there's no kind of atmosphere I'm all alone, more or less Let me fly far away from here Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun I want to lie shipwrecked and comatose Drinking fresh mango juice Goldfish shoals nibbling at my toes * Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun Fun, fun, fun in the sun, sun, sun * There has been some debate over this line -- it is not sung very clearly, and many fans think it is simply "Goldfish ARE nibbling..." However, in the fourth series episode "Meltdown," the end theme is performed by "Elvis" (Clayton Mark), and the word "shoals" is more distinct. Also, some | fans who have seen the sheet music for the song report that the lyrics do read "shoals." A "shoal" is a school of fish. ___________________________________ 2.3 What does "LEVEL NIVELO" mean? It means "level" in English and Esperanto. The Red Dwarf is a bilingual ship, with English and Esperanto as the two official languages. All of the characters appear to speak English, but in "Kryten", Rimmer is shown trying (and failing) to learn Esperanto from a videotape. In the same episode, Kryten and Lister both demonstrate familiarity with the language. ______________________________________________________ 2.4 What are some of the foods mentioned on the show? "Vindaloo," the most frequently mentioned food item on the show, is a very, very hot Indian curry dish. Most Indian restaurants have them on the menu. They can contain almost any variety of meat, thus Lister's references to "mutton vindaloo," "chicken vindaloo," etc. "Poppadoms," another Indian food item, are thin lentil-flour wafers resembling tortillas, deep-fried until crisp. A "shami kebab" is an appetizer served in Indian restaraunts. It consists of finely ground meat and lots of spices, grilled over a flame, and comes in a variety of shapes -- some flat like a hamburger, others long and thin like a sausage. The meat is a mixture of pork and either goat (in more authentic restaurants) or beef (in less authentic ones). You typically get two shami kebabs with a salad side dish. "Chutney" is a fruit piccalilli (pickled relish), often eaten with cold meat. "Gazpacho soup" really does exist and really is meant to be served cold. Several different recipes exist. A "pot noodle" is an instant noodle product marketed in the U.K. by Golden Wonder, a snack food company. It's a plastic container with pre-cooked dried noodles and flavorings inside. To prepare it, you open the container, pour in boiling water, wait a few moments, and eat it. A "kipper" is a herring, cured by splitting, salting, and | smoking. Kippers are eaten as a breakfast food in some parts of | the U.K. ______________________________________________________ 2.5 Why is Holly now a woman? How did Kryten change? The original actor to play Holly, Norman Lovett, decided to leave the series to further his career. (There is no truth to the rumor that he died.) Kryten's original actor, David Ross, wasn't available to commit to a series when they decided to make Kryten a continuing character, so he was replaced by Robert Llewellyn. (Ross later returned in "White Hole" as the new voice of Talkie Toaster.) Hattie Hayridge, the actress called in to play Holly, had previously appeared in "Parallel Universe" as Hilly, Holly's female counterpart. "There were no plans to call me back," Hayridge explains. "When Norman said he wasn't doing another series, I auditioned." The character of Holly kept the same name and personality despite the recasting. The reclassification of Red Dwarf from a Paul Jackson Production to a Grant Naylor Production (making it now officially a production outside the BBC, although it is still filmed at Noel Gay Television) brought with it several changes in the show's look between Series Two and Three, including changes in costumes, sets, and miniatures, particularly the addition of the Starbug and its hangar bay. Most of these changes were more or less explained by the following words that scrolled rapidly up the screen at the beginning of "Backwards": "Three million years in the future, Dave Lister, the last human being alive, discovers he is pregnant after a liaison with his female self in a parallel universe. His pregnancy concludes with the successful delivery of twin boys, Jim and Bexley. However, because the boys were conceived in another universe, with different physical laws, they suffer from highly accelerated growth rates and are both eighteen years old within three days of being born. In order to save their lives, Lister returns them to the universe of their origin, where they are reunited with their father (a woman), and are able to lead comparatively normal lives. Well, as normal as you can be if you've been born in a parallel universe and your father's a woman and your mother's a man and you're eighteen years old three days after your birth. Shortly afterward, Kryten, the service mechanoid, who had left the ship after being rescued from his own crashed vessel, the Nova 5, is found in pieces after his space bike crashed into an asteroid. Lister rebuilds the 'noid, but is unable to recapture his former personality. Meanwhile, Holly, the increasingly erratic computer, performs a head sex change operation on himself. He bases his new face on Hilly, a female computer with whom he'd once fallen madly in love." It IS possible to read all this, using a VCR with good freeze-frame capabilities. Try it. ____________________________________ | 2.6 Did the show end with Series 6? | | No, there is definitely more to come. The following teaser for | Series 7 was published in the final issue of the RED DWARF | SMEGAZINE (see 4.5): | | "The crew of Starbug may have been left apparently dead at the | end of Red Dwarf VI, but the series is by no means finished. The | BBC have asked for a Christmas special and a seventh series. | However, it looks like the Christmas special will be the only | new Red Dwarf on our screens this year. Series 7 is unlikely to | come out until 1995 because the Grant Naylor boys are incredibly | busy at the moment." @2__________________ @13. TRIVIAL MATTERS ________________________________________________________ 3.1 What's the title of the last episode of Series Two? No title was given in the original broadcast. The episode opened with a musical number instead of the normal titles. Most British fans learned that the episode's name was "Parallel Universe" from its listing in the Radio Times; some American fans called it "Tongue Tied", after the song in the opening musical performance. "Parallel Universe" was the most common title used, and it has now been confirmed as the official title as printed on the BBC videotape releases. __________________________________________ 3.2 What are the lyrics to "Tongue Tied"? As mentioned in 3.1, "Parallel Universe" begins with a musical number that turns out to be a dream had by the self-centered Cat. The studio audience's laughter makes the lyrics a little hard to understand, but combining a couple of different posters' ideas of what they were gave us this: The Cat: (Chorus -- Lister and Rimmer:) When I saw you for the first time (first time) My knees began to quiver (quiver) And I got a funny feeling (feeling) In my kidneys and my liver (digestive system baby) My hands they started shakin' (shakin') My heart began a-thumpin' (boom boom boom) My breakfast left my body (huey huey huey) It all really tells me something Girl you make me tongue tied (tongue tied) Tongue tied, whenever you are near me (near me) Tied tongue (tied tongue) Tied tongue (tied tongue) Whenever you're in town I saw you 'cross the dance floor (dancin') I thought of birds and bees (reproductive system baby) And when I tried to speak to ya (talk talk) My tongue unraveled to my knees (flippety-flippety-flop) I tried to say I love you (love you) But it came out kind of wrong, girl (wrong girl) It sounded like "Nunubididoo" (tongue tied) Nuh mur nuh murh ni nong nurl 'Cause you make me tongue tied (tongue tied) Tongue tied, whenever you are near me (near me) Be-dobby-durgle (dobby-durgle) Tongue tied (tongue tied) Whenever you're around Oh I'm beggin' on my knees Sweet, sweet darling, listen please Understand me when I say Bedurble-diggle-doggle-dooby-doggle-durgle-day I'm trying to say nungy-nangy (nangy-nungy) Ningy-nongy, why can't I tell you clearly (clearly) Be-dobby-durgle (dobby-durgle) Durgle-dobby (durgle-dobby) Whenever you're around (around) Whenever you're around (around) In the fall of 1993, "Tongue Tied" was released as a single in England and rose to #17 in the Gallup UK Top 40. The artist was listed simply as "The Cat." A music video of "Tongue Tied" was reportedly shown on the "Top of the Pops" show in England and on MTV in the States. ________________________________________________ 3.3 What are they really saying in "Backwards"? Most of the reversed dialogue in the episode "Backwards" is pretty much either what the subtitles say it is or what you'd expect from context; some of it actually appears to be random noise. There are two good exceptions, however. When Lister and the Cat steal a bicycle, its owner yells after them, "You scoundrels! Return my bike immediately!" -- at least, according to the subtitles. What he actually says, however, is, "Oi! Hey! Oi, you robbing bastards, that's our tandem!" Later, when the stage manager comes in to yell at Rimmer and Kryten, he appears to be blaming them for starting the "fight." Here's what he's actually saying: "Frankly, your act's crap. Anyway, anybody could have done it. I hate the lot of you. Bollocks to you! . . . You are a stupid, square-headed, bald git, aren't you? I ain't pointing at you, I'm pointing at you. But I'm not actually addressing you, I'm addressing the one prat in the country who's bothered to get hold of this recording, turn it round, and actually work out the rubbish that I'm saying. What a poor, sad life he's got!" _____________________________ 3.4 Who is "Gordon Bennett"? "Gordon Bennett" is a name used by the characters, most notably Holly, as an expletive ("Gordon Bennett! What was that?"). Historically, James Gordon Bennett was the name of an American newspaper tycoon (1795-1872) who founded the New York Herald in 1835. His son, also named James Gordon Bennett (1841-1918), established London and Paris editions of the newspaper. The Bennetts are said to have had a penchant for extravagant and expensive gestures, and they became widely known enough that the name is now an expression of disbelief in England, and is essentially a euphemism for "God". _______________________________________ 3.5 How many times has Rimmer has sex? Only once while he was alive, with Yvonne McGruder, the ship's female boxing champion. (Stated in "Thanks for the Memory".) The story he tells Lister in "Marooned", about losing his virginity in the back seat of his brother's car, appears to be false. In later episodes, Rimmer has had simulated sex in a virtual reality game ("Better Than Life") and holographic sex with another hologram ("Holoship"). ______________________________________________ 3.6 How many people were in Red Dwarf's crew? In "The End", Todhunter says "There are 169 people on board this ship." Yet in "Justice", the Justice Computer charges Rimmer with 1,167 counts of murder for causing the deaths of the entire crew. What gives? "Red Dwarf" abounds with minor inconsistencies like this one. When Grant Naylor come up with a good idea (such as the "light bee" -- see 3.7), they don't worry overmuch about whether it contradicts something in a previous episode. In this case, they evidently decided that a larger crew was more appropriate for a ship five miles long and three miles in diameter. One possible explanation is that the Justice Computer got its information from Rimmer's mind, and Rimmer has an inflated notion of his own importance. In addition to overstating his own responsibility for the deaths of the crew, he may have exaggerated the number of people involved. ___________________________________ 3.7 How can Rimmer leave the ship? Because Rimmer is a computer-generated hologram, some viewers are confused when he leaves Red Dwarf and visits planets, space stations, other ships, and so forth. In early episodes, Rimmer was generated by the Red Dwarf's onboard holographic equipment, which allowed him to move freely about the ship. He was also able to travel on the Red Dwarf's auxilary vessels (Blue Midget and White Giant), which presumably carry their own hologram generators. He could only visit the surface of a planet within a Hologram Projection Cage, as seen in "Thanks for the Memory". This limitation proved to be inconvenient, so Grant Naylor came up with another explanation, the "light bee". This device is a tapered cylinder about one inch in diameter and three inches long that "buzzes around inside him and projects his image" (as described by Holly in "Meltdown"). The light bee can go anywhere, allowing Rimmer to leave the ship without needing a projection cage. Some fans have speculated that the light bee was invented sometime during Series 2 (by Holly) or Series 3 (by either Holly or Kryten). However, this doesn't explain how Rimmer was able to leave the Blue Midget and enter the wreck of the Nova 5 in "Kryten", two episodes *before* he was shown in a projection cage. ________________________________________ 3.8 How did the Polymorph touch Rimmer? In the episode "Polymorph", a shape-changing creature that feeds on emotions invades the Red Dwarf. This creature uses its shapeshifting ability to provoke an emotional response, then attaches a sucker to the victim's forehead and sucks out the emotion. Lister, the Cat, Kryten, and Rimmer all succumb to the creature's attack. Some fans have asked how the Polymorph could possibly attach its sucker to Rimmer (who is, after all, a hologram). Two possible explanations have been suggested: either the sucker actually made contact with Rimmer's light bee (see 3.7), or the Polymorph can change into a hologram. In the novel BETTER THAN LIFE (see 4.1), the Polymorph changes to a beam of light, suggesting that becoming a hologram is within its capabilities. On the other hand, the Polymorph doesn't use that method in the novel; it goes to the hologram simulation suite, changes into electronic data, and invades Rimmer's personality disk. ________________________________________ 3.9 How many times has Starbug crashed? There are at least two vehicles called "Starbug" on board the Red Dwarf, and they seem to crash-land or collide with things an awful lot. Crash landings occur in the following episodes: "Backwards" "Marooned" "Bodyswap" "Dimension Jump" "Terrorform" "Psirens" "Gunmen of the Apocalypse" "Emohawk" The crashed Starbug was abandoned on more than one occasion, indicating that either there are more than two of them, or facilities exist on board Red Dwarf to manufacture replacement Starbugs. @2_______________ @1 4. I WANT MORE! __________________________________ 4.1 Are there "Red Dwarf" novels? Yes, there are two so far: RED DWARF: INFINITY WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS by Grant Naylor ISBN 0-14-012437-3 Penguin Books, 1989 RED DWARF: BETTER THAN LIFE by Grant Naylor ISBN 0-14-012438-1 Penguin Books, 1990 A third novel (reportedly called THE LAST HUMAN) is in the works, although Grant Naylor's schedule hasn't allowed them to confirm when it will be finished. The novels greatly expand on, and are greatly different from, the television show: although they do contain many ideas from the show, these ideas are put together in new and interesting ways. INFINITY WELCOMES CAREFUL DRIVERS is also available on audiocassette, read by Chris Barrie (Rimmer). It comes in two forms: - Abridged (double cassette box, 180 minutes) 5.95 UK pounds - Unabridged (6 cassette box, 8 hours) 19.99 UK pounds Prices include UK tax, postage, and packing. The publisher is: Laughing Stock Productions Ltd PO Box 408 Battersea, London SW11 6JJ UK Telephone 44-71-498-0102 Laughing Stock accepts mail orders with sterling cheques drawn against a UK bank. They don't accept credit card orders. However, they have a distributor (Book Point, telephone 44-235-835001) that does take credit card orders over the phone and will ship overseas. Shipping costs are not known. RED DWARF OMNIBUS by Grant Naylor | ISBN 0-14-017466-4 | Penguin Books [date?] This combined rerelease of the first two novels also contains the script for "Dave Hollins, Space Cadet" (the "Son Of Cliche" sketch that started it all -- see 1.4), a reproduction of the beer mat on which the idea for Red Dwarf was allegedly first sketched out, and the original script for "The End". RED DWARF by Grant Naylor | ISBN 1-56865-049-3 | Guild America Books Contains the first two novels, but none of the other goodies included in the RED DWARF OMNIBUS. It's available in the U.S. from the Science Fiction Book Club. _____________________________________________ 4.2 Are there other books about "Red Dwarf"? Absolutely! In fact, there are quite a few: THE OFFICIAL RED DWARF COMPANION by Bruce Dessau ISBN 1-85286-456-7 Titan Books [date?] This thin little book (95 pages) has a lot of wasted space, but some interesting quotes and information and some wonderful color photos throughout. If you're looking for in-depth, solid information about the show, this isn't where you'll find it; but if you want a nice, light read, a collector's item, and an attractive coffee-table book, this is it. Available in England and at conventions in the U.S. RED DWARF PROGRAMME GUIDE by Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons ISBN 0-86-369682-1 | Virgin Books, 1993 "Everything you never wanted to know about the smash | smega-series." An in-depth collection (about 230 pages) of information about series 1-5. It includes sections on History, The Characters, The Programmes, The Index, The Creators (cast and production crew), and The Spin-offs. The Index is by far the largest section of the book and is an alphabetical list of almost everything mentioned to during the series, from "A to Z of Red Dwarf, The" to "Zoom function". RED DWARF -- PRIMORDIAL SOUP: THE LEAST WORST SCRIPTS by Grant Naylor ISBN 0-14-017886-4 [Publisher, date?] This book contains the complete scripts for "Polymorph," | "Marooned," "Dimension Jump," "Justice," "Back to Reality," and "Psirens." | THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK | by Robert Llewellyn | [Publisher?] 1994 | | This book about life as Kryten (written by the actor who plays | him) will reportedly be available in April. _____________________________________ 4.3 Are there "Red Dwarf" fan clubs? Yes, fan clubs exist in several countries. Here's a list: THE OFFICIAL RED DWARF FAN CLUB (U.K.) This club is based in England, but has addresses in several other countries. Membership includes three issues of their magazine BETTER THAN LIFE, a badge, and a membership card. Membership rates (per year) are as follows: UK/BFPO - 8.50 Sterling Europe - 9.50 Sterling equivalent Eire - IR#10 (8.50 Sterling) USA - US$17.00 (10.00 Sterling) Australia - A$23.00 (11.00 Sterling) New Zealand - NZ$32.00 (11.00 Sterling) Cash or cheques in local currencies are accepted, but take weeks rather than days to clear. If you prefer to send an International Money Order, the equivalent rates are shown above. Write to: U.K.: 40 Pitford Road Eire: Caroline Griffin Woodley 52 Granville Road Reading Dun Laoghaire RG5 4QF Co Dublin U.S.: Mark Kennedy Australia: Tom Marwede P.O. Box 50552 PO Box 1044 Palo Alto, CA 94303 Bundoora 3083 Victoria THE OFFICIAL RED DWARF FAN CLUB (U.S.) 1409 W. 14 Mile Rd #276 Madison Heights, MI 48071 Membership is $25 for the first year and includes a T-shirt, membership card, cast picture, and the club newsletter (published approximately every other month). [What's the name of the newsletter? -- PMB] Renewals are available for $12 per year. The club does not have meetings, but does sponsor occasional special events, such as a complete showing of Series Six in the fall of 1993 (when it had not yet been broadcast in the U.S.). Mike Gardiner (mwg@msen.com) has agreed to serve as an unofficial Internet contact for this club. ZED SHIFT (New Zealand) PO Box 10104 Wellington New Zealand Zed Shift publishes a quarterly magazine (GARBAGE POD), operates a mail-order service for New Zealand members, and holds the occasional meeting. Members receive four issues of GARBAGE POD, a guide to "Red Dwarf", a membership card, and a hologram H. The current issue of GARBAGE POD reportedly includes a Red Dwarf role-playing game, reviews of Red Dwarf VI, and some fiction. The cost of one year's membership in NZ dollars is: - New Zealand $15 - Australia $20 - Rest of world $25 For a registration form, send an SAE or IRC. BETTER THAN LIFE (Germany) Sylvia Pranga Isolde-Kurz-Str. 145 (36) W-4400 Munster-Nienberge GERMANY This club publishes a newsletter (mostly in German) called TALKIE TOASTER (TM). _____________________________________ 4.4 Is there a "Red Dwarf" ftp site? Dave Gagne (daveg@ee.ubc.ca) has been kind enough to put an anonymous ftp site on toaster.ee.ubc.ca (137.82.56.10). There's a lot of good stuff there in the /pub/red-dwarf directory, including scripts, sound files, episode guides, quote files, GIF | and JPEG pictures, and an AmigaGuide version of this FAQ List. For details, get the README file. ______________________________________________________ 4.5 Where else can I find out more about "Red Dwarf"? RED DWARF SMEGAZINE, the official magazine for the series, | ceased publication with Volume 2 Issue 9 (December 1993). A campaign is currently under way to revive the Smegazine. For details, send a self-addressed envelope to: SAVE OUR SMEG! Churchside Park End Bromley Kent England BR1 3PZ Some back issues are still available from the publisher: Fleetway Editions Limited 3rd Floor Greater London House Hampstead Road London England NW1 7QQ A "Red Dwarf" fanzine (an unofficial, fan-written publication), called STASIS LEAK is being published by Space Rat Press. It includes several interviews and episode guides. Each issue of the 'zine costs $10.00 plus $2.00 for postage and handling. (Make checks payable to Space Rat Press.) They seem to have obtained permission from Grant Naylor to do this, which is rare for a fanzine. Two issues have been published so far. Space Rat Press P.O. Box 422 Park Ridge, NJ 07656