Future Echoes: Reviews
Karl Eisenhauer | John Hoare | Ian Symes | Curtis Threadgold
Karl Eisenhauer
It's sweetly ironic that the best future echo is in fact the episode itself. Just as a future echo shows the crew a glimpse of their future, so too do we bear witness to an episode which demostrates many of the strengths Red Dwarf would ultimately win awards for.
The two main pillars of Red Dwarf's later success; superbly-written character comedy, and a unique inventive approach to handling traditional sci-fi principles, are both present here. A tribute to the ambition that would drive the show to greater heights in the following years. In fact like many episodes, it's suprising just how much story is crammed in.
Sure, Future Echoes is not without its flaws: the ending is arguably weak, and the pixellated Holly we witness in the introductory pieces to camera and throughout the first series looks simply atrocious, and dreadfully dated. Also it really hits home just how grey and dull the ships interior and props are in this episode (Painted grey boxes why? Damn designers) - but seeing as at this early stage creative control over such matters almost certainly lay beyond the great gestalt entity Grant Naylor you can accept such errors, particularly when the scales are tipped so heavily by sucesses.
Whilst the sets may not be colourful, the language is - invented profanity like Goit, Gimboid, Modo, even Smeg ring true and give the dialogue edge and yet non-offensive texture. The masterstroke of giving personalties to such appliances as toasters and dispensing machines is not just inventive but allowed a greater variety of characters into a seemingly enclosed world without ever devaluing the sense of isolation and loneliness in which Lister now finds himself.
Elsewhere other aspects previously established in The End are also built upon. Cats humongous wardrobe backs up his previously shown vanity, Rimmer continues to come across as conniving and yet at times (such as in his 300m speech), shows hints of vulnerability - the direction the character would eventually take. Interestingly, other early series one traits fall quickly by the wayside - Lister's singing and the amount of mimickry by Rimmer both disappear swiftly.
Most important though, Future Echoes has some genuinely great dialogue. The drive room scene is nothing short of superb and illustrates Red Dwarf using an established sci-fi element, in this case time, not only in a humourous way but in an original one too. Should anyone ever be dumb enough to tell you Craig and Chris are bad actors politely point them to this scene. The timing and delivery is simply impeccable - even more so when you consider both "actors" were at the time under two screen hours into their sit-com careers. It could be argued this scene is perhaps the stand-out moment of Series 1 and certainly a lot of Red Dwarf's future can be seen in it - but it's further testament to the strength of Future Echoes that it's not alone...
Following not long after is a short scene where Holly with the help of Talkie Toaster explains the concept of Future Echoes to Lister, Rimmer and the at this stage more childlike Cat. The short knockaround banter spliced with exposition bears a strong resemblence in style to the cockpit scenes which would become the hub of almost every show by Series Six. The must-see episode of Series One.
John Hoare
The best episode of the first series? Probably, although it's a very close-run thing between this and Me². You can see why is was bumped up from the fourth episode recorded to the second episode shown. Watching it, it's amazing how such a complex and original story was on a BBC2 sitcom broadcast in 1988, and written and shot in 1987. It's far superior to most of ST:TNG's first season, which was starting production at around the same time, with rather a bigger budget...
As for stand-out moments, well, everyone says it; but the double Rimmer scene is a genuine classic in the true sense of the word. And the arguments between Holly and Rimmer are brilliant; "And I look... like a complete and total tit!" is great, but I also love Holly afterwards: "This is a recording. I'm afraid Holly is busy at the moment. If you'd like to leave a message after the bleep, he'll get back to you. Bleep." I'd remembered the characters as being rather one dimensional, and perhaps they are when compared to later series, but when actually watching the episode I'm struck by just how well drawn they are for a first series episode of a sitcom.
Note the use of the studio lighting gantry (as in The End) which Lister runs through to find out what the noise was. Excellently lit, with exciting handheld camera work - it's a really striking moment in the episode that (much like the story) foreshadows more adventurous stuff in later episodes. Also, note the rather cheap-looking Medical Room at the end of the episode - this would be replaced by the time of Confidence & Paranoia, and then again by Parallel Universe.
Ian Symes
This episode has always been special to me. To my eternal shame, I forgot that Red Dwarf was on when this episode was repeated, and I only caught the last few minutes. I didn't see the full episode until years later when Six of the Best was released. Even without this special importance, it's a corking episode.
As we all know, it is pretty much the only episode of the first series to have a sci-fi idea as a central theme, which is one of the reasons why it is the best of the opening six shows. Seeing glimpses of the future, yet not knowing when they take place, is a great sci-fi concept, and one which was given an excellent twist when Rimmer sees Lister die. The scene in which Lister fixes the navi-comp is superb; the music in particular is great in helping to build tension.
The comedy aspects of this show are fantastic, and a vast improvement on The End. Rimmer's haircuts, and specifically his responses to them, are brilliant, as is Cat bemoaning his lack of suits. Interestingly, both of these jokes reveal things about the characters (Rimmer is a pompous git, but is prepared to suck up to get his own way, and Cat is obsessed with fashion) something which is vital in the early episodes. Plus, of course, there's the Double Rimmer scene - an oft-quoted classic, and one of the best moments of the Series I.
If Future Echoes was made during the Series II-VI peak, it would be considered a good episode. But when you consider it came the early days, when the series was still finding its feet, it's a fantastic piece of television.
Curtis Threadgold
The second episode is the grandaddy of Red Dwarf to come. Its the episode that founded its awesom balance between comedy and interesting sci-fi ideas that were rife in the following five series. Its also refreshing to see that it establishes a continuity that is to grow throughout the series beginning with the story of Lister's twin boys.