Waiting For God: Reviews
John Hoare | Ian Symes | Curtis Threadgold
John Hoare
The third episode recorded for the series, Waiting for God has been described as the worst episode of Red Dwarf in the past, by some poor deluded people. It's actually very good, and unusual as a Dwarf episode in that it has two storylines. The way the belief in God and belief in aliens tie together is very clever. Character-wise, we actually get to see Lister being genuinely slobby for once; the fact that this is worth noting might give those people who think that it's the be-all and end-all of his character pause for thought.
Again, the episode is full of great laughs: "Well, it's a laugh, innit?" being a stand-out. One slightly dodgy bit is the following exchange:
LISTER: They're just using religion as an excuse to be extremely crappy to each other.
TOASTER: So what else is new?
SATIRE. I think we get the point - we don't need it spelt out. On the plus side for that section, the drawings of the cat people are really well done, especially the shot of the two arks leaving Red Dwarf . Although it's a pity that the colours of the hats are wrong; they're supposed to be red and blue, not red and purple. On a production note, the way Lister descends into the very bowels of the ship is exceedingly well realised; and it's even more impressive as it's a first series episode. The combination of BBC Manchester's lighting gantries, a superb set where Lister falls through the grate ("I do all my own stunts"), and imaginative sound design, makes the whole sequence both realistic and genuinely exciting, with a wonderful feel to it.
And with an end credits sequence like that, what is there not to love?
Ian Symes
You know, I never used to like this episode. As a child, I always used to take it at face value, and thought it was average at best. Then I discovered the concept of allegory, and was able to compare the Cat religion to Christianity, therefore giving the episode a whole new meaning. It's very rare for Red Dwarf to be satirical, but Rob and Doug do it exceptionally well in this episode. I particularly like Rimmer dismissing religion as mere fantasy, yet still blindly following his belief in aliens.
Even without 'getting' the episode, I can't understand why I dismissed it. There's some great sections of dialogue, such as the captain's reports, the shiny thing and the oft-quoted classic "Well, it's a laugh, innit?" from Holly. There's also the great stuff with the Cat Priest, in which Noel Coleman puts in an excellent performance. Also, giving him one black hand shows excellent attention to detail. The Cat's continual attempts to tell his investigation anecdotes were fantastic as well. The episode is much-maligned, and very unfairly, it has to be said. It manages to sustain two stories that are seperate, but similar in theme, and is the only episode to do this sucessfully (fuck off Series VIII fuck). It's a great episode. It's a smegging great episode!
Curtis Threadgold
Undeservadly Rob Grant's least favourite episode, Waiting For God outlines the Cat race's 'Holy Wars', which fairly heavy-handedly mirror our own society. Maybe it was this heavy-handedness that turned Grant against it, but if you do have something important to say, why disguise it so much?