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	~~{{About\|the ''Red Dwarf'' episode\|the ''Doctor Who'' mini-episode\|The Last Day (Doctor Who)\|the ''Cerebus'' volume\|Latter Days (comics)}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2021}}~~

	{{Infobox television episode		{{Infobox television episode
	\| series = [[Red Dwarf]]		\| series = [[Red Dwarf]]
	\| image = red dwarf last day krytens party.jpg		\| image = red dwarf last day krytens party.jpg
	\| image_size = ~~250px~~		\| image_size =
	\| caption = Lister throws Kryten a last day party		\| caption = Lister throws Kryten a last day party
	\| series_no = 3		\| series_no = 3
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	==External links==		==External links==
	~~{{Wikiquote\|Red_Dwarf#.22The_Last_Day.22\|The Last Day}}~~
	*{{BBC episode\|p00bp31f\|The Last Day}}		*{{BBC episode\|p00bp31f\|The Last Day}}
	*{{IMDb episode\|0684183}}		*{{IMDb episode\|0684183}}

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{{About|the ''Red Dwarf'' episode|the ''Doctor Who'' mini-episode|The Last Day (Doctor Who)|the ''Cerebus'' volume|Latter Days (comics)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}

{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Red Dwarf]]
| image = red dwarf last day krytens party.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Lister throws Kryten a last day party
| series_no = 3
| episode = 6
| director = Ed Bye
| writer = Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
| airdate = {{Start date|1989|12|19|df=yes}}
| guests = {{Plainlist |
* Julie Higginson as Girl Android
* [[Gordon Kennedy (actor)|Gordon Kennedy]] as Hudzen }}
| prev = [[Timeslides]]
| next = [[Camille (Red Dwarf)|Camille]]
| episode_list = List of Red Dwarf episodes
}}
"'''The Last Day'''" is the sixth, and last, episode of [[science fiction]] [[sit-com]] ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' Series III,<ref name="British Sitcom Guide – Red Dwarf – Series 3">{{cite web | url =http://www.sitcom.co.uk/red_dwarf/series3.shtml | title =British Sitcom Guide – Red Dwarf – Series 3 | publisher =sitcom.co.uk |accessdate =2008-01-25}}</ref> and the eighteenth in the series run.<ref name="TV.com – The Last Day summary">{{cite web | url =http://www.tv.com/red-dwarf/the-last-day/episode/10962/summary.html | title =TV.com – The Last Day summary | publisher =tv.com |accessdate =2008-01-25}}</ref> It premiered on the British television channel [[BBC2]] on 19 December 1989. Written by [[Rob Grant]] and [[Doug Naylor]], and directed by [[Ed Bye]], the story is about Kryten's expiry date and how Lister decides to give him a last day to remember. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.

==Plot==
[[Kryten]] ([[Robert Llewellyn]]) discovers that a message pod has reached ''Red Dwarf'' from Diva-Droid International, his manufacturers, announcing that he has reached his expiry date and will be forced to shut-down automatically in twenty-four hours before he is to be replaced. [[Dave Lister]] ([[Craig Charles]]), [[Arnold Rimmer]] ([[Chris Barrie]]) and [[Cat (Red Dwarf)|Cat]] ([[Danny John-Jules]]) learn that Kryten has resigned himself to his fate, hoping to enjoy his reward in "Silicon Heaven", the mechanoid's version of an afterlife, despite Lister claiming no such place exists.<ref name="Prog Guide p65">Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 65.</ref> Sickened by Kryten's attitude, Lister decides that he and the others should give Kryten an enjoyable time for his last day and hold a party for him. Kryten is touched by this and the presents they provide, including a special concoction of mechanoid alcohol crafted by [[Holly (Red Dwarf)|Holly]] ([[Hattie Hayridge]]), and parties with the group all night.<ref name="Prog Guide p66">Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 66.</ref>

The next morning, Kryten wakes up with a hangover, and realises he had experienced true pleasure for the first time. Desiring more, he decides he would much rather delay his departure, but when Lister suggests he overrides his shutdown programme, Kryten explains that he operates on a service contract – failing to shut down means his replacement will be programmed to terminate him as a result. The group opt to stand by him and force his replacement, Hudzen 10 ([[Gordon Kennedy (actor)|Gordon Kennedy]]), to leave ''Red Dwarf'' when he arrives. However, they soon find that Hudzen had been driven insane from travelling alone across space for millions of years and decides to kill everyone as a result, arguing that none of them are human, so he is not violating the [[Three Laws of Robotics]]. As he prepares to kill his predecessor, Kryten blurts out that Silicon Heaven doesn't exist. Unable to cope with this revelation, Hudzen shuts down. When Lister quizzes why Kryten's mind could cope but Hudzen's couldn't despite being a newer model, Kryten replies that he had a distinct advantage – his revelation was just a lie.<ref name="Prog Guide p66"/>

==Production==
The character of Hudzen 10, played by [[Gordon Kennedy (actor)|Gordon Kennedy]], was a last-minute addition to the script.<ref name="Red Dwarf Series III Casting">{{cite web | url =http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck05/series_3/casting.html | title =Red Dwarf Series III Casting | publisher =reddwarf.co.uk |accessdate =2008-01-07 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20061006082808/http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck05/series_3/casting.html|archivedate=6 October 2006 }}</ref> [[Robert Llewellyn]] makes a brief, unmasked, appearance as Jim Reaper, the Diva-Droid executive and Julie Higginson plays the [[Marilyn Monroe]] kit android.<ref name="The Last Day cast and crew">{{cite web | url =https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684183/fullcredits | title =The Last Day cast and crew | publisher =IMDb |accessdate =2008-01-25}}</ref>

In the opening credits of Season 3, there is a shot of Kryten in a suit with a smile on his face. This shot is also shown in the Red Dwarf pictures screensaver. It was supposed to be from this episode but was never shown. It was also the only scene from "The Last Day" to be shown in the opening credits.

This was the last episode of Red Dwarf to be recorded in the BBC Manchester studios. Shortly after recording the third series the studios were closed for refurbishment. This meant the Red Dwarf production had to move to a new studio for the fourth series, with production relocated to Shepperton Studios.

==Cultural references==
[[Brigitte Nielsen]] is referenced by Lister regarding Silicon Heaven that Kryten mentions. He then says that the notion of Silicon Heaven is "completely wacko, Jacko" referencing [[Michael Jackson]]'s nickname. Kryten quotes a line from the Electronic Bible ("the iron shall lie down with the lamp"), which is a parody of a passage in [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] [[Isaiah 11:6|11:6]]: "the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid".

Using a build-it-yourself kit droid Lister assembles a [[Marilyn Monroe]] bot as a leaving present for Kryten. Kryten is compared to [[Action Man]] in reference to his lack of genitalia, when asked if he would seduce the Monroe bot. Rimmer's present to Kryten is a tube of [[George S. Patton|General George S. Patton]]'s sinal fluid.

''[[Star Trek]]'' is mentioned by Lister following the crew's decision to stick up for Kryten when the replacement arrives, Kryten regards this as true friendship, but Lister replies with "don't give me that Star Trek crap, it's too early in the morning".<ref name="The Last Day movie connections">{{cite web | url =https://www.imdb.com/rg/title-tease/movieconnections/title/tt0684183/movieconnections | title =The Last Day movie connections | publisher =IMDb |accessdate =2008-01-25}}</ref>

Hudzen's POV "Hologram. Ex-human. VIABLE TARGET" parodies the ''[[Terminator (character)|Terminator]]'''s similar POV.

Rimmer mentions 1 Corinthians 13 from the [[Bible]], referring to a (fictional) group called the Seventh Day Advent Hoppists (A play on [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]] who actually observe Saturday as the seventh day, not Sunday) that based their doctrine on a misprinting that gave the verse (v13, although this is not stated) as "faith, hop and charity... and the greatest of these is hop". In reality, apart from the obvious – 'hop' being 'hope' – the verse actually states that 'charity' (rendered as 'love' in most modern English translations) is the greatest.

This is the first episode of the show to talk about Lister's childhood, and how he was raised an orphan after being found in a cardboard box under a pool table in a pub. This would be mentioned sporadically throughout the following series but isn't fully explored until the season 7 episode [[Ouroboros]].

==Reception==
The episode was originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 19 December 1989 in the 9:00pm evening time slot.<ref name="BBC Programme Catalogue – RED DWARF III THE SAGA CONTINUUMS – 6, THE LAST DAY">{{cite web | url =http://catalogue.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/NMRJ905H | title =BBC – Programme Catalogue – RED DWARF III THE SAGA CONTINUUMS – 6, THE LAST DAY | publisher =BBC |accessdate =2007-12-11}}</ref> Although the episode gained a decent number of viewers,<ref name="Red Dwarf Series III Aftermath">{{cite web|url=http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck05/series_3/Aftermath.html |title=Red Dwarf Series III Aftermath |publisher=reddwarf.co.uk |accessdate=2008-01-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006082816/http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck05/series_3/aftermath.html |archivedate=6 October 2006 }}</ref> the episode has been considered by fans to be the weakest from Series III.<ref name="Red Dwarf magazine: Survey Results">Episode Survey Results, Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 10, December 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, {{ISSN|0965-5603}}</ref>

==Remastering==
{{Main|Red Dwarf remastered}}

The remastering of Series I to III was carried out during the late 1990s with the intention of bringing the early production values up to a standard suitable for international television.<ref name="Remasters of the Universe">{{cite web | url =http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck01/dvd_remasters_of_the_universe_221206.html | title =Remasters of the Universe | publisher =reddwarf.co.uk |accessdate =2008-01-28 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080104012351/http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck01/dvd_remasters_of_the_universe_221206.html  |archivedate = 2008-01-04}}</ref> General changes throughout the series included replacement of the opening credits,<ref name="Red Dwarf Series I Remastering">{{cite web | url =http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck05/series_1/remastering.html | title =Red Dwarf Series I Remastering | publisher =reddwarf.co.uk |accessdate =2008-01-30 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080118140243/http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck05/series_1/remastering.html  |archivedate = 2008-01-18}}</ref> giving the picture a colour grade and [[filmising]],<ref name="The End Re-Mastered Commentary">{{cite video | people =Remastering Crew | title =The End Re-Mastered DVD Commentary | medium =DVD | publisher =BBC | location =Bodysnatcher DVD Boxset Red disc | date =2007 }}</ref> [[Computer-generated imagery|computer generated]] [[special effects]] of ''Red Dwarf''<ref name="Re-Dwarf">{{cite video | people =Remastering Crew | title ='Re-Dwarf' Documentary | medium =DVD | publisher =BBC | location =Bodysnatcher DVD Boxset Red disc | date =2007 }}</ref> and many more visual and audio enhancements.<ref name="Re-Dwarf"/>

There have been changes made specific to "The Last Day". The opening shot of the post pod approaching ''Red Dwarf'' has been replaced with a CGI sequence. Hudzen's ship approaching ''Red Dwarf'' has been replaced with a CGI version.<ref name="Last Day text commentary">{{cite video | people =Remastering Crew | title =Last Day text commentary | medium =DVD | publisher =BBC | location =Bodysnatcher DVD Boxset, Green disc | date =2007 }}</ref>

Upon its release on VHS the new re-mastered episodes were generally received poorly by fans of the show, although it has been stated by critics that they are "actually an invigorating new take on a classic series".<ref name="Sci-Fi-London Film Festival – The Bodysnatcher Collection">{{cite web | url =http://www.sci-fi-london.com/news/article/1195080035/3/red-dwarf-the-bodysnatcher-collection | title =Sci-Fi-London Film Festival – The Bodysnatcher Collection | publisher =sci-fi-london.com |accessdate =2008-01-30}}</ref> The re-mastered series was later released, along with other material, on The Bodysnatcher DVD boxset, in 2007.<ref name="Bodysnatcher">{{cite web | url =http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck01/the_bodysnatcher_collection.html | title =The Bodysnatcher collection | publisher=reddwarf.co.uk |accessdate =2008-01-30 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080117111612/http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck01/the_bodysnatcher_collection.html  |archivedate = 2008-01-17}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Red_Dwarf#.22The_Last_Day.22|The Last Day}}
*{{BBC episode|p00bp31f|The Last Day}}
*{{IMDb episode|0684183}}
*[http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/guide/index.cfm?seriesID=3 Series III episode guide at www.reddwarf.co.uk]

{{Red Dwarf episodes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Day}}
[[Category:Red Dwarf III episodes]]
[[Category:1989 British television episodes]]

The Last Day (Red Dwarf) - Revision history

Kurt at 00:06, 2 January 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Butlerblog: /* top */airdate should use {{Start date}} (see :Template:Infobox television episode