Waiting for God (Red Dwarf) - Revision history

Kurt: /* Production */

2023-01-03T22:16:14Z

Production

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:16, 3 January 2023
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	==Production==		==Production==
	Written by co-creators, Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by series regular Ed Bye,<ref name="Red Dwarf Waiting for God (1988) Full cast and crew"/> the episode features the first real appearance of the skutters.~~{{clarify\|real how? and what are these things?\|date=November 2018}}~~ They were considered unreliable props because they would frequently go out of control. It was thought that nearby taxi radio signals were interfering with the remote control signals.<ref name="Red Dwarf series 1 guide: episode four: Waiting For God">Red Dwarf series 1 guide: episode four: Waiting For God, Red Dwarf Smegazine, volume 2 issue 4, August 1993, Fleetway Editions Ltd, {{ISSN\|0965-5603}}</ref>		Written by co-creators, Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by series regular Ed Bye,<ref name="Red Dwarf Waiting for God (1988) Full cast and crew"/> the episode features the first real appearance of the skutters. They were considered unreliable props because they would frequently go out of control. It was thought that nearby taxi radio signals were interfering with the remote control signals.<ref name="Red Dwarf series 1 guide: episode four: Waiting For God">Red Dwarf series 1 guide: episode four: Waiting For God, Red Dwarf Smegazine, volume 2 issue 4, August 1993, Fleetway Editions Ltd, {{ISSN\|0965-5603}}</ref>

	[[Noel Coleman]] starred as the Cat Priest and [[John Lenahan]] returned to voice the Toaster.<ref name="Red Dwarf Waiting for God (1988) Full cast and crew"/>		[[Noel Coleman]] starred as the Cat Priest and [[John Lenahan]] returned to voice the Toaster.<ref name="Red Dwarf Waiting for God (1988) Full cast and crew"/>

Kurt at 22:15, 3 January 2023

2023-01-03T22:15:31Z

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	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2021}}~~
	{{Infobox television episode		{{Infobox television episode
	\| series = [[Red Dwarf]]		\| series = [[Red Dwarf]]
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	\| series_no = 1		\| series_no = 1
	\| episode = 4		\| episode = 4
	\| director = [[Ed Bye]]		\| director = [[w:Ed Bye]]
	\| writer = [[Rob Grant]] & [[Doug Naylor]]		\| writer = [[w:Rob Grant]] & [[w:Doug Naylor]]
	\| airdate = {{Start date\|1988\|03\|07\|df=yes}}		\| airdate = {{Start date\|1988\|03\|07\|df=yes}}
	\| guests = {{Plainlist \|		\| guests = {{Plainlist \|
	*[[Noel Coleman]] as Cat priest		*[[w:Noel Coleman\|Noel Coleman]] as Cat priest
	*[[John Lenahan]] as Toaster (Voice)		*[[w:John Lenahan\|John Lenahan]] as Toaster (Voice)
	*[[Tony Hawks]] as Dispensing Machine (Voice)		*[[w:Tony Hawks\|Tony Hawks]] as Dispensing Machine (Voice)}}
	\| prev = [[Balance of Power (Red Dwarf)\|Balance of Power]]		\| prev = [[Balance of Power (Red Dwarf)\|Balance of Power]]
	\| next = [[Confidence and Paranoia]]		\| next = [[Confidence and Paranoia]]
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	==Cultural references==		==Cultural references==
	*Besides the overall [[religion]] theme of the Cat species, the episode also references the film ''[[Alien (film)\|Alien]]'' when Rimmer mentions "squiggly, slimy aliens sticking to the face".<ref name="Red Dwarf movie connections">{{cite web \| url=https://www.imdb.com/rg/title-tease/movieconnections/title/tt0684186/movieconnections \| title=Red Dwarf movie connections \| publisher=IMDb \|access-date=8 January 2008}}</ref>		*Besides the overall [[religion]] theme of the Cat species, the episode also references the film ''[[Alien (film)\|Alien]]'' when Rimmer mentions "squiggly, slimy aliens sticking to the face".<ref name="Red Dwarf movie connections">{{cite web \| url=https://www.imdb.com/rg/title-tease/movieconnections/title/tt0684186/movieconnections \| title=Red Dwarf movie connections \| publisher=IMDb \|access-date=8 January 2008}}</ref>
	*The title of the episode is a reference to the [[Samuel Beckett]] play ''[[Waiting For Godot]]''.~~{{citation needed\|date=February 2018}}~~		*The title of the episode is a reference to the [[Samuel Beckett]] play ''[[Waiting For Godot]]''.

	==Reception==		==Reception==
	The episode was originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 March 1988 in the 9:00pm evening time slot.<ref name="BBC Programme Catalogue RED DWARF — WAITING FOR GOD"/> Although the pilot episode "[[The End (Red Dwarf)\|The End]]" drew in over five million viewers, viewing figures declined as the series progressed.<ref name="Programme Guide p8-9">Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 8-9.</ref> The episode was considered to be one of the weakest from the first series by ''Red Dwarf Smegazine'' readers — it came in 27th place with 0.4% of the votes.<ref name="Red Dwarf Smegazine: Survey Results"/>~~{{clarify\|27th place obviously means that the survey covered at least 5 series\|date=November 2018}}~~		The episode was originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 March 1988 in the 9:00pm evening time slot.<ref name="BBC Programme Catalogue RED DWARF — WAITING FOR GOD"/> Although the pilot episode "[[The End (Red Dwarf)\|The End]]" drew in over five million viewers, viewing figures declined as the series progressed.<ref name="Programme Guide p8-9">Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 8-9.</ref> The episode was considered to be one of the weakest from the first series by ''Red Dwarf Smegazine'' readers — it came in 27th place with 0.4% of the votes.<ref name="Red Dwarf Smegazine: Survey Results"/>

	==Remastering==		==Remastering==

Kurt at 22:12, 3 January 2023

2023-01-03T22:12:04Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:12, 3 January 2023
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	*[[Noel Coleman]] as Cat priest		*[[Noel Coleman]] as Cat priest
	*[[John Lenahan]] as Toaster (Voice)		*[[John Lenahan]] as Toaster (Voice)
	*[[Tony Hawks]] as Dispensing Machine (Voice)~~{{citation needed\|date=June 2015}} }}~~		*[[Tony Hawks]] as Dispensing Machine (Voice)
	\| prev = [[Balance of Power (Red Dwarf)\|Balance of Power]]		\| prev = [[Balance of Power (Red Dwarf)\|Balance of Power]]
	\| next = [[Confidence and Paranoia]]		\| next = [[Confidence and Paranoia]]

Kurt: /* External links */

2023-01-03T22:11:36Z

External links

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:11, 3 January 2023
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	==External links==		==External links==
	~~{{Wikiquote\|Red_Dwarf#.22Waiting_For_God.22\|Waiting For God}}~~
	*{{BBC episode\|b0077m17\|Waiting for God}}		*{{BBC episode\|b0077m17\|Waiting for God}}
	*{{IMDb episode\|0684186\|Waiting for God}}		*{{IMDb episode\|0684186\|Waiting for God}}

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-08-25T20:31:24Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 15:31, 25 August 2022
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82.39.134.63: /* Plot */Tidied grammar

2022-05-13T17:53:06Z

Plot: Tidied grammar

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = [[Red Dwarf]]
| image =
| caption =
| series_no = 1
| episode = 4
| director = [[Ed Bye]]
| writer = [[Rob Grant]] & [[Doug Naylor]]
| airdate = {{Start date|1988|03|07|df=yes}}
| guests = {{Plainlist |
*[[Noel Coleman]] as Cat priest
*[[John Lenahan]] as Toaster (Voice)
*[[Tony Hawks]] as Dispensing Machine (Voice){{citation needed|date=June 2015}} }}
| prev = [[Balance of Power (Red Dwarf)|Balance of Power]]
| next = [[Confidence and Paranoia]]
| episode_list = List of Red Dwarf episodes
}}
"'''Waiting For God'''" is the fourth episode from [[science fiction]] [[sitcom]] ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' series one.<ref name="British Sitcom Guide — Red Dwarf — Series 1">{{cite web | url=http://www.sitcom.co.uk/red_dwarf/series1.shtml | title=British Sitcom Guide — Red Dwarf — Series 1 | publisher=sitcom.co.uk |access-date=31 January 2008}}</ref> It was first broadcast on the British television channel [[BBC2]] on 7 March 1988.<ref name="BBC Programme Catalogue RED DWARF — WAITING FOR GOD">{{cite web | url=http://catalogue.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/NMRE756T | title=BBC Programme Catalogue RED DWARF — WAITING FOR GOD | publisher=BBC | access-date=5 December 2007}}</ref> The episode's theme is [[religion]]: atheist [[Arnold Rimmer|Rimmer]] succumbs to a passionate belief in a superrace of aliens with the technology to give him a new body, while [[Dave Lister|Lister]] reflects on his role as god of the Cat people.

Written by [[Rob Grant]] and [[Doug Naylor]], and directed by [[Ed Bye]],<ref name="Red Dwarf Waiting for God (1988) Full cast and crew">{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684186/fullcredits#cast | title=Red Dwarf Waiting for God (1988) Full cast and crew | publisher=IMDb |access-date=22 January 2008}}</ref> the episode was considered to be one of the weakest from the first series.<ref name="Red Dwarf Smegazine: Survey Results">Episode Survey Results, Red Dwarf Smegazine, p. 27, issue 10, December 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, {{ISSN|0965-5603}}</ref> The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998, to bring the episodes up to a standard suitable for international broadcast.<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 |access-date=30 January 2008}}</ref>

==Plot==
[[Holly (Red Dwarf)|Holly]] ([[Norman Lovett]]) tracks an unidentified object near to ''Red Dwarf'' and brings it aboard. When [[Arnold Rimmer]] ([[Chris Barrie]]) sees it, he quickly believes it to be a [[stasis (fiction)|stasis]] capsule carrying a [[dormancy|dormant]] member of an alien race that can give him a new body. However, when he leaves it in the observation room and awaits it being cleared of [[quarantine]], [[Dave Lister]] ([[Craig Charles]]) makes a closer inspection and finds it to be one of the ships' jettisoned garbage pods. When Holly admits to him that he didn't say anything about this to Rimmer as a joke, Lister decides to keep quiet as well.<ref name="Programme Guide p48">Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 48.</ref> While leaving Rimmer to carry out fruitless examinations of the pod, Lister becomes curious about [[Cat (Red Dwarf)|Cat]] ([[Danny John-Jules]]) and his sudden disappearances for "investigating", and decides to learn more about his people.

Lister learns the [[Felis sapiens|Cat race]] lived their lives according to five sacred religious laws (four of which Lister himself would have broken because of his lifestyle), and that Cat's race destroyed itself in holy wars over minor details of their heaven "Fuchal" (based on a misunderstanding of Lister's future plans on Fiji). When Cat disappears again, Lister follows him to the ship's cargo hold, whereupon he discovers Cat has been attending to one other survivor – an elderly and blind cat priest. Learning that he is dying, Lister overhears him questioning his faith to his race's god "Cloister", and asks Cat to burn his priest's hat. Lister opts to prevent this and convinces the priest he lived an admirable life and will soon reach "Fuchal", causing the priest to be joyous on his final day before he dies.<ref name="Programme Guide p49">Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 49.</ref> Returning to the upper decks, Lister joins Rimmer to examine the pod's contents after its quarantine period is over. When Rimmer begins to see garbage and doubts what he originally thought, he finally deduces angrily what he was investigating over the episode's closing credits.<ref name="Programme Guide p49"/>

==Production==
Written by co-creators, Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by series regular Ed Bye,<ref name="Red Dwarf Waiting for God (1988) Full cast and crew"/> the episode features the first real appearance of the skutters.{{clarify|real how? and what are these things?|date=November 2018}} They were considered unreliable props because they would frequently go out of control. It was thought that nearby taxi radio signals were interfering with the remote control signals.<ref name="Red Dwarf series 1 guide: episode four: Waiting For God">Red Dwarf series 1 guide: episode four: Waiting For God, Red Dwarf Smegazine, volume 2 issue 4, August 1993, Fleetway Editions Ltd, {{ISSN|0965-5603}}</ref>

[[Noel Coleman]] starred as the Cat Priest and [[John Lenahan]] returned to voice the Toaster.<ref name="Red Dwarf Waiting for God (1988) Full cast and crew"/>

==Cultural references==
*Besides the overall [[religion]] theme of the Cat species, the episode also references the film ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]'' when Rimmer mentions "squiggly, slimy aliens sticking to the face".<ref name="Red Dwarf movie connections">{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/rg/title-tease/movieconnections/title/tt0684186/movieconnections | title=Red Dwarf movie connections | publisher=IMDb |access-date=8 January 2008}}</ref>
*The title of the episode is a reference to the [[Samuel Beckett]] play ''[[Waiting For Godot]]''.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

==Reception==
The episode was originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 March 1988 in the 9:00pm evening time slot.<ref name="BBC Programme Catalogue RED DWARF — WAITING FOR GOD"/> Although the pilot episode "[[The End (Red Dwarf)|The End]]" drew in over five million viewers, viewing figures declined as the series progressed.<ref name="Programme Guide p8-9">Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 8-9.</ref> The episode was considered to be one of the weakest from the first series by ''Red Dwarf Smegazine'' readers — it came in 27th place with 0.4% of the votes.<ref name="Red Dwarf Smegazine: Survey Results"/>{{clarify|27th place obviously means that the survey covered at least 5 series|date=November 2018}}

==Remastering==
{{See also|Red Dwarf remastered}}

The remastering of Series I to III was carried out during the late 1990s.<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 |access-date=28 January 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080104012351/http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck01/dvd_remasters_of_the_universe_221206.html  |archive-date = 4 January 2008}}</ref> 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 |access-date=30 January 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080118140243/http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck05/series_1/remastering.html  |archive-date = 18 January 2008}}</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 | at=Bodysnatcher DVD Boxset disc 1 | 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 | at=Bodysnatcher DVD Boxset disc 1 | date=2007 }}</ref> and many more visual and audio enhancements.<ref name="Re-Dwarf"/>

Changes specific to "Waiting For God" include new music to accompany the Cat's early scenes, echo added to the pod quarantine scenes, continuity error of Rimmer's folded arms corrected, Cat religion artwork added to Holly's explanation of the Cat race, some lines removed and certain scenes tightened up, shots of Lister with donut and golden sausage removed and new ashes canister leaving ''Red Dwarf'' inserted.<ref name="Waiting For God Re-Mastered text commentary">{{cite video | people=Remastering Crew | title=Balance of Power Re-Mastered text commentary | medium=DVD | publisher=BBC | at=Bodysnatcher DVD Boxset disc 1 | date=2007 }}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers]]'' – The first ''Red Dwarf'' novel which expands on [[Cat (Red Dwarf)|The Cat]] people's history and origins as well featuring material not seen in any of the episodes.<ref name="Programme Guide p209">Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 206.</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book |last=Howarth |first=Chris |author2=Steve Lyons |title=Red Dwarf Programme Guide |year=1993 |publisher=Virgin Books |isbn=0-86369-682-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/reddwarfprogramm0000howa }}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Red_Dwarf#.22Waiting_For_God.22|Waiting For God}}
*{{BBC episode|b0077m17|Waiting for God}}
*{{IMDb episode|0684186|Waiting for God}}
*[http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/series/1/behind-the-scenes/sources/ Episode Guide – Series 1 at RedDwarf.co.uk]

{{Red Dwarf episodes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waiting For God (Red Dwarf)}}
[[Category:Red Dwarf I episodes]]
[[Category:1988 British television episodes]]