which would effectively give him a physical presence. For the first time in the series' history, a story arc was introduced and followed throughout the episodes, leading up to the series' cliffhanger. Red Dwarf VII (1997) After Series VI, co-creator and writer Rob Grant had decided to leave the series to pursue other non-Red Dwarf projects. Naylor continued with the series to build towards the often discussed movie, and expanded to eight episodes to meet US syndication requirements. To help with the expanding episode number, Naylor brought in the help of other writers such as Paul Alexander. Chris Barrie, disappointed with the hectic workload of Series VI, had decided to only take part in four of the episodes. Kochanski (now played by Chloë Annett) was brought back as a regular character. Changes to the series itself were evident with the mix of science fiction and sit-com episodes throughout. This was an attempt by Naylor to move away from the "monster of the week" format that he felt Series VI suffered from. Ed Bye also returned to direct the series, after leaving due to scheduling clashes during Series V and VI. The studio audience was now removed from the series and, much like feature-length films, the episodes were mostly shot using one camera. Episodes were still videotaped, but were digitally processed to look like film, and although there was no live audience, a laughter track was later recorded at a screening of the episodes before an audience. The laughter track is only present on some episodes shown on the streaming service Netflix as of 2020. Red Dwarf VIII (1999) Having changed the look and format for Series VII, Naylor returned to the series' original roots for Series VIII. Writing the scripts himself, Naylor resurrected the original crew of Red Dwarf, along with Holly, this time played by Norman Lovett, and Chris Barrie as Rimmer. With the old cast and Red Dwarf itself now, the series returned to being videotaped in front of a studio audience, and ended on a cliffhanger that remained unresolved until 2009's Red Dwarf: Back to Earth. With 52 episodes, the series was now in a good position for international syndication and the prospect of a feature-length film increased. KTEH, a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) station in San Jose, California, broadcast the entire series on 7 March 1999. As a result, they broadcast the last five episodes of