This has to be, one of the most outrageously funny and well-acted Sci-Fi Comedy series ever made. With a well-placed cast and ridiculously illogical episode plots, the whole thing seemed to mesh and become a huge hit.<br /><br />Set in the future, on a space mining ship, the Red Dwarf, the show follows the zany lives of its remaining crew, 3 million years after a massive radiation leak from an improperly repaired drive plate wiped out virtually all life on-board the ship. The only survivors, were 'Dave Lister', played by the enigmatic and downright hilarious 'Craig Charles' (now appearing as Loyd Mullaney in Coronation Street), who had just been placed in stasis for smuggling aboard his female cat (Frankenstein), who then turned out to be the only other survivor.<br /><br />When 'Holly' the ships computer, performed by 'Norman Lovett', finally feels its safe to let Lister out of stasis, he has the very difficult and repetitive task of telling him that everyone is dead.<br /><br />Holly: Everybody is dead, Dave. Lister: Not Chen? Holly: Gordon Bennett! Yes! Chen, everybody. Everybody's dead, Dave. Lister: Rimmer? Holly: He's dead, Dave. Everybody's dead. Everybody is dead, Dave! Lister: Wait. Are you trying to tell me everybody's dead? <br /><br />Once Lister comes to terms with it all, he is both relieved and distressed to discover that Holly has brought back his old roommate and colleague, 'Arnold Rimmer' as a hologram in order to keep him sane. The depth that actor 'Chris Barrie' brought to his character, to me, was amazing. He managed to convey a man so blinded by himself, believing himself worthless, yet somehow destined for ultimate greatness at the same time, with a naivety that surpassed even The Cat's.<br /><br />'Cat', performed by 'Danny John-Jules' was the end result of 3 million years worth of evolution and breeding by Listers cat, Frankenstein. Cat is a self-centered, egotistical moron that takes more pleasure out of his own appearance than anything else. One of my favourite lines from Cat was in Series 1, episode 2, when he was to be found, sauntering over to Listers fish tank singing, "I'm gonna eat you little fishy!"<br /><br />Later on, in series 2, the crew come across an android, 'Kryten' - 'Robert Llewellyn' (originally played by 'David Ross' in the first episode titled, Kryten). From then on, they spend their times together, while Holly steers them all home, back to Earth.<br /><br />The crew go through a lot of insane adventures, with many obvious and illogical continuity errors between episodes, but that's just one of the many things that made this such a wonderful program to watch. It didn't have to be believable.<br /><br />There are only two things that have stopped me from giving this excellent performance a 10 out of 10. Firstly, 'Kristine Kochanski', played by 'Chloë Annett'. I thought she was a dreadful actress, who portrayed the character of Kochanski all wrong. At the start of the series, she was played by 'Clare Grogan', a small, Scottish woman, who although, again, wasn't that good at acting, was definitely better than Annett. And then, later on, she was replaced by Chloë Annett, a completely different type. She was English, taller and much harsher. Not the sort of woman you would imagine Lister cooing over. Her diatribe was certainly less than amusing.<br /><br />Apart from that, series 8 was a disaster. Bringing back the Crew of Red Dwarf was a huge mistake. The plot suddenly became far too serious compared to the outrageous antics that were on show previously. A complete change from the norm, that served to make me actually think about not watching the next episode.<br /><br />But overall, this is definitely one of the best programs ever made, and will continue to be a source of entertainment for many generations. The humour throughout I don't think can ever truly become dated, so the wow factor will always remain.