Welcome to yet another document which I had nothing to do with the production of, all credit for this should go to Annette 'El Skutto' McIntosh .
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Version 2.00, June 1996.
% Marks new since last version.
Edited by Annette (mcintosh@wehi.edu.au), just to prove that I really *don't* have enough to do to occupy my time. :-)
** Note on version 2.00: Even though there are a few totally new entries and modifications, the mega-rearrangement from version 1.50 means that essentially, everything old is new again. Thus, the "%" markers do not appear in version 2.00, but will be back for the next update.
NOTICE: This document, its format, and all material contained herein are protected by public copyright, except where it conflicts with the copyright of Grant Naylor. This document *may* be distributed freely in its entirety and posted at electronic sites where no fee is charged for its viewing. It *may not* be sold or published for profit in any form.
Nearly all of the references are essentially complete as they are now -- mostly I'll only have one to four sentences about each reference. Any reference not containing a "[?]" will not be modified unless it is out and out *wrong*, or there is an additional *definite* allusion that I have missed. Not all things I've marked in this way will necessarily be true external references; and I may not even have the spelling right in some places.
*New* references will be gratefully accepted in the following categories *ONLY* -- all forms of the entertainment media; famous people; historical events; places of character.
1) MISCELLANEOUS REFERENCES.
a) Space.
A run down of the solar system's planets and their satellites. Whether mentioned in the TV show or books.
b) Earth.
All of the countries, significant places, and major towns mentioned in Red Dwarf. Whether from TV show or books.
2) COMMON REFERENCES.
Direct references (not already covered above) which are mentioned in two or more episodes. Listed alphabetically.
3) THE TV SHOW.
Listed by episode for Series I to Series VI. Smeg Ups and Smeg Outs are included, but only references from the actual out-takes instances, and which have not previously been mentioned. Also, there is a section for Red Dwarf USA. This small section deals with the few references from the two American Red Dwarf pilots ('broadcast' scripts). Only those references not previously or since mentioned in the BBC show.
Any reference which contains "[?]" means that I would like more information pretty pretty please. The position of the "[?]" often gives a good indication of the type of information I want, eg. (1926-[?]) means I would like to know the year of death.
Anything new/modified from the previous version will be marked with a "%" in the left margin.
PARALLEL (where appropriate). 'Ideas/inspiration' for the episode. Direct references. Listed in the order they appear in the episode. Indirect references (**). Listed in the order they appear in the episode.
* If a reference is not listed for a particular episode, check the COMMON REFERENCES section. *
Biographies may be given for direct people references. Birth/death year given for actors playing a character directly mentioned.
The words 'recorded by' as applied to songs do not necessarily indicate the original artist, just a well-known one.
Movie dates may be the year of production or year of release. The term 'football' means the game of soccer unless otherwise stated.
a) Wait for it on the n/g alt.tv.red-dwarf (where it will be posted on the last Monday of every even-numbered month),
b) For a start on the Web, try the following sites...
Friday's alt.tv.red-dwarf pages at
http://www.ftech.net/~cobweb/alt.tv.red-dwarf/
Michael Nagy's Queeg pages at
ftp://ftp.queeg.crater.com/pub/red-dwarf/general/
Thanks guys! :-)
If you can get the RDRL (TV) by neither of the above means, email me and I'll send you a text copy.
*Big* sloppy thanks to Tom Marwede (who really, really cares about this sort of thing!), and also to Raz (my 'foreign' correspondent, constructive critic, and Provider of the Logo!). ;-)
Thanks to Friday and Michael Nagy for giving the RDRL (TV) a home.
Thanks to Ang Rosin, for answering my mini-mini Scouse questionnaire.
Thank you: Damone, Cma, Elliedra, Bette Llewellyn, FroggyGrem, Andrew Hetherington, Jim Wraith, Phaedrus, John Coleman, Nadine SFWBWWWW, Fraser, Kerry Galgano, Friday, Pat Berry, Paul Barnes, Laurence Jason Koehn, George Rudy, Tracie Webster, Alsion Campbell, Richard Lockwood, Steve Howell, Kay Annette Bristol, Alexander Lum, GenMelchit, Alan Moon, Ian D. Jones, John Foster, Allan Jenney, Wendy Lynn O'Boyle, Gavrielle Perry, Jim Shaw, Linda Stephens and Todd Pinarchick.
New contributions since version 1.50: Linda Stephens, Roadwart, Vicky Loebel, Urac Sigma, Mat Page.
Mercury: The closest planet to your actual sun. Named after the messenger to the Roman gods.
Venus: Second planet from the sun. Named after the Roman goddess of love.
Mars: Fourth planet from the sun. Named after the Roman god of war.
Jupiter: Fifth from the sun and largest planet. Named after Jupiter, chief of the Roman gods.
Satellites: Ganymede (named after the cupbearer of Zeus, Greek equivalent of Jupiter), Io (named after a lover of Zeus), Europa (named after another lover of Zeus), Callisto (surprise surprise, yet another of Zeus's conquests).
Saturn: Ringed planet, sixth from the sun. Named after a Roman god of agriculture.
Satellites: Titan (named for a race of primeval Greek gods), Mimas, Tethys (named after a Titan sea-goddess), Dione (named after a Greek earth-goddess), Rhea (named after a Titan mother- goddess), Hyperion (named after a Titan sun-god), Phoebe (named after a Titan moon-goddess).
Uranus: Seventh planet from the sun. Named after a Greek sky god, father of the Titans.
Satellite: Miranda.
Neptune: Eighth or ninth planet from the sun. Named after the Roman god of water.
Satellite: Triton (named after the merman son of Poseidon, the Greek equivalent of Neptune).
Pluto: Eighth or ninth planet from the sun. Named after the Roman god of the underworld.
World cities/towns: Washington, Chicago, Salzburg, Hilo, London, Paris, Liverpool, Copenhagen, Helsinki, New York (Manhattan), Moscow, San Francisco, Houston, Madras, Rome, Berlin, Turin, Florence, Bangalore, Havana, Warsaw, Casablanca, Bonn, Tokyo, Oslo, Newcastle, Acapulco, Boston, Birmingham, Laredo, Dallas, Gouda, Venice, Marbella, Kiev, Lagos, Los Angeles (and Beverly Hills and Hollywood), Detroit, Niagara Falls, Las Vegas, Gettysburg.
{Kryten, Back To Reality}
Bennett, Gordon: (1841-1918) James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American newspaper magnate (whose father, James Gordon Bennett, founded the New York Herald in 1835). Bennett was known for his extravagant and capricious behaviour, and his name has become synonymous with a feeling of exasperation such as he frequently caused in people. See the FAQ for more details.
{The End, Future Echoes, Thanks For The Memory}
Brando, Marlon: (1924- ) American actor. Best known roles in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1947), "The Wild One" (1954) and "On The Waterfront" (1954), this last for which he won an Oscar. Recently seen in "Don Juan De Marco" (1995) with Johnny Depp.
{Kryten, Camille}
Casablanca: (1942) Classic film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman; love versus political principles in World War II Morocco. Waiting to be definitively remade starring Peter Beardsley and Myra Binglebat. ;-)
{Better Than Life, Camille}
Cat: Danny John-Jules has modelled the Cat in part on the American singer James Brown (1928- ; for his 'screech'), the American singer Little Richard (1935- ; for his bouffant hair) and the American actor Richard Pryor (1940- ; for his facial mannerisms).
Citizen Kane: (1941) Movie written and directed by, and starring in the title role, Orson Welles (1915-1985). A psychological study of the life of a newspaper magnate (Charles Foster Kane), the movie is much studied and is lauded as a cinematic masterpiece.
{Me^2, Timeslides}
Eastbourne: Town on the south coast of England with a popular reputation as a retirement haven for older/elderly people.
{White Hole, Emohawk: Polymorph II}
Einstein, Albert: (1879-1955) Pretty famous physicist actually, and the theory goes that Einstein = Mister Clever (too).
{Future Echoes, D.N.A., Holoship}
Esperanto: The second language of Red Dwarf, and one that Rimmer has been trying unsuccessfully to learn for eight years. Esperanto is an artificial, logical language incorporating principles/words derived from major European languages. It was devised in 1887 by Polish philologist Ludwig Zamenhof (1859-1917).
Frankenstein: Book by Mary Shelley, published 1818. A scientist (Frankenstein) creates a monster by reanimating corpse tissue, and then suffers the consequences. Apparently, truly stupid people (and Cats) erroneously believe that it was the monster, not its creator, who was called Frankenstein.
{The End, Future Echoes, Waiting For God, D.N.A., Justice, Quarantine}
Goering, Hermann: (1893-1946) The 'bit dodgy, drug-crazed Nazi transvestite' associate of Hitler. Established the Gestapo and concentration camps. Committed suicide before he could be executed for war crimes.
{Balance Of Power, Meltdown, Out Of Time}
Hitler, Adolf: (1889-1945) Leader of the runners-up (the nasty Nazis) in World War II, and generally not a very nice person.
{Parallel Universe, Timeslides, Meltdown, Out Of Time}
Judas (Iscariot): The disciple of Jesus who betrayed Him to the authorities for a reward of 30 pieces of silver. He later renounced his reward and suicided in his remorse.
{Better Than Life, The Inquisitor, Rimmerworld}
Julius Caesar: (c.100-44 BC) Roman statesman, general and dictator. {Me^2, Marooned}
Kryten: Kryten's name/character mimics that in the play "The Admirable Crichton" (1902), by J.M. Barrie. The real Admirable Crichton was a Scottish adventurer, James Crichton (1560-1593), famous for his accomplishments and attainments.
Laurel, Stan: (1890-1965) Born in England as Arthur Stanley Jefferson. Thin partner in the American comedy duo Laurel and Hardy (Oliver Hardy was 'rotund'), who had great popular success in over 200 films during the late 1920s to mid-1940s. Hilarity came from how they set one another off -- Stan was the worrier and bumbler, Ollie the fastidious one with the slow-burning temper.
{White Hole, Meltdown}
McClure, Doug: (1935-1995) American actor. Leading man in over 20 B- grade films, including "The King's Pirate" (1967), "The Land That Time Forgot" (1975) and "The People That Time Forgot" (1977); recently seen in "Maverick" (1994) with Mel Gibson. Also made several TV series including "Checkmate", "The Virginian" and "Out Of This World". He died of lung cancer aged 59.
{Backwards, Legion}
Monroe, Marilyn: (1926-1962) American actress and sex symbol. Best- known films include "How To Marry A Millionaire" (1953), "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (1953), "The Seven Year Itch" (1955) and "Some Like It Hot" (1959).
{Better Than Life, The Last Day, Meltdown}
Moss Bro(ther)s: Clothing/suit hire establishment.
{Future Echoes, Emohawk: Polymorph II}
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: (1756-1791) Austrian genius composer, and virtuoso piano and violin player.
{Balance Of Power, Confidence And Paranoia}
Munchkin: One of the little people in the American film "The Wizard Of Oz" (1939) starring Judy Garland. From the novels by L. Frank Baum.
{Confidence And Paranoia, Parallel Universe}
Napoleon (Bonaparte): (1769-1821) Born at Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. General, dictator and Emperor of the French (as Napoleon I; 1804-1814).
{Me^2, Better Than Life, Marooned, Meltdown}
Patton, George Smith: (1885-1945) American general during World War II.
{Marooned, The Last Day, Legion}
Pythagoras: (c.580-500 BC) Greek philosopher and mathematician. {The End, Meltdown}
Saint Francis of Assisi: (1182-1226) Founder of the Franciscan Friars. All-round animal lover (healing the sick ones and taming the wild ones) and patron saint of ecologists.
{Backwards, Meltdown, Holoship}
Samaritans: Telephone suicide counsellors (group established in Great Britain in 1953). The name derives from the sect Samaritans, inhabitants of the area of northern Israel called Samaria. See also from the Bible, the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
{The Last Day, The Inquisitor}
Sancerre: Dry white wine derived from Sauvignon Blanc. {Marooned, Rimmerworld}
Sartre, Jean-Paul: (1905-1980) French writer/philosopher, apparently with a penchant for poncing around in black polo-neck sweaters... {Balance Of Power, Meltdown}
Shakespeare, William: (1564-1616) English dramatist (actor and playwright) and poet.
{Waiting For God, Parallel Universe, Marooned, D.N.A.}
Sinclair ZX81: Computer named for Clive Sinclair (1940- ), inventive British electronics engineer. Both the Sinclair ZX81 and ZX80 became available in 1980, and were the first sub-UKP100 computers. {Stasis Leak, Psirens}
Taj Mahal: White marble mausoleum in Agra, India. Built in the mid- 1600s by Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife.
{Me^2, Justice}
Third Reich: Nazi Germany under Hitler's dictatorship.
{Backwards, Timeslides, Meltdown}
Wayne, John: (1907-1979) The Duke. American actor most popularly known for his roles in Western films (winning an Oscar for "True Grit", 1969).
{Better Than Life, Meltdown}
Pythagoras Theorem: The square of the hypotenuse of a right-angle triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of its other two sides. You will be tested.
** The song Lister is humming at the beginning: "If I Only Had A Brain" from the movie "The Wizard Of Oz" (1939), starring Judy Garland.
** The flag on McIntyre's funeral canister: The flag of Wales -- the Red Dragon of Cadwallader over a green and white background.
** The song played at McIntyre's funeral: "See You Later Alligator", an early rock 'n' roll song (1956). Recorded by Bill Haley And The Comets.
** The song the Cat is singing: "Me And My Shadow"; has been performed by several artists over the years, including Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. Can be heard in the 1981 British movie "Time Bandits", starring John Cleese and Sean Connery.
Filofax: Personal organiser. For those not important enough to warrant having a secretary.
Lennon, John: (1940-1980) Singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist with The Beatles.
McCartney, Paul: (1942- ) Singer, songwriter and rhythm/bass guitarist with The Beatles.
Green Beret: Crack military group, Special Forces of the US Army. In 1961, the best of the Special Forces were granted the honorific "Green Beret" by President Kennedy.
Shapiro, Helen: (1946- ) British singer and actress. Famous for having a hit single at the age of 14, and for wearing bouffant hair. ;-)
Ladybird Books: Information books on a level for children.
Starlight Ballroom: Club in Las Vegas.
** The song Lister is singing at the beginning: A spaced-up version of "My Darling Clementine".
** The song Talkie Toaster is singing: "Fly Me To The Moon", recorded by Frank Sinatra.
** The tune Rimmer is humming as he contemplates Lister's demise: The "Death March Of Saul" (1738) by the German composer George Frideric Handel.
** Rimmer's second hairstyle: Holly has made him into a Beatles wannabe.
Mendelssohn, Felix: (1809-1847) German composer, pianist and conductor.
Motorhead: British heavy metal band.
Boyle, Robert: (1627-1691). British chemist who made quantitative studies of gases, enabling him to formulate Boyle's Law of Gases. Of course, he may also have made study of the dangers of eating greasy food...
Hugo, Victor: (1802-1885) French novelist. Best-known books include "Notre-Dame De Paris" (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame -- 1831) and "Les Miserables" (1862).
Galileo (Galilei): (1564-1642) Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer and developer of the astronomical telescope.
Edison, Thomas Alva: (1847-1931) American scientist and prolific inventor (inventions included the phonograph and the lightbulb).
Columbo: Scruffy detective played by Peter Falk (1927- ) in the American TV series/movies of the same name. Not to be confused with Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer who discovered America (1492), and generally was believed to dress quite nicely (except when portrayed in the movies by Gerard Depardieu).
Bermuda Triangle: Area of the Atlantic Ocean (roughly bounded by the southern USA coast, Bermuda, and the Greater Antilles) in which more than 70 ships and aeroplanes have allegedly disappeared. Alien abductions constitute a favourite 'explanation' for these supposed disappearances.
** "I toast, therefore I am.": Variation on the "I think, therefore I am" principle by Rene Descartes.
** "You might get some squiggly, slimy thing stuck to your face!": In the movie "Alien" (1979) starring Sigourney Weaver and John Hurt, this is precisely what happened to Hurt's character Kane when he went off investigating alien 'eggs'.
** The music that plays as Lister enters the Cat 'cathedral': Toccata and Fugue in g minor, by the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
Christie, Agatha: (1890-1976) British writer, author of more than 70 detective novels.
Poirot, Hercule: Belgian detective character in several Agatha Christie novels.
Beethoven, Ludwig van: (1770-1827) German composer, conductor and pianist; continued composing even after being afflicted with deafness in 1801.
** Jim in the movie Lister is watching: Perhaps not surprisingly, sounds very like the American actor James Stewart (1908- ), star of the movie "It's A Wonderful Life" (1946).
** "Hercule Poirot's just stepped off the steaming train. And if you want my opinion, I think they all did it.": Holly is reading Agatha Christie's "Murder On The Orient Express" (1934). The Orient Express is the train in question. And Holly is on the case and kicking bottom -- they *did* all do it.
** "In space, no one can hear you cha-cha-cha...": The movie "Alien" (1979), starring Sigourney Weaver and John Hurt, had as its cinema publicity tag "In space, no one can hear you scream."
Blu-Tack: Sticky substance used for attaching posters to walls (for those for whom chewing-gum doesn't quite do the trick).
G & E drawing: Geometric and Engineering Drawing. A GCSE subject, also known as Technical Drawing (or Mechanical and Engineering Drawing at "O" Level).
NorWEB: North West Electricity Board.
Welles, Orson: (1915-1985) American actor, director, writer and producer. Notable works include the 1938 "War Of The Worlds" radio broadcast, and the movie "Citizen Kane" (1941) which won him an Oscar for Original Screenplay.
Pluto's moon: Charon. Named after the ferryman on the River Styx in the underworld (Hades) in Greek mythology.
** Close-up of Rimmer's mouth as he utters his dying words "Gazpacho soup!", his outstretched hand, and the breaking of the globe containing Red Dwarf: Reminiscent of the opening scene of "Citizen Kane" (1941) starring Orson Welles, in which Kane (Welles) in close-up utters his dying words "Rose bud", then drops from his outstretched hand a snow-globe which shatters on the stairs.
** The gag glasses Holly is wearing: Patterned after Groucho Marx (1890-1977), American comedy actor.
** The salute that Lister performs at the end: A Boy Scout salute.
Gwenlyn, Kylie: Producer and director of "Androids", whose surname is also used by Lister as an insult. Named after a producer, and former head of comedy at the BBC, Gareth Gwenlan. (See also below.)
Champion The Wonder Horse: Champion was the horse of American cowboy singer/actor Gene Autry. From 1955-1956 Champion was the star of a CBS children's show called "The Adventures Of Champion". This show starred Barry Curtis as 12 year old Ricky North, who was always getting into serious scrapes and being rescued by his Wonder Horse, Champion, and his faithful German shepherd dog called Rebel.
Clive of India: Robert, Baron Clive of Passey (1725-1774). British soldier/administrator who established British rule in India. Governor of Bengal.
The Wild One: (1954) American film about hoodlum motorcyclists who terrorise a small town. Starring Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin.
Easy Rider: (1969) American film about two drop-out motorcyclists. Starring Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson.
Rebel Without A Cause: (1955) American film about a troubled/ troublesome poor little rich boy. Starring James Dean and Natalie Wood.
** Androids: Parody of the Australian soap opera "Neighbours", which starred for a time the Australian actress/singer *Kylie* Minogue (recently seen in the movie "Streetfighter", 1995, with Jean- Claude Van Damme). The lines "Androids, everybody needs good androids" and "Androids have feelings too" of the "Androids" theme song mimic the lines "Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours" and "That's when good neighbours become good friends" of the "Neighbours" theme song. One thing though -- if the androids are supposed to have Australian accents, Ms. Gwenlyn went too far east because they sound more like New Zealanders (though still wide of that mark, too!) than Australians.
** The song the Cat sings when going off to prepare to meet the Nova 5 crew: Only two words "Twenty-four hours!" but definitely the tune of "Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa". Recorded by Gene Pitney.
** The book Lister is reading in the Blue Midget cockpit: A children's book from the "Spot" (a dog) series, by Eric Hill.
** "I serve, therefore I am.": Variation on "I think, therefore I am" by Rene Descartes.
** Rimmer: "What are you rebelling against?"
Kryten: "Whaddya got?"
Lines from the movie "The Wild One" (1954) starring Marlon Brando as Johnny, leader of the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club, and wearer of leather (a la Kryten as he prepares to leave Red Dwarf on Lister's space-bike).
Girl: "Hey Johnny, what are you rebelling against?"
Johnny: "Whaddya got?"
Pinky and Perky: Two falsetto-voiced singing puppet piglets on the 1950s-1960s BBC (later ITV) children's show "Pinky And Perky" (created by Jan and Vlasta Dalibor).
Blind Pew: Blind villain in the novel "Treasure Island" (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Friday The Thirteenth: Nine movies to date, about this deathly date. Horror movies in which teenagers meet their deaths in a variety of ways at the hands of the unkillable Jason. It's just surprising that in Lister's time they're only up to Part 1649.
Beardsley, Peter: (1961- ) British footballer, captain of Newcastle United.
Philistines: A 12th century non-Semitic race of people. The name has become synonymous with one who is uncivilised in artistic and intellectual terms.
Venus: Armless statue of the Roman goddess of love. Currently in the Louvre, Paris.
Shields, Brooke: (1965- ) American actress and former child model. Best-known roles in "Pretty Baby" (1978), "The Blue Lagoon" (1980) and "Endless Love" (1981).
Fitzgerald, (Francis) Scott: (1896-1940) American writer, author of the novel "The Great Gatsby" (1925).
Outland Revenue: Presumably what the Inland Revenue Service will become once humankind moves off into space.
Geldof: Presumably named after ("Sir") Bob Geldof (1954- ), lead singer of the former band Boomtown Rats (best-known song "I Don't Like Mondays"); later solo artist and sometime-actor. Also humanitarian, co-organiser of Live Aid 1985, and Nobel Prize nominee.
Mount Sinai: Where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.
Mary Magdalene: Allegedly sinful woman, and follower of Jesus after she was cured by Him of possession by evil spirits. The first person to meet Jesus after the Resurrection.
Hefner, Hugh: (1926- ) American publisher, and founder of "Playboy" magazine (1953).
** Holly: "Of all the space-bars in all the worlds, you had to rematerialise in mine."
Line from the definitive version of "Casablanca" (starring Myra Binglebat and Peter Beardsley) which mimics a line in the original version (1942) starring Humphrey Bogart as Rick.
Rick: "Of all the gin-joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
** The motorcycle Lister wishes for in the game Better Than Life: A Harley Davidson.
** Rimmer's cars in the game Better Than Life: In order of appearance, a Reliant Robin, an E-Type Jaguar and a Morris Minor.
Odor Eaters: Shoe inserts which will absorb/eliminate foot odour or your money back.
Osmond, (Little) Jimmy: (1963- ) Youngest of the singing Osmond family from Utah, having a successful solo career at age nine. Best-known song "Long-Haired Lover From Liverpool".
From Here To Eternity: (1953) American film about love and frustration set in the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Starring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. Contains the famous scene of Lancaster and Kerr kissing on the beach (yes they are wearing swimsuits) while the waves break over them.
Mantovani: (1905-1980) Italian-born violinist, composer and conductor.
Godzilla: Japanese movie monster, star of several "Godzilla Versus..." movies.
Johnson's Baby Bud: A wad of cotton on a stick, the most romantic thing that Rimmer has ever had in his ear.
** The song Rimmer is singing: "Someone To Watch Over Me" -- written by George and Ira Gershwin; recently recorded by Linda Ronstadt.
** The music Rimmer is humming while exercising: "Peter And The Wolf" (1936) by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev.
** Lister: "Well play it, Sam."
In the movie "Casablanca" (1942), Sam (Dooley Wilson; 1894-1953) is the piano player in Rick's (Humphrey Bogart) Cafe Americain. Rick wants Sam to play the tune "As Time Goes By", and is often erroneously 'quoted' as having said "Play it again, Sam."
Rick: "Play it!"
Alternatively (but less often mimicked), it may be Ingrid Bergman (as Ilsa) that Lister is imitating. When Ilsa first comes to Rick's cafe, she asks Sam to play the tune...
Ilsa: "Play it once Sam. <...> Play it Sam."
Planet Of The Apes: (1968) American movie about a futuristic Earth society composed of highly-evolved apes. Starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall.
Gone With The Wind: (1939) American movie about love during the American Civil War. Starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. A run-time of three hours and forty minutes.
Agoraphobia: Fear of open spaces.
Box of Daz: Heavy-duty clothes-washing powder.
Cartland, Barbara: (1904- ) British romantic novelist.
Topic Bar: Chocolate bar with 'a hazelnut in every bite'. See the FAQ for more details.
Purley: Part of London.
Come Jiving: Perhaps a later version of the dance competition "Come Dancing".
Captain Paxo: Paxo is a British brand of chicken stuffing.
Newton-John, Olivia: (1948- ) British-born Australian singer and actress. Best-known movie role as Sandy in "Grease" (1978) with John Travolta. Songs include "Banks Of The Ohio", "You're The One That I Want" (duet with John Travolta), "Magic" and "Physical".
Run For Your Wife: 1980s play, written by Ray Cooney. Stars included Jack Smethurst and David McCallum.
** Attack Of The Killer Gooseberries: Perhaps a future film to be made in the style of "Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes" (1978).
Tess Of The D'Urbervilles: (1891) Novel about the seduction (and its consequences) of a peasant girl. Written by Thomas Hardy.
Hardy, Robert: (1925- ) British actor, well-known for his portrayal of Siegfried in the TV series "All Creatures Great And Small".
Deganwy: Region of Wales.
Tottenham Hotspur: English football club.
Butlins: A family holiday-camp establishment with a bit of a reputation for being 'inadequate'.
Subbuteo: Mini table-football game.
** Rimmer cheering himself on during the draughts game: Imitative of the style of English football supporters.
** Holly: "This is mutiny Mr. Queeg. I'll see you swing from the highest yardarm in Titan Docking Port for this day's work."
Parallel of lines attributed to Captain William Bligh of the HMS Bounty; said to the master's mate Fletcher Christian, when Christian led the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789. Several versions of the lines exist. From the book "Mutiny On The Bounty" (1932) by Charles Nordhoff and James Hall...
Bligh (to Christian): "You mutinous dog! I'll see you hung <..> I'll see you swinging from a yardarm before two years have passed!"
From the film "Mutiny On The Bounty" (1935) starring Charles Laughton as Bligh and Clark Gable as Christian...
Bligh (to Christian): "I'll live to see you -- all of you -- hanging from the highest yardarm in the British Fleet..."
** The song Holly sings as he goes to challenge Queeg: "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" recorded by Frankie Laine. Oscar-winning song (aka "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darlin'") sung in the western "High Noon" (1952; starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly) by Tex Ritter.
** The song Holly sings before he is 'erased': "Goodbye To Love", recorded by The Carpenters.
Sandwich, (4th) Earl of (John Montagu): (1718-1792) British politician who, in order not to interrupt his card-playing, developed the habit of eating beef between two slices of toast, and thus invented the sandwich.
Morse, Samuel: (1791-1872) American inventor who greatly improved the electric telegraph and (with assistant Alexander Bain) invented Morse code.
Plato: (c.428-347 BC) Ancient Greek philosopher.
Ringo (Starr): (1940- ) Drummer with the Beatles.
I'm A Yankee Doodle Dandy: Song by vaudevillian George M. Cohan.
Miranda, Carmen: (1909-1955) Portuguese singer and dancer with a penchant for extravagant costumes, most notably a headdress made of fruit.
** Armstrong, Nellie: Female universe equivalent of Neil Armstrong (1930- ), the first man on the moon (July 20, 1969).
** The Male Eunuch, by Jeremy Greer: The female universe equivalent of "The Female Eunuch" (1970) by Germaine Greer (1939- ).
** Rachel III; The Taming Of The Shrimp -- both by Wilma Shakespeare: Female universe equivalents of William Shakespeare's plays "Richard III" and "The Taming Of The Shrew".
** "I'm off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!": Line from the title song of the movie "The Wizard Of Oz" (1939) starring Judy Garland.
The Flintstones: Indisputably-classic cartoon from Hanna-Barbera, about two Bedrock suburban couples (Fred and Wilma Flintstone, and Barney and Betty Rubble).
Muggins: Slang meaning 'simpleton'.
Genghis Khan: (c.1167-1227) Mongol conqueror and great military leader. Ruler of all Mongol peoples, across a vast empire ranging from the Yellow Sea (China/Korea) to the Black Sea (south-east Europe), from 1206.
ICI: Imperial Chemical Industries, one of the largest companies of Britain.
** "Or a herd of flesh-eating dinosaurs feeding off the bones of Doug McClure?": McClure made several 'dinosaur' movies, including "The Land That Time Forgot" (1975) and its sequel, "The People That Time Forgot" (1977).
** The man sucking smoke out of the air and putting it into his cigarette: Is Rob Grant.
** The mask Kryten is wearing: Ronald Reagan (1911- ) Former Hollywood actor, and 40th President (Republican) of the USA (1981-1989).
Birdseye: Frozen food company, products include frozen fish-fingers and packets of small garden peas.
Newcastle Brown: Beer -- Newcastle Brown Ale.
Alexander The Great: (356-323 BC) King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire.
Shrove Tuesday (Christian): The day before the beginning of Lent.
Ascension (Sunday?): Ascension Thursday is the feast day commemorating Christ's ascension into Heaven.
Pentecost (Christian): The day the Apostles experienced inspiration by the Holy Spirit. Commemorated on Whit Sunday.
Lamb, Charles: (1775-1834) British essayist and critic.
Wouk, Herman: (1915- ) American novelist, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize (1952) for "The Caine Mutiny" (1951); more recent novels include "The Winds Of War" (1971) and "War And Remembrance" (1978).
Bacon, Sir Francis: (1561-1626) English politician, philosopher and essayist.
Lustbader, Eric (Van): ([?]- ) American novelist, and music industry influence (eg. introduced Elton John to the American music scene).
Pinter, Harold: (1930- ) British dramatist and former actor. Author of "The Caretaker" (1960).
Richard, (Sir) Cliff: (1940- ) Enduring British pop singer and sometime actor. And I still can't believe that "Wired For Sound" only made it to No. 132 on the US charts. Philistines! ;-)
Bootle: Town near Liverpool, England.
Ryder Cup: Golf tournament for professional men's teams from the USA and Europe; played biennially. Begun in 1926, and named after Samuel Ryder ([?]).
Lewis': Department store. So we know Michelle Fisher was *beautiful* enough to get a job behind the perfume counter, but was she also vicious enough? I mean, that killer ability to leap out and spray customers with perfume as they pass the counter...that can only come from *instinct*, not training.
Biggles: Flying ace character in the books by Captain W.E. Johns.
West Side Story: American musical. Film (1961) starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer. Based on William Shakespeare's play "Romeo And Juliet" but transferred to the contemporary setting of gang feuding in the New York docklands.
Lolita: (1955) Best-known novel of the Russian writer Vladimir Nabokov, it tells the story of a middle-aged man's obsession with a 12 year old girl.
Islington: Area of London.
Paul, Les: (1915-1995) American guitarist and inventor.
** The song Lister plays on his guitar: "She's Out Of My Life", recorded by Michael Jackson.
** The tune Rimmer trumpets as his soldiers burn: The military send- off "The Last Post".
** "Au revoir mes amis, a bientot.": Farewell my friends, see you soon (French).
Osmond family: Family of singing Mormons; the seven children all had (have) successful singing careers for a time, especially Donny, Marie and (Little) Jimmy. The Osmonds were recognised as much for their big cheesy grins (with perfect teeth) as for their music.
** The eight-foot tall, armour-plated killing machine: Bears an *uncanny* resemblance to the creature from the movie "Alien" (1979) starring Sigourney Weaver and John Hurt.
Atlas, Charles: (1893-1972) American bodybuilder and founder of the mail-order bodybuilding course. The original weakling who turned to bodybuilding after a lifeguard kicked sand on him at the beach and stole his girlfriend.
Goodyear: Tyre company known for floating advertising blimps over major sporting events.
Mr. Spock: The half-Vulcan, half-human Science Officer on the Starship Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" series; also appearing in the later "Star Trek" movies. Played by Leonard Nimoy (1931- ). I suppose the logical question to ask now is: Is his urine really green? (How sad that I am asking that question. How much sadder though that someone, somewhere, probably knows the answer!)
Super Bowl: Post-season championship game for American football.
Grimsby: Aptly-named, northern industrialised 'seaside' town by the River Humber on the east coast of England.
** "I look like Captain Emerald!": Perhaps a descendant of Captain Scarlet, title character from the British (Supermarionation) TV series "Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons", done by Gerry Anderson (of "Thunderbirds" and "Terrahawks" fame) in 1967-1968. Rimmer's uniform (in particular, his hat) is strongly modelled on the uniform of Captain Scarlet.
** The song Rimmer (in Lister's body) is humming as he prepares to go to the toilet: "The Grand Old Duke Of York."
** The music playing as Rimmer (in Lister's body) leaves Red Dwarf in Starbug: The "Light Cavalry Overture" (1866) by the Austro- Italian composer Franz von Suppe.
** Lister: "Go ahead punks! Make my day!"
Parallel of lines spoken and terms used by Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry Callahan in eg. "Sudden Impact" (1983)... Dirty Harry: "Go ahead. Make my day."
Stauffenberg, Claus von: (1907-1944) German colonel who attempted to assassinate Hitler via a bomb planted in Hitler's headquarters' conference room at Rastenburg in East Prussia, July 1944 (see also the PIP). Hitler had von Stauffenberg executed for his trouble.
Hoffman, Dustin: (1937- ) American stage and screen actor. Films include "The Graduate" (1967), "Kramer Vs. Kramer" (1979), "Tootsie" (1982) and "Rainman" (1988, for which he won his second Best Actor Oscar). Stage/TV work includes "Death Of A Salesman".
Ishtar: (1987) Absolute bomb of a movie about two hapless singer/ songwriters, starring Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty.
Freemasons: Free and Accepted Masons. The largest worldwide secret society, evolved from stonemasons and cathedral builders guilds of the Middle Ages.
Buckingham Palace: The Queen's place.
Xanadu: Charles Foster Kane's mega-mansion in the movie "Citizen Kane" (1941), starring Orson Welles as Kane.
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick And Tich: A 1960s UK beat group, originally known as Dave Dee And The Bostons. The members were vocalist Dave Dee (1943- ), bassist Trevor "Dozy" Davies (1944- ), rhythm guitarist John "Beaky" Dymond (1944- ), drummer Mick Wilson (1944- ) and lead guitarist Ian "Tich" Amey (1944- ). The group had a Number One hit in 1966 with "Legend Of Xanadu".
Swiftian: Descriptive of the type of satire in which outrageous statements are offered in a straight-faced manner. Named after the Irish-born British satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), author of "Gulliver's Travels" (1726).
** The music that Kryten is dancing to while developing his first lot of photographs: "Bad News", a song written and performed by Craig Charles (with his band, The Sons Of Gordon Gekko -- see also below). This song does have lyrics, including "Bad news, I got bad news; I said, I got no money for my fags and my booze" with the instrumental bit heard either part of the lead break between choruses (vocal version), or part of the instrumental version.
** "We could go to Dallas, in November 1963, stand on the grassy knoll and shout 'Duck!'.": Reference to the assassination of John F(itzgerald) Kennedy, 35th President of the USA (1961-1963, Democrat), who was shot and killed at this place and time, by (officially accepted) Lee Harvey Oswald.
** Lifestyles Of The Disgustingly Rich And Famous: Obviously a TV show for those who are just too well off to go on "Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous".
** The song playing as Lister arrives at Xanadu: "Cash" by Craig Charles's band The Sons Of Gordon Gekko, named after Michael Douglas's character in the movie "Wall Street" (1987).
** The music playing before Lister and Sabrina Mulholland-Jjones are served their meals: From the concerto "Four Seasons (Spring)" (c.1725) by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi.
** The song Rimmer sings after he leaves the photo of his boarding school dormitory: "If I Were A Rich Man" from the stage musical "Fiddler On The Roof" by Joseph Stein (movie, 1971, starring Topol).
Action Man: Boys' toy, a doll in the style of G.I. Joe.
Vimto: Brand of British soft drink, bought as a concentrate and diluted with water. Also comes (less commonly) in carbonated form.
Eiffel Tower: Famous Parisian landmark named after and constructed by the French engineer Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), for the Paris Exhibition of 1889.
Montmartre: Area of Paris ville.
Pollock, Jackson: (1912-1956) American painter. Developer of the painting style known as 'action painting' (1946). Also a pioneer of Abstract Expressionism. (Or put more simply, paintings that look like vomit.)
** "The iron shall lie down with the lamp.": Parallel of passages in the Bible dealing with lions and lambs coexisting as friends and not enemies. The wording of the passages varies depending on the Bible version, but the relevant verses are Isaiah 11:6 and Isaiah 65:25.
** The music playing before 'the morning after': "Morning Mood" (from "Peer Gynt", 1876) by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.
** The song Hudzen 10 is singing: "Goodbyee" (composed by Weston/Lee). Blackadder fans can hear a nice rendition of this song by Bob Parkhurst (Gabrielle Glaister) in the episode "Major Star" of "Blackadder Goes Forth". And that's probably the most gratuitous sentence in this document, but what's one more, eh?
Nelson, Horatio: (1758-1805) British (naval, as opposed to Space Corps!) admiral. During the French Revolutionary Wars he lost the sight of his right eye (1794), and lost his right arm in 1797.
Tales Of The Riverbank: A Canadian series narrated by Johnny Morris, this was a children's show about the adventures of a community of animals living by a riverbank. The show put real animals in highly anthropomorphised settings and situations. The star of the original show was Hammy Hamster. Presumably the show Lister was watching was a followup to the original "Tales", in the style of "The Next Generation" (a la "Star Trek").
St. Elsewhere: American hospital drama series of the mid-to-late 1980s, starring Denzel Washington and Ed Begley, Jr. Emphasis on realism and not always a 'happy ever after' ending.
Spiderman: Comic and cartoon superhero, born when reporter Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider. Created by Stan Lee in the early 1960s.
Valkyrie: One of the nine virgin semidivine priestesses of Freya (goddess of love and beauty) in Norse mythology.
Malden, Karl: (1914- ) American actor with a distinctive bulbous nose. Most famous roles include the movie "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951; for which he won an Oscar), the TV series "The Streets Of San Francisco" (mid-1970s, first with Michael Douglas and later with Richard Hatch), and the commercials for American Express ("Don't leave home without it").
The Blob: (1958) American movie starring Steve McQueen, in which the people of a small town are terrorised by an invading blob from space.
McQueen, Steve: (1930-1980) American actor. Best known movie roles in "The Blob" (1958), "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), "The Great Escape" (1963), "Papillon" (1973) and "The Towering Inferno" (1974).
** (Nelson) "I see no ships.": At the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, Nelson put a telescope up to his blind eye in order to avoid seeing a signal from his commander (Sir Hyde Parker) telling him to withdraw, which would have prevented Nelson from crippling the Danish fleet.
Nelson's remark at the Battle: "I have only one eye -- I have a right to be blind sometimes...I really do not see the signal."
** At the end of "Casablanca", Humphrey Bogart lies to Victor Laszlo to protect Laszlo's feelings: Rick (Bogart) lies to Laszlo, saying that Ilsa does not love him (Rick) any more, in order to save Laszlo jealousy and heartache if he were to believe that his wife did not love him.
** Parrot's Bar on G-Deck: Appears to have been modelled after the Blue Parrot bar from "Casablanca", which had as decorations parrot statuettes and live parrots on perches.
** The music playing as Kryten and Camille head out in Starbug: "The Blue Danube" (1867), a waltz by Austrian composer Johann Strauss.
** The song playing when Kryten and Camille are in the cinema: They are watching "Casablanca" and this song from it is called "As Time Goes By".
** Hector, Camille's husband: The something-that-dropped-out-of-the- Sphinx's-nose equivalent of Victor, Ilsa's husband, in "Casablanca".
** Camille: "Why my bag, Kryten?"
Kryten: "Because you're getting on that craft with Hector, where you belong."
Camille: "No, Kryten."
Kryten: "Now you've got to listen to me. Do you have any idea what you've got to look forward to if you stay here?"
Camille: "You're saying this only to make me go."
Kryten: "We both know you belong to Hector -- you're part of his work, you're what keeps him going. If you're not on that craft when it leaves the hangar, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, for the rest of your life."
Camille: "What about us?"
Kryten: "We'll always have Parrot's. <...> I'm no good at being noble, kid, but it's pretty obvious the problems of two blobs and a droid don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy cosmos."
Hector: "Are you ready, Camille?"
Camille: "I'm ready. Goodbye, Kryten. And bless you." Lines from the airport scene in "Casablanca" where Rick is convincing Ilsa to leave on the aeroplane with Victor. Ilsa: "But, why my name Richard?"
Rick: "Because <...> you're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong. <...>"
Ilsa: "But Richard no, I, I... <...>"
Rick: "Now you've got to listen to me. Do you have any idea what you've got to look forward to if you stay here? <...>"
Ilsa: "You're saying this only to make me go."
Rick: "<...> we both know you belong with Victor, you're part of his work -- the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life."
Ilsa: "But what about us?"
Rick: "We'll always have Paris. <...> I'm no good at being noble but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. <...>"
Victor: "Are you ready, Ilsa?"
Ilsa: "Yes I'm ready. Goodbye Rick. God bless you."
** Lister: "Kryten, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."
This line, as Lister and Kryten walk away together at the end, is from the final shot of "Casablanca", where Rick and the Prefect of Police, Louis (Claude Rains), walk away together across the airport ground.
Rick: "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Miller, Glenn: (1904-1944) American trombonist, and big band leader and melody arranger. Hits included "Little Brown Jug", "Pennsylvania 6-5000", "Moonlight Serenade", "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and "In The Mood". On his way from England to France to entertain troops during World War II, Miller's plane disappeared without trace (probably ditched into the English Channel); although a popular notion is that he was abducted by aliens with a taste for swing music.
Quantel: Video effect whereby a sequence of footage is split into a series of discrete single-image frames. Also, the manufacturers of a high-quality 2D painting and animation software/hardware package.
Como, Perry: (1912- ) American singer, and sometime actor and TV variety show host. Hits included many songs from movies, such as "Blue Moon" (from "Words And Music", 1958) and the No. 1 "Some Enchanted Evening" (from "South Pacific", 1949). Although, my hopelessly inadequate book fails utterly to mention what was stashed in his slacks during the singing of "Memories Are Made Of This".
Descartes, Rene: (1596-1650) French philosopher and mathematician. Famous for "I think, therefore I am" which the Red Dwarf posse like to adapt to *any* given situation.
Popeye: Created by E.C. Segar. Cartoon sailor who gets a strength boost from the goodness of spinach. Also a bit of a philosopher for his Popeye Principle "I am what I am." Frequently confused with Descartes.
The Louvre: Objets d'art museum (former palace) in Paris, home to such works as the "Mona Lisa" and the "Venus De Milo".
Nutkin: Character created by British author Beatrix Potter. Appearing in her children's book "The Tale Of Squirrel Nutkin" (1903).
Lake Michigan: A poppadom the size of this American lake would be 58020 square kilometres in area (22395 square miles).
** Lister: "How can the same smeg happen to the same guy twice?"
From the 1990 American movie "Die Hard 2: Die Harder", which had as its cinema publicity tag "How can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?!" Starring Bruce Willis as John McClane, who muses aloud as he finds himself in another basement, another elevator...
McClane: "How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?"
** The Chomp Thing: Not half man, half extra-hot Indian curry; but half man, half plant -- this is the title character of the "Swamp Thing" (1981 -- original idea from a comic book), an American film starring Louis Jourdan and Adrienne Barbeau.
** The 'Man-Plus' Lister gets turned into: Looks *very* much like the title character of the cyborg-policeman in the 1987 American film "Robocop", starring Peter Weller (1947- ), as Robocop, and Nancy Allen.
Ripley's Believe It Or Not: Newspaper feature, books, and TV show in which fantastic and 'unbelievable' things and/or events are presented to the eager public.
The Bengals: American-football team -- the Cincinnati Bengals -- whose players wear orange-and-black striped helmets.
Iranian jird: A small cute member of the rodent family, more properly called the Persian jird (Meriones persicus), this animal nonetheless has more discretion than Cats because if Cat's statement about its sex life is true, then the jird itself certainly isn't telling.
Hess, Rudolf: (1894-1987) German Nazi leader -- former private secretary, and later deputy Fuhrer, to Adolf Hitler. Captured in England in 1941, and sentenced to life imprisonment after the Nuremberg Trials, he died in Spandau Prison, Berlin.
Crunchie bars: Scrumdiddlyumptious chocolate-covered honeycomb bars, made by Cadbury.
Long John Silver: One-legged, parrot-carrying, cook-wannabe pirate character in Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure story "Treasure Island" (1883).
** Florence Nightingdroid: Presumably the mechanoid equivalent of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the British nurse who (during the Crimean War) established nursing practices that led (along with her later founding of a nursing school/home in London) to the revolutionising of nursing as a profession.
** Barbra Bellini in her lead-lined pod: Very probably a reference to a type of logic puzzle, in which a candidate must attempt to discern the whereabouts or not of some object placed into one of several caskets. The puzzles tell of two Renaissance Florentine casket-makers, Bellini and Cellini. Whenever one made a casket, he inscribed it with some clue to the puzzle -- the catch was that while Bellini's inscription *always* told the truth, and Cellini's inscription *always* lied, the candidate had no way of knowing which casket had been made by which craftsman. The puzzles popularly involved choosing between a gold, a silver and a lead casket -- reflecting the Cat's "What a dilemma!" of Barbra or not in the lead(-lined) pod/casket. So, are we now crying out for an example of this puzzle? Here is the one that FroggyGrem sent to me (and which I'm relieved to say I did figure out -- eventually! Whew!)...
Gold casket inscription: The dagger is in this casket. Silver casket inscription: This casket is empty. Lead casket inscription: At most, one of these three caskets was fashioned by Bellini.
The puzzle: Avoid choosing the dagger!
** "Take the Fifth!": Meaning the broad interpretation of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which (among other things) protects an individual against self-incrimination during legal process. Commonly and simplistically put "I refuse to answer, on the grounds that I may incriminate myself."
** Make my day: Written on the simulant's gun, this line is used by Dirty Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood), eg. in "Sudden Impact" (1983).
Ramses (or Rameses): Name shared by 11 kings of ancient Egypt.
Oates, Captain Laurence Edward Grace: (1880-1912) British Antarctic explorer, one of the party accompanying Robert Falcon Scott on the second expedition to the South Pole. After reaching the Pole in January 1912, the party was trapped by extreme blizzards on their return journey to their supply depot. Oates, suffering from severe frostbite and believing that the others would have a better chance of surviving if not held back by him, went out into the storms for his 'legendary walk'. His last words were recorded in Scott's diary (see below).
Scott, Robert Falcon: (1868-1912) British naval officer and explorer who led the second expedition to reach the South Pole (success in January, 1912). On the return journey all five members of the party perished. Their bodies and records were found in November of that year. Scott's diary, one of the surviving records, contains the last words of Captain Oates, spoken as Oates left the shelter for the last time. As noted by Scott in the diary, entry 16-17 March 1912, Oates said "I am just going outside and may be some time."
Stan and Ollie: The American comedy acting duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
Hardy, Oliver: (1892-1957) Rotund partner in the American comedy duo Laurel and Hardy (Stan Laurel was thin), who had great popular success in over 200 films during the late 1920s to mid-1940s. Hilarity came from how they set one another off -- Stan was the worrier and bumbler, Ollie the fastidious one with the slow- burning temper.
Robeson, Paul: (1898-1976) American bass (called baritone) singer, and sometime actor.
Aigburth Arms: A real pub, on Victoria Road, in Aigburth -- an area of (and former village outside of) Liverpool. Though its pool table allowed Lister to become the stuff of legend, this pub did not always have this apparatus on which to be a Cinzano Bianco.
** "I toast, therefore I am.": Variation on the "I think, therefore I am" principle by Rene Descartes.
Jaws: (1975) American movie about a man-eating shark which terrorises a small Long Island community. Starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss.
Hammond organ: Electric organ invented in America in 1934 by Laurens Hammond (1895-1973).
Morris dancing: English folk dancing involving dressing up in belled costumes and being subjected to the clonk of wood on wood; the dancers' faces may also sometimes be blacked. Possibly derived from the Moresca/Morisco (meaning 'Moorish'; a 15th century Spanish dance) or from other Moorish (morys) dances.
Delius, Frederick: (1862-1934) British composer. Works range from opera and orchestral music, to chamber music and songs.
Wagner, Richard: (1813-1883) German opera composer. Works include "Tristan Und Isolde" (1865) and "Parsifal" (1882).
** Condom fishing in the canal: Most likely Lister is talking about the Leeds Liverpool Canal, which has recently been subjected to a program of urban regeneration; including the reintroduction of fish. Apparently they didn't take...
** "We could try and hire a dance band and get them to play 'Abide With Me'.": Seeing as how Starbug is sinking, this is very possibly a reference to the sinking of the RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 14-15, 1912, with the loss of over 1500 lives. The dance band played as the Titanic sank (and perished along with the ship), although the hymn they are alleged to have played at the last was actually "Nearer My God To Thee".
** "Kids' TV series about a boy and his bush kangaroo.": This would be "Skippy" (1970s, starring Ed Devereaux and Tony Bonner) an Australian kids' TV series about, amazingly enough, a boy and his bush kangaroo. Skippy was 'our friend ever true' of the boy, whose name was in fact Sonny (played by Garry Pankhurst) and not Ace.
** Masonic handshake: Apparent secret handshake of the Freemasons (or Free and Accepted Masons), the largest worldwide secret society (evolved from stonemasons and cathedral-builders' guilds of the Middle Ages).
Irkutsk: Province and city of east-central Russia.
Goebbels, Paul Josef: (1897-1945) German Nazi leader and minister of propaganda from 1933. Poisoned himself when Berlin fell to the Allies.
Presley, Elvis: (1935-1977) The King is (officially!) dead. Long live the King!
Pope Gregory: [? that is, which *one* ?].
Tweety Pie: Cartoon canary character created by Warner Brothers Studios for their Loony Tunes series of cartoons.
Capone, Al: (1898-1947) American (Chicago) gangster/mafia man, head of a large criminal organisation which he had built up during the time of Prohibition. Capone spent 1931-1939 in prison for tax evasion. He eventually died of syphilis.
Mussolini, Benito: (1883-1945) Italian dictator and founder of the Fascist Movement; ally of Hitler during World War II.
Richard III: (1452-1485) King of England 1483-1485. Last Plantagenet king and last English king to die on the battlefield (defeated by Henry Tudor at Bosworth Field). Most famous for allegedly instigating the murder of his nephews (Edward V and his brother, Richard of York -- 'The Princes in the Tower'), although personally *I* believe that the villain was more likely to have been, say, the Duke of Buckingham (but don't get me started on this...).
Last, James: (1929- ) German-born cabaret/dance band leader and musician. Big success in Europe. Albums such as "Polka Party" and "Violins In Love" indicate both why Rimmer likes him so much and why he's in with the cream of evil on Waxworld! ;-)
Winnie-the-Pooh: A bear of very little brain. Teddy bear character created (1926) by the British writer A.A. Milne; Pooh and his cohorts being based on the toys of Milne's son Christopher Robin.
Lincoln, Abraham: (1809-1865) 'Honest Abe', 16th President of the USA (1861-5, Republican). President during the time of the American Civil War, he was concerned with preserving the Union and freeing the slaves. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play.
Sir Lancelot: Best fighting knight of the Round Table fellowship, in the legend of King Arthur.
Joan Of Arc: (c.1412-1431) French girl who (after inspiration from holy 'voices') led the French army in battles against the English, to free France from English domination. Eventually captured by the English, she was interrogated and tricked into admissions of witchcraft; soon afterwards she was burned at the stake in Rouen. She was canonised in 1920.
Day, Doris: (1924- ) American actress, singer and animal rights activist. Movies include "Lullaby Of Broadway" (1951), "Calamity Jane" (1953) and "The Pajama Game" (1957). Best-known song probably "Que Sera Sera"; oh well, what will be will be!
Messalina: (c.22-48) Wife of Roman emperor Claudius I. Promiscuous and conniving, Messalina manipulated Claudius into executing poor unfortunates who had displeased her in some way. She eventually received her come-uppance when she made a secret second marriage while still married to Claudius (who naturally was not going to stand for this, and so executed Messalina).
Caligula: (12-41) Gaius Caesar. Mentally unstable, cruel and depraved Emperor of Rome (37-41). Besides the 'excesses' mentioned by Lister in this episode, Caligula ('Little Boots') also made a consul of his favourite horse Incitatus. Finally an officer of the guard could stand this sort of rot no longer, and so Caligula was assassinated.
Boston Strangler: (c.1931-1973) Mutilating rapist who murdered 13 women (aged 19-85) in Boston, Massachusetts, from June 1962 to January 1964. His name came from his leaving of bows tied around his victims' necks or legs. In 1965 Albert de Salvo was arrested for lesser sexual offences; he later confessed to being the Boston Strangler but due to a legal technicality was never tried for these murders. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for his lesser crimes, but died in jail of stab wounds at the age of 42.
Boone, Pat: (1934- ) American singer. Songs include "Love Letters In The Sand" and "Speedy Gonzales".
Rasputin, Grigory: (1871-1916) 'Holy' man whose rather-too-well-heeded counsel to Tsarina Alexandra of Russia certainly did nothing to hinder the inevitability of the Russian Revolution. His debauchery and incredible political power could not be tolerated by the Russian nobles, a group of whom murdered Rasputin by poisoning him, shooting him, clubbing him on the head and then throwing him into the river where he finally drowned.
Gandhi, Mohandas (Mahatma): (1869-1948) Pacifist Indian nationalist leader, pushing for Indian independence from Britain, in a non- violent way. He was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist after the partition of the country into India and Pakistan.
Mother Teresa: (1910- ) Albanian-born Catholic nun, founder of a Charity order dedicated to helping the poor and destitute of India. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Dalai Lama: (1935- ) Self-exiled (as a protest against Chinese oppression) spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet.
Victoria: (1819-1901) Queen of Great Britain 1837-1901. Longest- reigning British monarch, and called 'Grandmother of Europe' by virtue of the marriages of her nine children and their descendants into the royal houses of Europe.
Coward, Noel: (1899-1973) British playwright, director, actor, composer and producer. Well-known play -- "Private Lives" (1930).
The Dirty Dozen: (1967) American/Spanish movie set during World War II, about a commando suicide squad recruited from lifer convicts (starring Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson). Novel by E.M. Nathanson.
** Rimmer's abuse of his troops, and the training of 'Arnie's Army': Are military ploys and training to get the most out of the troops and weed out the incompetent individuals, as demonstrated in such movies as "An Officer And A Gentleman" (1981) and "Full Metal Jacket" (1987).
Rimmer: "There's only two kinds from Assisi -- steers and queers. Which are you boy?"
Mimics for example lines from "An Officer And A Gentleman", starring Richard Gere and Louis Gossett, Jr. (as Sergeant Foley). Foley: "Only two things come out of Oklahoma (/Arizona) -- steers and queers. Which one are you, boy?"
** The white-hooded waxdroid in the Third Reich building: A member of the Ku Klux Klan, an American secret society (founded after the American Civil War) dedicated to white supremacy.
** The motorbike Rimmer is 'riding': Apparently a Norton.
Pilate, Pontius: Roman governor of Judea (26-36) who condemned Jesus to death. Gospels portray Pilate as reluctant to condemn Christ, but succumbing to mass pressure and releasing the thief Barabbas instead of Jesus.
Geronimo: (1829-1909) Chief and war leader of Chiricahua Apache Indians, who fought against US federal troops and settlers encroaching onto the Indian lands. Also the name popularly shouted when parachuting or performing some other exciting leap...
Camus, Albert: (1913-1960) French existentialist novelist; won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957.
Euclid: (c.330-c.260 BC) Greek mathematician specialising in plane and solid geometry, and in number theory.
Haiku: Form of Japanese verse, usually consisting of three lines, the first and third having five syllables, the second line having seven syllables.
Satsuma: A form of Japanese pottery, or a Japanese orange of the tangerine family. Either way, Lister does not speak it.
** Crane, Nirvanah: In Buddhism, nirvana is the attainment of serenity and enlightenment through the eradication of all desires.
Virgil: (70-19 BC) Roman poet who wrote the "Aeneid", the epic poem about the adventures of the hero Aeneas after the fall of Troy -- from his wandering the Mediterranean to his eventual settling/ founding of Rome. See also the PIP.
Agamemnon: Hero of Greek mythology (son of the King of Mycenae) who led the capture of Troy. After receiving the prophetess Cassandra as his prize, he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover during his return home.
Helen of Troy: Most beautiful woman in Greek mythology, the daughter of Leda and Zeus. Married to King Menelaus of Sparta, her abduction by Prince Paris of Troy precipitated the Trojan War (after which she returned to Sparta with her husband).
Taylor, A(lan) J(ohn) P(ercivale): (1906-1990) British historian and TV lecturer, specialising in modern British and European history.
Sistine Chapel: Chapel in The Vatican, most famously decorated with frescoes (by Michelangelo, done between 1508-1512) of scenes from the Book of Genesis.
Archangel Gabriel: Angel close to God, and variously a trumpeter, revealer, and foreteller of the births of John the Baptist (to Zacharias) and Jesus (to the Virgin Mary).
Poitier, Sidney: (1924- ) American actor and director. Films include "Lilies Of The Field" (1963, for which he won an Oscar), "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" (1967) and "To Sir, With Love" (1967).
Curtis, Tony: (1925- ) American actor. Films include "Some Like It Hot" (1959), "Spartacus" (1960) and "The Great Race" (1965).
** Who's Nobody: Presumably the version of the book "Who's Who" that deals with Nobodies rather than Somebodies.
** "They're chained together like Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis.": A reference to the movie "The Defiant Ones" (1958) starring Poitier and Curtis as respectively one black and one white convict chained together, who escape custody and must deal not only with being on the run but also with the issues of racism and their mutual animosity towards one other.
** The muzak playing as Kryten off-lines after his accident: The song "Copacabana" by American singer/songwriter Barry Manilow.
** Rimmer's journey to the dungeon of the Unspeakable One: The crown -of-thorns headpiece and the attachment to the cross is akin to Christ's last journey to His crucifixion.
** The Hooded Legions (with 'rather unconvincing red eyes'): Must be related to the Jawas of Tatooine in the movie "Star Wars" (1977), starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
** Rimmer's Self-Respect and Self-Confidence: Are musketeer-wannabes -- all for one and one for all!
Betty Boop: Early cartoon character created by Grim Natwick (who later went on to animate for the Disney Studios). Recently seen in the movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988), helping Eddie Valentine (Bob Hoskins) to mind his manners.
Schopenhauer, Arthur: (1788-1860) German philosopher who saw the world as a conflict of wills resulting in frustration and pain -- the only purpose in life must be to escape 'will' and its accompanying painful strivings.
Turner, Joseph Mallord William: (1775-1851) Prolific British artist famed for his landscapes (and apparently seascapes which look like the contents of Lister's nasal passages).
** Toastie Toppers: Presumably an inferior Low version of the toast- topping savoury snack made by Heinz; called, aptly enough, Toast Toppers. These are tasty savoury snacks which come in a ring-pull can, and are heated and eaten on toast. Simple.
Salvation Army: An international Christian evangelical organisation founded in Great Britain in 1865 by Methodist minister William Booth.
Hendrix, Jimi: (1942-1970) American singer and master guitar wizard. Songs include "Hey Joe", "All Along The Watchtower" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" (at Woodstock, 1969).
Yukon: Territory of Canada, settled during the gold rush of 1896-1910.
Liquid oxygen: The Cat is going to get *mighty* cold taking a shower in this -- to the tune of colder than minus 183 degrees C (minus 298 degrees F).
King Kong: Giant ape character from the 1933 American movie of the same name, starring Robert Armstrong and Fay Wray (also, a 1976 remake with Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange). King Kong is taken from his island home to New York, where he causes much havoc before falling to his death off the Empire State Building.
Ulysses: Roman name for the Greek mythological hero Odysseus. Hero of the Trojan War, subject of Homer's "Odyssey" and also appearing in his "Iliad".
Eiger: Mountain in the Swiss Alps, 3970 metres (about 13025 feet) high. And that is one *big* pile of laundry.
** Cat: "There's an old Cat proverb -- 'It's better to live one hour as a tiger, than a whole lifetime as a worm'."
Rimmer: "There's an old human proverb -- 'Whoever heard of a worm-skin rug?'."
Lines from the second pilot of Red Dwarf USA.
Cat (Terry Farrell): "There's an old Cat proverb that says it's better to live an hour as a tiger, than a lifetime as a worm."
Rimmer (Anthony Fuscle): "There's an old human saying -- 'Whoever heard of a worm-skin rug?'."
** The spaceship graveyard: One of the asteroids is home to a derelict Eagle ship, from the 1970s TV series "Space: 1999", starring Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. Elsewhere there is also a ship from the 1986 movie "Aliens" (starring Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn), as well as a Klingon ship from "Star Trek".
** "Like with Ulysses in that ancient Turkish legend.": Lister is twice confused. Firstly, as Kryten points out, the legend was Greek. Secondly, the Greek legend speaks of the hero as Odysseus (Ulysses is the Roman variation). Odysseus was a hero of the Trojan War (the Trojan Horse strategy was his idea), mentioned by Homer in both the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey". After the Trojan War Odysseus journeys home to Ithaca; on the way he must pass the Sirens' island. He fills the ears of his crew with wax, and binds himself to the mast of his ship, in order that none can hear or act upon the temptation of the Sirens' song.
** "This is Captain Tau of the SCS Pioneer.": Captain Tau was the captain of the Red Dwarf in the first pilot of Red Dwarf USA (and played by Lorraine Toussaint).
Herman Munster: Character created by Fred Gwynne (1926-1993) for the TV series "The Munsters" (also two spin-off films). Herman Munster was a caricature of the Frankenstein's monster a la Boris Karloff.
Jovian: Descriptive of the planet Jupiter.
Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi Da: (1573-1610) Italian baroque painter. Of course it's one of his paintings that Rimmer is contemplating, not the painter himself...
** "Like General George S. Patton, I believe in reincarnation.": Patton believed that in a previous incarnation he was a foot- soldier in Alexander The Great's army during the siege of Tyre (in modern Lebanon) in 332 BC.
** "Some of the physicists involved -- Heidegger, Davro, Holder, Quayle.": My one concession to pure speculation! Possibly these physicists are descended from some famous people of these names. Perhaps even Martin Heidegger (1889-1976; German philosopher), Bobby Davro ([?]- ; British comedian/entertainer), Alfred Theophil Holder (1840-1916; Austrian language scholar) and Dan Quayle (1947- ; former American vice president -- here's hoping that his descendant, with all his brilliance, knew how to spell 'potato').
** Legion: "My name is Legion, for we are many."
Line from the Bible (Mark 5:9, new King James Version)...
When Jesus asked the demon-possessed man his name, the man replied: "My name is Legion; for we are many."
PARALLEL -- For the detective AR game Lister is playing, the British movie "Gumshoe" (1971); starring Albert Finney as a Liverpudlian who dreams himself as a private eye involved in a murder case.
Sing Sing: American prison having a well-used electric chair.
Wimbledon: Lawn-tennis tournament (and the name of the centre in England at which the tournament is held).
Tarka Dall: Chick-pea-based Indian dish.
Bhindi Bhaji: Potato- or okra-based Indian dish.
Armageddon: The site of the final battle of nations that will lead to the end of the world (the Bible, Revelation 16:16).
** The car in Gumshoe: A 1938 Bentley.
** "No, the last thing they'll be expecting is for us to turn into ice-skating mongooses and dance the Bolero.": British ice-dancers
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won Winter Olympic gold medals (Sarajevo, 1984) with programmes that included their popular routine danced to Maurice Ravel's "Bolero" (1928).
** Butch Accountant And The Yuppie Kid: Parody of the American movie "Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid" (1969) starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
** "Senorita, tre tequilas por favore.": Miss, three tequilas please (Spanish).
Roundheads: During the English Civil War (1642-1651), supporter of Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarian cause. The Roundheads wore their hair short as was typical of men of the lower classes. See below.
** "One-nil to the pudding basins.": The conflict between Charles I (1600-1649; King of Great Britain 1625-1649) and Parliament (led by Oliver Cromwell, 1599-1658) resulted in the beheading of the King in 1649, and the establishment of the Commonwealth (1649- 1660) with Cromwell as Protector (1653-1658). Monarchy was restored in 1660 with Charles I's son Charles II (1630-1685; King of Great Britain 1660-1685).
** The man behind the grassy knoll: 'Gunman' (besides Lee Harvey Oswald) allegedly involved in the assassination of American president John F. Kennedy in Dallas, November 1963.
** Victory for the home eleven: A reference to the marvellous game of cricket, in which there are eleven standard playing members per team.
Thirty Years' War: (1618-1648) Major European war beginning as a religious conflict in Germany and shifting to a struggle for power by the Hapsburgs.
Hundred Years' War: (1337-1453) Conflicts between England and France over political alliances and English claims on the French throne.
Crusoe, Robinson: Shipwrecked title character of the novel (1719) by Daniel Defoe. See below.
Jane: Companion of Tarzan of the Apes (character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, 1912).
** A two-storey home with running water and a balcony-stroke-sun patio: The type of house built by victims of another shipwreck, "The Swiss Family Robinson" (novel by Johann Wyss, 1812-1813; a deliberate adaptation of Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe").
Nixon, Richard Milhous: (1913-1994) 37th President (1969-74) of the USA, a Republican. He resigned over scandals including his involvement in the Watergate cover-up.
Hapsburgs: European royals, imperial family of Austria-Hungary. Dating from the 10th century, the family members then came to rule as kings of Germany and as Holy Roman Emperors. At the height of their power the Hapsburg families ruled a large portion of Europe. Several Hapsburg divisions occurred, the last line of which ended rule early this century.
Borgias: 15th/16th century Italian (originally Spanish) noble family who had great political power in Renaissance Italy, and whose lifestyles were anything but sedate. The better-known members were the corrupt Pope, Alexander VI, and his two illegitimate children -- Cesare (cardinal and general) and Lucrezia (Duchess of Ferrara and political intriguer, and alleged to have had incestuous relationships with both her brother and father).
Louis XVI: (1754-1793) King of France 1774-1793. After the French Revolution in 1789, Louis and his family lost power, but not until 1792 were the Royal Family taken prisoner by the French government. After being tried for treason, Louis was guillotined in 1793.
** "Don't Nixon me, man!": Accusation of a cover-up, a la former American President Richard Nixon's (1913-1994) cover-up relating to the political scandal of Watergate.
** "His wife's an absolute cutie!": The wife of Louis XVI was Marie Antoinette (1755-1793).
The Oakland (HOLOSHIP): A town in northern California which is home to a sports stadium called the Oakland-Almeda County Coliseum.
"Eeeextraordinary!" (BACK TO REALITY etc): One of Chris Barrie's impressions is of David Coleman (a British sportscaster, [?] - ; that's him talking to Lester Piggott at Wembley in the later MELTDOWN piece), in which he uses the word 'extraordinary' a lot. The Red Dwarf cast have now taken to doing an impression of Chris Barrie doing an impression of David Coleman.
Billy The Kid (JUSTICE): Nickname of American outlaw William Bonney (1859-1881) who had allegedly killed over 20 men (the first at age 12) by the time he died.
Kenneth Williams (MELTDOWN etc): (1926-1988) British actor best known for his roles in the "Carry On" series of movies (also starring for the most part Sid James and Joan Sims), eg. "Carry On Henry" (1971), "Carry On Matron" (1972).
Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea (Unidentified): (1961) American movie about a futuristic undersea odyssey in an atomic submarine. Starred Walter Pidgeon and Joan Fontaine, and spawned a TV series. It is actually the TV series (1964-1967, starring Richard Basehart and David Hedison) that Craig Charles and Robert Llewellyn would be taking off -- the schlock 'special effects' are trademark of Irwin Allen, the producer/director responsible for both the movie and the series; and whose other notable projects include the TV series "Land Of The Giants" and "Lost In Space", and the movies "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972) and "The Towering Inferno" (1974).
Fiennes, Sir Ranulph (RIMMERWORLD): (1944- ) British explorer who made the first surface journey around the world's polar circumference.
Wembley (MELTDOWN): Sports stadium in London at which the FA (Football Association) Cup Final is held every year (since 1923).
Piggott, Lester (MELTDOWN): (1935- ) Champion British jockey; imprisoned in 1987 for tax evasion (returned to racing 1990).
Vat '69 (MELTDOWN): VAT is value added tax, Vat '69 is a type of whiskey.
** One of the model shots of Starbug leaving the Red Dwarf: Shows the blue police box TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) that is the transport vehicle for Doctor Who (in the British time-travel science-fiction show of the same name). All right yes I know we all know that, but it's just included for completeness' sake, okay?
"Who's the most unpopular man at a Borussia Munchengladbach match?" (Unidentified): A German football team.
Amish: Most insular and conservative faction of Mennonites, a Protestant religious group who reject worldliness (eg. in the form of using no modern technology and wearing no modern clothing styles) and live simple lives in emulation of early Christians. The main American community is in Pennsylvania.
** "We saw this Cuban guy who kept hitting bongo drums and calling for 'Lucy!'.": Apparently the ship was picking up transmissions of the 1950s TV show "I Love Lucy", starring Lucille Ball (1911-1989) and her then-husband, Desi Arnaz (1917-1986), a Cuban conga musician, singer, and later actor.
** "What if they're...the kind [aliens] that want to enter your bodily orifices and then burst out at inappropriate moments?": A reference to the 1979 British movie "Alien", starring Sigourney Weaver and John Hurt. In the movie, Hurt's character Kane has an alien 'embryo' deposited in his digestive system via an ovipositoral insertion through his mouth. The 'embryo' then chooses to burst out of Kane's upper abdomen during the Nostromo crew's meal, killing Kane and effectively ruining the appetites of the remaining, living diners. Most inappropriate indeed, and certainly not covered by Emily Post.
** Green, acid-filled butts: Another reference to the abovementioned movie "Alien". 'Green' is probably a matter of opinion, but the aliens in the movie (and its sequels) certainly had concentrated acid for 'blood'.
;-)
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