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04 Is there an American version of Red Dwarf?




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This article is from the Red Dwarf FAQ, by Patrick M. Berry pat@interpath.com with numerous contributions by others.

04 Is there an American version of Red Dwarf?

No, not really. The NBC network expressed interest in an American version
of the show and two pilots were made by Universal, but no series was ever
produced.

The first pilot was written by Linwood Boomer and filmed on 22 January 1992
at Universal City Studios in Los Angeles. The cast included the following
actors:

  Dave Lister          Craig Bierko
  Arnold Rimmer        Chris Eigeman
  Holly                Jane Leeves
  The Cat              Hinton Battle
  Kryten               Robert Llewellyn
  Kristine Kochanski   Elizabeth Morehead
  First Officer Munson Michael Heintzman
  Captain Tau          Lorraine Toussaint

Grant Naylor served as technical consultants. Robert Llewellyn (from the
BBC cast) reprised his role as Kryten. The plot was a retelling of "The
End", with some elements of "Future Echoes" thrown in for good measure.
Some surprising and odd changes were made: Lister was transformed into a
clean-cut and well-dressed Caucasian, and the H on Rimmer's forehead was
replaced with a silver marble. (You can see a transcription of the first
pilot at http://www.crosswinds.net/~mvbeast/scripts/ams.htm.)

After this version was rejected, Grant Naylor filmed a second pilot with
the following cast:

  Dave Lister   Craig Bierko
  Arnold Rimmer Anthony Fuscle
  Holly         Jane Leeves
  The Cat       Terry Farrell
  Kryten        Robert Llewellyn

The second pilot was not a complete episode, but rather a promo that
combined scenes from the first pilot, bits from the BBC series, and newly
filmed segments spotlighting the new cast members. This pilot fixed some
problems (such as restoring Rimmer's H), but had more odd changes, such as
a female Cat. (Terry Farrell went on to play Jadzia Dax on Star Trek: Deep
Space Nine.) The second pilot was also rejected, and the proposed series
was shelved indefinitely.

[Does anyone know who wrote the second pilot, or when and where it was
filmed? -- PMB]

Neither pilot has ever been aired or released on videocassette, but bootleg
copies can be found at science fiction conventions.

A redesigned Kryten suit (of somewhat better quality than the old BBC
version) was made for the U.S. pilots by Joseph Kerezman and Mike Moore of
JK2 Costumers. After the pilots were rejected, the BBC created a new Kryten
suit (based on the U.S. one) for Series 6.

 

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