red-dwarf-xi-3Lister needs the Cat’s help…

Probably the episode of Red Dwarf that I laughed at most out of the last four or five series, Give and Take works on multiple levels, helped by some good model work, some location shooting, a strong musical score, and the pace never being allowed to flag. The gags that are set up from the start of the episode pay off at the end; the plot makes sense (or as much as any episode of Red Dwarf is likely to do); the characters are true to themselves – after all most of them are intrinsically self-centred and the situation this episode puts them in plays to that entirely.

The repartee and the sharp performances take you beyond the fact that Red Dwarf XI isn’t exactly functioning on the highest budget in the world – the robot design deliberately plays off that, with its nods to predecessors on the small screen. But then Red Dwarf at its heart is about the characters and the way in which they play off each other – and that’s something that this episode does well.

Verdict: One of the most fun episodes for a long time. 8/10

Paul Simpson