From: gavinclayton@dslDONTpipexSPAMcomME   
      
   Little feature on Red Dwarf in this month's SFX magazine, the "Jumping   
   the Quark" feature, in which they decide at what point a TV show   
   started to suck. Lets see whether SFX are talking shit.   
      
   The helpful graph shows that they have a slightly different opinion   
   than you'd expect: they think the show hit a high in series 2, then   
   went on a steady decline ever since. I actually agree with that,   
   because the early series are my favourites; but I thought most people   
   considered series 5 - "Back to Reality" in particular - the ultimate   
   high point.   
      
   They say:   
      
   "By the end of the fifth series, the show was visibly flagging - ideas   
   were starting to feel stale and recycled, with 'Back to Reality' (a   
   Xerox of 'Better Than Life') concluding the season with a real damp   
   squid [sic] of an ending. Season six followed down the same path..."   
      
   They consider the introduction of Kochanski in series 7 to be the   
   biggest blow to the show:   
      
   "Having her turn up as a space cadet that was more annoying to the   
   audience than the crew did the show no favours; it made you wonder why   
   Lister had ever cared about her in the first place. The blame falls at   
   Doug Naylor's feet rather than Chloe's - he simply couldn't write   
   convincing female dialogue, preferring instead to pile on jokes about   
   shopping."   
      
   Gavin   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)