I’m a big fan of the exploits of the crew of the small rouge one: Dave Lister, Arnold Rimmer, Holly, The Cat, Kryten and Kristine Kochanski. In 1994, the show’s episode Gunmen of the Apocalypse won an international Emmy award and the series was voted “Best BBC Comedy Series” at the British Comedy Awards. The show was very popular in Britain, garnering upwards of eight million viewers for the eighth season in 1999.

The series follows the crew of the Jupiter Mining Corporation ship Red Dwarf. In the first episode, titled The End, Lister is busted for having an unauthorized cat on board the ship. Instead of turning over the cat he chooses to spend the rest of the mission in stasis, forfeiting his pay. Holly, the ship’s computer, wakes Lister several million years later after a radiation mishap has killed off the rest of the crew. With Lister being the last human in the universe (for all we know) Holly resurrects Lister’s crewmate Arnold Rimmer as a hologram in an attempt to preserve Lister’s sanity. During the millions of years that have passed, Lister’s pregnant cat’s offspring evolved into a race of Felis Sapiens, of which The Cat is the final member of the initial cast of the show.

Red Dwarf is comedy gold with a wildly evolving SciFi premise. Check the Worlds Collide discussion on the show for recommendations.

Check after the jump for more great clips.