Red Dwarf episode
"Psirens"
Episode №	1
Airdate	October 7, 1993
Writer(s)	Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Director	Andy de Emmony
Guest star(s)	Jenny Agutter Samantha Robson Anita Dobson Clare Grogan Phil Manzanera
Series VI October 7 – November 11, 1993
Psirens Legion Gunmen of the Apocalypse Emohawk: Polymorph II Rimmerworld Out of Time
List of all Red Dwarf episodes...

"Psirens" is the first episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series VI^[1] and the 31st in the series run. According to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a red dwarf star is a small and relatively cool Star, of the Main sequence, either late K Events 3761 BC - The epoch (origin of the modern Hebrew calendar ( Proleptic Julian calendar) Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a BAFTA - and Emmy award-winning English actress best Samantha Jane Robson (b 22 March, 1966) in London) is a British actress who played PC Vicky Hagen in The Bill from 1998 Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949 in Stepney, London) is an English Television actress. Phil Manzanera (born Philip Geoffrey Targett-Adams, 31 January 1951 in London, England) is a musician and Record producer. Events 3761 BC - The epoch (origin of the modern Hebrew calendar ( Proleptic Julian calendar) Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) " Legion " is the second episode of Science fiction Sit-com Red Dwarf Series VI and the 32nd in the series run Gunmen of the Apocalypse is the International Emmy Award -winning third episode of Science fiction Sit-com Red Dwarf Series VI " Emohawk Polymorph II " is the fourth episode of the British Science fiction Sitcom TV show Red Dwarf VI " Rimmerworld " is the fifth episode of Science fiction Sit-com Red Dwarf Series VI and the 35th in the series run " Out Of Time " is the sixth and last episode of Science fiction Sitcom Red Dwarf Series VI and the 36th in the series run This is a list of television episodes from the Science fiction sitcom television series Red Dwarf. According to the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a red dwarf star is a small and relatively cool Star, of the Main sequence, either late K ^[2] It was first broadcast on the British television channel on 7 October 1993. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located ^[3] Written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor and directed by Andy de Emmony. Robert Grant is a British Comedy writer and Television producer, who was born in Salford and studied Psychology at Liverpool Doug Naylor is a British Comedy writer Science fiction writer and Television producer. The episode - which involves Psirens who try and lure the crew to them to feast on their brains - had its script published before the episode was broadcast. ^[4]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Cultural references 4 Reception 5 References 6 External links

Plot

Lister awakens with amnesia and Kryten explains that he's been in Deep Sleep aboard Starbug for the past 200 years. David "Dave" Lister (commonly referred to simply as Lister) is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Situation Kryten (full name Kryten 2X4B-523P) is a Fictional character in the British Science fiction Situation comedy Red Dwarf The British sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf prominently features many different spaceships'. When Rimmer and Cat both recover from their hibernation, Kryten updates them on the situation. Arnold Judas Rimmer BSC SSC is a Fictional character in the Science fiction Situation comedy Red Dwarf, played by Chris The Cat is a character in the British Science fiction Situation comedy Red Dwarf. Red Dwarf has been lost and they have been chasing the ship's vapour trail ever since. The British sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf prominently features many different spaceships'. Now there is a good chance of recovering Red Dwarf at last by heading through an asteroid belt that the large mining ship is forced to circumnavigate. The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the Planets Mars and Jupiter. However, the belt turns out to be a spaceship graveyard inhabited by Psirens, shape-changing GELFs who lure unwary travellers to them and suck out their brains. Shapeshifting is a common theme in Mythology and Folklore, as well as in Science fiction and Fantasy. GELF or simply GELF is an acronym for '''G'''enetically '''E'''ngineered '''L'''ife'''F'''orm.

Cat is almost lured by two attractive women and Lister sees Kristine Kochanski, who tells him that she has two children, Jim and Bexley, that are his. Following another illusion Starbug crashes onto an asteroid and Lister has to blast the front landing gear out, but is tricked twice while on the surface: once by an attractive woman, then by a Psiren masquerading as Kryten. Lister manages to get back on board Starbug safely. However, the airlock monitor fizzes on again and a second Lister appears on the screen. To determine who the wrong Lister is, the crew ask them to play guitar, which Lister does poorly but the Psiren does extremely well. They have found their imposter and blast it away. However, as Lister gets suitably upset by their accusations that he is a poor guitar player, the Psiren has disappeared.

A trail of yellow Psiren blood leads to the engine room. Lister and Cat stay behind to deal with a meteor shower, while Rimmer declines the offer to help, leaving Kryten to follow the psiren blood trail alone. A meteor shower, some of which are known as a "meteor storm" or "meteor outburst" is a celestial event where a group of meteors are observed to radiate from one point When Kryten finds the Psiren it changes into Professor Mamet, his creator. With no choice but to obey her commands, he climbs into the waste compactor and starts it up. Lister, Cat and Rimmer quickly appear to find Kryten's psi-scan and bazookoid, abandoned on the floor. Rimmer suddenly fades out as his hologramatic light bee battery runs flat. Now just the two of them, Lister and Cat walk up to the Psiren disguised as a vending machine. As they are attacked by the Psiren, Kryten, now cube shaped, waddles over to the edge of the walkway from the deck above and crashes down on top of it.

Production

This episode features the first appearance of Kochanski since series 2's "Stasis Leak", albeit as a Psiren illusion used to fool Lister. Kristine Z Kochanski is a Fictional character from the British Science fiction Situation comedy Red Dwarf. " Stasis Leak " is the fourth episode of the Science fiction Sit-com Red Dwarf series two and tenth in the series run Clare Grogan returned to play Kochanski. Samantha Robson plays a Psiren that lures him with an illusion of one of his teenage fantasies -Pete Tranter's sister. Samantha Jane Robson (b 22 March, 1966) in London) is a British actress who played PC Vicky Hagen in The Bill from 1998 Jenny Agutter plays another Psiren, this time an illusion of Kryten's creator Professor Mamet. Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a BAFTA - and Emmy award-winning English actress best Anita Dobson also appears as Captain Tau, part of the psiren illusion to fool Lister. Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949 in Stepney, London) is an English Television actress. Zoe Hilson and Elizabeth Anson both appear as Temptress' in a Psiren illusion to tempt the Cat. Zoe Hilson is an English actress. She appeared in four episodes of As Time Goes By in 1995 as Lionel's secretary Daisy ^[5]

"Red Dwarf - Primordial Soup: The Least Worst Scripts" contained, among others, the script for the "Psirens" episode. Edited by Grant Naylor and published by Penguin books, it was released just a few months before the episode was broadcast. ^[4]

Cultural references

The scene where Lister has to convince his crewmates that he is the true Lister and the other Lister is in fact a psiren seems somewhat inspired by a similar scene in in the Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Destroy", where there are two James T. Kirks and the real one has to convince Spock that the other is a fake. Spock (sometimes referred to as Mr Spock) is a main character in the original Star Trek TV series Among the derelicts in the asteroid field are models of the Narcissus escape shuttle from Alien (1986) and the Eagle from Space: 1999 (1975). Alien is a 1979 science fiction / Horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver. Space 1999 ( ITC Entertainment and RAI, 1975-77 is a British science-fiction television series ^[6]

Reception

The episode was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 October 1993 in the 9:00pm time slot. ^[3] The ratings had yet again increased on the previous series,^[7] although the series' new direction received a mixed response from critics, Sci-Fi. com stating that it was "no less funny",^[8] while others felt that the character-driven comedy replaced by exploration of SF concepts and situation-based humour did not work as well. ^[9]

References

External links

• Psirens at the Internet Movie Database
• Red Dwarf: Psirens - TV.com
• Episode Guide - Series 6 at RedDwarf.co.uk

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