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For a show that's been going as long as Red Dwarf, there are bound to be a few inconsistencies on the old plot front from time to time.
Not only that, but as it's also a show that combines so many genuinely scientifically sound ideas with wibbly-wobbly time-travel storylines that things can get pretty confusing if you think about them for too long.
Yes, we know we're dealing with a sitcom rather than full-on sci-fi like Star Trek, but dammit it's still sci-fi and we're still nerds, so we can't help but take it too seriously. Here are a few unexplained scenarios that make us reach for Rimmer's Chinese worry balls.
1. Which Rimmer is currently in the show?
Problem: The Rimmer we know and love left his crew to become the latest Ace Rimmer in series 7. In series 8, a completely different Rimmer was created by Kryten's nanobots, who was essentially a copy of Rimmer from just before the crew got wiped out in series 1, without any of the 'growth' he had achieved since then.
However, since the Dave era, the Rimmer we have been laughing at appears to be the original Rimmer, as he has memories of events that happened in early series (such as the Despair Squid), and is once again a hard-light hologram.
So what happened after series 8? In that finale, the nanobot-Rimmer was trying to find a way to get into the mirror universe where Lister and co were hiding out, kicking Death in the balls in the process. So, how come the original Rimmer is back and what the hell happened?
Solution: As of series 11, there has yet to be an official solution. But fans have speculated that there must have been some kind of switcheroo between the Rimmers that we have yet to see/hear about.
One theory suggests that the original hologram Rimmer just so happened to make his return to Red Dwarf as it was being destroyed, and saw the nanobot Rimmer as a perfect opportunity to escape his (most likely) failed adventures as Ace. And thus, the nanobot Rimmer became Ace, and original Rimmer found his way back to Lister and the gang.
There's hope that this story will be resolved in the upcoming 12th series, as the finale episode is titled 'Skipper', which just so happened to be Ace's nickname for Lister back in series 4.
2. What happened to the resurrected Red Dwarf crew?
Problem: At the end of series 8, the resurrected Red Dwarf began to be destroyed by a lethal corrosive microbe. Captain Hollister and the rest of the crew then departed using all the remaining ships, including several Blue Midget and Starbug crafts.
Lister, Kryten, Cat, Kochanski and presumably Rimmer (see above) managed to escape into the mirror universe, and were able to find a cure to fix the ship back to normal. By series 9, they had the run of the ship to themselves once again.
But what happened to Hollister, Ackerman, Petersen, Selby, Chen and the rest of the resurrected crew? They're presumably still out there somewhere, travelling around space without a main ship.
By series 9, it is mentioned that Kochanski had taken a Blue Midget to escape Red Dwarf in between series 8 and then (more on that in a minute), but Hollister made it sound like he was going to be taking them all, and that there weren't any more for Lister's gang and the rest of the convicts to use. So where did that Blue Midget come from?
Solution: It's horrible to think about, but there's a big chance that since series 8, the Dwarfers were able to recover some of the craft used by the resurrected crew, after they had crashed or been abandoned. This would explain why Lister was so determined on getting Starbug back in series 10's episode 'Entangled'.
However, this also means that the rest of the resurrected crew may have died through various means since they escaped in series 8. It's even worse when you think about the convicts. Did they just get eaten alive by the microbe? Or did Lister's gang get the antidote working in time? And if it's the latter, where did they put the convicts? Is Kill Crazy (aka Max Branning from EastEnders) still down there?
Kryten may have been able to recover his nanobots since series 8, and could have replenished the ship with the missing crafts. This would also explain why the ship from series 9 onwards looking somewhat different to series 8.
3. What was up with Kochanski and Lister's relationship?
Problem: In series 1 and 2, Kochanski was an officer that Lister simply had a crush on, and only shared 173 words with, according to Holly. They never properly went out or had a sexual relationship. But in later series, Kochanski was Lister's ex.
In a flashback in series 7, Kochanski said to Lister that "there was more to life than hanging out in your bunk, eating delivery curries and having fantastic sex". Wait, so they did go out then?
Solution: This is the first of several issues in Red Dwarf that could be explained away by all the various fiddling with timelines that the boys have done over the years.
Although it hasn't actually been said so on screen, there's a chance that in one of the various alterations to the timeline, that it led to Kochanski and Lister having a more important relationship.
But there's another fascinating theory that could make a lot of sense. When Kochanski arrived in series 7 from an alternate universe, she looked completely different. Sure, this was because actress Chloe Annett replaced Clare Grogan, but is there something else at play here?
In series 5, the boys meet the terrifying villain The Inquisitor, who travelled through time and exterminated people who he deemed didn't live a fulfilling life, and replaced them with the sperms or eggs that didn't get a chance.
Some fans have speculated that the series 1 Kochanski (Grogan) was actually a replacement made by the Inquisitor, after he had deemed the 'original' version (Annett) unworthy. But when the Inquisitor was removed from history by Lister, the Kochanski who looked like Annett was restored. Still with us?
Though, that wouldn't explain why the Psirens appeared to Lister as Grogan-Kochanski in series 6. But let's pretend that didn't happen, as we like the theory.
4. How come Lister and Kochanski didn't end up together like in 'Stasis Leak'?
Problem: In series 2 episode 'Stasis Leak', the boys find a weird phenomenon in the ship, which allowed them to travel back in time to another point in the ship, before the rest of the crew was wiped out.
During this adventure, Lister found himself face-to-face with a future version of himself with a dodgy beard, who was now married to Kochanski. Future Lister tells him the only way it could work out this way is if Lister goes back to where he came from and wait five years.
A few years passed, and this clearly didn't happen. And it wasn't ever referenced ever again. What gives?
Solution: This is another issue that can simply be explained by all the timeline-messing exploits of the boys in the episodes 'Timeslides', 'Out of Time' and 'Tikka to Ride' among others. Perhaps by fiddling around too much, it made this option for Lister and Kochanski impossible.
Another theory for this is that the future Lister he met in 'Stasis Leak' was actually a Lister from a different timeline. He could have been the same Lister who he met in 'Future Echoes', where a 171-year-old version appeared to him and spoke about his future children and family.
OR, the 'Stasis Leak' Lister may have been the 'evil' Lister who became a brain in a jar in 'Out of Time', before the boys killed them off by destroying the time drive. Suffice to say, the Lister he met in 'Stasis Leak' is most likely not his actual future self.
5. What happened to Lister's kids?
Problem: In series 2, Lister actually gave birth to two sons, Jim and Bexley, after shagging his female equivalent in a parallel universe where gender roles and sexual organs were reversed (just go with it).
However, due to a problem with time in their universe, the boys grew to be 18 years old after just three days, and so Lister gave them back to their 'dad'. We have not seen or heard from them since. Surely Lister's wondering what his kids are up to?
In 'Future Echoes', Rimmer saw a future vision of Bexley being killed on board Red Dwarf while trying to repair the Navicomp. It is not known whether this is the same Bexley that Lister gave birth to, or one from yet another dimension (perhaps the same dimension as 171-year-old Lister, also from 'Future Echoes').
Solution: Yeah, we don't really have a solution, here. As of series 11, the boys have yet to visit or receive a visit from Lister's twin boys.
There's always a chance that some kind of timeline tampering led to their wiping from existence, explaining why no one has mentioned them for ages. But if not, surely it's only a matter of time before they have a father-son reunion?
6. Is Kochanski alive?
Problem: Not so much a plot hole, but more of an unanswered question. In between series 8 and 9, Kochanski left Red Dwarf to travel on her own in a Blue Midget.
For years, Kryten made up a story that she had died after being sucked out of an airlock, in order to protect Lister's feelings, as her apparent real reasons for leaving was because she felt that Lister was wasting his life. But due to Kryten's jealousy towards Kochanski, he's never been one to fully believe, especially now that he's learned how to lie.
After discovering that she's alive, Lister makes it his mission to find her and bring her back to the ship. Aside from a couple of small references to her in series 10 and 11, she has yet to make a reappearance.
Solution: We have yet to fully discover exactly what happened to Kochanski and where she went, as Kryten's a bit of an unreliable narrator with this one.
Theories claim that she left in order to find the rest of the resurrected Red Dwarf crew, or that she left to find a way to reunite with her original timeline's crew, including the 'other' Lister, her lover.
7. How come Lister had two appendixes?
Problem: In the series 2 episode 'Thanks for the Memory', Rimmer says that because Lister gave him eight months of his memory, he had memories of having his appendix out twice – one for Lister and one for himself.
However, in the series 6 episode 'Legion', Legion removes Lister's appendix for a second time.
Solution: Perhaps Lister regrew his appendix using futuristic medical technology? The DNA machine in 'DNA' would have potentially put it back when changing Lister back into a human after accidentally becoming a chicken.
Or maybe it's those pesky time-travelling issues again. Remember when Rimmer messed about with the Tension Sheet in 'Timeslides'? When he returned, he was no longer a hologram and was alive again, for no apparent reason (for about five minutes before accidentally blowing himself up). Something he did changed something.
Maybe the same thing happened to Lister, when he got resurrected in 'Timeslides', he came back complete with a new appendix.
However, co-creator Doug Naylor has actually explained at various conventions that Lister simply had two appendixes. That settles that one, then.
8. How many people were on board Red Dwarf?
Problem: In series 1, Lister says that out of the 169 crew members, he ranked #169.
However, in series 4, Rimmer is tried with 1,167 counts of murder by 'killing' the whole crew. So how many people were there?
Solution: While there may have been 169 crew members, fans have theorised that there could have simply been 1,000 civilians on board. If you exclude Rimmer and Lister, that makes 1,167 passengers.
If true, this would imply that those involved in mining, rather than maintenance staff like Lister and Rimmer, were classified as civilians, as they were employees of Jupiter Mining Corporation rather than members of the Space Corps. Plus, there's a large number of prisoners in The Tank to take into account.
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