Following last week, the latest Red Dwarf is not only a return to form, but sees the return of a much loved character.
The Red Dwarf crew encounter a ship that is about to be destroyed by a black hole, so Lister (Craig Charles) recovers its “E-cargo” and stores it on the ship’s main system rather than a separate drive. It turns out to be an “SOS Virus” that controls the ship meaning they have to abandon it. Before they go, the ship’s machines ask if they are going to be rescued, but Rimmer (Chris Barrie) says no. Luckily, the virus is soon cured and the ship is saved. Unluckily, following the revelation that the machines are not being saved, all the machines on Red Dwarf go on strike.
The solution is to elect someone to represent all the machines on ship. Kryten (Robert Llewellyn) stands for election with Lister as his running mate, while Rimmer stands against him and blackmails Cat (Danny John-Jules) to be his running mate after he finds out Cat needs glasses to read. What follows is Trump-like smear campaigns, and appealing to the one most hated machine on the entire ship.
Now, I won’t mention which what this hated machine is, but while it is hated by the crew, it is loved by many Red Dwarf viewers. There is definitely a hint of welcoming nostalgia in this episode. There is also plenty of knowing references to the last US presidential election, although it is hard to figure out who between Rimmer and Trump is more likeable, if it is at all possible to like either of these smegheads.
“Mechocracy” is certainly the most memorable of all the episodes in Red Dwarf XII so far.
Red Dwarf XII is on Dave at 21.00.
