Dwarfcasts (a Red Dwarf Podcast)

Last Friday morning - a mere twelve hours after Skipper had landed on UKTV Play - a DwarfCast splinter group consisting of Ian Symes, Danny Stephenson and Jo Sharples descended on returning guest star Mac McDonald's house, and he foolishly decided to let us in, for the second time in as many years. Later that night, we played you a brief snippet during the Live DwarfCast, but our conversation was long and rambling, so here's the full-length uncut version. Our rambling chat touched upon all manner of Skipper-related topics, such as last-minute script amendments, the similarities between Mac and Hollister, the benefits of budget constraints, Doug's approach as a director and what happened to Hollister after Series VIII. We also touched upon such diverse topics as lost luggage, being cast in Batman, Donald Trump, pornography, moustaches and tales from the rehearsals of the Red Dwarf Movie.

It's the final live DwarfCast of the series, and this very special occasion is marked with an almost full set of G&Ters gathering in the same room at the same time. John Hoare, Tanya Jones, Danny Stephenson and Ian Symes, along with returning guest star Jo Sharples of the Red Dwarf Fan Club, came armed a whole heap of opinions on the series finale, and a few surprises up our sleeves, the most exciting of which is an exclusive interview with...

In what is possibly a first for G&T, a consensus has been formed regarding the quality of a new episode, and it's not negative. To document this momentous occasion, 80% of the team - namely Jonathan Capps, John Hoare, Tanya Jones and Ian Symes - congregated to explain exactly how this has come about, along with our excellent guests Jo Sharples and Shelley Smith, both of the Official Red Dwarf Fan Club. Join us for noticeably jollier than average discussion about all things M-Corp, including perception filters, word counts, virtual worlds, puppetry, birthday presents, startup sounds, vibrators, radio jingles, and whether or not cats wank. We also round up Richard Naylor's revelations on Mechocracy, find ourselves once again pondering the possibility of a Red Dwarf Movie, and look ahead to what appears to be a jam-packed series finale.

Dust off your rosettes and buff up your ballot box, it's time for the strong and stable podcast that caters for the few, not the many. Mechocracy is this week's political hot potato, but G&T failed to return a majority, so John Hoare and Ian Symes entered into a coalition of chaos with Joey Newsome and Carrie Parsons of the Fan Club, and independent member Curtis Threadgold. Topics on the agenda include manipulative mopping, surprise re-appearances, how many times Rimmer has killed himself, smear campaigns, the women of Doncaster, and how many letters there are in the names of various colours. We also find time to squeeze in Some News, look ahead to M-Corp and end on an impromptu examination on how the Dave era is perceived.

Who'd have thought it: the episode about a place where criticism is illegal is the one that's attracted more criticism than any other this series. Join John Hoare, Tanya Jones, Danny Stephenson, Ian Symes and the Fan Club's Jo Sharples for a spot of criticising, castigating, chiding, blaming, harping, panning and scoffing at Timewave. It's not pretty at times, but I'd like to think we at least covered the reasons why we reacted so badly to the episode, and we were aided by two fantastic guests - Shelley Smith and Dan Pendleton - to give their perspectives on some of the trickier topics. The brilliant subjects that we really enjoyed discussing to death included the problematic portrayal of the Enconium's crew, Cat's problematic attitude to women, unresolved plots, repetitive jokes and speedy resolutions. Plus, for the second week in a row we discuss the word "clitoris" and Operation Yewtree, although not at the same time. On the plus side, there are positive comments at a rate of roughly one every twelve minu

Whose idea was it to do a live DwarfCast on Friday 13th? This was supposed to be the first glorious coming together of the entire G&T team this series, but while Jonathan Capps and Danny Stephenson successfully dialled in to join Ian Symes and "guest" Jo Sharples at G&T Towers, John Hoare and Tanya Jones were stuck in traffic as a result of a local stabbing. Would they make it to Broadcunting House in time to discuss all things The One Where Everyone's Kryten with us? Tune in to find out, as well as discovering which side of the "best episode in years"/"worst episode in years" axis we all sit, the implications of Rimmer's dream of being a fish, the difference between a MILF and a clitoris, and the origins of Baby Don't Be Ovulating Tonight. Plus, we round up all the latest news we've neglected to write about properly, give our thoughts on the latest UKTV Play controversy, and do a live audio-only taste-test of some actual Leopard Lager.

The long wait is finally over. Red Dwarf is BACK and so are our LIVE DwarfCasts - in a change from Series XI, these are now happening at UKTV pace, meaning they're back to being (almost) Instant Reactions. First up, a rather under-strength G&T team was represented by Ian Symes, joined by a trio of guests: Jo Sharples of The Official Red Dwarf Fan Club fame, Helena Raymonde of hanging round car parks with Robert Llewellyn fame, and Clayton Hickman of actual fame. Yes, the former editor of Doctor Who Magazine and writer for The Sarah Jane Adventures and Wizards vs Aliens popped round to G&T Towers to chat all things Cured. Topics included Hitler, wheelchair ramps, shooting someone in the face, UKTV Originals branding, Hitler again, Stalin's lookalikes, the quality of Series XII's special effects, the quality of Series XII's episode titles, more Hitler, and whether or not Lister should just fuck off.

With just over a month until Red Dwarf XII debuts on Dave (and most likely just under a month until it debuts on UKTV Play), what the world needs right now is another discussion about Series VII. Luckily, we've picked one of the better episodes of that particular run as the subject for our latest commentary. Get ready to update your spreadsheets at home, and tick off Stoke Me A Clipper. Join Cappsy, Danny, Ian and the Fan Club's Jo Sharples (who, by the way, has recently announced the dates for the next Dimension Jump), as we discuss such diverse topics as the perils of a cold opening for a small child, Craig Charles's secret past as a Leeds United supporter, the similarities between Ace Rimmer and Ford Prefect, another early role on Red Dwarf for Richard Naylor, plastikkrokodil and why Lister's tie is so shiny. Plus, we offer up a possible solution to a plot hole that's been bugging Cappsy for over twenty years.

It can't have escaped anyone's attention that things have been a bit slow on the old DwarfCast front of late. It's becoming increasingly difficult to get sufficient numbers of us together in the same room, but we managed to gather three on a Friday night last month. And how did we mark this rare and joyous occasion? By watching the fourth worst Red Dwarf episode of all time. You're welcome. So join Jonathan Capps, Danny Stephenson, Ian Symes and the Fan Club's Jo Sharples as we discuss mostly the bad bits of Only The Good..., covering such diverse topics as how to amuse yourself in prison, multiple piss-poor fonts, Danny John-Jules's cracking set of pins, having it off with Hollister, what the opposite of lemon is, and Richard Naylor's first producer job.

It has now been a full seven days since the start of The Official Red Dwarf Fan Club's nineteenth convention, but the feeling of elation is yet to wear off, along with the taste of the booze and the total physical and mental exhaustion. To preserve the memories for years to come, as well as to fill in those who were unable to attend, a merry band of extremely tired people congregated in a hotel room on the Sunday night to record the traditional post-DJ DwarfCast.

All around the world, Red Dwarf fans have been on tenterhooks for the past seven days, desperately longing to find out the G&T team's semi-retrospective thoughts on the second half of Series XI. Rejoice, because the moment you've been waiting for his finally here, as Cappsy, John, Tanya, Danny and Ian conclude their revisit by documenting their thoughts on Officer Rimmer, Krysis and Can of Worms, as well as touching on the DVD/Bluray release, conclusions on the series as a whole, and the forthcoming Series XII.

Yes, DwarfCasts are finally back, following a four month wait between the end of Series XI and a day on which almost all of us could be in the same room. Has this additional thinking time enabled us to process our thoughts on the series enough to provide a coherent and insightful analysis as to where it went right and where it went wrong, or will it be the usual mix of ranting, swearing and giggling? Join Jonathan Capps, John Hoare, Tanya Jones, Danny Stephenson (down the line from our Yorkshire branch) and Ian Symes to find out.

So here we are, after seven weeks Red Dwarf XI has finally been released in its entirety and so ends our own immediate coverage of the series. At least until the DVD and Bluray come out, that is! So, for the final time this year, please join Ian Symes, Tanya Jones, John Hoare, Jonathan Capps, Danny Stephenson and perma-guest Jo Sharples as they pick through the final episode and the series as a whole and try to work out where XI currently places in the pantheon of Dwarf.

As we hurtle towards series end, we gather to analyse the living fuck out of Krysis. Join Ian Symes, John Hoare (in his triumphant return to the land of the not hospitalised), Tanya Jones, Daniel Stephenson and Jonathan Capps along with the Fan Club's Jo Sharples as they lift their respective cloches, revealing the tasty, tasty opinions within.

Prepare yourself for a damn good Rimming as we round up our immediate post-broadcast coverage of Officer Rimmer in our live reaction DwarfCast, presented to you here to be enjoyed at your leisure. Join Ian Symes, Jonathan Capps, Danny Stephenson, the Fan Club's Jo Sharples as they thrash through the many talking points generated by the episode, and try to pick through the many and varied opinions generated. Oh, and we also have a massive moan about UKTV Play.

Rounding out our immediate coverage of Give & Take we now present to you the archived version of this Thursday's LIVE DwarfCast, where we dissected the episode for all of its jucy, jucy kidneys. Present were Ian Symes, Tanya Jones, Jonathan Capps, Danny Stephenson, the Fan Club's Jo Sharples and an intermittently snoring and purring black short hair called CJ. Discussion topics this week include the large number of talking points generated by the episode, as well as some breaking DVD news, speculation as to how the mobile game will eventually represent the events of the episode and finally a preview of what's to come next week / today.

Samsara sara, whatever will be will be. The future's not ours to see, so instead, head very slightly into the past with this downloadable version of Thursday night's live reaction DwarfCast for Samsara. Jonathan Capps, Tanya Jones, Danny Stephenson, Ian Symes and TORDFC's Jo Sharples were on hand to talk you through all their complicated feelings about the episode, along with some little known facts, an update on Red Dwarf XI: The Game, a preview of Give & Take and a round-up of the latest Dwarfy news, including the DVD details, a teased plot for Series XII and more rumblings about a stage show.

Message incoming: G&T are back with their first live DwarfCast in nearly four years. Consequently there's a bit of rustiness, and an inexplicable moment where the host gets the name of his star guest wrong even though he's reading from a script, but there's also a tremendous amount of laughs, breaking news and searing insight, as Jonathan Capps, Danny Stephenson and Ian Symes are joined by guests Alex Newsome, Joey Newsome, Tom Pyott and Jo Sharples to discuss all things Twentica. As well as the biggest and smallest talking points from the episode, we also cover the fan screening event, first impressions of Red Dwarf XI: The Game, some preliminary spoiler-free previewing of Samsara and to cap it all. an exclusive interview with Big Bang Beryl herself Rebecca Blackstone, presented for the first time at an audible level.

It's the end! No, wait, the opposite of that. It's The Beginning, as we draw our coverage of Series X to a close, just in time for the coverage of Series XI to begin. Join Jonathan Capps (via Skype), Tanya Jones, Danny Stephenson, Ian Symes and the Fan Club's Jo Sharples as we discuss such burning issues as how many of the Rimmer brothers are illegitimate, what Arnold's dying words actually were, including whether or not he even said "gazpacho soup" in the first place, and our feelings on Series X as a whole, with the benefit of nearly four years of thinking time. Plus, we bring you a round-up of all the major Red Dwarf XI news that didn't make it to the front page of G&T in the last week, and the long-awaited announcement of how exactly we'll be covering the new series, bearing in mind that the release schedule for each episode is a confusing, divisive mess. Listen to the DwarfCast for far too much detail about our reasoning, but the short version is this: Live DwarfCasts at broadcast pace. Written mat

Rejoice as we finally reach everyone's favourite episode of Series X, Dear Dave. Your intrepid team - Tanya Jones, Danny Stephenson, Ian Symes and TORDFC's Jo Sharples - tackle such topics as the nature of the JMC on-board computer, the best burial place for a shit episode, Alphonse Areola, and a potential spin-off series for Asso: Spanish Detective. Oh, and sexism. Let's see if this shitty little (mostly) boys' club can sort out that thorny problem once and for all. But before all that, a round-up of the latest Red Dwarf XI news, and all the details you need to get your hands of one of five pairs of tickets to Dave's exclusive fan screening of the first two episodes. Yes, you have to listen to the actual DwarfCast in order to get the instructions, but don't worry, it's quite near the start.