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Red Dwarf/D.N.A.
| D.N.A. | |
| Season 4, Episode 2 | |
| Airdate | February 21, 1991 |
| Written by | Rob Grant, Doug Naylor |
| Directed by | Ed Bye |
| ← 4x01 Camille |
4x03 → Justice |
| Red Dwarf — Season Four | |
D.N.A. is the second episode of the fourth season of Red Dwarf, and the twentieth episode overall.
Guest Stars: Richard Ridings (DNA Computer voice)
Contents |
Plot Overview
An alien ship has appeared, and everyone has gone aboard to investigate. Cat starts fiddling with an unknown control panel and traps Lister in some sort of force field. Despite Lister's pleas for him to stop and do the sensible thing (get Kryten), the Cat keeps cavalierly pressing buttons until finally the computer turns Lister into a chicken.
When Kryten arrives, he asks the Cat to reproduce the steps he took to make Lister into a chicken. This results in Kryten being trapped in the force field, and after some more button pressing, Kryten is transformed into a human (Lister is transformed into a human as well).
Kryten has a bit of trouble adapting to life as a human. For instance, he becomes aroused while browsing through an appliance catalogue. Because of these and other things, Lister urges Kryten to change back. But Kryten refuses, and starts telling mechanoid jokes to make his point. He is so determined to remain human that he even offends his spare heads.
Meanwhile Rimmer has a plan to clone a new body for himself using dandruff samples from one of his old combs. Before trying out the DNA machine on Rimmer's dandruff, they decide to experiment on Lister's mutton vindaloo. Unfortunately, something goes horribly wrong and the Mutton Vindaloo Beast is created.
They run a bit and then return to take refuge in the DNA lab, locking the creature in the hallway. Feeling that there is no other choice, Lister has them turn him into a super-human so that he can fight the creature.
Lister has a flash of insight when a spilled beer burns the creature: "Of course, lager: the only thing that can kill a vindaloo." And in the end a well-placed can of lager and a bazookoid shot destory the beast.
Notes
Arc Advancement
Happenings
Characters
- Lister considers his one-time act of visiting a wine bar something to be ashamed of. He feels it makes him a bit of a "class traitor".
- We learn that Lister had a relationship with Kochanski, but she broke it off.
Referbacks
When faced with the Mutton Vindaloo Beast, Lister recalls how he had previously been attached by a monster in the series 3 episode Polymorph.
Trivia
The Show
The DNA computer estimates Lister's English to be 23rd century colloquial.
Behind the Scenes
Allusions and References
- Lister has an Apollo 13 mission patch on the right side of his jacket.
- Rimmer believes that aliens are about to return Glenn Miller.
- Lister wrongly attributes Popeye's saying "I am what I am" to Descartes.
Memorable Moments
- As the show opens, Lister, Kryten, and Rimmer are frantically working at the consoles in the Scanning Room. They are tracking a UFO. Suddenly the power for all the consoles turns off, plunging the room into silence. The whine of a hair dryer breaks the silence, and everyone turns to glare at the Cat. He has unplugged the console, so he can style his hair!
- Kryten's wildest fantasy has been fulfilled: he is human, but he has a list of minor complaints:
- No optical zoom.
- His nipples don't work! He expects them to perform various tasks:
- Right Nipple: regulate body temperature.
- Left Nipple: short-wave radio reception.
- Recharge socket - he has tried several times without success to attach the recharge cable to his buttocks!
- His penis - He shows a stunned Lister the photo he made, and asks if it's normal. Lister replies that it's definitely not normal to take a photo of your penis and show it to people.
- Kryten has a talk with his spare heads, and they have a bit of a falling out. They feel he is abandoning them -- Spare Head 3 has droid rot! When Kryten insults them, his spare heads ask him to leave. Spare Head 3 (speaking with a Yorkshire accent) tells him gruffly, to "clear off!"
- When cornered by the Mutton Vindaloo Beast, Lister is forced to have the DNA computer turn him into a super-human. When the transformation is complete, he looks like RoboCop, but still has to ask:
Lister: Did it work?
Cat: Kind of.
Lister: Whatcha mean, kind of?
Cat: I mean "kind of".</i>
At this point we see that although Lister is indeed super-human, he is only two feet tall.
Quotes
- When Rimmer hears that the UFO was apparently not designed by humans:
Rimmer: Aliens! ... They're probably going to return Glenn Miller. Rimmer: Aw smeg! That's all we need: Glenn Miller on board boring us to death with Pennsylvania 6-5000. Rimmer: Kryten, open communication channels. Rimmer: (voice booming over the radio): ... We don't want him. Go away ...
- Krytens opinion on the appearance of a human penis: "The last-chicken-in-the-shop look."
- When asked if he has a better idea for killing the mutton vindaloo beast, Rimmer suggests, "Maybe some Indian restaurant music will mollify it."
Reviews
- Overall Grade: no reviews yet
- Review Breakdown: A+: 0 A: 0 A-: 0 B+: 0 B: 0 B-: 0 C+: 0 C: 0 C-: 0 D: 0 F: 0
