Editing Red Dwarf (section)

==Okay, but is it any good?==
Red Dwarf is a cult classic for many reasons, the first of which is that it's one of the most unique sci-fi shows out there. When the show finally finds its legs, it's got some of the most fun, interesting and clever uses of sci-fi tropes and world-building that can be seen in sci-fi television. The comedic nature of the show means it's tonally justified in being goofy and weird, but it still plays by its own internal logic, for the most part, taking its concept and running with it. It's a space comedy, but when it comes to the science fiction elements it doesn't lose out. The show can hold its own, up there with the likes of Star Trek, Farscape and other deep space romps...

...however...

The show itself was plagued with difficulties. For one, the BBC has, historically, never been very good at handling its science fiction shows (just look at vintage Dr. Who). This meant that the creators and actors felt pretty ostracised by the network and, despite their critical and commercial success, they never really received any recognition from the station.

This, along with a fair share of creative disputes and many, sometimes decade-long, hiatuses, lead to the show changing styles and production elements pretty much season to season. [[skub|This has lead to great debate within the community over which seasons are considered "good" or even "worthwhile".]] 

For the sake of neutrality, this section will not pass judgement on the quality of each respective season, but instead provide a guide to the "eras" of the TV show. These Eras are; seasons 1&2, a Douglas-Adams-style absurdist sitcom; seasons 3-7 which are more of a space comedy (season 7 veers into comedy-drama, though); season 8, which is a sitcom again, but now with a plot-line; season 9, a three-part meta-textual blade runner parody (actually pretty [[skub]]); seasons 10-12, a return to the original space comedy formula of "classic Dwarf"; and season 13, which is not a season, but a feature length TV movie.

tl;dr: Yes. Red Dwarf is good. Now go watch it, smegger!