# Rimmerworld

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5th episode of the 6th series of Red Dwarf

"Rimmerworld" Red Dwarf episode Episode no. Series 6 Episode 5 Directed by Andy de Emmony Written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor Original air date 4 November 1993 (1993-11-04) Guest appearance Elizabeth Hickling as Rogue Simulant Episode chronology ← Previous "Emohawk: Polymorph II" Next → "Out of Time" List of episodes

"**Rimmerworld**" is the fifth episode of [science fiction](/source/Science_fiction) [sit-com](/source/Sit-com) *[Red Dwarf](/source/Red_Dwarf)* Series VI[1] and the 35th in the series run.[2] It was first broadcast on the British television channel [BBC2](/source/BBC2) on 4 November 1993,[3] was written by [Rob Grant](/source/Rob_Grant) & [Doug Naylor](/source/Doug_Naylor) and was directed by Andy de Emmony.[4]

## Plot

[Arnold Rimmer](/source/Arnold_Rimmer) undergoes a medical examination and learns he has a stress-related condition that could give him an electronic [aneurysm](/source/Aneurysm), resulting in his death. [Kryten](/source/Kryten) prescribes several stress relief measures to prevent this, including [Chinese worry balls](/source/Baoding_balls). Shortly after this, the pair join [Dave Lister](/source/Dave_Lister) and [Cat](/source/Cat_(Red_Dwarf)) in investigating the [simulant](/source/Red_Dwarf_characters#Simulants) ship they [defeated a few weeks earlier](/source/Gunmen_of_the_Apocalypse) for supplies. While aboard, the group finds that one crew survived their encounter and confronts them. Rimmer opts to flee in an escape pod, inadvertently triggering the collapse of the ship. Kryten, Lister and Cat use the matter transporter they had been using to load supplies onto "Starbug" as an alternative exit. However, their return to the ship is stalled by Kryten making a programming error on the device and sending them back into their past a week ago, meeting their past selves. Once they have returned, the group finds Rimmer's pod, which Kryten discovers was looted and had [terraforming](/source/Terraforming) equipment, is being drawn into a [wormhole](/source/Wormhole) with [time dilation](/source/Time_dilation) effects, meaning that it will take six centuries from Rimmer's perspective for them to recover him but only a few hours from the crew's.

Rimmer opts to wait upon the closest S3 planet beyond the wormhole that the pod lands on, and uses the equipment to create a paradise for himself for the time being. When the rest of the crew finally reach him, they find themselves confronted by a race of power-hungry Rimmer-clones, who throw them into a dungeon with the real Rimmer. Through him, the group learns that he attempted to create a female companion but created clones of himself instead, who eventually overthrew him, much to his despair. With his hard light drive preventing him from being executed, Rimmer was imprisoned for over five centuries. Rimmer further explains that the others will be executed for having un-Rimmer like traits, which the clones consider a crime, which Kryten points out will cause the clones to not evolve and die out. Although Lister forms a complex plan to escape, Kryten simply suggests they use the transporter to return to *Starbug*, though he causes another programming error that takes the crew out of the present. Believing that they have again travelled into the past, Lister and Cat tease "past" Rimmer about his future six-hundred-year ordeal. However, informing the crew that they have in fact travelled weeks into the future, future Rimmer implies that something terrible will happen to Lister, leaving him worried for his future before they leave.

## Production

"Rimmerworld" was filmed back to back with "[Gunmen of the Apocalypse](/source/Gunmen_of_the_Apocalypse)" to avoid having to rebuild the sets and models for the Simulant ship, and having to hire actress Elizabeth Hickling twice. It was planned as a sequel to "Gunmen" but was effectively cut down from its original idea.[5]

This episode was planned to air fourth in the series run, but was eventually placed fifth, after "[Emohawk: Polymorph II](/source/Emohawk%3A_Polymorph_II)". This had the added bonus of tying up continuity – Lister refers to the Simulant ship they shot down "a couple of weeks back" (meaning time for the crew had passed at the same rate as it had for the audience), the equipment used in the previous episode is said to have broken down, Cat wears the same outfit twice (although he unconvincingly claims the one in this episode is slightly different) and the final scene about something terrible happening to Lister foreshadows his future self appearing in "[Out of Time](/source/Out_of_Time_(Red_Dwarf))".

## Cultural references

The process of terraforming the planet from desolation to verdant paradise over the course of six days mimics the [Genesis creation narrative](/source/Genesis_creation_narrative). The [Biblical](/source/Bible) allusion continues with Rimmer comparing himself to [Adam](/source/Adam) in the [Garden of Eden](/source/Garden_of_Eden), however, he seemingly confuses that story with the adventures of [Tarzan](/source/Tarzan) in which [Jane](/source/Jane_Porter_(Tarzan)) is the love interest of the jungle-dwelling hero. The [Thirty Years' War](/source/Thirty_Years'_War) and the [Hundred Years' War](/source/Hundred_Years'_War) are both referenced when Kryten explains how long Rimmer will spend on the other side of the wormhole before help can arrive.

## Reception

This episode has been described as "one of the strangest adventures" in Series VI.[6]

The episode was due to be broadcast as part of a repeat season on 13 March 1996. It was suspended due to the [Dunblane massacre](/source/Dunblane_massacre), when it was feared that the gun-toting simulant at the start of the episode, and other references to a "psychotic deranged ruthless killer", could be thought to parallel the real-life tragedy, and thus be considered offensive.[7] "Out of Time" was shown in its place, followed by series IV episode "Dimension Jump" a week later; "Rimmerworld" itself was eventually repeated in mid-April.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-British_Sitcom_Guide_–_Red_Dwarf_–_Series_6_1-0)** ["British Sitcom Guide – Red Dwarf – Series 6"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081122104040/http://www.sitcom.co.uk/red_dwarf/series6.shtml). sitcom.co.uk. Archived from [the original](http://www.sitcom.co.uk/red_dwarf/series6.shtml) on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-TV.com_–_Rimmerworld_summary_2-0)** ["TV.com – Rimmerworld summary"](http://www.tv.com/red-dwarf/rimmerworld/episode/10979/summary.html). tv.com. Retrieved 1 February 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-BBC_–_Programme_Catalogue_–_RED_DWARF_VI_–_RIMMERWORLD_3-0)** ["BBC – Programme Catalogue – RED DWARF VI – RIMMERWORLD"](http://catalogue.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/NMRE272S). BBC. Retrieved 12 December 2007.[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Rimmerworld_Full_cast_and_crew_4-0)** ["Rimmerworld Full cast and crew"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684176/fullcredits#cast). IMDb. Retrieved 1 February 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Red_Dwarf_series_VI_Production_5-0)** ["Red Dwarf series VI Production"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080107181039/http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck05/series_6/production.html). Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from [the original](http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/deck05/series_6/production.html) on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Series_VI_review_at_Sci-Fi_Dimensions_6-0)** ["Series VI review at Sci-Fi Dimensions"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070107145017/http://www.scifidimensions.com/Apr05/reddwarf5and6.htm). scifidimensions.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.scifidimensions.com/Apr05/reddwarf5and6.htm) on 7 January 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Edit News: Red Dwarf – Broadcast"](http://www.ganymede-titan.info/docs/edit-broadcast.php). ganymede-titan.info. Retrieved 22 November 2012.

## External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to ***[Rimmerworld](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Red_Dwarf#.22Rimmerworld.22)***.

- ["Rimmerworld"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00bplmb) at [BBC Online](/source/BBC_Online)

- ["Rimmerworld"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0684176/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Series VI episode guide at www.reddwarf.co.uk](http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/guide/index.cfm?seriesID=6) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121219191726/http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/guide/index.cfm?seriesID=6) 19 December 2012 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

v t e Red Dwarf Characters Dave Lister Arnold Rimmer Holly The Cat Kryten Kristine Kochanski Books Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers Better Than Life Last Human Backwards Red Dwarf: Titan Episodes Series I (1988) "The End" "Future Echoes" "Balance of Power" "Waiting for God" "Confidence and Paranoia" "Me2" Series II (1988) "Kryten" "Better Than Life" "Thanks for the Memory" "Stasis Leak" "Queeg" "Parallel Universe" Series III (1989) "Backwards" "Marooned" "Polymorph" "Bodyswap" "Timeslides" "The Last Day" Series IV (1991) "Camille" "DNA" "Justice" "White Hole" "Dimension Jump" "Meltdown" Series V (1992) "Holoship" "The Inquisitor" "Terrorform" "Quarantine" "Demons & Angels" "Back to Reality" Series VI (1993) "Psirens" "Legion" "Gunmen of the Apocalypse" "Emohawk: Polymorph II" "Rimmerworld" "Out of Time" Series VII (1997) "Tikka to Ride" "Stoke Me a Clipper" "Ouroboros" "Duct Soup" "Blue" "Beyond a Joke" "Epideme" "Nanarchy" Series VIII (1999) "Back in the Red" "Cassandra" "Krytie TV" "Pete" "Only the Good..." Miniseries (2009) Back to Earth Series X (2012) "Trojan" "Fathers & Suns" "Lemons" "Entangled" "Dear Dave" "The Beginning" Series XI (2016) "Twentica" "Samsara" "Give & Take" "Officer Rimmer" "Krysis" "Can of Worms" Series XII (2017) "Cured" "Siliconia" "Timewave" "Mechocracy" "M-Corp" "Skipper" Television film (2020) The Promised Land Unmade episodes "Bodysnatcher" Other Red Dwarf Remastered Grant Naylor Dimension Jump "Tongue Tied" Dave Hollins: Space Cadet Category

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rimmerworld](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimmerworld) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimmerworld?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.