Justice (Red Dwarf episode)
Encyclopedia
"Justice" is the third episode of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 sitcom Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...

Series IV and the twenty-first episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 television channel BBC2 on 28 February 1991; although it was planned to be broadcast as the second episode, it was moved back in the schedule by the BBC. Written by Rob Grant
Rob Grant
Robert Grant is a British comedy writer and television producer, who was born in Salford and studied Psychology at Liverpool University for two years....

 and Doug Naylor
Doug Naylor
Douglas R. Naylor is a British comedy writer, science fiction writer, director and television producer.Naylor was born in Manchester, England and studied at the University of Liverpool. In the mid-1980s, Naylor wrote two regular comedy sketch shows for BBC Radio 4 entitled Cliché and Son of Cliché...

, and directed by Ed Bye
Ed Bye
Edward Richard Morrison Bye is a British film and TV producer and director. He is best known for his work with Grant Naylor, Harry Enfield and Jasper Carrott, and has worked with many of British TV's best known comedians and comedy actors...

, the episode features the crew's visit to a high-tech prison where Rimmer is charged with the death of the Red Dwarf crew.

Plot

While Lister
Dave Lister
David "Dave" Lister, commonly referred to simply as Lister, is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, portrayed by Craig Charles...

 is down with a bout of space mumps
Mumps
Mumps is a viral disease of the human species, caused by the mumps virus. Before the development of vaccination and the introduction of a vaccine, it was a common childhood disease worldwide...

, Red Dwarf picks up an escape pod from a prison ship that was transporting dangerous criminals to their final trial, sentence and incarceration on Justice World. But what's inside? It could either be beautiful prison guard Barbara Bellini or a psychotic mass-murdering simulant, as they were the only two to escape the prison ship after a prisoner revolt. The crew have to satisfy their curiosity after Cat turns on the defrosting unit, but can take no chances, with Kryten explaining simulants are immune to most weapons. Holly suggests that they take the pod to Justice World, where there are containment facilities. Therefore, if the occupant of the pod is Bellini then they can simply let her out and if it's the Simulant, the crew can leave it to rot.

On arriving at Justice World the Justice Computer scans the crews' minds for signs of guilt, causing Lister worry as in his youth he committed petty offences like stealing beds from hotels, but the Justice Computer decides that Lister's crimes are not serious enough to warrant punishment. Rimmer
Arnold Rimmer
Arnold Judas Rimmer is a fictional character in the science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, played by Chris Barrie. He is unpopular with his crew mates, and is often the target of insults or pranks...

 on the other hand is convicted of 1,167 counts of second-degree murder, a consequence of his faulty drive-plate repair that killed the crew of Red Dwarf, and sentenced to nearly 10,000 years' imprisonment. Kryten
Kryten
Kryten is a fictional character in the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf. Kryten's registration code on Red Dwarf is "Kryten additional 001". The name Kryten is a reference to the head butler in the J.M...

 proves to the Justice computer Judge that Rimmer's immense guilt stems from his own inflated sense of importance. A man as incompetent and insignificant as Rimmer, he argues, would never be given tasks that might put the whole crew in danger. Rimmer, although deeply offended, and despite objecting to his own defence on many occasions (which Kryten uses as an example of his stupidity), is found not guilty, and is therefore free to go.

The crew board Starbug only to find that due to being focused on Rimmer's trial they forgot why they came there in the first place. The pod is open... and it isn't Babs but the psychopathic simulant, who then hunts them down through the Justice Zone. Lister decides to confront the simulant one-on-one as he states he is unarmed and wants to parlay. The simulant admits he lied as he reveals a knife; Lister also admits to lying as he brings out a lead pipe, but the simulant responds that he lied twice, and brings out a laser gun. He fires three shots at Lister but there are no wounds. Suddenly three bullet wounds appear in the simulant's chest. Lister remembers the unique trait of Justice World - namely that anyone who tries to perpetrate a crime has the effect put on them (after trying to hit the Simulant with the lead pipe and feeling the effects himself, and the Simulant attempting to stab Lister with the knife but ending up being stabbed himself). Lister helps the simulant to carry out his act of rampaging attacks until he is defeated when Lister allows him to try strangling him. Cat then tries to knock the simulant out with a spade, but knocks himself out instead. Upon returning to Red Dwarf, Lister starts giving a lengthy speech about how absolute justice can never work; the rest of the crew rapidly get bored with this however, leading Cat to push him down an open manhole.

Production

Taking influence from their own Red Dwarf novels, writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor altered some of the historic facts of the show. This was to improve the backstory and keep it in line with their vision of the story as seen in the novels. In "Justice" we discover one of these adjustments is that the ship crew complement before the accident was 1,169 instead of the 169 stated in previous series.

Initially "Justice" was to feature the Justice World as a planet, but due to time constraints and finance it was seen as a space station instead. The ending was also changed at the last minute. Bird droppings were filmed as landing on Lister after he littered in the Justice Zone gardens. This scene was dropped for Lister's speech about man's sense of justice.

The writers' vision of the Justice Zone was with a background that appeared to disappear into infinity. This was perceived as impossible to achieve with the budget available so a compromise was reached. A huge light was placed at the back of the set masking the background limitations and giving the illusion that there was nothing behind.

For the futuristic Justice Zone set the crew used the nearby Sunbury Pumphouse, a disused water pumping plant near the Shepperton studios
Shepperton
Shepperton is a town in the borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England. To the south it is bounded by the river Thames at Desborough Island and is bisected by the M3 motorway...

. The set would provide the corridor settings and steps for the Justice Zone scenes. Guest performers included Nicholas Ball who played the simulant and James Smilie who voiced the Justice Computer.

Cultural references

Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...

 is referenced by Lister when he comments that Kryten has been "like Florence Nightingdroid" looking after him while he had space mumps. Lister thinks that he could disguise himself with a turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...

 and say he's from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, whereas the Cat states that he looks more like the Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...

 and later references The Elephant Man
Joseph Merrick
Joseph Carey Merrick , sometimes incorrectly referred to as John Merrick, was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man. He became well known in London society after he went to live at the London Hospital...

. In defending Rimmer's innocence Kryten references Napoleon and Long John Silver
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Silver is also known by the nicknames "Barbecue" and the "Sea-Cook".- Profile :...

.

On the side of the simulant's gun is written 'Make My Day' in reference to the famous line "Go ahead, make my day
Go ahead, make my day
"Go ahead, make my day" is a catchphrase written by Joseph C. Stinson and spoken by the character Harry Callahan from the 1983 film Sudden Impact. In 2005, it was chosen as #6 on the American Film Institute list, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes. The "Make My Day Law" passed in most U.S...

" from the film Sudden Impact
Sudden Impact
Sudden Impact is a 1983 American crime thriller and the fourth film in the Dirty Harry series, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood...

.

The simulant's overall appearance is reminiscent of the Borg
Borg (Star Trek)
The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe associated with Star Trek.Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg use enforced cybernetic enhancement as a means of...

 from the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

 franchise.

Reception

The episode was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 28 February 1991 in the 9:00pm evening time slot, although it originally planned to be broadcast as the second episode - as seen in the repeat runs. It was moved in the schedule because the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

 hostilities meant that "Dimension Jump
Dimension Jump (Red Dwarf)
"Dimension Jump" is the fifth episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series IV and the twenty-third episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 March 1991, written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye...

" and "Meltdown" were postponed. The episode had received a lukewarm reception from viewers, although it has been described as a "classic episode" by others.

External links

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