Gunmen of the Apocalypse
"Gunmen of the Apocalypse" | |
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Andy de Emmony | |
Written by | Rob Grant & Doug Naylor |
Original air date | 21 October 1993 |
Guest appearances | |
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"Gunmen of the Apocalypse" is the third episode of series VI of the
Plot
The group find Kryten combating the virus within a Wild West dream, in which the mechanoid is a burnt-out sheriff in a town called Existence, with the virus operating as an outlaw gang called the Apocalypse Boys, consisting of Famine, Pestilence, War, and Death. Seeing him losing, Lister, Rimmer and Cat opt to help him by entering his dream through the AR machine, utilising the abilities of characters from a Wild West-styled video game. Upon arriving and getting Kryten to recognise them, the trio distract the Apocalypse Boys to give him time to create his antidote, escaping the dream when the virus infects the AR machine and takes away their characters' special abilities. Kryten successfully completes the programme, cleansing himself of the virus, before using it to free the ship from the virus' control. Starbug plunges into the moon, but resurfaces a few seconds later unscathed, with the crew giving an appropriate "Yeeha!" before flying off into the sunset.
Production
Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor,
During filming of the episode, Janet Street-Porter was Head of Art & Culture at the BBC. When she received the ambitious script for "Gunmen..." she sent out a memo that all production for the episode be stopped immediately, because she believed it too difficult to film, too costly and too time-consuming. By the time the Red Dwarf crew received her memo, filming had already wrapped and post-production had started.[6]
Denis Lill appears as the Simulant Captain and Death. The other 'Apocalypse Boys' were played by Dinny Powell, Robert Inch and Jeremy Peters playing Famine, War and Pestilence respectively. Jennifer Calvert plays the 'Artificial Reality' character in Lister's detective scenario. Steve Devereaux plays Jimmy. Liz Hickling appears as Simulant Lieutenant, Imogen Bain plays Lola and Stephen Marcus plays Bear Strangler McGee.[3]
It was filmed at Laredo, a Wild West reenactment town in Kent.[7]
Cultural references
The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.[8]
Reception
The episode was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 21 October 1993 in the 9:00pm time slot.
See also
References
- ^ a b "BBC - Programme Catalogue - RED DWARF VI - GUNMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE". BBC. Retrieved 12 December 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Red Dwarf VI released on DVD". 12 January 2005.
- ^ a b c "Gunmen of the Apocalypse cast and crew". imdb.com. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
- ISSN 0965-5603
- ^ a b "Red Dwarf Series VI Writing". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
- ^ "Red Dwarf Series VI Production". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
- ^ Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office Red Dwarf, Gunmen of the Apocalypse (1993)".
- ^ "Gunmen of the Apocalypse movie connections". imdb.com. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
- ^ a b "Red Dwarf Series VI Aftermath". Red Dwarf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
- ^ "Series VI review at Sci-Fi Dimensions". scifidimensions.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
- ^ "SCI FI Weekly review - Red Dwarf Series VI DVD". scifi.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- "Gunmen of the Apocalypse" at BBC Online
- "Gunmen of the Apocalypse" at IMDb
- Series VI episode guide at www.reddwarf.co.uk Archived 19 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine