'Skipper' by Doug Naylor

Searching through Red Dwarf’s Human Resources files, Lister and Kryten find Captain Hollister’s crew appraisals; but while Lister is pleased with his report, Rimmer’s just leaves him filled with anger and resentment. Later on, a space-time anomaly hits the ship, causing weird stuff to happen: Kryten’s request for a damage report is ignored by the computer, and Cat finds himself making Lister coffee and breakfast, and then cleaning his bunk and shoes. Realising that the things they choose not to make are coming true, Lister and Cat travel to the Drive Room by choosing not to - despite the inevitable delays as Cat struggles with doing the reverse of what they intend. Kryten explains that the lesion in the space-time continuum was caused by one of his experiments: he has been repairing a portable device for quantum-skipping across universes, a gadget he recently salvaged from a science station. As the last human in his universe, Lister decides against using the device, and Kryten stays to look after him; but Rimmer seizes the opportunity to find a better life, and after a brief farewell to the gang he uses the quantum-skipper to travel across the multiverse. Arriving aboard another Red Dwarf, Rimmer is surprised to meet Holly again, and even more amazed when he learns that the original crew are all alive; unfortunately, Rimmer has arrived just before the fatal radiation leak hits the ship, and he only just manages to activate the quantum-skipper before the deadly wave kills Captain Hollister and the crew. Rimmer jumps aboard another Red Dwarf, where a well-bred Lister shares the same interests as him; but instead of a human-sized cat, this universe has ‘Mr Rat’, one of a race evolved from a rat this Lister smuggled aboard, and which now overrun the ship. Rimmer quantum-skips again, but to his horror he arrives in a Red Dwarf populated by multiple Listers. So Rimmer jumps again… and again… and again… Finally, Rimmer arrives aboard a Red Dwarf where he is the navigation officer, and happily married with four children; Rimmer is delighted – until he discovers that Lister is the Captain of the ship. Realising that he cannot stay in a world where Lister is in command, Rimmer gives up, returns to Red Dwarf and stomps on the quantum-skipper. Sadly, infinity is just not enough for Rimmer to find total happiness…


Chris Barrie (Arnold J. Rimmer), Craig Charles (Dave Lister), Danny John-Jules (Cat), Robert Llewellyn (Kryten), Norman Lovett (Holly), Mac McDonald (Captain Hollister), Richard Brimblecomb (Bradley), Tina Harris (Parkinson), Hayley-Marie Axe (Calm Woman [Voice])

Directed by Doug Naylor

Produced by Richard Naylor and Kerry Waddell
Executive producers Simon Lupton, Henry Normal and Doug Naylor
Co-produced by Baby Cow Productions and Grant Naylon Productions for Dave / UKTV

TX: (Dave)
16th November 2017 @ 9:00 pm

Notes:
*Featuring Dave Lister, Arnold Rimmer, Cat and Kryten, with Holly and Captain Holister

*Although this epsiode was scheduled for television broadcast on the 16th November 2017, it was released a week earlier for 'on demand' audiences via the UKTV Play platform

*Working title: 'Star Knot'