Marooned

"Marooned" is the second episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series III, and the fourteenth in the series run. It premiered on the British television channel BBC2 on 21 November 1989. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, the story is about Lister and Rimmer being marooned together on a bleak ice planet. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998. Plot Holly (Hattie Hayridge) discovers that Red Dwarf is on a collision course with five black holes and recommends that everyone abandon ship with what they need. While Kryten (Robert Llewellyn) and Cat (Danny John-Jules) take a Blue Midget to escape, Dave Lister (Craig Charles) and Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie) make their getaway in a Starbug. As Lister is made to listen to Rimmer's regaling of his military interests, their ship is struck by a meteor and crash lands on an icy planet. Lister is forced to do his best to survive until the pair can be found, making do with what food and supplies he has aboard Starbug, and talking with Rimmer, whose existence as a hologram means his life is not in danger. Rimmer does his best to help distract Lister from hunger by having them exchange stories of how they lost their virginity and learns about a side of Lister he never knew about. To keep warm during their stories, Lister burns Rimmer's collection of books and a sizeable amount of money he saved up in life. When the fire burns low, Lister suggests using either Rimmer's collection of 19th century war figures or his camphor wood chest, to which Rimmer refuses to let them be used and recommends that Lister's guitar be burned instead. Lister reluctantly agrees and asks for a moment alone, whereupon he secretly cuts out a silhouette of his guitar from the trunk, burns it, and hides his guitar in a locker. When Rimmer returns, he commends Lister for his assumed sacrifice, noting how much their personal belongings each mean to them. Shortly afterwards, Kryten and Cat arrive, having searched for the pair for the past two days, revealing that Holly mistook grit on the ship's scanner-scope for black holes. As the group prepare to leave, Rimmer discovers Lister's deceit when he recovers his guitar, and advises Kryten to grab a hacksaw as he prepares to make him a eunuch. Production The Starbug crash sequence was achieved by using a miniature ice planet and filmed on 35mm film stock in order to slow the footage down.