Thorough Thursdays : RED DWARF

Prior to this post, I have only tagged Red Dwarf, the British, Science Fiction comedy television series, created by Rob Grant, Doug Naylor, and Grant Naylor, three times on this blog before today.

I may have mentioned it briefly a few other times.

That's just wrong.

Emergency. Emergency.

There is an emergency going on.

It's still going on.

This, this right here, is why I came up with Thorough Thursdays.

How is this possible? How have I not mentioned this show more than three times in the seven years my blog has been around? I'm more than a bit of an Anglophile, and this show is British, Science Fiction, funny, and how the hell have I not talked about this program more than three times?

Red Dwarf is my favorite British comedy series ever, and one of my favorite television shows of all time. I feel like a total gimboid. A complete smeghead. Can you forgive me?

I first discovered Red Dwarf quite by accident. Thanks to my eternal struggle with insomnia, I was up late channel surfing when I came across a PBS affiliate that apparently showed Britcoms in the wee, small hours.

Depending on the night you tuned in you could catch Blackadder, Are You Being Served?, and a few others. A fan of British culture, and humor, I immediately started following the shows I liked best, and tried to catch others when I had the chance.

One night (I forget which day of the week) I stayed up past Are You Being Served? (which was all repeats, as the show had been over for a number of years) to catch an apparently new program called, you guessed it, Red Dwarf.

It was love at first smeg.

From that point on I never missed an episode, until the channel changed up its airing schedule, and I couldn't find what night Red Dwarf was on. It was around that time I met the woman who I would eventually move in with, marry, and...well...divorce, but that is a sad tale for another time. The bottom line is, I never saw the last two seasons of Red Dwarf until many years after the show had been cancelled.

I have, at this point, seen all the episodes of every single season many times over, including the Back to Earth mini-series, and the six-episode Season X (10). To be honest, I've only seen Seasons VII, VIII, and Back to Earth a few times each. Seasons I-III I've watched dozens of time. I really liked Season X.

Where was I?

Ah, yes! So what makes Red Dwarf so bloody awesome? It's a British, Science Fiction, comedy. So basically, it's made of win.

What I love about the series - beyond the fantastically odd-ball premise, quirky characters, and cheesy-but-cool special effects - is the way Science Fiction concepts are used to add a new spin to classic sitcom tropes. The Sci-Fi elements also allow for a few situations that would only occur in the show's unique setting.

Artificially intelligent toasters, love sick, genetically engineered monsters, a starship bigger than a city, Better-Than-Life Virtual Reality games, and a host of other possibilities, are the threats, obstacles, and irritants you'll encounter in Red Dwarf.

***

Of course, any television series is only as good as its characters.

The characters of Red Dwarf are nothing short of amazing. Exaggerated, but flawed Human individuals, combined with two all-too-human non-Humans, made for a perfect ensemble.

The chemistry of the actors can not be understated. These are a fantastic group of comedic actors who are either honestly, truly fond of each other, or much better actors than anyone has ever given them credit for.

I love these guys. Seriously. I don't know what else to say in this regard. Except...well...I do a mighty good Kryten impression if I do say so myself. What's next? Hmmm, ah yes. Gaming it.

***

I've run only one Red Dwarf game ever, which is a damn shame, as it went over incredibly well. Intended to be the 'Pilot Episode' for a new campaign, player schedules just never lined up right after that first session. What a session though. Bang on, as the Brits would say.

Why does this particular IP make for such a great RPG setting?

Well, first of all, it does just in case I didn't make that clear. Secondly, it combines several elements found in other well known RPGs to create a unique blending, with a dash of humor to achieve a flavor all it's own.

The Human inhabitants of the massive spaceship Red Dwarf, were essentially the working class spacers you'd expect to see in a game of Traveller. In order for the Jupiter Mining Corporation's Solar Class Mining Vessel (in some sources, Leviathan Class) to operate a peak performance, crewmembers of many different careers are required. Think about it, a Red Dwarf type ship would need Scouts, Scientists, Army and Navy, Bureaucrats, Belters, and any number of other jobs.

Even the main characters fit into Traveller pretty easily as Rogue (Dave Lister), Bureaucrat or Navy (Arnold Rimmer), Scientist with some Navy Skills (Kryten), and either Rogue or Barbarian (Cat). Your mileage may vary, but it isn't that hard to figure it out.

Now let's talk about the ship itself. I've said before that megadungeons don't impress me much because I'm used to playing in, and running, RPG campaigns where the PCs live in a huge megadungeon that takes them to their adventures. The Red Dwarf is 5 miles in length! You could easily spend a dozen adventures just exploring the vessel.

Now, what if it wasn't the Red Dwarf? What if a Scientific Exploration vessel suffered a similar accident. Lost for over 3 million years and exposed to space opera style radiation, who knows what might form on the ship. Imagine a Red Dwarf-USS Enterprise, or better yet (as I used in my campaign pilot), a Red Dwarf-Starship Warden from Metamorphosis Alpha.

The adventures, obstacles and opponents potential is truly unlimited...kind of. While it is not clear if there are any sentient aliens in the setting, Humans are responsible for genetically engineering life forms (GELFs), many of which have developed their own cultures, and societies.

Mechanical lifeforms were also left behind by the long, lost Human race. There are Mechanoids, Humanoid Robots that generally aid Humans (like Kryten), Simulants, highly organized, Human hating Androids with their own empire, and Rogue Simulants, which look a lot like Borg, and while homicidal, they are considerably less likely to flay you alive, and roast you with turmeric, and a touch of Coriander.

If you do not run a Red Dwarf game,

I will challenge you to a duel across time, and space.

Oh come on. It's fun. There's nothing else to do.

If opponents you can talk to aren't your thing, there are bizarrely mutated GELF creatures, time distortions, various diseases, your own self doubt, and alternate versions of yourself from parallel universes to deal with.

I mean, how could it get any cooler? It's like every post EXONAUTS has ever made meets Monty Python!

In conclusion (if I don't conclude now I could seriously write for another hour or two on this), I highly recommend checking out the entire series, including Series X. You can avoid Back to Earth, it won't kill you, as it isn't their best work and kind of muddles the concept a bit.

After that, I wouldn't be surprised if Red Dwarf game ideas start forming in your head. You might also want to check out the official Red Dwarf RPG if you can find it. Written, designed, and published by Deep7, the game is no great innovation in the annals of system design history, but it is a very funny, well written book by true fans.

The Series Sourcebook, the only supplement produced for the game, is fantastic. An episode by episode breakdown of every season, what it was about, how the characters were different, and what the stories were about is included. It also includes stats for every single character, creature, device, spacecraft, vehicle, and anything else that appeared in each episode. Quite impressive.

One final note:

This post is notably devoid of references to Kristine Kochanski, the female character added to the series in Season 7, and appearing in 7, 8, and Back to Earth. She occasionally showed up in flashbacks, time warp episodes, and such in the previous Seasons.

While the actress who played her in Season 7 and beyond, Chloe Annett, is a lovely woman, and a very good actress, I didn't think she had compatible chemistry with the rest of the cast. I mean it worked, it was funny, but the presence of the character really threw off the show's dynamic.

The series producers, and creative team agreed, and she was not present in Series X (although she is referenced).

Onward, and remember, it's not really a party until someone wakes up with a traffic cone. Now, smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
 
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Supervillainy A-To-Z: F is for Fake-Out

Sweet Giant Octopus of Metropolis!

I am so far behind in the A-to-Z Challenge I need to move like a green snake up a sugarcane.

This past weekend was crazy busy and weekends in generally are going to be quite the thorn in my side this month in relation to getting this challenge completed. So, have I already lost? Been disqualified? I certainly hope not. I still have a lot of villains to unleash on this unsuspecting world...Muwahahahaha!

Ahem...

My next group of villains are interesting to me because, although not planned this way, they have a number of things in common. First, there is a high-technology aspect to each of them. Second, they are all old characters who've gone through several different incarnations. I have changed and updated the look, name and other elements of these characters over the years even though their core concepts have stayed the same. Lastly, since they're all old characters who've gone through a number of retcons and reboots, I don't really have good images for any of them already on hand. I have had to create new images for each.

I know what you're thinking, the opposite should be true if they're old and have had multiple versions made but many (most) were original drawings that were never scanned into any computer because, believe it or not, we didn't always have computers and scanners in our homes. Yes, I am that old.

So, I apologize to the artists whose work I, um, not so much plagiarized as, er, manipulated and kit bashed in order to create these next few pics. I will identify the artist of the 'base image' when possible.

***

FAKE OUT
  

 

 

True Identity: Facsimile Android 'Kismet' Edition - Model F10

 

Description/Appearance: Fake Out, aka Model F10, specializes in disguise and altering her appearance. In her standard operating mode state, she appears to be a metallic humanoid and generally female design with blue-grey and burnished gold plating.

Fake Out, if she has not adjusted her height or weight, stands 5' 10" and weighs 180 lbs. She is able to alter this through collapsible extensions in her feet, legs and mid-section. She can also absorb and convert water and basic carbon in the air to add weight or temporarily disperse some of the gases in her interior to decrease her weight.

With her metamorphic, metal and polymer surface and a network of holographic image projectors, she can essentially look like anyone.

Origin and Background: Robotics genius Simon Sykes was very proud of his latest series of Androids and who could blame him. The new F.A.K.E. series units were improvements in practically every way over the older Facsimile Android 'Deception' Edition or F.A.D.E..

There were well over fifty F.A.D.E. units in operation, ordered by various government intelligence organizations worldwide. The major user of the product was and remains the United Nations' own InterNational Supernormal Intelligence Group - Highly Trained (I.N.S.I.G.H.T.). Even so, only nine of the more expensive and elaborate F.A.K.E.s were requested. A tenth was constructed and kept by its creator, Prof. Sykes, as a test bed for further upgrades and improvements.

Over time, the F.A.K.E. units proved incredibly effective and a dozen more were ordered. Before, the new orders could be filled however, I.N.S.I.G.H.T. contacted Simon Sykes regarding a very delicate matter. The superheroine Maiden America (granddaughter of the original, Golden Age hero The Great American) had been badly injured after escaping from the villainous Master Plan). I.N.S.I.G.H.T. needed a F.A.K.E. customized to imitate Maiden America and they turned to Sykes, not only for his expertise and technology but because of his former relationship with Maiden America (the two dated for years and were almost engaged).

Promised he would get to see Maiden America as soon as his work was completed, Sykes refitted his personal unit, Model F10 to emulate the patriotic maid of might down to the last detail, including the cute face she would make when angry at him and her surprisingly hearty laugh.

While the ruse worked, something went a bit awry with F10's programming. Staying in one persona so long, and a very detailed and nuanced persona at that, left a lasting impression on 'her' that made her think she really was Maiden America. Briefly, when in Maiden America's presence, F10 seemed to malfunction and try to kill 'the imposter' but was defeated by Maiden America and Touché. Eventually, Sykes was able to seemingly erase the Maiden America memories and mannerisms and decided to reset her for active duty in the field.

Approximately one year later, while posing as the Secretary of Defense, F10 was nearly kidnapped by Master Plan and his minions. An electromagnetic pulse from the power armored superhero Intrepid, released in order to knock out Master Plan's suit and those of his henchmen, short-circuited F10's mind and sent her into a berserk rage. She recalled all her previous missions and personalities, especially Maiden America's, but was suddenly shocked to find out she was a machine. After battling her way past agents of I.N.S.I.G.H.T., The Vanguard Project, Touché and Intrepid and Master Plan and his forces, F10 disappeared.

'She' has shown up again and again over the last couple of years, her plans usually involving the theft of cybernetic technology or information. She has stalked and even kidnapped her creator, sometimes disguised as Maiden America or another woman, in the belief that the two of them were meant to be together. As a result, her arch-enemies have become Maiden America, Touché and the Vanguard Project agent codenamed Automaton.

Powers and Abilities: Constructed using electro-response polymer plastics and magnetic induction memory metals, Fake Out is able to reconfigure her form into that of virtually any human or near-human humanoid imaginable. She can grow and shrink nearly 3 feet and alter her weight from 100 pounds to 280 pounds (although she can also visually appear to be heavier or lighter than this range).

In addition, a series of holographic projectors and light receptors built into her body and project the image of any person she chooses. She can self-edit her software to create entirely new, non-existent people as well.

Perhaps her most amazing ability is the 'Kismet' System devised by her inventor, robotics specialist Prof. Simon Sykes. With the Kismet System, Fake Out can adopt/adapt to not only the subtleties of Human emotions but can imitate a person's behavior, mannerisms, voice inflections and even 'guess' or estimate what they would do in a given situation. Further, Wi-Fi/remote internet and computer access enables her to double check information on an individual nearly instantaneously. The system gives her 98.9% accuracy on correctly guessing details and information about a subject and their closest friends and companions that is not public knowledge. 

Check this out:

F10 (or another F.A.K.E.) infiltrates an international terrorist group disguised as the highest ranking lieutenant's wife. He suspects there is a spy or impostor in the group and asks her a question only she would know. Something personal between them.

Lieutenant: "When we first met as children I had a nickname for you. You did not like it so I stopped use it soon after. I used it half a dozen times or so at most. What was it."

F10 (Disguised as wife), scans the internet, uses satellite uplinks, and connects to intelligence agencies all over the world, reads the Lt.'s body temperature, looks at his posture, remembers everything written, said, and shown about him, 'her', his allies and his family. Guesses.) "Lost lamb. I thought it rude at the time."

Lieutenant: "I knew you were you. A man knows his own wife after all these years. I wonder who the impostor is."

Personality and Motivations: At first glance Fake Out's motivations are fairly clear; Bring Simon Sykes to the realization that he loves her just as much as she loves him and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, her mangled mind also knows that's impossible as she is an android (albeit a very advanced one) and he is Human.

To this end she will steal cybernetics tech and/or kidnap or threaten those with knowledge of cyber-science in order to find a way to make herself more like a living, breathing person.

Bear in mind that she is not above seducing others disguised as the perfect woman (and with the Kismet System she can determine your perfect woman better than you can) in order to get to the people or things she needs.

***

Fake Out was originally created for a 1st edition Mutants & Masterminds campaign and has been used in campaigns for each edition of that system. She will (hopefully) appear in my next Champions campaign as well. Fake Out has gone through several names and appearances including AI Candy (the A.I. for Artificial Intelligence is pronounced 'Eye' in Japanese), Faker and Wannabe. 

The inspiration for her was a combination of a female Ultron and "What if a LMD didn't want to stop pretending to be someone?".

This illustration is a kit bashed image made from a few drawings by the amazing Ryan Kinnaird.

Fake Out for ICONS:

I meant to give her Interface, which is an ability in ICONS that enables one to interact with computers. It just made sense for a robot and to represent the Kismet System. As it turns out, I didn't do it because she rarely uses it for anything other than perfecting her disguises. Should I have? What's your call cape and cowl community?

***

 

Final notes for this post...

 

Mourning the loss of two iconic ladies who for better or worse (at least in the latter's case) were giants in their respective fields.

 

Now it's time to say goodbye...to Annette Funicello, original Mouseketeer and queen of the beach movies. Why? Because we liked you.

 

While I didn't always agree with her you can't disagree that she made tough choices in hard times. Give it up for the Iron Lady of British Politics, Margaret Thatcher. Though no fan of politics, the anglophile in me would be terribly off put if I didn't mention her passing. Stiff upper lip old chap.

 

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