"Bodysnatcher" was a partly finished script that was written but unused for the first series of the BBC sci-fi sitcom ''

Red Dwarf ''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...

''. It was said to involve the now intangible Rimmer attempting to construct a body of his own using components of Lister's—such as hair.

History

"Bodysnatcher" was one of the scripts to be handed around during the interview process for the main casting, although at this point it was unnamed. This script allegedly caught the attention of Peter Ridsdale-Scott, the commissioner for BBC Manchester that he read on the train bound for BBC London. Alfred Molina and

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespe ...

, who were auditioning for Lister and Rimmer, performed their audition from this script. One of Cat's lines:

"I've eaten five times, I've slept six times, and I've made a lot of things mine. Tomorrow, I'm gonna see if I can have ''sex'' with something!"

was originally in this episode's script, but was moved to "

Confidence and Paranoia "Confidence and Paranoia" is the fifth episode from series one of the science fiction sitcom '' Red Dwarf''. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 March 1988. The plot involves Lister's mutated pneumonia which manif ...

" when the original script was dropped.

Inconsistencies

Because this script was conceptualised and part-written at a very early stage of development, many areas of the script do not gel with the other episodes of Series I. For example, the Cat does not speak to anyone but himself. The characters underwent minor development and back story elements were changed throughout Series I, and so the unnamed script would have had to undergo major changes to fit in with the rest of the series and the canon in general.

Deletion

The original series finale involved Lister resurrecting Kochanski's hologram from the projection disc he found with Confidence. However, when the unnamed script was dropped, "

Me² "Me²" (pronounced "me, squared") is the sixth and final episode from series one of the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'', which was first broadcast on BBC2 on 21 March 1988. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye. The sc ...

" was written to compensate for the missing episode and the ending of "

" was similarly changed so that the disc in Kochanski's box was in fact Rimmer's.

Home video release

To headline the release of

Red Dwarf Remastered ''Red Dwarf Remastered'' was an attempt in 1997 to bring the first three series of the BBC's cult following#Television, cult science fiction, sci-fi situation comedy, sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' up to date. A collaboration, collaborative effort between B ...

on DVD in November 2007, the same audio story board process used in recreating the lost episode of Series VII, "

Identity Within '' Red Dwarf'' is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises twelve series and a feature-length special of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1993 and from 1997 to 1999, and on Dave in 2009 and 20 ...

", was used to create the "Bodysnatcher" episode. When the script was retrieved from the vaults of

Grant Naylor Grant Naylor was the collective name used by writers Rob Grant and Doug Naylor for their collaborative work, including the television series ''Red Dwarf''. Grant and Naylor themselves called this pseudonym a "gestalt entity" (i.e., something w ...

offices, it was found to be without an ending. The writers

Rob Grant Robert Grant is an English comedy writer, television producer and co-creator of ''Red Dwarf''. Since ''Red Dwarf'', Grant has written two television series, ''The Strangerers'' and '' Dark Ages'', and four solo novels, his most recent being '' F ...

and

Doug Naylor Douglas Rodger Naylor (born 31 December 1955) is an English comedy writer, science fiction writer, director and television producer. Life and career Naylor was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, and studied at Chetham's School of Music ...

, who went their separate ways during pre-production on the ITV series ''

The 10%ers ''The 10%ers'' is a British television comedy series, broadcast on ITV. Set in the office of a theatrical agent, it began as a pilot in 1993 shown as part of ITV's short-lived Comedy Playhouse (not to be confused with the BBC's long-running Co ...

'' in 1996, collaborated on bringing the script into line with the series' continuity and giving it an end. "Bodysnatcher" became the title feature of the DVD release, due in part to its name and the potentially misleading quality of the "remastered" moniker (as the remastering was done in 1998, not 2007). The DVD set was then entitled "Red Dwarf: The Bodysnatcher Collection". The episode was also included on the

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

release of ''Red Dwarf I-VIII.''

Notes

{{Red Dwarf episodes Red Dwarf unaired episodes Unproduced television episodes