"White Hole" is the fourth episode of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

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 ...

'' Series IV and the twenty-second episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 March 1991. Written by

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 ...

, and directed by

Ed Bye Edward Richard Morrison Bye (born 12 June 1955) is a British film and TV producer and director. He directed the episodes of the science-fiction sitcom '' Red Dwarf'' from Series I-IV and VII-VIII. Early life Ed Bye is the son of Royal Marine Co ...

and

Paul Jackson Paul Jackson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Paul Jackson (bassist) (1947–2021), American jazz fusion bassist * Paul Jackson Jr. (born 1959), American jazz fusion guitarist * Paul Jackson (poker player), English professional poker player ...

, the episode features the crew's attempt to escape the influence of a

white hole In general relativity, a white hole is a hypothetical region of spacetime and singularity that cannot be entered from the outside, although energy-matter, light and information can escape from it. In this sense, it is the reverse of a black ho ...

Plot

Dave Lister David "Dave" Lister, commonly referred to simply as Lister, is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy '' Red Dwarf'', portrayed by Craig Charles. Lister is characterised as a third-class technician (the lowest ...

is disgusted when he finds that

Kryten Kryten is a fictional character in the British science fiction situation comedy ''Red Dwarf''. The name ''Kryten'' is a reference to the head butler in the J.M. Barrie play ''The Admirable Crichton''. Originally referred to as a Series III mech ...

has repaired

Talkie Toaster This is a list of characters from the TV sitcom ''Red Dwarf''. Major characters Overview Details Alter egos Ace Rimmer Arnold "Ace" Rimmer is an alter-ego of Arnold Rimmer, also played by Chris Barrie. Ace first appears in the episod ...

– an automated toaster whose AI became obsessed with toasting anything bread-related and unwilling to accept refusal of his products, leading to him being smashed up as a result. Kryten explains that he rebuilt the toaster as a guinea-pig in an experimental procedure called intelligence compression, which would restore an AI's former IQ at the cost of a reduced operational lifespan, hoping to use the same procedure to cure

Holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

's computer senility. However, when the procedure is undertaken, Holly discovers that due to a miscalculation her IQ is now more than double her original score but that she has a life expectancy of three minutes. As a result, the ship's computer shuts herself down to preserve life, putting ''Red Dwarf'' onto back-up power as a result.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 71. Without power, Lister, Kryten,

Arnold Rimmer Arnold Judas Rimmer is a fictional character in the science fiction sitcom '' Red Dwarf'', played by Chris Barrie. Rimmer is characterised as a second-class technician (and de facto leader) of the mining ship Red Dwarf. Portrayed as snobbish, pe ...

and

Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

are forced to operate on basic methods, including journeys of five days to and from the cargo decks and having to resort to pedal-powered electricity generation to operate even basic appliances. As Kryten and Rimmer make a return trip from the cargo decks, the pair encounter a space-time phenomenon that prompts them to bring the others together to examine it. Struggling with the phenomenon's effect upon the ship, Kryten manages to reveal to the others that ''Red Dwarf'' has come within range of a

– a very rare spatial phenomenon that spews time into the universe, much as a black hole sucks matter from it. The group opt to ask Holly for help and activate her long enough to be given a solution – to use a

thermonuclear Thermonuclear fusion is the process of atomic nuclei combining or “fusing” using high temperatures to drive them close enough together for this to become possible. There are two forms of thermonuclear fusion: ''uncontrolled'', in which the re ...

device on a star to catapult a planet from its orbit and into the mouth of the white hole. Lister opts to handle the aiming of the device, citing his experiences playing snooker, rather than accept Holly's calculations; with Rimmer wanting to follow Holly's calculations, Kryten and Cat vote for Lister due to their programming and general dislike of Rimmer, respectively. Lister manages to execute the plan, having taken the opportunity to pull off a trick shot. The crew are soon surprised to hear Holly asking when her IQ is to be restored. Kryten points out that time is being reverted to the point before they encountered the white hole, thus they will forget what happened, and so he takes the opportunity to give an honest opinion about Rimmer.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 72.

Production

This was the last script written for Series IV and originally included a story line revolving around Garbage World, which first appeared in the second novel '' Better Than Life''. With the plot featuring giant cockroaches and huge garbage world sets, it was considered too expensive to shoot. A new script was quickly written, taking another idea from that same novel, only the black hole was now changed to a white hole. Although Ed Bye is credited as having directed this episode he was actually unavailable due to illness. The show's producer, Paul Jackson, stepped in to cover the direction duties with a Christmas party hangover. Danny John-Jules, infamous for being late, thought it was a joke by crewmembers when he was told that Paul Jackson was directing, since Paul was known for his short temper and insistence on being punctual. He still turned up late, and as expected, enraged Jackson. According to Chris Barrie, Paul Jackson's presence alone caused the crew to suddenly double in size. Robert Llewellyn even commented on a soundman walking precariously along the gantry above the set, "risking life and limb," and various other crewmembers removing nails with their teeth and Naylor remarked that some carpenters were hammering in other nails with their heads, humorous references to the fear that Jackson struck into the hearts of the crew.Red Dwarf IV: White Hole, DVD Commentary. BBC DVD, 2004 The new super intelligent Holly was visioned as having a bald head and small spectacles. This was changed to just having her hair smoothed back. To film the new look Holly Hattie Hayridge was filmed in front of bluescreen wearing a blue polo-neck. This allowed her disembodied head to be superimposed to the episode footage. David Ross, the actor who originally played Kryten, returned to the show as the voice of

. He found it a much simpler task than when he had previously endured the Kryten make-up. To play the Toaster required no rehearsals; he simply stood in front of a microphone and read the lines.Red Dwarf Magazine, issue 1, March 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd,

Cultural references

Rimmer references

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

as the historical figure that he'd like to go back and work with. He also cites

Captain Oates Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates (17 March 188017 March 1912) was a British army officer, and later an Antarctic explorer, who died from hypothermia

and Scott's diary when defending his cowardice to relinquish his life. The episode references the seminal science fiction novel

Flowers for Algernon ''Flowers for Algernon'' is a short story by American author Daniel Keyes, later expanded by him into a novel and subsequently adapted for film and other media. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of '' ...

Daniel Keyes Daniel Keyes (August 9, 1927 – June 15, 2014) was an American writer who wrote the novel ''Flowers for Algernon''. Keyes was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2000. Biography Early life ...

, as both include an experimental techniques which increases the intelligence of the patient by reducing their life span. Direct references include the IQ score of 68, which both Holly and the protagonist of Flowers for Algernon, Charlie, share. Rimmer says Lister is 'Steaming' because he has drunk too much alcohol preparing to play pool with planets and the White Hole. In the early 20th century South Wales, in the United Kingdom, banned the opening of public houses on a Sunday. However this did not apply to public houses across the Severn Estuary in England. Ferry boats would take people from South Wales to ports across the estuary, alcohol was drunk on the ferries and in England. These ferries were powered by steam engines, the restored 'Waverley' and "Balmoral' are examples. People returning from these trips were said to have been 'steaming' i.e drunk, hence the modern day usage. https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/5df81e1e-cf40-39fc-87aa-9db6858552ab

Reception

"White Hole" was originally broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 7 March 1991 in the 9:00pm evening time slot, and is the only Series IV episode to go out as originally planned. The other Series IV episode broadcast dates were altered due to the Gulf War hostilities. The episode was generally considered one of the best from Series IV – just behind the series' favourite " Dimension Jump."Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 10, December 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd,

Notes

References

External links

* *
Series IV episode guide at www.reddwarf.co.uk
{{Red Dwarf episodes Red Dwarf IV episodes 1991 British television episodes Television episodes about time travel