Red Dwarf: Balance of Power [1988]

Date(s) of Broadcast: 29 February 1988
Running Times: 25 mins
Format: colour
Sound:

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Paul Jackson Productions
Executive Producer: Paul Jackson
Producer: Ed Bye
Production Manager: George R. Clarke
Unit Manager: Mario Dubois

SCRIPT
Script: Rob Grant, Doug Naylor

DIRECTION
Director: Ed Bye

PHOTOGRAPHY
Lighting Director: John Pomphrey
Camera Supervisor: Melvyn Cross

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Vision Mixer: Jill Dornan
Videotape Editor: Ed Wooden

MUSIC
Music: Howard Goodall
Disco Music: Motor City Diva

SOUND
Sound Supervisor: Tony Worthington

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up Designer: Suzanne Jansen
Costume Designer: Jacki Pinks

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Visual Effects Designer: Peter Wragg

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Paul Montague
Prop Buyer: Mike Fallon
Graphic Designer: Mark Allen

MISCELLANEOUS
Technical Co-Ordinator: Ron Clare
Assistant Floor Manager: Dona DiStefano
Production Assistant: Alison Thornber

CAST
Craig Charles [Dave Lister]
Chris Barrie [Arnold Rimmer]
Danny John Jules [Cat]
Norman Lovett [Holly]
Rupert Bates [chef / voice of trout a la crème food dispenser]
Paul Bradley [Chen]
David Gillespie [Selby]
Mark Williams [Peterson]
C.P. Grogan [Kochanski]

Being, technically, the highest ranking officer on the ship has gone to Rimmer's head. He refuses to let Lister have Holly reactivate Christine Kochanski as a hologram and has the skutters hide both the crew's hologram disks and Lister's cigarettes where he can't find them. But Lister has a plan - if he can just pass one of the officers exams, he will outrank Rimmer. So begins Lister's short-lived desire to be a chef...

A great episode neatly developing the fractious relationship between Rimmer and Lister. Less overtly science fictional than its predecessor but none the worse for that, Balance of Power was a necessary filling in of some of the details of the relationship that would form the backbone of the show.

UK
Television Distributor: BBC
Video Distributor: BBC

1988
February
29: UK - television broadcast

2001
July
28: UK - television broadcast [on UK Gold]

BOOKS

Red Dwarf Programme Guide [3rd edition] pp.65-67
credits, synopsis

KEYWORDS

space travel; computers; cats; spaceships; examinations; robots; holograms