Red Dwarf: S02E03: Thanks for the Memory

Holly introduces the show….. “Additional: Supplies are plentiful, we have enough food to last us 30,000 years, though we have run out of Shake and Vac.” View of a planet surface. “Additional, Additional:  Last week we found a planet with a breathable atmosphere…..“

The first scene is of a party with the Cat, Rimmer and Lister.  They are on the planets surface dressed in space suits and dancing to Rock Music (Metal).   Lister is pretending that he is playing the music, Cat is dancing, the Skutters are playing keyboards and even Rimmer is dancing in his Hologram Projection Cage.  Holly too is enjoying the festivities via a monitor.  “We’re groovin’ tonight,” he says, “ahead! Groove factor five! Yeah!”   He shakes his head in time with the music.

The dancing stops when Lister discovers that the sausages are done (they are having a barbi). Everyone is in a good mood, Holly remarks, “It’s the business innit?  It’s nice to get out once in a while and stretch your cables.”  The party was to celebrate Arnold Rimmer’s death. Lister even baked a cake in the shape of a spanner (because he was an engineer).  Holly remarks that he was glad Rimmer wasn’t a gynaecologist (oh I don’t k0ow?  It’d be more fun than a spanner – I wonder what the flavour would be?).   They all sing Happy Deathday.

Next day they all wake up with severe hangovers. Lister suggests that Rimmer try his speciality breakfast, a hot and spicy sandwich (with chilly powder, chutney and fried egg). Holly makes the sandwich for Rimmer who actually seems to enjoy it.  He points out to Lister that the ingredients are al l wrong.  The fried egg is wrong, the chilly and the fried egg.   But put them all together and they are great.  Lister is like that.  His individual characteristics are all wrong, but people like him. Rimmer tells his room-mate that he could never develop a sandwich like that.

Rimmer, still drunk, decides to bear his soul.  Lister doesn’t want to know, but Rimmer tells him anyway ONCE!  To Yvonne McGruder, Mar16th, 7.31pm to 7.43pm 12 minutes! (in his life he has spent more time being sick)  And that includes the time it took to eat the Pizza!  He goes on to say that his life has been miserable and that now he is dead, it’s too late to find love.   He would trade his swimming certificates, his shoe tree, his long service medals and all he has achieved to have loved and have been loved. Rimmer, is of course still drunk. It’s rare we see him bear his sole like this.  Lister is also a little drunk but really doesn’t want to have to listen. He leaves the quarters.

Next morning Rimmer rises and begins his exercise routine. He remembers gradually, that he bared his sole to Lister. As Lister wakes up, he sees that his leg is in plaster, Holly complains that someone has been fiddling with his controls. Cat enters the room. His leg too is in plaster, he’s very annoyed about it.  Holly notices that Lister jigsaw has been completed. They all discover that they have missed four days. It should have been Sunday, but it’s now Thursday.   He also notices that four days have been ripped out of his diary.

“ALIENS” suggests Rimmer. He summarises that the broken legs ‘hurt like hell’ “Hell – which means hello”, They broke two legs, “Hello to” and the jigsaw must mean “YOU”.   Hello to you!

“I’d hate to be around when these guys make a speech!” says Cat.

Holly reports that the black box is missing. They find from a signal, that it is on a remote moon. They retrieve the box and notice that it is buried in a shallow grave marked, “to the memory of Lisa Yates” Lister once went out with a girl called Lisa Yates.  They leave quickly because of a series of VERY large footprints found nearby. Lister and Cat believe that they may belong to an alien that boarded their ship.  They take the flight recorder and head back to the ship.

The flight recorder recording is played and a recording of Holly tells those that are watching NOT to continue, “Some things are best left buried!”

Dave Lister insists that the recording is played and we see the conversation between Lister and Rimmer, we see him admit his failed love life and we see him whine and winge.   At the point where Lister left because of Rimmer’s sad ramblings, we see that he went to wake Cat and they both went to the Hologram Simulation Room where recordings of the crews lives are stored. Lister demonstrates the capability of the equipment by showing Cat what Rimmer is dreaming at that moment. He tells Cat enthusiastically that he is going to give Rimmer the best present he has ever had!

Lister records his memories onto disk.  He took eight months of his life and gave it to Rimmer.  We see a playback of Lisa Yates, Lister’s rather attractive ex-girlfriend telling him that she loved him.  Lister makes a few changes, like voice and name and we see the result when the recording shows Lisa telling Rimmer that she loves him and Rimmer voice returning the complement.  Cat comments that Lister giving Rimmer eight months of his life is a fine present, “He was probably only expecting a tie.” He adds.

When Rimmer wakes up, Lister is pleased to see him in a great mood. He tells Lister of the great time he had during a period in his life when he suddenly, for no apparent reason, left Saturn Tech and went to Liverpool.  He became a total ‘Smeghead’ and fell in love with a wonderful girl.  He also started doing strange things like eating his own to-nail clippings!  Later on, he regrets treating her badly.

“No you didn’t” replies Lister rather taking exception.
“Yes I did.” Says Rimmer. “I started telling her silly stories and making silly excuses.”
“Well you were young, you probably wanted to play around a little, to live a little.” Says Lister by way of an excuse.
“But that’s where you’re wrong, I DID want to settle down…” Adds Rimmer. “It’s what I always wanted.”
Lister considers this and suddenly regrets splitting up with her. “Yes you’re right…”
They discuss how she was wonderful, how the sex was stupendous…… “Wait a minute!” says Rimmer, “How did you know that the sex was great!?”
“Just guessing.” Answers Lister.

Later, Rimmer walks into Lister’s quarters very annoyed. He tells Lister that he’s found the letters. The letters from Lisa Yates! “All the time she was going out with me, she must have been seeing you as well!…… and to make things worse, you used to take her to the exact same placed that I used to and you used to do the exact same things!……. We were at a hotel in Southport and we made love six times. According to the letter, you were at the exact same hotel and YOU made love with her six times too!…… I’m almost glad you were there, If I’d been there on my own I may have been dead within a week!”

Lister admits that he’d given Rimmer 8 months of his memory. Rimmer remembers that this must have been the reason why he was an orphan even though his parents were alive and why he’d had his appendix out – twice! “You’ve destroyed me Lister.  The woman that I loved most in the world, didn’t love me,  she loved YOU!”

Cat chips in with, “You should have bought him the tie!”

Lister attempts to console Rimmer on the observation Deck.  Rimmer is in pain, he doesn’t want to feel this bad. He arranges with Lister to put things back by erasing everyone’s memory for the last four days.

On a remote planet the black box recording is placed under a tombstone with the name of Lisa Yates on it. They dropped the tombstone a number of times including one particular time – on their foot.

And the show ends.

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