While some critics have written off the new series as okay but not great the majority of them have hailed the new series as a welcome return to form, as have the majority of fans.
Episode one of the new series, titled "Trojan", sees Lister Kryten Rimmer and Cat come to the aid of Rimmers brother, Howard, with the help of an advanced spaceship they discover (The "Trojan" of the title).
While the episode felt like it was trying to be more of a standard sitcom than before, perhaps trying to hard to appeal to markets other than the UK, it did feel more like an early series of Red Dwarf with the majority of gags working well, some laugh out loud funny scenes, good chemistry between the cast members and it had that old magic back that fans were hoping for from its heyday.
The crew look surprisingly good for their ages, Rimmer (Chris Barrie) and Cat (Danny John Jules) are both 52, Craig Charles is 48 and Robert Llewellyn is 56 yet the fact they were obviously older didn't have the negative effect some had expected.The first episode centred around Rimmer, a nod to previous series where some of the best episodes were those centred around one of the key characters (quite often Rimmer), and saw him finally best one of his bullying brothers in that weasel like yet strangely endearing way that only he could.
Along the way there were of course some well set up comedy moments, most notably the exam question concerning a Swede, Arnolds attempt at being captain like on the radio (only to be thwarted by a chair) and of course his final words to Howard.
The show was very much a return to form, not perfect but close enough that it bodes well for the rest of the series being enjoyable and having watched it twice myself I can confirm that as with the earlier series it holds up well to repeat viewings.
If you're a fan then chances are you'll enjoy it, if you're not well then maybe you won't but with just shy of one and a half million viewers tuning in to watch the return of Red Dwarf, giving Dave its second highest audience figure since the 2009 Red Dwarf mini series "Back to Earth", it's clear that a lot of fans were keen to give the show another chance.
It will be interesting to see how many return for the second episode, which will give an idea of whether the show can be a commercial success, but if early impressions and comments are anything to go by it looks like Red Dwarf has a good chance of repeating its earlier successes.
