[ SECRET POST #6115 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #6115 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 21 secrets from Secret Submission Post #874.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 1 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

05. https://i.imgur.com/Kzadf91.png

[greghousesgf]

I said this here before but nobody responded to it so I may be wasting my time but I can't help noticing that in general, American Red Dwarf fans tended to think of Lister as the main character but Brit Red Dwarf fans tended to see Rimmer as the main character (I'm guessing before he left, but other TV shows have had the main guy leave)

[(Anonymous)]

and feline fans think the show spends a LOT of time on Rimmer and Lister when Cat is obviously the main character.

[(Anonymous)]

Huh, interesting. It's been ages since I watched Red Dwarf, but I (as an American) didn't think of there being just one lead, it seemed very much like an ensemble comedy to me. I think most of the British comedies that were shown in the U.S. at that time that I was aware of were group cast things: Are You being Served?, Allo Allo, Monty Python, stuff like that. Only Keeping Up Appearances had an obvious main character, and well... you can't out-main character Hyacinth Bucket, LOL.

[arcanetrivia]

Definitely an ensemble with the core of it being the duo of Rimmer and Lister. That said, if I had to pick only one, it would be Lister - it's what happens to him (getting trapped in stasis and let out 3 million years later) that kicks off the whole rest of the plot. (And yeah, I'm American.)

Rimmer is my favorite character, though, no joke.

[(Anonymous)]

No. Brit here and no. Lister is the main character. If anything, it's seen as an ensemble because all the characters are awesome.

[(Anonymous)]

I feel like with Rimmer being 'unlikable' - as in his whole walk of life from his own family to friends and work colleagues expressing some kind of dislike for him, or at least judging from Rimmer's own pov - is part the reason why he wasn't written as the main lead like Lister.
I mean, he straight up admits that he has an admiration for fascist dictators during Margaret Thatcher's time as prime minister (when she was often described as such for all the shitty things she was doing before getting out in 1990, which reflected A LOT on the media being made at the time) - which is something he got away with as a side character but probably not as a 'main'.
In addition to the fact that Lister, with all his own faults, was definitely the character with more compassion to help/understand others (ie: wanting to understand who Cat was whereas Rimmer would have had him off the ship, or how Lister wanted to help Kryten break his programming - even with Rimmer on several occasion throughout the series where he would listen to so much of his messed up life and sometimes tried to help or attempt to give words of comfort). He wasn't perfect by no means - none of them were - but Lister was the one who helped to band the group together in a way that I don't think Rimmer would have been able to do.

This of course isn't to say that Rimmer's episodes weren't the most interesting ones either, I do agree with you on that OP. But I think if it had shifted for Rimmer to be the lead, something would have been lost in conveying those interesting parts of his character.

[(Anonymous)]

I like your analysis!
Yes, Rimmer is interesting, but never actually likable. But that is the very reason why Holly chose him above all the rest of the crew as someone to keep Lister sane. And the show was definitely less engaging when he was gone. He's not the lead, but he's definitely a catalyst, and an essential one at that.

[(Anonymous)]

Lister is nominally the main character because he is the 'relatable' 'everyman' (obviously both of those are debatable but they are true enough in the context of Red Dwarf). You need to be able to relate to Lister to find Rimmer funny. If you were supposed to sympathise mostly with Rimmer, things would get dark pretty quickly.

I think maybe what you are getting confused about here OP is the concept of main character vs most popular character. It's not uncommon at all for the main comic relief to become the most popular character over the main character. See Sheldon MPC) vs Leonard (MC) in TBBT, Bender (MPC) vs Fry (MC) in Futurama, Stiles (MPC) vs Scott (MC) in Teen Wolf, and really any other character you choose in Arrested Development vs Michael (MC).

Some people then obviously want their fave to be the main character - but don't realise how that would actually change the dynamic of the show and potentially ruin what makes their fave their fave in the first place.