On 20 February 2009, it was announced that Red Dwarf: Back to Earth would now be a three part special and that the unplugged episode had been postponed. Unplugged had been described by Craig Charles as "just the four of us - and some chairs - trying to improvise, or rather trying to remember, classic scenes".
[spoiler:2zjpeq1v]Plot-wise, lead-actor, Chris Barrie was reported as saying, "Yes, Lister's dream is about to come true. But like everything in Red Dwarf, nothing is straightforward." On 4 March, 2009 it was revealed that actress
Sophie Winkleman would be playing a character called Katerina, a resurrected hologram of a Red Dwarf science officer intent on replacing Rimmer. Further plot details were explained in issue 181 of British Science Fiction magazine, SFX. The episode is set 9 years after the events of "Only the Good...",
Kochanski is dead and Holly is offline due to water damage caused by Lister leaving a tap running. On 11 March 2009, the official Dave blog posted a brief synopsis of each episode, however they were removed due to being released too early and replaced with an apology.[/spoiler:2zjpeq1v]
"Back to Earth" itself will not be filmed in front of a studio audience in an effort to help keep the plot a secret. Although this will not be the first time this has happened (for instance, series 7 was filmed entirely without a live audience), it will be the first time a laughter track is not added for broadcast.
It will also be the first episode of Red Dwarf to be filmed in High Definition.
The specials will be broadcast over four nights starting on Friday, April 10th 2009. It will then be released on DVD on 15 June 2009.
[spoiler:2zjpeq1v]"Back to Earth (Part One)" April 10, 2009
Nine years later (after the events of Only the Good...) the Red Dwarf crew are older but still none the wiser. Lister's busy day of annoying Rimmer is interrupted by the discovery of a dimension-hopping leviathan in the ship's mile-deep water tank.
"Back to Earth (Part Two)" April 11, 2009
Rimmer's replacement, Katerina (Sophie Winkleman), is determined to guide Lister back to his home planet. But Earth in 2009 is not everything the boys had expected, and Rimmer has no intention of being replaced.
"Back to Earth (Part Three)" April 12, 2009
Knowing they are destined to die, the Dwarfers - in best "Blade Runner" traditions - track down those responsible for their creation to plead for more life.[/spoiler:2zjpeq1v]
Why it's Big Suze from Peepshow.....
LONG LIVE THE 'DWARF!!!!!!!!!!! 2 Weeks, 4 days to go....
No Holly.....meh.