The film revolves around a man named Dave Lester. Dave is the last person alive to leak a sudden radiation. Over time, it has been discovered that this crew of singles is mostly desperate in space. But in the end, Dave kills time and takes part in the adventure aboard the Red Dwarf mining ship, which offers him more exotic routes in his life.
Craig Charles is likable and funny as Dave Lister, as is John-Jules as the cat. However, Chris Barry's Arnold Rimmer comes off as a character common in lots of British sitcoms: the fussy self-important little twit.
Marrying the slacker aesthetic of Dark Star to the wry humour of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it had both the innate melancholy and odd-couple dynamic central to all great sitcoms.
It's an acquired taste, but people looking for a silly and twisted comedic take on "realistic" sci-fi flicks will most likely become a smeg-head that'll want to own all of the series on DVD.
