Red Dwarf VII: Byte Two

Apparently a huge hit in Britain (I swear that PR firms are making this stuff up), this space comedy is vaguely reminiscent of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (minus, of course, the actual humor). In the episode I watched, Duct Tape, one of three episodes on Byte Two from Red Dwarf's seventh season, Lister, The Cat, Kryten (a "mechanoid") and new arrival Kochanski find themselves wandering through the ducts of their rickety spaceship after a generator malfunction seals the doors. Naturally, the quartet swap half-liners--I'm sorry, they don't qualify as full one-liners--along the way, mostly regarding Lister's claustrophobia. Basically, this is average sitcom fare dressed up in Jetsons garb. Three caveats: 1) On Red Byte Three, Patrick Stewart and Stephen Hawking appear on a special episode celebrating the show's 10th anniversary, 2), a good friend--whose opinion I trust--assures me that this is funny stuff, and 3) I'm not a Trekkie-type, so take my negative ramblings with a grain of intergalactic salt. In addition to Byte One, Byte Two and Byte Three, a new outtakes volume, Red Dwarf Smeg Outs ($9.98), is also available. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)