Dimension Jump XII
Saturday Night
Lest you think that nothing goes on while autographs are being signed and outfits are changed for the evening, remember that there's the ever-competitive Red Dwarf Olympics to consider. From pool with planets to table golf, luck virus darts (facing backwards) to basketball ? variations of all the best Dwarf games were represented, and the combat was ferocious.
As the lights came down, Red Dwarf's costume designer Howard Burden ? braving the elements, complete with car that had to be towed home afterwards ? arrived for a flying visit to judge matters in which he is more qualified than most; the Costume Competition.
A fine array this year included various personifications of Camille (the blob incarnation causing Howard to yell "It's better than yours" over to Mike Tucker), a giant can of alphabetti spaghetti, Admiral Rimmer, Talkie Toaster and a super-suited Cat. Actually, that last one was fine until Howard asked the gentleman in question to 'show us some slink'. He wasn't keen. Even asking Danny's advice didn't help, and the poor man sloped off in a less than feline manner.
In the end the winners were: Joint third place Martha Hawker as Talkie Toaster and Laurie Makinna as Mr. Flibble.
2nd place Simon Smith as Polymorph.
And in first place: Simon Peel as Camille Blob.
Next up came The Family Lovett, a splendid sandwich of entertainment, with Norman stuck between his daughters ? both of whom had undergone something of a career shift. You may recall that Lily has previously acted, and Kitty has done stand-up (including at Dimension Jump). Well, it's all change now as Lily kicked off with some character comedy, providing a Victoria-Beckham-esque performance; and Kitty rounded the show off by singing live ? and with as much gusto as a hurricane ? 'I Will Survive'.
The Norman meat in the Lovett sandwich was an unbridled joy. This year accompanied by his own collection of slides, we got a perspective into someone else's sightly off-kilter mind, along with his typical observations. Why do we say 'drinks like a fish'? "I've never come down and found my aquarium empty."
But the slides were the thing. It's hard to convey the laughs a man can get with a line like "That's a car near where I live," but it worked a treat. We explored the world of his dogs, Elvis and Bingo, his preferred make of vacuum cleaner, the use of actors in advertisements... all off-set by that same laconic tone. "That's Elvis with a bit of paper on his nose. He has no idea." "That's our tortoise. There he is. He's trying to attack me." Genius.
Then, you guessed it, the evening becomes something of a blur as the disco lights come on, the music starts, and I throw myself around the floor like a loon. Roll on Sunday morning.
