Sets

It was all change with the Red Dwarf sets as Paul Montague was replaced by Mel Bibby. Having decided that the submarine-style grey sets were not quite working, the ship's crew - it was suggested - could move up to the Officers' Quarters and make use of the better living conditions.

First up was the new bunkroom, which instantly gave a hint of Bibby's major stylistic influence - Ridley Scott's original Alien. The off-white walls mimicked that film's own interiors, as did the grungy, run-down look of the corridors.

All about the set were tiny details based on the characters' various personalities. Rimmer's bunk, for example, had antique guns and a model of the space shuttle. Some details - Lister's Zero-G posters and Rimmer's swimming certificates - were transported from the previous sets. Meanwhile Holly was finally given a monitor on the set, the previous method of superimposing the image over an existing mirror (a hang up from the days when Holly was simply a voice-over) having been disposed of.

With the style established, Mel moved on to the other recurring sets of the show. The Science Room was created in the same colour-style as the bunk room, with a central console table and medibed. Outside of the ship, Starbug required an interior, and the final version had its shape based on the effects team's model, with the cockpit and mid-section using the same grungy look as the new corridors. (A new, small Blue Midget set was also required to replace the one used in series II.)

Other sets included the wreckable pub on the backwards Earth, the red-coloured Officers' Club, and a Landing Bay for Hudzen's climactic arrival. Plus an outer section of Starbug had to be built for Marooned, along with a suitably icy-looking planet surface.

Manchester once again - despite the Nodnol sign - provided the locations as the show ventured further out into new territory. Several inserts were filmed at Padiham Power Station to give a larger scale to some of the gantries and engine rooms aboard Red Dwarf. The production team also visited the Hotel Picadilly for the (truncated) sauna scene in Bodyswap. Meanwhile, Lyme Hall in Cheshire with its wide open courtyard played host to the rich Lister and his staff.