Sets

Having allocated a large piece of the budget for set reinvention in the previous year, it was decided that, with all the regular sets still intact, some of the money would be better spent elsewhere.

While Mel Bibby prided himself on always being able to provide anything the writers asked for, one item for Red Dwarf IV proved impossible. Justice required a background with a perspective that appeared to lead back into infinity. Without the space - or the money - for the ramped floor it would have taken to create the massive illusion, a compromise was reached. A whacking great light was installed at the rear of the set - if in doubt, blind everyone!

Two different cell sets were built for the series - stone-look for Meltdown, and a more futuristic one for Justice. An additional corridor was added as a regular set (doubled-up on when it proved not-quite long enough for Lister's final Justice speech, leading the actors back the way the had just come).

Outside of the studio, the crew visited the Sunbury Pumphouse for the massive Justice Zone (a location later used to house Channel 4's Gamesmaster). A water-drenched Starbug exterior was built in the studio - the high-pressure water completely annihilating the long-suffering cast.

Towards the end of the series, Mel had to hurriedly construct a set for the DNA ship. With the money running out, he remained unhappy with the grungy, organic-looking set - but happy to have anything at all! The set was made from masses of polystyrene - which had just been discarded from the set of a commercial shooting nearby.