Sets

As with the costumes, the recreation of a series I set made for a strange experience for designer Mel Bibby, who hadn't been involved with the early series. Mel put together as much original detail as possible - complete with London Jets posters and fish tank! The window was updated as well; of the two scenes filmed, one included a greenscreen backcloth for the starscape. (The scene was reshot in the holding cell and so never made it to the screen.)

Greenscreen background was also used to add starscapes to other sets. The crew's hearing (shot in the same set as the captain's dinner table) and Kryten's psychological evaluation were similarly augmented. For the latter scene, massive screw heads were added to Kryten's chair - although these were never shown in the final cut.

It was, however, time for a whole new bunkroom. The new prison complex allowed for a brand new set - and a new colour scheme, too. The orange cells were kitted up to be lit from underneath to add a sense of scale, an illusion that was completed by two further additions. Firstly, a second cell was placed behind the existing one (used only twice to house Kryten and Kochanski, the two sets were actually never used together and so the relation of the two characters' cells was never established).

Secondly, a gigantic wall was made up by the effects department. Described as a huge miniature, the wall was actually a highly detailed and layered model, complete with lights. Much closer to the gantry walkway than it appeared, the wall gave the impression of distant size to match the CGI tower used for wide exterior shots. The location work for the ground-level tank was shot at Gallions Reach in London's docklands. Further locations were provided by an airbase hangar in Cardington, Bedfordshire - well, where else were they going to find room for a T-Rex?

Elsewhere, there was another vague recreation of the captain's office - this one far less directly matched than the bunk room, but still retaining the flat grey look. (Ironically, exactly the kind of look Mel had originally been hired to eradicate.) Starbug's cockpit reappeared too, salvaged from series VII, although the cockpit was all that was - the 'Bug ended at the cockpit doors!

Reaching the end of the design phase, the SS Silverberg set for Cassandra was made with a colour scheme not dissimilar to the series III bunk rooms. This was mostly due to Mel's decision to postpone the Silverberg design in favour of making the more important new 'standard' sets (prison cell, captain's office, corridors, etc.).

Mel also constructed two AR suites - one shown, one not. The 'other' set was part of the original, one-hour BITR story and was a somewhat more dream-like affair with the crew laid out on tables. The set shown was a more organic, industrial, almost nightmarish creation with the Dwarfers stood in their unconscious state and controlling their AR actions by joysticks.

Finally, there was the return of an old friend. The set of Blue Midget had last been seen in the third series - already a reinvented version of Paul Montague's original - and this time the ship had to house five characters, two skutters and Holly. The ship itself had already been redesigned, and so the set followed - with room for every character at a workstation. (The set made for a fun moment when the ship 'lurched forward'. All the characters were thrown backwards, but Rimmer - whose wheeled chair was in front of the open doorway - zoomed back further than most!)