Costumes

There are two Dave Lister jackets in existence. One is apparently in the possession of one 'Craig Charles' (you may know him from TV's Cyberzone), the other is kept safe by costume designer Howard Burden. It's a little dilapidated these days... but isn't that just so Lister?

It was a return of the classic look for Dave and co in Back to Earth. Lister's costume returns to its Series III/IV origins, Kryten's outfit - although given more detail for the HD camera, and with a change of underlying fabric - was much as before, and Cat's 'CAT' belt was dragged out of storage, along with a classic fur coat.

Rimmer's outfit, too, was familiar if somewhat reinvented. A blue version of his Series III/IV/V tunic - coming back from the 'puffy' jackets of later years - it evoked the old series in spades. As did the returning badge, displayed on the chest and almost replaced with a name tag... before everyone, thankfully, thought better of it. (Though the costume still makes for a small continuity error - a belt was added to give the tunic more shape after the Coronation Street shoot.)

New creations included a hologram outfit for Katerina - using the same fabric as Rimmer's outfit, but, well, significantly less of it - and some gob-smacking underwater gear. Lister's Nemo-inspired diving suit (complete with a helmet which sadly went unseen) and Kryten's traditional water-wings (watch for them in Backwards and Terrorform) paled next to the pink lycra wrapped around Cat. It was an outfit that raised some huge laughs at the premiere screening.

Howard's love for Cat's outfits meant that he beat out the ultra-low budget to give the character something brand new rather than simply dig old stuff out of the wardrobe. The result - a glorious maroon creation with a distinct Western/Riviera Kid influence - was more than worth the effort.

Homage was also the order of the day. While Noddy was clad in a borrowed Red Dwarf T-shirt, and Swallow was built from pieces of old simulant outfits, The Creator and Kochanski both got the full Blade Runner treatment - the wigs, the hair, the whole damn look. Two each, in fact: The Creator begins as a Tyrell-alike (though with even sillier glasses) but later changes into 'Deckard', with the iconic brown trenchcoat. And Kochanski goes from the stiff, pencil-skirted Rachel - complete with Chloë's own ultra-high heels - to her big-haired, fur-coated version for the ending.