Sets

Long on the list for the Red Dwarf movie, production designer Mark Harris came with an interesting history - the production designer of the reinvented Captain Scarlet has been a stalwart of the film industry. Art director on three Bond movies and Event Horizon, he also worked on Tim Burton's Batman (in which Red Dwarf simulant Denis Lill also appeared), James Cameron's Aliens (watch for a scene featuring a pre-Hollister Mac McDonald) and Frank Oz's Little Shop of Horrors (which included Danny John-Jules in a fleeting chorus appearance... man, this is a small business).

Ironically, and with a strong eye on the budget, the art department's jobs included a number of sets that were barely sets at all. Plastic sheets created Nose World out of the working prop storage area, black drapes became The Creator's apartment, cunningly-lit parts of the stages became a garage and basement staircase, and a large greenscreen facilitated the creation of G-Deck and several of Red Dwarf's corridors.

The key build - done totally for real - was the sleeping quarters. This important setting, the spiritual home of Red Dwarf's character-driven format, seemed to blend the old and the new - the grey, 'submarine' feel of the early series, but the depth and dimension of Mel Bibby's work on the later series.

Decorating the set appropriately proved a lengthy task. Space Corps manuals and a revision timetable were created, and a huge number of details were added - including a beer IV drip, a new guitar for Lister, and Sean Connery's space helmet from the movie Outland (it's amazing how these things do the rounds). Shelves were lined with books from Doug Naylor's office, and posters and pictures were mocked up to line Lister's bunk.

The bunkroom set also became a recycled marvel. The large window and door allowed scenes to be shot from a reverse angle, creating a simple 'corridor' with elevator door. That door was also used for the entrance to the Remembrance Garden (a solid platform floor with memorial stone that was otherwise also created in CG). And the door, walls, window and floor all later served double-duty as the corridor on which the final scenes play out - augmented with a cunning foreground miniature that seemed to expand the size of the set significantly.

Also recycled was the department store 'bunkroom' which was shuffled around and redressed to become the DVD department. Eagle-eyed fans might notice that some of the films on the racks are Red Dwarf in-jokes - including Die Screaming With Sharp Things In Your Head and Mugs Murphy.

On the Shepperton Studios site, a 'Chinatown' street was built between stages - yet more impressive use of lighting and decoration - and the staff bus stop stood in for... well, a real one.