The first 6 series were filmed on a set in front of a live studio audience. Then for series 7 they decided to start filming in a proper film studio, without an audience, which would allow them to use a lot more special effects, have more elaborate sets, have a fourth wall and generally change the look of the show to make it look a lot more professional. However the fans pretty much hated it, so for series 8 it went back to live audience.
I didn't mind series 7 (the one where Kochanski came back) but I thought series 8 was pretty poor, they should never had brought the whole crew back to life, the whole point of the show was that Lister was meant to be the last human, and space was empty and lonely. Plus, a live T-Rex running round Red Dwarf? Sorry, that's just silly. And the continuity issues are laughable, especially the backstory of Lister and Kochanski's relationship (up to series 6 they had never had a relationship and Lister's biggest regret was never having told her how he felt. Then in series 7 they had gone out for 3 months and she had dumped him) Still, looking forward to the specials and seeing how Rimmer managed to outfox the Grim Reaper. |