Hyperdrive

This brand new comedy is a breath of fresh air. It has a great feeling to it and is like a miniature Hollywood production with great sets and costumes. Kevin Eldon and Nick Frost are both well established in sitcoms and the rest of the talented cast are fantastic in what promises to be a great show if given the chance.

Why, the really negative comments from the spotty nerds who compare everything to their love of Red Dwarf, some of these guys have to be well in their 50s by now. I don't know why these people take delight in knocking something that is vastly superior to their beloved Red Dwarf. Maybe it is their age as they were probably almost able to pull a girlfriend in Red Dwarf times and Hyperdrive holds none of the nostalgia.

It is easy, if you don't understand the humour, put your Red Dwarf DVDs on and relax in yesteryear.

This show shows promise. I think we all hated the first few episodes but for those of us who stuck with it we found out that as the series progressed it started to become genuinely funny. It is a wonderful, detached a quirky comedy with more than a few noticeable flaws. But these are outweighed by other laugh out loud moments the likes of which have only ever been seen on Red Dwarf. The characters, while underdeveloped, are humorous and quirky and add to the hilarity, especially York, the sadistic security officer. I know this show has very definite and profound flaws, but it is these moments of brilliance that make the show worth watching, that make all those cringe worthy flop gags worth cringing for, give this show a chance, you won't regret it.

I can't believe how many very lazy reviewers here are comparing this show negatively to Red Dwarf. Just stop it alright? Nothing except Red Dwarf will ever be as good as Red Dwarf. Having said that, the characters in this show are based a good deal less on stereotypes that those in Dwarf. The humour is frequently more zany than Dwarf, the stories are less predictable than Dwarf. One or two story ideas do fall a bit flat, but many are very funny, especially the shows that feature the alien race Queppu. Overall the humour here is very Brit, which is why I think many Americans just don't get it (which is fine by me, I don't laugh at The Big Bang Theory). The actors are all very good TV actors (Craig Charles was more of a poet than an actor when he started in Dwarf) and have been well cast for their roles. Nick Frost is of course well-known, but at least two of the others have had their own comedy shows. It's a shame this only got two series, but I'm grateful for them and it still makes me laugh on rewatch.

For starters, I don't get what the big deal is comparing this show to Red Dwarf. Aside from both being British sci-fi series set in space, Hyperdrive is hardly a ripoff. If you ask me, it's more like Star Trek than anything else, albeit a twisted, bureaucratic, hilarious Star Trek set in a less-than-perfect-future. Exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new lifeforms and new civilizations, to boldly sell stuff where no man has sold stuff before! :) And even if the concept may not be the most original in the history of scifi, the characters more than make up for that. York is just deliciously evil, Jeffers is perfect as the wannabe-badass, Teal is just plain cheerful and fun, and Sandstrom... well, I just like her because she reminds me of Radical Edward. :D

I have long been a fan of Red Dwarf. Compared to the very best of Red Dwarf (3rd and 4th seasons) Hyperdrive does not measure up. But there are not a lot of comedy writers out there who could follow the team of Grant & Naylor and expect to compare favorably.

As many here have already observed Hyperdrive does not attempt to be the same sort of comedy as Red Dwarf. I find it to be a send up of the pomposity found in the Star Trek universe. If you come to the show looking for that kind of satire then Hyperdrive will prove to be very very entertaining. At least watch it long enough to see the Cadet Ball scene. You'll see what I mean.