Hyperdrive

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.

Nick Frost, Miranda Hart and Dan Antopolski are absolute gems in this series. The rest of the cast are a great deal of fun as well. I understand why people seem to make comparisons to Red Dwarf there is a similar feeling to it but I find it stands well on it's own. I know another series would be a pipe dream at this point, but I would be on board for a third season. Yes it has some cringe worthy moments, but that is part of its charm. It's also an interesting take on global affairs, most often sci-fi has a globalist perspective on the future and Hyperdrive offers up a nationalist point of view that is an interesting change from the norm.

On first pass, this sci-fi comedy immediately invites comparisons with Red Dwarf, Star Trek, and even The Office. However, Hyperdrive is really just the everyday working class gone forth, not so much boldly, but just... there.

The commander of the Camden Lock, Henderson, played warmly by Nick Frost, dreams of doing something great for Britain as he commands his ineffectual crew, ineffectually. His intentions overreach his ability, but he's no smarmy David Brent. This is a bloke who shoulders his responsibility, but could easily end up down the pub with the rest of the crew on a Friday afternoon.

This is a good role for Frost, who has previously played second-fiddle to Simon Pegg in such fan-boy classics as Spaced and Shaun of the Dead. Frost proves he is capable of gentle comedic moments, inhabiting his role with subtlety. This may be lost on some of the more rabid sci-fi crowd, who may be irked to find that this is a very different beast than say, the abrasiveness of the Rimmer/Lister relationship from Red Dwarf. It may be a stretch to say that the crew-mates of the Camden Lock enjoy each other's company but they don't actively hate each other.

The rest of the crew is rounded out nicely by Teal, the Alien Liaison officer, who has a crush on Henderson. First Officer York is gleefully homicidal, and Jeffers is note-perfect as the ship's Tech Officer, who displays just the right amount of contempt and long-suffering for his fellow humans. Sandstrom, the ship's "enhanced human" and Pilot (an obvious stab at such pilot roles found in shows like Andromeda or Farscape) provides a little mystery, and curiously, a strange eroticism. Her vacant smile is stunning.

Overall, Hyperdrive is a rewarding comedy, if you're willing to let go of hyper-critical thinking and allow yourself to enter into a far-flung universe that seems more close to home than you may think. Despite some rather average (and rare) script moments, there's enough of a foundation here to build a show that could yet become as revered and loved as a certain crimson miniature.

Boris has just launched his Galactic Britain initiative which is, apparently, about "putting the UK firmly in the front rank of the global space industry: Global Britain becoming Galactic Britain".

I feel this is the perfect documentary of what it'll be like! The casting is superb and conveys the "good intent but suboptimal outcome" that Nick Frost manages to embody so well. Everyone seems to be up in arms about this not being another Red Dwarf, but thankfully we have Red Dwarf to be Red Dwarf, leaving Hyperdrive to be its own thing.

The only bad thing I have to say about it is the criminally short run of twelve episodes - we need more of this. Talky Door!

The crew of the ship Camden Lock search the stars on behalf of Great Britain to represent it as a country and promote the country as a great place to do business. Promoting places like Tipton and Milton Keynes was never an easy task even on a national level but on a galactic level it is even tougher. To carry out this task a brave crew is assigned led by the Brentish Commander Henderson. He is supported by the warlike and slightly insane First Officer York, the Commander-adoring Teal and the offhand Jeffers with only the remote guidance of Space Commander Clarke.

I'll leave all the comparisons to Red Dwarf to the army of fans that can do it much better than I can but suffice to say that personally I don't bend myself out of shape comparing two things that happen to share a genre. This sci-fi comedy uses the basic frame of the British ship in space to create something that is much closer to the downbeat humour of The Office than it is Red Dwarf. It mixes the British sense of the downbeat with the exaggeration of the sci-fi and I found it quite amusing even if it is a bit inconsistent. The plots are more like a series of ideas cobbled together rather a solid series narrative but it doesn't really matter because I was laughing just about enough to make it worthwhile. The general air of amusement carries it more than anything because I was never rolling with laughter but I did chuckle quite a lot.

The cast are mixed but are mostly good enough to do the job. Frost is funny but at times he is too close to David Brent for my taste at times. That said his was still a good character and I enjoyed the very British sense of bad management that he gave. Eldon may have a similar character but it worked for me and I was amused by him throughout the series. Hart, Antopolski, Evans and Massey are solid enough and Joseph made for quite a famous face in a minor role. Generally the cast all buy into the material and their delivery compliments the material even if it rarely lifts it. The effects are pretty good for a BBC2 comedy and Henderson has a healthy feel for the genre.

Overall this is not a great comedy but I found it consistently amusing. The cross between sci-fi and The Office isn't exactly original or inspiring but it does work for the most part and produces a very British sense of humour. The cast match this and compliment the material without really making it better than it is. Generally though, an amusing British sci-fi comedy.