Here’s the full press release.

Red Dwarf: Back to Earth is the biggest ever non-terrestrial commission, rating 2.66m on Good Friday at 9pm

Freeview comedy channel Dave is celebrating a massive ratings success following the eagerly awaited reunion of four hapless space explorers in Red Dwarf: Back to Earth. 2.29m (11% share) tuned in for the premiere episode on Good Friday at 9pm and another 374k (2% share) caught up with the action on Dave’s plus one channel, Dave ja vu.

The total viewership of the premiere episode represents the largest viewing figure in multichannel television history for a UK commission. Red Dwarf: Back to Earth even saw Dave score a higher share than BBC2 and Five in the same time slot on Good Friday at 9pm.

The two following episodes on Easter Saturday and Sunday at 9pm also broke the million mark according to consolidated figures, rating 1.7m and 1.3m respectively. Red Dwarf: The Making of Back to Earth pulled in 621k individuals at 9:30pm on Easter Sunday evening.

Red Dwarf: Back to Earth is Dave’s biggest commission yet and its first foray into scripted comedy. Enjoying both mainstream and cult appeal, Red Dwarf has enjoyed phenomenal success since it first aired in 1988 on BBC 2; spanned over eight series with a total of 52 episodes plus specials; brought in over 8 million viewers for series 8; 7.25 million DVD & VHS sales worldwide; broadcast over 25 territories worldwide and International Emmy and British Comedy Award winners including Outstanding Popular Arts Programme.

And aren’t they lovely?

To mark Red Dwarf's 21st anniversary, the cast and celebrities arrive for the World Premiere Screening of Red Dwarf: Back to Earth to be shown on Friday at 9pm on Dave.

“…Nine years later” is how Red Dwarf: Back to Earth opens. And that’s the only specific detail I’m going to give from the three new RD episodes, which were screened back-to-back to press, celebs and general telly nabobs at London’s May Fair (I know, it doesn’t look right, but it is two words) hotel this evening.

“Unfortunately Craig’s not able to be with us tonight,” said Doug Naylor to the assembled. “He’s very disappointed. We’re just going to play a short film that he recorded earlier today on the Coronation Street set. And I just want you to compare the way this is shot with… [drowns in laughter]. Pay attention to the lip-sync! Never mind the quality! This is Coronation Street! It’s, what, number one in the ratings?!”

And then Craig, from the Kabin: “Hi everyone. I’m really gutted I won’t be getting to see Back to Earth with you all tonight, but unfortunately I’ve got a Coronation Street night shoot. I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved, maybe it’ll lead to more shows. But tonight it should make you laugh, gasp and maybe even shed a little tear – and not just at the bit where Chris gets his nackers slammed into a desk.”

Okay, so let’s talk in general terms about the three-parter…

Bingo jingo!

I’ve got to be honest and say I have conflicting feelings. I’d never call myself a Red Dwarf fan, but I guess I’m enough of a fan to hold an opinion on when I think the original series stopped being truly great. Many of the problems that dogged its latter years are gone, here. There’s a cohesive story, for one, and the characters are allowed once more to do – well – just what we want to see them doing. Hey, even the original font is back!

And, yet, with that comes a sense this was almost written as a tribute to Red Dwarf, and not a new episode. As though Doug Naylor couldn’t give himself license to do anything other than repeat familiar tropes.

That plot, then. Just when it feels as though it’s about to twist into something quite ingenous it throws in a disappointing final loop that I was sure had to be a bluff… but wasn’t. Suddenly, and inelegantly, it stops.

It’s a shame, because everything else about the production is tops. It looks brilliant; this is Red Dwarf: The Movie. And the cast effortlessly reprise their roles, delivering the material with real zing.

So I’m a bit disappointed. But I think this is a fine commission for Dave – it’s the kind of thing digital channels should be doing; showing faith in much-loved franchises that people actually want to see on television. I applaud them for that. And, actually I’d would like to see more Red Dwarf. Despite my horrible grumbling, there’s still something there…

Welcome home

Tonight it’s the press launch for Dave’s Red Dwarf: Back to Earth. Expect (a non-spoilery) preview on OTT later on…

The latest iteration of that logo

A two-parter, Red Dwarf: Back to Earth, is set to premiere on Friday 10 April at 9pm on Dave. Written and directed by Doug Naylor, it reunites RD cast members Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn (nothing has yet been confirmed regarding Norman Lovett or Hattie Haybridge). Shooting starts on Monday 16 February.

The two episodes will be joined by a couple of one-offs: Red Dwarf: Unplugged (“A no holds barred episode that delivers the cast as they’ve never been seen before – no sets, no effects… and no autocue!) and Red Dwarf: The Making of Back to Earth.

Dave promises it’ll have regular updates for RD fans on its website, joindave.co.uk, with a new piece of production gossip revealed every Wednesday.

The comedy hasn’t dated, and neither have the games. I read through my OTT history of the show and still feel generally happy with it despite these retrospective viewings. Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie still make me laugh really, really hard; Greg Proops is still on autopilot and Josie Lawrence is still bloody awful, awful, awful. I think I was harsh on Tony Slattery though; maybe his ubiquity and eventual decline within the trappings of celebrity contributed to my lack of sympathy for him or his skills. Or maybe I’ve mellowed.

The only things to have really dated are Steve Frost’s floral shirts.

It seems inevitable, as interest returns through these repeats and the forthcoming DVD releases, that some form of revival may be in the offing. But is this brand of genuinely clever comedy which suits a family audience any good to a TV channel any more?

UKTV is strengthening its channel line up by evolving UKTV G2 into Dave, a comedy and factual entertainment channel. Launching on 15 October, the channel is aimed at a young male audience and will be available on all platforms including Freeview (DTT). The core aim of the name change is to create viewer affinity among a key target audience of ABC1 men aged 16-34 years.

And there’s more …

Dave Channel Head, Steven North explains, “With a schedule for which most broadcasters would give their eye teeth, UKTV G2 is an incredibly successful channel with 10 million viewers in pay homes each month, but with relatively low brand awareness. Changing the channel name to Dave enables us to create a strong and noisy personality for the channel that immediately aligns us with our core 16-34 male audience.”

Julia Jordan, UKTV’s Executive Director Business and Operations, added, “In a cluttered multi-channel environment channel branding is crucial, and Dave offers us a new and innovative way to create audience connections and a commercially desirable channel to maintain our viewing share.

The name change and move on to Freeview allows UKTV to further realise the potential of the channel proposition, making it available to view in 20 million homes nationwide for the first time. 

“There’s a definite opportunity for a channel like Dave on Freeview. The younger male audience is of very high value commercially and this demographic is currently under-served in Freeview homes,” added Julia.

Marketing activity to launch Dave will commence on 1 October with an on-air campaign created by Red Bee Media, which will play across the UKTV and Virgin Media networks. 

With a brief to establish Dave as the home of witty banter and as a refuge from the everyday, the award-winning Red Bee’s innovative and original creative juxtaposes traditional weekend retreat imagery with contemporary talent from the channel’s key content in a humorous and irreverent way to represent the channel’s key brand values.

So there it is. I’m sat here right now looking at the first of Dave’s promotional pictures: “Dave: the home of witty banter” superimposed over a panelled wood wall, with a giraffe edging in to shot.

Dave?!