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" Future Echoes" is the second episode of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf series one, and was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC Two on 22 February 1988. It was written by co-creators Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye.
The episode—which has the crew witnessing brief events from the future as Red Dwarf breaks the light barrier—was considered to be one of the better efforts from the first series,Episode Survey Results, Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 10, December 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd, so much so that it has been credited, by the creators, as having saved the series. The episode was Remaster, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998, to appeal more to international broadcasters.
When an explosion rocks through the corridors, Rimmer explains to Lister that he just saw a "future echo" of him dying in the drive room when working on the navicomp. Lister suspects that this will happen when Cat breaks a tooth on one of the robotic goldfish in his quarters and attempts to prevent this. However, Lister inadvertently knocks the tooth out while trying to change the future, whereupon he opts to face his destiny and fix the drive room's navicomp when it starts malfunctioning. When he manages to repair it without incident, Rimmer question what he had actually seen.Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 47. Returning to their quarters, they soon encounter another "future echo" consisting of an elderly Lister who explains that Rimmer had actually seen the death of one of his twin sons. Before he disappears, he tells the pair to head to the medical unit with a camera.
As they do so, Lister questions Holly about the range of "future echoes", to which the computer replies that the faster they go beyond the light barrier, the further into the future they can see. However, as the ship is now slowing down, the "future echoes" will begin to be closer to the present until the ship resumes normal speed. Before the pair reach the medical unit, Rimmer questions how Lister would get twin sons with no women on board, to which Lister insists he doesn't know but believes it will be a laugh to find out. The pair soon see a future Lister of similar age walk out of the unit with two crying babies, and poses for the camera.
Split-screen techniques were used as Lister talked to Rimmer's echo—just as the original Rimmer walked out the door. While Craig Charles interacted with Chris Barrie the first time, he had to then act with thin air. Where in fact, the finished shot would have Rimmer's echo walking in from the other direction and Lister trying to talk to him. This was achieved by shooting the scene with Charles and Barrie and then a separate shot of Barrie was added to the scene to follow on with the conversation with Charles.
The skutters, the tiny, motorised, three-clawed service droids, were actual working models. They were made up of parts including old shoe boxes and the engines of radio-controlled cars. Interference originating from the radios of a nearby taxi company, which was particularly busy during filming of "Future Echoes", caused havoc with the skutter models on set. One reportedly poked Craig Charles in the eye, and another launched an unsuspecting attack on Chris Barrie's groin. Coincidentally the skutters were in the script very inept towards their maintenance work and mischievous towards humans.Intrerview: Peter Wragg, Red Dwarf Smegazine, issue 8, October 1992, Fleetway Editions Ltd,
John Lenahan voiced the Toaster and Tony Hawks provided his voice for the Dispensing Machine.
After the episode aired Rob Grant and Doug Naylor became uncomfortable with how casually Lister takes the news of his future son's violent death. When this episode was adapted for , this was altered so it's actually Lister's grandson who dies in the navicomp explosion.
Changes specific to "Future Echoes" include new bike shots of Lister inserted at the beginning, and computer-generated special effects of Red Dwarf breaking the light barrier. Also post-production video effects of white flashes were added to scenes when the ship breaks the light barrier. An additional dramatic score was added to the scene of Lister's impending death.
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