On the Axed Red Dwarf Episode and the use of CGI

In a plot twist so spectacularly meta that even Holly would say, “Nice one, Dave,” Red Dwarf co-creator Doug Naylor recently revealed that the now-cancelled 90-minute special was going to feature a fully CG young Dave Lister—digitally de-aged to look like Craig Charles in his early twenties.

Naylor explained that the storyline was built around Lister travelling back in time to save his 23-year-old self from stasis. The plan was for present-day Lister to go on the run with his newly liberated younger counterpart, all while dodging not one but two Rimmers—one from the current timeline and one from the past. Yes, two Rimmers. Somewhere, Kryten is still rebooting.

To avoid recasting or unsettling cloning attempts in the style of a malfunctioning Skutter, Naylor hired a visual effects specialist to create a completely CG young Lister. The results were apparently so convincing that onlookers reacted with disbelief, asking whether the footage was really computer-generated.

So Why Did the Whole Thing Get Smegged Up?

Despite a contract in place and two-thirds of the script already complete, UKTV abruptly halted development. According to Naylor, this was the result of the broadcaster deciding to step back from commissioning scripted comedy altogether—collateral damage that took Red Dwarf’s ambitious special with it.

Naylor still hopes the story may live on someday, perhaps as a novel or in the hands of another broadcaster, but the fully realised CG Lister has—at least for now—been left to float in the digital void.

Craig Charles later added further detail, saying the unmade episodes would have leaned heavily on AI and new effects tech. He described the planned visuals as jaw-dropping, the sort of effects that make you shout, “How smegging hell did they do that?!”

What We Lost in the Unmade Episode

The special would have given fans a rare treat: Lister mentoring his own younger self, crashing through time and space with both wisdom and musical incompetence intact. The dynamic promised a surprising emotional core—something halfway between a father–son story and a buddy comedy where both buddies are equally irresponsible.

Meanwhile, Rimmer’s double-presence would have created enough neurotic energy to power Red Dwarf’s backup drive for decades. And all of it would have unfolded through cutting-edge digital wizardry that pushed the show’s famously scrappy visual identity into dazzling new territory.

Even without being made, this lost episode has already slipped into Red Dwarf legend—one of those tantalising “what might have been” moments that leave fans dreaming of de-aged slobs, time-hopping mishaps, and more Rimmers than any universe should reasonably contain. If nothing else, it's comforting to know that somewhere out there, a beautifully rendered young Lister is waiting patiently in a hard drive, probably eating a virtual chicken vindaloo.

Let’s just hope he gets thawed someday.