Hi, I'm Doug Naylor, Emmy Award-winning writer and co-creator of the sitcom Red Dwarf. My new children’s novel Sin Bin Island is published Sept 11 by David Fickling Books – AMA!

[u/DougNaylorOfficial]

Hi Reddit,

Doug Naylor here. For more than 40 years I’ve been writing, directing and producing comedy for TV and radio including writing/co-writing all 74 episodes of Red Dwarf. I was also one of two Head Writers at Spitting Image during the series heyday, I'm a Sunday Times bestselling novelist, award-winning TV director and I penned the number one single 'The Chicken Song' (sorry!!). Now I’ve turned to children’s fiction with a brand-new book: Sin Bin Island.

'When Jack Digby is sent to Cyril Sniggs’s Correctional Orphanage for Wayward Boys and Girls, he doesn’t expect lessons in how to fire cannons and fend off pirate attacks. But perhaps he should, as the school, some say, was founded by a pirate. Even stranger, at the end of each year, the four worst-behaved pupils are banished to the terrifying Sin Bin Island, where they must survive for a week. Legend has it, the island was once used to smuggle magic onto the mainland — but in over 300 years the magic has never been found.... Until now.'

Sin Bin Island is published on Sept 11th by David Fickling Books but you can pre-order it now through Amazon, Waterstones, and most bookshops.

I'll also be attending some events which are open to the public. Do come along if you're free!

Waterstones Piccadilly, 16th September: https://www.waterstones.com/events/doug-naylor-in-conversation-with-sf-said-at-waterstones-piccadilly/london-piccadilly

Bath Children's Literature Festival, 29th September: https://bathboxoffice.org.uk/whats-on/bfd3-sin-bin-island-with-doug-naylor-j8py

I’ll be live on Saturday 6 September, 14:00–16:00 BST answering questions about Sin Bin Island, comedy, writing for children and of course anything Red Dwarf. AMA!

Proof: https://postimg.cc/CB0wF3Xv

Hope to speak to you on shortly!

Cheers,

Doug

Thanks everyone for all your brilliant questions! I have to go now unfortunately but I will try and get back tomorrow to finish off any I haven't answered. Hope those of you who buy Sin Bin Island have a blast reading it! Much love, Doug x

[u/mrxtheshadowlurker]

ATTENTION DWARFERS! WE ARE GOING FROM A BLUE ALERT TO A RED ALERT!

PLEASE HELP CROSSPOST THIS OTHER SUBS TO HELP MR. DOUG NAYLOR!

[u/Rich-Truth5329]

Would you like any toast?

[u/VfV]

Hi Doug, I'll always have fond memories of watching Red Dwarf as a kid with my late father. He even spoke about it on his last day. I've no questions, I only wanted to say thanks for the memories. All the best with the new book. If it goes to audiobook, Chris Barrie simply MUST read it, if he's up to it.

[u/Tehloltractor]

So what is it?

[u/TTWTV]

Were your influences for Red Dwarf mainly Sci-Fi or Comedy or a healthy mix of both?

[u/The_Wilmington_Giant]

Hi there Doug, thanks for doing this.

One of the aspects I've always loved about Red Dwarf is how the show constantly adapted and changed in tone, style and cast across the series. I/II feel like their own mini-era, as does III-V, VI-VII, X-XII and so on and so forth.

I'm curious to know how much of this was a conscious reimagining of the programme on you and Rob's part or an adaption to changing circumstances, and do you have a particular era that speaks to you as your 'ideal' version of the show?

Thank you so much for Red Dwarf, and wishing you all the best with Sin Bin Island.

[u/onthefritz77]

What’s going on with Jim and Bexley?

[u/catninjaambush]

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[u/ThatMotherfuckingCup]

Thank you for the years of entertainment. I have a million questions I want to ask, so I’ll go with the least important; Is there a canon explanation as to why Rimmer and Lister share a bunk room when they have access to the whole ship.

[u/shivan21]

When asked, Rob claimed that from the two of you he was Lister and you were Rimmer, is it true?

[u/HermanToothrot2]

Hi Doug, it seemed like last year we were on the verge of something being announced regarding more Red Dwarf on TV. Just wondering what you can say in regard to what happened there e.g. how far along were discussions with the relevant parties and why did they get cold feet (if that is the case)? Craig Charles had mentioned a few months after that it might be too expensive to do, is that a wider problem with trying to get scripted comedy on TV these days do you think?

[u/SenorTron]

Is there anything you would have done differently in terms of the original setup of Red Dwarf if you knew it would still be making new episodes 30 years after it started? Anything you wouldn't have done or a thread you might have put in place?

Also second question if that's allowed, what is your personal favourite episode from the entire run?

[u/mbelf]

When will Rimmer trace his genealogy back to a Leisure Centre manager in the mid-nineteen-nineties called Gordon Brittas?

Serious question - how did you feel about The Brittas Empire reusing the Samaritans Switchboard dialogue you originally wrote for Rimmer? Did Chris mention they were going to be using it?

For reference:

Red Dwarf S03E06: The Last Day

Broadcast: 19/12/89

Rimmer: I used to be in the Samaritans.

Lister: I know. For one morning.

Rimmer: I couldn’t take it any more.

Lister: I don’t blame you. You spoke to five people and they all committed suicide. I wouldn’t mind, but one was a wrong number. He only phoned up for the cricket scores.

Rimmer: Well, it’s hardly my fault everyone chose that day to jump off buildings. It made the papers, you know. Lemming Sunday they called it.

The Brittas Empire S01E05: Stop Thief

Broadcast: 07/02/91

Doctor: (About Gordon) Tell me, um… Did he really train for the Samaritans?

Helen: Oh, yes.

Doctor: And they let him in?

Helen: Just the one evening. Black Friday they call it. They lost four in an hour and a half.

Doctor: Four?

Helen: One of them was just a wrong number.

[u/bungeeman]

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[u/dharmoniedeux]

Hi Doug! Congrats on the new book and thanks for coming by!

Red Dwarf has been such a touchstone for my family for wow… 20+ years now. I think we found Red Dwarf the way many American families did, on late night PBS. It was so unlike any other show we had access to.

The boys from the dwarf really kept us grounded in the first phases of pandemic quarantine in 2020. It was the first thing that came to mind as a show about navigating isolation during a truly absurd and unpredictable time.

Question: My family has a library of quotes Red Dwarf episodes that make us laugh, and will whip out to break a tense moment or make a funny one funnier. Do you have a favorite episode or zinger you wrote that reliably gets a laugh out of you when you remember it?

[u/LegoMuppet]

Do you have a preferred way to end Red Dwarf once and for all if you were given an open budget and the chance to make it happen? If so, given that more episodes seem unlikely, will you tell us what it is?

[u/shivan21]

When you were still writing the series with Rob Grant, how were you dividing the work? Are there parts only from him and parts only from you?

[u/Zer0daveexpl0it]

What's your favourite prop from the show you now have?

[u/FireFurFox]

Hi Doug!

I just wanted to say that Red Dwarf helped me through a long, dark time when I didn't have any hope and felt like I was drowning all the time. The boys from the Dwarf carried me all those years. So thank you.

Also wondering, how do you feel about Red Dwarf now? It's been running for so many years and must have been a huge part of your life. Are you ready to let it rest, or is there still milage in the small rogue one?

[u/heyyouupinthesky]

Would you like to see a big screen adaptation of Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers? As much as I loved the Red Dwarf series I never thought the brilliance and depth of the books was captured due to the episodic format. Thoughts?

[u/Stu_1983]

Hi Doug. If there's not going to be any more RD on telly, are you still interested in making Out of the Red, the project you mentioned a few years ago with the cast playing versions of themselves?

[u/JewelKnightJess]

If you could play Better Than Life, what would you do in it?

[u/AstroBearGaming]

I've only got one question for you Doug. Betty or Wilma?

[u/[deleted]]

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[u/eatpant96]

I don't have any questions, I just wanted to say thank you. Red Dwarf has become a comfort show for me. I have made peace with the fact we will probably never have a proper finale, but I will always cherish the laughter you have afforded me. Cheers.