Colony in Space
The Doctor is startled when his latest work on the TARDIS seems to have some measurable results – it suddenly whisks them away to an alien planet several centuries in Earth’s future where a small group of determined settlers are engaged in an ongoing battle with an unscrupulous mining company for the rights to the land, and the native population are fighting both parties for their very survival. The Doctor quickly learns that the IMC miners are willing to use any and all means at their disposal to solidify their claim to this world, and the miners’ solution to this problem is to call an Adjudicator from Earth to arbitrate the dispute. But two major problems crop up: the “Adjudicator” is, in fact, the Master – and the primitives of Exarius aren’t quite as primitive as they seem, since they’re sitting on a weapon that could turn the entire planet into a charred cinder.
written by Malcolm Hulke
directed by Michael Briant
music by Dudley SimpsonGuest Cast: Peter Forbes-Robertson, John Baker, Graham Leaman (Time Lords), John Scott Martin (Robot), David Webb (Leeson), Sheila Grant (Jane), John Line (Martin), John Ringham (Ashe), Mitzi Webster (Mrs. Martin), Nicholas Pennell (Winton), Helen Worth (Mary Ashe), Roy Skelton (Norton), Pat Gorman (Primitive), Bernard Kay (Caldwell), Morris Perry (Dent), Tony Caunter (Morgan), John Herrington (Holden), Stanley McGeagh (Allen), Pat Gorman (Long), Roy Heymann (Alien Priest), John Tordoff (Leeson), Norman Atkyns (Guardian), Stanley Mason, Antonia Moss (Alien priests)
Broadcast from April 10 through May 15, 1971
LogBook entry & review by Earl Green
years, Kochanski met a tragic fate and is still mourned by Lister. (Next to Kochanski’s photo in the ship’s memorial observatory is a photo of the late Mel Bibby, who designed the more elaborate sets seen in seasons 3-8.) Holly is curiously absent for the entire story. Unlike the rest of Red Dwarf, Back To Earth was bankrolled by UK cable/satellite comedy channel Dave (appropriately enough) rather than airing on the BBC, though perhaps “bankrolled” is a term that should be used very loosely, as the budget for Back To Earth was no larger than the entire budget for the final season in 1999. Back To Earth does not reflect the storyline developed for the aborted Red Dwarf movie project, a much-mooted project that never got off the ground in the intervening decade due to a series of equally aborted financing deals. This is also the first Red Dwarf episode without an audience laugh track.
the series; both episodes have a darker tone (and much darker lighting) than most of the rest of the series, with the Department experimenting on captured alien life forms and Inspector June Turner exhibiting more ruthless behavior (and more advanced technology) than in the remainder of the series; also, Jorjie seems to know nothing of her mother’s day job, whereas by 
“Magdalen Academy,” even before Starkey interferes with the school’s systems. (The logo seen on-set on various computer screens was probably made by the scenic art department, while the signs that Starkey hacks outside the school were probably the responsibility of the visual effects department.) In a throwback to his days in 1970s Doctor Who, K-9 is sidelined for much of the story for repairs, affording his human co-stars a larger share of the action. Somewhat confusingly, references are made here to events in the episode Liberation, which had yet to air in the UK – even though it had aired in other territories, and effectively serves as part two of the pilot, 
Notes: Oscar-winning actress Sophie Okonedo makes her second Doctor Who “appearance” here; her first was in animated form in the 2003 BBCi webcast 
