In the second episode of series 10, it is Father's Day and Dave Lister, who some three million and forty something years ago was found in cardboard box, in a pub, underneath a pool table, is honouring his good old dad Dave Lister. This is not a typo. It is in fact a nice nod to one of the better episodes from series 7 in which Lister, the last human, becomes the saviour of humanity and his own father with the help of time travel, a causality loop, and the womb of an inter-dimensional Kristine Kochanski (see Series 7 episode 3 - Ouroboros - for more details).
"I write myself a 'thanks for being such an amazing dad card'. Then I drink myself into oblivion so I forget everything. Then 12 months later on fathers day Kryten delivers a fathers day card and I haven't got a clue what it says"
Later, post binge, Dave has a classic back-and-forth with his father via a recorded video, yes a little predictable but brilliantly scripted and a brilliant exploration of what Dave's father would say if he saw what his son had become. Meanwhile Rimmer and Kryten install an A.I. computer they found on yet another of the derelicts that drift aimlessly through the wastes of existence. Like most things the Red Dwarf crew find on their meanderings through space and time, ultimately it wants to kill them. Ironically though, it isn't millennia of droid rot, or computer senility that sends this A.I. over the edge. Oh no, this particular level of hell the crew inadvertently inflict on themselves. Red Dwarf's latest A.I. comes with predictive behaviour technology, a technology that allows the A.I. to not only predict the actions and conversations of the crew but carry out their orders before they've even finished forming the thought. Reassuringly, hilarity and hysteria ensue as the well meaning, hyper efficient A.I. does unto the crew what they would ultimately do to themselves - but properly.
I have to say, season 10 is shaping up to be pretty good. Doug Naylor seems to have learn't from his mistakes - more commonly known as season 8 - and continues to bring us classic Dwarf. Two for two so far, lets hope episode 3 continues the trend.