White Hole - S4-E4
Question: In this episode, Rimmer says how the Eskimos had the right idea by taking the sick and old out into the snow, and then leaving them to it. Then he says 'that's why there is no Eskimo word for Eastbourne'. I don't get the joke. What does he mean?
Answer: Eastborne is a coastal resort town in Sussex in southern England. A lot of people go to live there after they retire, hence the joke.
Question: In various episodes in the first series it is mentioned several times that the crew numbered 169 crewmembers aboard the ship. However, when the mindprobe convicts Rimmer of second degree murder it states that he is guilty of 1,167 counts. Where did the other 1,000 casualties come from?
Chosen answer: This is an example of the rather lax attitude to continuity that Red Dwarf subscribed to. Early on, the crew was stated as numbering 169; in later series of the show, this was deemed to be more than a little low, given the huge size of the ship, and the count was upped to 1169. Various arguments have been put forward to try to explain this, most commonly that the ship had 169 registered crew, but families, passengers and so forth boosted the actual number of people on board to the higher level, but, in The End, it's simply an intentional change in continuity by the show's writers.
Answer: According to Rob Grant, Red Dwarf gets propulsion power from the giant rock in her underside and power for the lights comes from the solar panels (which are referenced in the episode 'Confidence and Paranoia'). The diesel engines are likely there for backup purposes.