A long-running sci-fi space sitcom that became BBC2's biggest comedy export and developed a strong, national and international cult following, Red Dwarf is a perfect example of the benefits achievable by the BBC's patience in giving a rocky production time to find its feet.

Created and written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor (whose previous TV experience included contributions to Carrott's Lib 1982-83, and then Spitting Image), Red Dwarf got off to an auspicious start - five million viewers saw the premiere episode - but this dwindled to two million by the end of the initial series as viewers tired of the wobbly sets, and everyone involved in the creative process needed time to get into their stride. But by the second series all the ingredients gelled, audience figures were up again and the BBC found themselves with a very popular comedy destined to outlive most others.

This is the premise: the crew of a 21st-century deep-space mining ship, the Red Dwarf, are all - bar one - wiped out following a radiation leak. The sole survivor is David Lister, who has been placed in suspended animation for 18 months as punishment for smuggling aboard a pet pregnant cat. Lister remains in stasis for three million years, and when he awakes he has some unexpected company: a hologram of his former shift leader Rimmer, who has retained all the foibles of the master material; the shipboard computer Holly, now showing definite signs of senility; and 'Cat' a strange human-like creature who turns out to have evolved, over the past three million years, from the pregnant moggy - resulting in a sort of feline-sapien. This mismatched assortment proceed to roam the universe, becoming involved - despite their reluctance - in a fantastic variety of weird and wonderful adventures. By the third series the computer personality had been replaced by a new, sparkier version and the crew were joined by an all-too-human-like android, Kryten.

The show was developed by Grant/Naylor out of an earlier comedy creation, 'Dave Hollins - Space Cadet', a recurring skit in their BBC Radio 4 comedy Son Of Cliché (eight editions, 23 August-11 October 1983, this being the sequel to a 1981 series by the same writers). Hollins was the last man alive in the universe, whose only companion was his computer, Hab (voiced by Chris Barrie). Later, when the writing duo were exploring ideas for possible TV sitcoms, they returned to Hollins, expanded him into Dave Lister and created partners to accompany him in his space rambles, re-employing Barrie in the key role of Rimmer.

Ostensibly, despite its futuristic trappings, Red Dwarf has all the aspects of a traditional sitcom: a closed set, the clash of opposing personalities forced to share the same space, a surrogate family set-up and the continuing possibility that their dilemma might be resolved at any moment. But as the show progressed it called upon different strengths to propel it away from traditional orbits towards more uncharted areas. Although the plots embraced many typical sci-fi themes (parallel universes, black holes, time warps, alternative histories, matter transportation and so on), when wedded to the comedy format some truly original television was created. Grant and Naylor refused to underestimate their audience and assumed that viewers would have had sufficient grounding in sci-fi to make elaborate explanations unnecessary. And even if the science did leave the audience behind, the writers realised that the comedy would carry the day. Vulgar, occasionally crude but always witty, the dialogue more than matched the crazy plots - Arnold Rimmer was a whiny, shallow, self-centred hologram who had a sharp tongue and considered himself above the others (his other dimensional alter-ego Ace Rimmer on the other hand was an all-action, idolised, space hero) ; Lister was an everyman with a 'laddish' outlook on life; Cat was a fashion victim who often displayed aspects of his feline past; the admirable Kryten was an android servant who, like Jeeves, often operated beyond the call of duty but who, unlike Wodehouse's creation, often dropped his masters into difficulties rather than saving them. The computer, Holly, was at first morose and senile (in the person of Norman Lovett); a later personality (interpreted by Hattie Hayridge) was more efficient but had a flippant attitude and a mischievous streak.

The seventh series followed a gap of three years; Chris Barrie announced that he had taken Rimmer as far as he wanted and amicably left the show, bowing out in the episode aired on 14 February 1997. (This event led to the reappearance of Christine/Kristine Kochanski, Lister's ex-girlfriend, originally played by Clare Grogan but now by Chloe Annett.) But Barrie was back for the eighth and final series, in which our heroes were held prisoner on board a reconstructed version of the original Red Dwarf, in which the original long-dead crew had also been resurrected. Otherwise, the exploits continued much as before with perhaps an even greater freedom to explore extreme plot ideas and uncharted territories: to badly go where none had gone before, perhaps.

Although not attracting the same number of fans as Star Trek or Doctor Who, Red Dwarf has a strong, dedicated following, its fans being known as Dwarfers. Testament to its popularity was Red Dwarf Night (BBC2, 14 February 1998), a celebratory compendium of documentaries, reminiscences, outtakes and fan worship which heralded the imminent eighth series. Red Dwarf is particularly popular in the USA, and in 1992 a pilot episode of an American adaptation was made by Universal for NBC. Robert Llewellyn from the British show re-created his role as Kryten but the rest of the cast were different, and included Jane Leeves (later Daphne Moon in Frasier) as Holly. The pilot never aired, however, and was not developed into a series. A second attempt, Red Dwarf USA, steered by Grant and Naylor, changed the format and cast somewhat but retained Leeves and Llewellyn; this too failed to get picked up.

Notes: As an aid to international sales, early episodes of Red Dwarf were revisited in the late 1990s, with computer-generated imagery, digital video effects and digital stereo sound replacing the suddenly very dated mechanical effects and mono sound of old. This is the first time that a British comedy show has been treated to retrospective improvements, but it is typical of the forward-thinking that sets Red Dwarf apart from most of its Earthbound contemporaries. Three upgraded series were subsequently broadcast by BBC2.

The eighth-series cast appeared (in character) in a four-minute fundraising sketch for Children In Need (BBC1, 20 November 1998).

From 16 April to 18 June 2004 Craig Charles hosted Weapons Of Mass Distraction, an ITV1 series that combined music, chat-show elements and standup routines.