Remastering
The Remastered edition of series I (the roman numerals were actually only added when the show went to its third series) featured the most - and perhaps the most necessary - alterations to the show. The show's original footage (on one-inch, reel-to-reel tape) had its colours enhanced following a conversion to digital video, and the lacklustre sound was given a polish, complete with new sound effects.
The opening titles to the series were recut - opening with the 2001-style theme (complete with the pull-back from Lister's brush to the whole ship - without edits, as had been originally intended), then going to the fast-paced rock opening featuring moments from the show (which had originated with series III).
Re-editing the show meant that some of the less successful sequences were cut down to make time for new footage. McIntyre's party speech - never considered by the writers to be their proudest moment - was shortened, for example. And a CGI addition made the ejection device for his cremation tube look less like the unsatisfactory pedal bin it actually was.
A pleasing addition was the inclusion of moving starscapes past the bunkroom window. Thankfully, Ed Bye had shot much of the action in the early series with a static camera, allowing editor Mark Wybourn to insert the effect into the window without too much complication.
A new Red Dwarf ship was designed by the BBC FX team - including a lot of familiar names from the show's model history. A massive model was built and then photographed by RD regular Mike Vaughn. The entire thing was rendered in CGI by Chris Veale. The new ship was longer and featured a multiple engine set up at the rear; yet otherwise it remained quite similar to the original. However, the space it traversed was not - coloured nebula, spinning planets and burning suns replaced the plain starscapes of old.
Having recreated the dust storm in CG, some additions could be made to what were seen as holes in the original episodes. For the first time, McIntyre's ashes are seen blasting out into space (and past Lister's window). Similarly, the effects of light speed are more visible, with stars whooshing past the ship.
Aside from the model shots, various other adjustments were made. Additional dramatic score was placed over some sections (for example, making Lister's impending death in Future Echoes more... well, impending) and sound effects made the ship in The End sound far more densely populated and busy. (As did the two CGI skutters placed in the first corridor scene.) Additionally, footage of the cadmium II nuclear wind in Me2 was added to give the crew's death some extra menace.
Perhaps the most bizarre addition was that of Norman Lovett. The actor re-shot some of his dialogue - and recorded yet more - to add to the episodes. In particular, this masked some of the less successful attempts of 1987 to edit Holly into scenes he had not originally been part of. It also added some badly-needed jokes to the early parts of the pilot episode. Norman actually had hair glued to his head to recapture his flowing locks of the late-eighties.