Series 8 of Red Dwarf, recorded in 1998, is the final series of the iconic British science fiction comedy, though in the interviews included on the DVD, writer Doug Naylor expresses his hopes for either another series or the long-awaited movie.

The popular Chris Barrie, who plays the maddeningly craven and egotistical Rimmer, is back in force in Series 8, after being written out of Series 7.

With Norman Lovett back as a senile version of Holly (the ship's computer), and various characters back from Series 1, including Mac McDonald as Captain Hollister, it feels like a return to the past.

At the beginning of Series 8, Starbug, with its ill-assorted crew (curry addict Lister, his prissy exgirlfriend Kochanski, a very cool mutated Cat and the ironing-mad android Kryten) crashes into the huge mining ship, the Red Dwarf. The mother-ship has been rebuilt by mysterious nanobots, complete with its original crew, including not only Captain Hollister and a live version of Rimmer, but also 400 convicts on their way to a prison planet.

Of course, the Starbug crew and Rimmer are sent to Floor 13 with the convicts, paving the way for parodies of WWII prison movies (with the maintenance robots, 'skutters', as resistance agents secretly helping Lister), the Alien movies and more. The new prisoners create bizarrely chaotic situations - including feeding cow vindaloo to a rampaging T. rex - which finally send Hollister into a breakdown.

Throughout the series, in a move calculated to please the fans, Rimmer uses his special salute to hysterical effect.

Extras on the DVD set include the usual cast commentary, deleted scenes, trailers, and some surprisingly frank interviews in the documentary 'The Tank'. There is also a profoundly silly compilation of fight scenes, set to the song 'Kung Fu Fighting'.