Danny John-Jules

For Craig Charles, one of the highlights of making this three-part special was finding he could still fit into the leather jacket and trousers that he wore as Dave Lister 21 years ago.

All the cast (minus Holly in either of his / her incarnations) are here, too - Chris Barrie as hologram Arnold Rimmer, Danny John-Jules as Cat and Robert Llewellyn as Kryten - for this much-anticipated reunion.

The sci-fi comedy ran for eight series on BBC2 between 1988 and 1999, picking up an International Emmy on its intergalactic travels. So well done to Dave (the channel, that is, not Lister) for doing what the BBC never managed - getting the crew of the Red Dwarf back to Earth.

Actually though, that's down to guest star Sophie Winkleman - a comedy favourite thanks to her Peep Show appearances. She plays the new holographic Senior Science Officer Katerina Bartikovsky, who works out a way to send Lister to a new dimension.

Katerina's arrival is bad news for Rimmer - this spaceship's not big enough for two holograms - but good news for Lister as, being the last surviving human, it will be his job to go forth and multiply.

Tonight's episode might feel a bit flat as the crew battle a sea monster but, in the next two instalments - tomorrow night and Sunday - there'll be plenty of surprises as they arrive on Earth in the year 2009 and find themselves on a Manchester street you'll certainly recognise.

The Mirror, 10th April 2009