Other mistake: Unfortunately the whole basis of the show is one big factual error. Throughout the series we see that Red Dwarf sustains damage from collisions, explosions, and so on. Most important of all, the rocket engine nozzle - surely made from the strongest materials available - has been punctured by some kind of impact. The systems require constant maintenance by humans (painting, repairs, etc), so skutters are not enough by themselves. So, we know that Red Dwarf is not made of some sort of fictional, indestructible materials, it is made of the kind of metals, plastics and other construction materials we build space shuttles and the like out of nowadays. So, after three thousand - never mind three million! - years the whole ship would be a clump of useless, corroded junk. The rubber and plastics in seals, electronic components and furniture would have crumbled to powder. The electronics themselves would have failed after a few hundred years at most. Metals in contact with liquids in pipes or reservoirs would have oxidized, and even the oxygen in the air would have been corrosive after that amount of time. Red Dwarf is not immune from the effects of long term decay and deterioration - if it were when Lister was released from stasis he would have found rooms full of relatively intact dead bodies instead of piles of crumbled dust. After three million years in space Red Dwarf would have been a pile of scrap, fatal to anyone going near it; subject to slow, subtle but constant radioactivity in space, after three million years it would be hotter than the inside of a working reactor.
Red Dwarf (1988)
1 other mistake in show generally
Other mistake: When Cat picks up the can of Leopard lager which is invisible to Lister, he shakes it, pops the cap and sprays Lister with foam. The foam is visible but the can remains invisible, and that makes no sense. If we are seeing the scene from Cat's point of view the can and foam should both be visible, and if it is from Lister's then neither should be.
Trivia: It was rumored that Alfred Molina and Alan Rickman wanted the part of Rimmer. Lee Cornes also auditioned for this role (he later guest starred on the show), as did Hugh Laurie. Robert Bathurst, Norman Lovett and David Baddiel auditioned for the role of Lister.
Question: When Holly is saying about how he has changed music he says that because of the 2 new notes he's made instruments would be bigger. "Triangles will have four sides. Piano keyboards the length of zebra crossings. Course, women will have to be banned from playing the cello." I don't understand the joke about the cello part. Could someone please tell me what he means?
Answer: The cello is a large four-stringed instrument, which, when it is played, stands vertically on the floor between the player's legs (assuming they are seated). If it is to grow as large as the other instuments mentioned will, it would require a rather unseemly lack of femininity to be able to encompass it with the legs.
Suggested correction: We don't have enough detail on what the ship is made out of. It taking damage doesn't mean it's made from current materials; it could use new materials with unknown properties. Eg, when the polymorph goes through a metal pipe, the tap distorts then reshapes. Seemingly impossible, but it happens. Rubber and plastics may not pulverize. Metals could be oxidation resistant. Advanced filtration might keep air fresh indefinitely. Technology that we can't imagine today keeps everything working and safe.