Mr. Hippo wrote:

Mr. Hippo here, hiding in the dining room, desperately trying to avoid the Channel 4 Interview with Monica Lewinsky.

His apologies to those in America who've already been subjected to the double torture of Monica Lewinsky and Bab-bar-a Walters... (sorry, Mr. Hippo started to cry there for a moment... thinking about someone's traumatic childhood... exposed on national television so that... we - too - can feel their pain).

Mr. Hippo feels your pain... NOT! The only pain he feels is that of lousy television, he is surrounded by it, mocked by it! Mr. Hippo is NOT a sensitive, 90's Hippo. But let us be joyful for there are little hopes here and there to be found amongst television wasteland.

This week has been a busy week for the Hippoman as he prepares to swim across the Atlantic (the ocean that is, not the restaurant in the London West End). Season 7 of DS9 has finally landed in the United Kingdom and Mr. Hippo is still recovering from the brilliant double-whammy opening episodes ('Image in the Sand' and 'Shadows and Symbols').

Mr. Hippo has fallen in love with Nicole de Boer (Terry Who?) and was 'hyp-mo-tised' by Sarah Michelle Geller's wardrobe choices in the latest UK screening of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (something about a horny dummy and an ugly demon... or was it the other way around? Anyway, Buffy looked gorgeous). Also, Mr. Hippo was disappointed by the loss of Crusade, passes on his condolences to those saddened, though he himself was always slightly wary of how it would live up to the standards of B5 (wary, but hopeful).

However, he has found time to partake of the latest Red Dwarf episode, 'Back in the Red - Part Three'.

Last week, Mr. Hippo suggested (and several people agreed) that Part Two of 'Back in the Red' appeared to be a transition episode. This week's episode would seem to confirm this - a spot-on episode with some good laughs which appeared to bring the on-going story back to some form of conclusion, tying in nicely with the opening sequence of Rimmer and Lister in the brig at the beginning of Part One.

Good - better than last week - though still not great was Mr. Hippo's verdict.

'Back in the Red - Part 3' is not in the 'laugh so hard, you cry' category. This episode was literally crammed with a joke every 10 seconds (at least it seemed so) but what kept this episode from being a classic is about only half the jokes actually come off, though the other half that did 'hit home' were brilliant.

Also, Mr. Hippo forgot who wrote in and suggested that 'Back in the Red' was originally suppose to be a 90-minute special which the BBC (in their finite wisdom) decided to break-up into three parts. Mr. Hippo would agree with this statement. It appears to be a perfect example of the BBC's unerring ability to be stupid. Mr. Hippo would like to see Back in the Red as a cohesive episode to see if this helps the flow of the story, especially during the middle bit.

Highlights included:

** Holly (Norman Lovett) was back from missing in action last week and the best bit of this episode. Norman Lovett was in top 'moon' form. Welcome back, old friend.

** Cat's brilliant transformation in AR when he suddenly becomes smart and finds the AR exit utilising Roman numerals.

** Chris Barrie was also good, mainly because all of his main scenes were interactions with Cat, Lister and gang, especially when they try to convince him to escape with them ('are any of these 5 buttons illuminated?'). He wasn't asked to carry large parts of the episode on his own as last week. The opening sequence with Lister in their brig cell was good too, especially the 'privacy' provision for using the toilet.

** Special effects were good. Mr. Hippo doesn't think he has mentioned this before but for a BBC programme the special effects were really, really quite good. Mr. Hippo hasn't said anything because it's never really been an important part of what makes Red Dwarf great; and,

**the episode-closing joke on Rimmer was brilliant.

Oh-Hum Highlights included:

** Cat's dance routine didn't come off as a joke and was too long;

** The multiple Artificial Reality basis of the story has been done better previously (see the classic Season 5 Red Dwarf episode 'Back to Reality', or even some of the ST: The Next Generation stories come to mind, for example 'Ship in a Bottle' or even 'The Inner Light'). Mr. Hippo really thinks Red Dwarf has taken these Artificial Reality stories as far as they can go comedy-wise.

** Chloe Annett is a waste of space (but most people already knew that); and,

** Kryten really doesn't have much to do except for one brilliant joke - his 'lack of supplies' comment - no fabric softener! Mr. Hippo is still laughing!

So, there you have it from Mr. Hippo's grimy snout. A good, solid episode with a lot (and Mr. Hippo means a lot) of jokes. Some come-off, some don't but there is more than enough to make you NOT want to wait for next week's episode. Thumbs up, partially erect and signing off.

PS Mrs. Hippo is reviewing next week and she's only doing this as a favour to Mr. Hippo so, please play nice with her.