Red Dwarf X Update

New series edging closer...

If you think the making of a TV series begins and ends with the physical shooting of episodes, then you might be surprised that - some five months after photography wrapped on Series X of Red Dwarf - work on the series continues apace. In fact, the entire time since the rubber mask, leather jacket, fanged teeth and letter "H" were put back in the cupboard has been jam-packed with an extensive and thorough post-production process.

But now, finally, we're nearly at the end. Keen fans have been able to keep up with a number of the landmarks thanks to updates from Doug and Richard Naylor on Twitter - but for those of you who don't tweet, we thought we'd give you a look at where things are up to.

The first couple of months following the end of the live audience shoots were taken up with a mixture of visual effects shots (filming Red Dwarf itself and other, yet to be revealed, models for insertion into the episodes) and final bits of work from the actors - including small amounts of "green screen" work and some sessions of ADR (Additional Dialogue Recording), often a necessity on a complex production where lines might need to be re-recorded to make them more audible.

The editing process, meanwhile, had begun almost immediately following the filming of each episode - but stepped up a gear in April, as the Naylors slaved away in their editing suite in central London. As rough cuts of each episode were finished, they were passed to music maestro Howard Goodall to work on the incidental score. Those same rough cuts were further tweaked by work on the often-complex visual effects sequences - as well as creating such necessary extras as the opening titles and closing credits.

Visual effects were fully signed off just a fortnight ago, leaving only the final sound mixes and visual grading of the last episode, which was finished - declaring the shows "creatively complete" - on the 19th of June. That's right, folks: a complete Red Dwarf X finally, officially, exists.

Of course, the work isn't quite finished yet. This week, efforts have been concentrated on finishing the extensive behind-the-scenes documentary and other special features for the hugely packed DVD and Blu-ray releases - currently scheduled to follow the broadcast of the series almost immediately and hit homes in November.

Exact broadcast dates for the episodes have yet to be confirmed, but things are still on course for an Autumn transmission. But Dave's publicity machine is already cranking into gear, and you can expect to hear more and more about the show as the time gets closer. For now, though, allow yourself this little flutter of excitement: Red Dwarf X is on its way. The slime's coming home...

Keep your eyes on reddwarf.co.uk for all the latest Series X news.