by James Hunt, Mental Floss UK

Sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf is one of the UK's most well-loved TV shows, with a cult fanbase that has kept it alive in some form or another for no fewer than 28 years. The show's 11th season has just aired with a 12th due in 2017 - so it's with some surprise that we bring you the incredible news that one eagle-eared fan has just discovered something everyone else missed: the opening theme tune has its own lyrics.

The theme in question is actually the show's second intro: an upbeat guitar-based tune that combines elements of the show's original orchestral theme (which was attached for the first two series) and the calypso-inspired end-credits that have been in place since day one. The new intro was first aired in 1989 with the premiere of the show's third series, so it's not like it hasn't been around for ages - it's just that no-one else heard this part before now!

The man in question is the Ganymede & Titan forum user Darrell who reported...

"I’ve only just noticed the vocal parts, namely HOWARD GOODALL SINGING THE NAME OF THE SHOW FOUR TIMES THROUGH A VOCODER."

...only for everyone else to confirm that they hadn't ever noticed it either!

Given the level of attention lavished on the show by its fans and the amount of times the song has been heard on broadcast and DVD, it qualifies as genuinely mind-blowing that no-one else knew this was there. You can make it out quite clearly in this phase-inverted version of the theme on YouTube, with the vocoder parts beginning at the 14 second mark:

Video of Red Dwarf: It&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#039;s Cold Outside (Intro) &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-word</span>="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span>="en_US"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-word</span>="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span>="en_US"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-word</span>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;="&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-word</span>="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="Bassline" data-scayt-lang="en_US">Bassline</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span>="en_US"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="Bassline" data-scayt-lang="en_US">Bassline</span>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;" &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-word</span>="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span>="en_US"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;="en_US"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span class="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-word</span>="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="Bassline" data-scayt-lang="en_US">Bassline</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span>="en_US"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="Bassline" data-scayt-lang="en_US">Bassline</span>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

The theme's composer Howard Goodall himself confirmed the discovery on Twitter saying that he's "honoured & delighted my vo-coded message from the past has been cracked!".

For reference, you can hear the standard version of the intro here. The vocoded parts are slightly less prominent, but still easy to hear once you know what you're listening for:

Video of Red Dwarf Opening Theme 2 (S3+)

Kind of makes you wonder what else you've been missing, doesn't it?