#and I know that it was because originally Noel’s return was just for the prison reunion scene so they just needed a quick explanation

[mickeym4ndy]

unpopular gallavich opinion! ok yes. ian was right not to go w mickey to Mexico. he had too much to lose and he’d worked too hard to become an emt and get stable just to lose it all (even tho i do wish he hadn’t lied to mickey abt his plan)

BUT in that same vein - imo Mickey shouldn’t have had to give up his freedom in mexico JUST for Ian. idk I don’t love the way it makes his entire arc revolve solely around Ian and doesn’t give him any of the chances to develop that Ian himself got in season 6 & 7.

And like I know this never would’ve happened bc he was a supporting character and they didn’t acc plan on Mickey coming back but I would’ve loved to have seen mickey actually enjoy his life in Mexico, with good friends and maybe have a guy that he really cares about/falls for and has fun with. and he would’ve started to learn how to be free since he’s no longer under his dads thumb and he learns to like himself (there are a few fics like). maybe he even still finds out about the gay jesus stuff and Ian being in prison and decides not leave because he needs to put himself first now.

THEN through external circumstances he ends up in the same place as Ian again (case thrown out, sick family, idk), maybe in prison or after they’re both released. but he has grown and isn’t so willing to just fall back into ians arms. Maybe he doesn’t even want him to know he’s back. Mickey starts to rebuild his relationship with svet and yevgeny. Ian has to deal with the stuff that gets to him in 11x04 but he has to do it himself so maybe he finds a way to be an emt again. and Mickey finds something he’s passionate about. and they BOTH build healthy lives separate from each other, But then they maybe try to be friends and actually talk about shit from the past and what they’ve put each other through. maybe see therapists.

THEN eventually still end up back together because they love each other more than they’ve ever loved anyone else and they are more equipped to deal with stuff. maybe ian has to prove to Mickey that he always loved him and mickey learns to adapt to a Southside where he’s not constantly hiding. They still make some of the mistakes they make in canon but then also some they don’t because they BOTH get to develop with and without each other

[dirty-bear-rick-sanchez]

I have some kind of mixed feelings about part 2 but some things I appreciate under the cut (messy and non-linear):

I love that we’re getting more content from the other team leads this season and also that we’re seeing interactions between them that we haven’t seen before? Like Glenn and Myc bonding over looking different in the first episode? Brett and Andre defending Gigi in that episode? Brett and Andre friendship in Rontagion?

This kind of falls into the top one but Reagan and Gigi becoming gal pals and Reagan having her first ever female friend? I love it

Also the Reagan and Brett dynamic is top tier this season. Brett is so supportive of Reagan and I also love that they’re allowed to be so affectionate but still platonic friends (no offence to Breagan shippers, it’s just not my cup of tea and I just love Reagan and Brett and platonic besties).

Myc being a nerd who ran away from the other mushrooms because they were mean to him is a great backstory. Tropey? Sure, but I love it.

I also love that Ron actually says he would’ve liked Reagan to confess to him in the broom closet (like she originally planned) - they really are good for each other

Andre fucking his own clone is great. Honestly he was just an icon this season

I thought it was actually nice to get some actual development of Reagan and Tamiko’s relationship this season. It’s nice that their relationship is considered salvageable (not so keen on how they handled the thing with Rand but I did like that Reagan still put her foot down and sent him to Shadow Prison X)

The dynamic between Rand and JR this whole season is great and I love their college flashback as well.

JR definitely lost the games on purpose every year so he could be humiliated by kissing the ring in front of everyone (you’re telling me this man doesn’t have a humiliation kink?)

Also the dynamic between Rand and the head of the Illuminati was great and the second we had the reveal of Ron also controlling the head of the Illuminati I just knew what was coming but I still loved when it happened anyway (the kiss)

I don’t know if I should admit to this one but I definitely found it hot how Rand was being humiliated in front of everyone at the games

Brett having a secret passion for puppets is adorable and I love it

Also the Hand family ranking their children every year is hilarious and extremely in character. Made me feel so bad for Brett, I love it, 10/10

I like that we’re getting recurring appearances from minor characters like Mothman, Grassy Noel, Kate (and RepliKate, what a great name)

The fact that Myc’s dream timeline was one where he was pregnant is fucking adorable

You’d better believe I cried when Reagan forced Brett to his own dream timeline and when he returned because he made notes on his poster

Also at the reveal that Reagan saw the only way for Ron to be happy was for them to break up and chose his happiness over their relationship. Also I know some people weren’t fans of Ron because they felt like he was unnecessary/rushed but honestly having a gender-swap of the typical ‘female love interest is just used as character progression for the male protagonist’ felt pretty progressive. I also liked how he was shown to be similar to Reagan and actually had his flaws presented similarly to hers (e.g. not getting on well with people) even though female characters are often hated for the same flaws that are excused or even enjoyed in male characters

I have to admit that the end scene with the robes ‘how could she? After all, she’s only human’ was fucking cool

I loved everything about Alpha-Beta this season

And finally, thank fucking Christ that Ron wasn’t revealed to secretly be Reagan’s brother or something because as an RnM fan I can’t take much more incest at this point

Side note to that last one: fun little theory that Ron is actually a clone of Reagan (one of them can be trans, as a treat) and it was revealed and that’s what actually lead to the clone fucking discussion at the start of that one episode but they erased their own minds and everyone else’s and let Andre take the fall (either it was intentional and they set that up as a distraction or it was unintentional and Andre just happened to be fucking his own clone anyway, take your pick)

[janamelie]

LGBT+ Characters

What This Isn’t

A claim of “proof” of the sexuality and / or gender identity of any of these characters.  We don’t need that or anything else to “justify” shipping.

What This Is

A reference post to collate instances in canon which could indicate LGBT+ characters.  In the case of regulars, I won’t include every instance as it would simply take too long.

Rimmer

As I was saying… :p

Honestly, Rimmer is so obviously LGBT+ to me that I don’t know where to start.  How about his reaction to Ace in “Dimension Jump”?

RIMMER: "Commander Rimmer!" I ask you.  "Ace!" Barf city.  I bet you anything he wears women's underwear.  They're all the same, this type, you know, Hurly-burly, rough-n-tumble macho marines in public, and behind closed doors he'll be parading up and down in taffeta ballgowns, drinking mint juleps, whipping the houseboy.

KRYTEN: Sir, he's you!  It's just that your lives diverged at a certain point in time.

RIMMER: Yes, I went into the gents and he went the other way.

KRYTEN: I assume, sir, you are making fatuous references to his sexuality.  If I may point out, if --

Or how about Low Rimmer?  Surely Rob and Doug could have got their point across a little less graphically?

Or if you prefer something less rapey, this passage from “IWCD”.  Unlike the show, Rob and Doug had more time and leeway to explore the characters and this is what they chose to include for Rimmer:

“Rimmer began to regret his outburst. He didn’t like to see his other self upset, and he even contemplated briefly going up to him and giving him a manly embrace. But in a brief moment of homosexual panic, he thought his double might get the wrong idea. Not that he would, of course, because he was him and he knew for a fact he wasn’t that way sexually tilted; so obviously his double wasn’t and obviously his double would know that he wasn’t either, and it was simply a manly embrace meant in a sort of mano a mano kind of way…Perhaps he was tired…Two or three days in bed and he’d be his old self again…Who cared if his copy saw it as a sign of weakness? He’d suggest it anyway.” Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers, Grant/Naylor, pg 233.

And this from the end of the “Better Than Life” novel, when Holly - whose IQ has been restored - comes up with a way to bring Lister back from the dead (no, not as a hologram):

“Rimmer stood in the hatchway and his face yielded to a grin, which in turn gave way to laughter.  Not his normal hollow braying empty laughter, this was an altogether different noise.  This was a noise his vocal cords had never been called on to make before.

It was the laughter of joy.”

Better Than Life, Grant/Naylor, pg 218.

I know some fans read Rimmer as asexual and you can certainly make an argument for that, most obviously in “Marooned” where he describes his younger self as not “particularly highly sexed”.  Of course, that wouldn’t preclude him also being homoromantic or biromantic.

Lister

No-one’s denying Lister’s obvious attraction to and affection for women, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t be bisexual or pansexual.  In fact, his “I’m not gay!” protestations in “Duct Soup” is a fairly common way for people attracted to more than one gender to describe themselves if they don’t feel comfortable using labels.  Given that he was talking to Chloe!Kochanski to whom he’s attracted, it makes sense that he’d prevaricate like this.

And then of course, in the very next episode “Blue”, he dreams about kissing Rimmer.  It’s not only the fact of this, it’s the subsequent scene drawing a direct comparison between him missing Rimmer and Kochanski missing her Dave - her boyfriend.  And despite the ending of this episode, when Lister actually meets Rimmer again, he’s delighted.  Until he realises it’s not HIS Rimmer and even so, he gets used to nano-Rimmer and they eventually become quite chummy.

Not forgetting the chemistry between him and Ace, of course.

Kryten

I know he's a mechanoid, but no-one has any problem reading his relationship with Mechanoid - and later Blob - Camille as romantic and Camille literally says herself that both she and her husband Hector are actually androgynous, which makes Kryten - at the very least - panromantic.

And that’s before we get to his very obvious love for Lister which he states himself in “Back In The Red”.

Holly

Holly was actually conceived as a female character and became male due to Norman Lovett’s original casting.  Sources: “Stasis Leaked” by Smegazine writer Jane Killick and “The Unofficial Red Dwarf Programme Guide” by Smegazine writers Chris Howarth and Steve Lyons.

With Hattie’s replacement casting and later Norman’s return, Rob and Doug may not have intended to create a trans or genderfluid character, but that’s what they ended up doing.

Holly is also bisexual - male Holly was attracted to Hilly and female Holly to Ace.

George McIntyre

It was actually Rob and Doug’s audio commentary on the pilot version of “The End” on “The Bodysnatcher Collection” which alerted me to this possibility.  I know it’s a stretch but I’m including it precisely because I’m indifferent to George as a character and it makes no difference to me whether someone believes this one or not.

During George’s speech at his “Welcome back” party, he says “I don’t want you to think of me as someone who’s dead, more as someone who’s no longer a threat to your marriages - I think Joe knows what I’m talking about!”

We see a man and a woman laughing and the woman playfully pokes the man in the arm.  He stops laughing and looks a bit sheepish.

Rob and Doug comment confusedly to the effect of “Shouldn’t it be the other way round?  This is one of the things we had no control over at this stage.”

Come on, Rob and Doug.  Not only does this scene appear intact in the final televised version of “The End”, you also included extra background on George in “Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers”, showing the events leading up to his death.  Unlike the hologram he replaces, Frank Saunders, there is no mention of George having a wife or indeed any partner, so as far I’m concerned, we shippers can read whatever we choose into this scene.  We would regardless, but the way canon leaves it is particularly open-ended.

Deb Lister and Arlene Rimmer (“Parallel Universe”)

See previous entries.  If their male counterparts are LGBT+ then so are they, plus I always got that vibe from the performances anyway.

Camille

Yes, everyone uses female pronouns for her as that’s how she presents to the crew, but she says herself: “We’re androgynous, but I suppose you could call [Hector] my husband.”

Noel Coward Waxdroid (“Meltdown”)

Mr Coward was gay in real life and his fictional incarnation here greets Rimmer with “Delighted to meet you, dear boy!”  I rest my case.

Nirvanah Crane

And arguably the entire crew of the Holoship according to her speech: “It's a ship regulation that we all have sexual congress at least twice a day.  It's a health rule … Here it is considered the height of bad manners to refuse an offer of sexual coupling … We are holograms.  There is no risk of disease or pregnancy.  That is why in our society we only believe in sex -- constant, guilt-free sex.”

Does that sound as though they’re fussy about the genders of their partners?  It certainly doesn’t to me.  So:

Captain Hercule Platini

Commander Randy Navarro

Commander Natalina Pushkin

Commander Binks

Sam Murray

From the Series V DVD booklet:

“Briefly revived in “Holoship”, it came as a surprise that Sam was male.  In the original pilot script - and Series 1′s deleted funeral scene - deceased crew member “Sam Murray” is said to be dating “Rick Thesen”.  Possibly Red Dwarf’s first gay couple?”

Cop (“Back To Reality”)

I’m sure it wasn’t written as such and maybe he didn’t intend to, but the way Lenny Von Dohlen plays his character’s reaction to the Voter Colonel just pings my gaydar.

Frank Todhunter (“The End”)

I know the conversation in “Duct Soup” (which also includes a reference to a gay crew member nicknamed “Bent Bob” *cringe*) where Kochanski tells Lister that the Todhunter in her dimension was gay is played off as something she made up to take Lister’s mind off his claustrophobia, but she never actually says as much.  There’s nothing to say that at least part of what she was saying wasn’t true.

Ackerman (Series VIII)

In the Series VIII DVD documentary, actor Graham McTavish says he was playing Ackerman as someone who enjoys sex with women “or at a pinch, men dressed as women”.  So onto this list he goes.

Big Meat (“Only The Good”)

I don’t blame you if you’ve blocked this one out as I find the scene almost unwatchable, but he’s the big prisoner who takes to the idea of being Cat’s “bitch” unexpectedly quickly.

Katerina Bartikovsky (“Back To Earth”)

Credit to @clueingforbeggs for noticing that in “Pete Part 1” Ackerman claims to have been “having jiggy-jiggy with the Science Officer’s wife” and connecting that with Katerina being a Science Officer.  There’s nothing to say that the Joy Squid didn’t conjure up the image of an actual crew member.

But maybe the ship has more than one Science Officer?  Well, the way it’s said makes it sound as though there is only one but in “Holoship” Kryten gives Rimmer a mind patch from two officers, one of whom is Science Officer Buchan.  There is no mention of Buchan’s gender so who’s to say they aren’t also female?

Begg Chief (“Entangled”)

“We prefer the ship of green.  And the sexy light man with the lady legs so long and luscious!”

Chancellor Wednesday (“The Beginning”)

Actor Alex Hardy says in Series X DVD doc “We’re Smegged” that he was playing the relationship between his character and Dominator Zlurth with a homoerotic undercurrent and you can see it subtly in his performance.

Dolphy (“Cured”)

All I’ll say about this one is that if Messalina had behaved towards Lister as Dolphy does in this episode, nobody would have doubted that she was into him.

Ziggy (“Timewave”)

Proof that LGBT+ characters in this show work a lot better when Doug isn’t intentionally writing them as such.  Sorry.

Feel free to add any examples I may have missed.

@lord-valery-mimes  @aziraphale-lesbian   @notalwaysweak  @feline-ranger  @downonthepharm-red-dwarf  @hologrammette  @rosecathy  @cazflibs​

[guiltypleasuresminustheguilt]

A -through- Uber A Theory (This is gonna be long): *To be continued*

Sentences in * * are pure make believe to connect certain things.

Mona starts her A stuff, stalking Ali.

Ali investigates.

Ali uncovers truth, Mona is A.

Ali confronts Mona, tricks her into helping fake her own death by killing Bethany who she hated.

Ali tells Mona how to be popular and leaves.

Ali brings Sara Harvey in the day after labor day. (They had already been friends, *Ali met Sara after seeing her preform in a school play, she was impressed by how good she could lie and how little she cared about people, she was the perfect prodigy.*)

Mona becomes popular, then befriends Hanna on her own.

Year goes by and now all 4 liars are back in Rosewood.

Ali has gotten bored, she wants to play with her dolls again.

Ali reaches out to Mona, forces her to play the game again but this time stalk and torture Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer. Ali threatens to tell everyone that Mona killed Bethany thinking it was Ali and that she was forced to run away in fear of her life. Mona knows she will lose her best friend (Hanna) if this comes out, not to mention face serious criminal charges so she goes along with it.

Ali is A, but has Mona do most of the dirty work.

Mona starts getting too in-character, confuses reality, she starts believing her job as A (to monitor and punish the people) is real and takes matters into her own hands rather than taking orders from Ali.

Ali sees Mona getting real bad, she even started texting herself A messages, so she sets up the plan for Mona to get caught.

Ali has Mona take Spencer to the lair, everything unfolds, and Mona ends up at Radley.

Ali visits Mona in Radley, Mona says, 'I did everything you asked me to'. Ali tells her to just take her meds and get better.

This theory explains:

Why Mona would torture her best friend

How Ali's bracelet was in Bethany's grave.

Why Mona cliamed she became A: the others stole Hanna from her = all of them being back in Rosewood together is the reason Ali made her become A again, which caused Hanna to drift further from Mona.

How Ali always knew where the liars were and when they were in trouble.

Why Ali wouldn't ever give a straight answer when she visited and basically acted like it was a game when she saw Spencer.

How/why Sara Harvey was missing, if Cece brought her in that wouldn't have happened until after Mona went to Radley so why would she be missing before that?

Uber A:

Ali visits Mona in Radley

Ali brings Cece into the game and helps her get out of Radley (she already knew the truth about Cece from their summer in Cape May together)

Ali and Cece drug Emily and dig up Bethany's body and get proof the liars were there (Mona wasn't actually there, she lied about that)

Ali has Cece run things while Mona takes her meds to get better

Ali has Cece run into the liars and act suspiciously like Ali.

Ali starts using Cece and Sara as redcoat, Mona doesn't know who they are or how they're involved just knows of redcoat like the others and knows of Cece like the others

Ali brings Noel in because she knows he's a sadistic bastard who doesn't need a reason to hurt people.

*Ali instructs Noel to bring Jenna in, Jenna has no idea she is actually working for Ali which makes Ali love it even more.*

Ali finds out about Ezra's book and decides to use it to her advantage, make the liars think he's A, plus it'll kill Aria when she finds out which Ali loves.

Ali reveals herself to be alive to the liars

Ali has Shawna get Emily to come see her. Knowing the others won't let her go alone, she insists she come alone to cause issue between Emily and Spencer.

Ali uses the fact that Spencer can't remember that night to fuck with her

Shawna never knew Ali wasn't actually in danger, she never knew she had Jenna doing some of her dirty work

The liars arrive in New York York and Ali spins this horrible sob story about how her mother buried her alive and Mona tricked her into running away and the liars eat it up. *Truth is her mom caught her putting her bracelet on Bethany's dead body, had Wilden cover it up, and sent Ali away.*

Ali meets with Cece to give an update, Emily catches her so she spins a lie again

Cece was only given the passport so Ali wouldn't have a way out, but she ended up leaving the country and met Alex.

Shawna finds out the truth, pissed at Ali for making her commit crimes, lie, cover up the truth, and involve Jenna she comes with a gun to kill Ali

Ezra was following the liars trying to keep Aria safe, sees Shawna in a black hoodie and thinks she's A

Ezra gets shot by Shawna though the liars don't know who shot him

Shawna gets to the theater ready to kill Ali but dies herself instead

The liars all agree to tell the truth but Ali already had other plans set up

Ali lies to the cops and the liars idiotically go along with it.

Now Ali=A can use Shawna being killed and lying to the cops against the liars

Ali hires Cirus to get caught for kidnapping her, waits until the last minute to let him go because he had fucked her over in the past

The liars freak out about Ali going rogue and go to Mona for help

Mona is tired, she wants to tell the truth and wants to be free from Ali

Mona has been planning to fake her death and leave Ali held responsible so she could just run away

Ali catches on to this plan, calls Cece to return

Alex begs Cece not to leave but she loves the game too much

Ali has Cece intercept Mona's plan and take her to the dollhouse.

Ali tells Cece that Mona is her doll for now, as long as she stays in the dollhouse she can play with her whenever she wants.

Ali let's herself get arrested for murder knowing soon the liars will believe she's innocent, then get arrested themselves.

Ali has Cece intercept the prison transport vehicle and take the liars to the dollhouse, knowing it'll set her free soon.

Ali tells Cece since she just got out of jail she can't be too close to the dollhouse so Cece takes charge

Ali notices Andrew getting close to finding them, she frames him and makes a plan to 'save her friends'

Ali and Cece use the fact that Cece used to be a boy to their advantage, put his name in the dollhouse for Spencer to see, making framing Andrew easier

Now everyone believes A is a man named Charles Dilaurentis and he can never be found

With cops all over, Ali and Cece decide they need to end the game for now, they come up with a plan

Ali hires Reese to play a part

Cece 'kidnaps' Ali at the prom, the liars + Mona + Sara all head to Reese's office

Cece's big reveal is all lies, Cece killed Toby's mom because she caught little Charles wearing a dress. He freaked out thinking he'd be in trouble so he pushed her off the roof.

Cece takes full blame for being A even though it was her and Ali

Mona really was extremely drugged up when Ali first visited, she really does have mental issues which made it a lot easier for Ali to manipulate her

Mona does admit to killing Bethany but at this point after the dollhouse she is too scared to tell the whole truth and her mental illness is twisting reality

Cece was never going to blow up Radley with Ali and her family inside, the bomb would have never gone off

Cece gets taken to a mental hospital and Ali promises she'll get her out

Cece never got the chance to introduce Ali to Alex and wanted to keep her to herself

Ali had no idea Alex existed and played no part in her A game

Ali planned to pick up the game after Cece was released, but Mona killed her which stopped their plans

Ali didn't know who killed Cece

Alex hated all six of them, she blamed all of them for making Cece obsessed with the game

She planned to get revenge, but the game has a powerful pull to it and it sucks you in

Her plan got distorted the more she played and the more she saw how much Spencer had.

This theory explains:

How Cece could know everything she needs to about the girls including what they each put in the grave, because even Mona couldn't know that only Alison would be able to tell who each item was from and the story behind it.

Why Alison was originally working towards framing Spencer.

Why she started her own little army.

Why Shawna was mad enough to kill, sure Alison blinded the girl she fell in love with, but that was years before they fell in love and not really a worthwhile reason to go to prison in my opinion. While if she found out Ali was never in true danger, she was the one who scared her by knocking her out and telling her to leave, and had already lied to the cops and commit crimes to help her when she never even needed the help and got the girl she loves involved in criminal activities as well, yeah I understand her being pretty pissed.

Why Ali would act like she can only trust Emily but 'isn't sure about the rest'.

Why Ali would change her story to the cops at the last minute & that story have major holes in it. Ali is an expert liar, she chose to make her story seem doubtful and claimed her friends were instrumental in helping her, making sure they would immediately be arrested if her story came out to be fake.

[its-a-queer-thing]

I loved Gallavich. In fact, I just recently rewatched their entire story and it's still as compelling. However, I love Ian and Trevor. I think they'll be really great together. I get how important ships are to people. I, myself, have had ships that I hoped would be endgame, but 2 things here: Noel has left the show with no plans current plans to return. It seems to me that the show closed that chapter and even Ian seemed ready to move on. That also happens in life. You think someone is it, but >

they end up not being. Time goes on, and you will probably always have a place in your heart for them, maybe even still love them, but you know the relationship ran it's course. I, personally, would be very satisfied if that was the resolution, and the show ended with Ian and Trevor together. I doubt it will because I know so many fans want at least a hint of Gallavich endgame. That's just why I support Ian and Trevor. Idk if this is the kind of response you were looking for, but that's my take.

I was hoping for more specific examples maybe about Trevor (or Trevor and Ian) but that’s okay! :) I keep seeing vague assertions about them and it doesn’t really help me see why people support Trevor or the ship. It’s too easy for me to quickly argue against, as I’m probably about to do....

Are Ian and Trevor great together? In season 7, I saw a lack of compatibility romantically, but a great foundation for a friendship. I saw Ian being encouraged to change without Trevor offering to change much, taking on more of a guiding role than someone who wishes to grow with someone. Ian and Trevor’s relationship lacks a sense of equality for me because Trevor seems to be so superior (or he seems to believe he is) and Ian just seems desperate to fill a hole that Mickey left. The whole relationship has been forced since the beginning, and in my opinion, the writers are arrogant for pushing Ian and Trevor harder rather than listen to legitimate criticism from the fans. If they wanted to slow things down and work their way to endgame, that’d be one thing. Maybe have them be friends, allow them to each be there for each other and grow together until a romantic connection is established and desired rather than imposed on the characters and fanbase. Then season 8 has honestly just been a mess, but it’s also my opinion that ALL of season 8 has been a mess so that isn’t a particular rag on Ian or Trevor.

As to your two points; yes, Noel is gone, but he has also said numerous times that he would jump at the opportunity to come back and always looks sad when people talk about Mickey, like he feels he lost an awesome opportunity or is disappointed in the overall way things have played out. And people seem to forget that he can’t just waltz back into the studios and start filming, he needs to be hired back and paid what everyone agrees to. Wells severely underpaid him in season 5 and all Noel wanted was a fair pay for a regular spot on the show. When he didn’t get it, or didn’t get enough, he walked, and I can’t blame him for that. I know plenty of people who don’t get a raise they want in any kind of job and immediately start job hunting for someone who will pay them better. And now Noel is doing really well but still says that if they want him back, he’ll jump on the chance, and I’m sure he will! As a guest star it seems they have an agreed upon per-episode price but it’s the regular spot they are having trouble with. That being said I find it completely plausible that they could bring Noel back for the last three or so episodes of the series to establish a Gallavich endgame, and I pray for it. And to your second point, yeah it is normal for some couples to fall apart, but here’s the thing: they weren’t supposed to. There is no doubt in my mind that Gallavich was planned to be endgame and they were going to milk Gallavich for all they were worth until the contract disagreement happened. So the way they broke Gallavich up is bullshit and random. I’m personally not satisfied with the Mexico ending because the whole prison break out storyline is bullshit. They should have either brought him back full time or not at all. The relationship did not run its course in the slightest and we see that because they were setting Gallavich up for a beautiful endgame and even with the border scene we see that their relationship is not truly over for either of them. Then the writers give half-assed attempts to destroy Gallavich and Trevor is unfortunately the cheap imitation and replacement. They can’t even give Ian and Trevor their own original moments together. Pretty much all of their positive moments together are borrowed Gallavich moments and that’s a huge insult to Trevor’s character and the Gallavich fandom.

Anyway, I didn’t mean to go off like that xD Sorry! Thank you for sending me your view and if you would like to counter-argue anything I’ve said, please feel free to respond!

[thesnootyushers]

As season 11 of Trailer Park Boys lands on Netflix, here’s my attempt at launching at a British version.

Trailer Park Boys returns for it’s 11th season today on Netflix. It is hugely popular around the world despite its very humble beginnings. It starts out as a documentary following Julian and Ricky as they get out of prison and attempt to go straight. They move back to the trailer park they have lived their whole lives, and the wacky characters of the park have made for a great comedy series eer since. After coming to an end on traditional TV, the three main actors (JP Tremblay, Robb Wells, and Mike Smith) kept the show going through a series of films, before launching Swearnet, their own produciton company and online network. They bought the rights to the Trailer Park Boys and have gone about making the franchise bigger than ever, having teamed up with Netflix to produce live specials, and even recently did a series with their characters touring Europe, which featured Noel Fielding in the first episode. They also regularly appear in character on chat shows, and there is a whole bunch of content on Swearnet featuring various cast members of TPB.

And with their international success, why not try to produce a British version?

Bear with me Bubbles, I think it would look a little something like this…

Julian (John Paul Tremblay ) to be played by …. ANDREW LINCOLN

Julian takes the lead in most of the boys schemes, and at times he is even moderately successful, before his loyalty to his friends and trailer park, the law, or sheer bad luck usually end up with him back at square one. He has gone legit a few times, running a bar/club/casino, and also various illegal plans such as a clean urine business. He is also the one who invited the cameras into the trailer park for the first time. As nominally the straight man in the trio, there were a few names that came to mind in a British version, including Martin Freeman, Ben Miller, and of course Idris Elba, because he should be in everything. None of them had the greasy edge that Julian has, until I thought of Andrew Lincoln. Although now a superstar due to The Walking Dead, his role in Teachers showed that he can do comedy drama, and obviously Egg in This Life wasn’t a totally straight role. And look at that picture of him in a black T-short and jeans – a bit more tricep meat and he’s perfect!

Ricky (Robb Wells) to be played by …. NICK FROST

Ricky is, simply put, an idiot. Rickyisms are one of the highlights of the show (“Make like a tree and f*** off”, “Looks like we need two turnips and heat” and “Don’t judge a cover of a book by its look” are some of my favourites), and I just think Nick Frost would be great at delivering them. He would also be brilliant with the physical comedy, as Ricky is constantly falling over:

  A natural Ricky!

Bubbles (Mike Smith) to be played by …. MACKENZIE CROOK

And so onto the breakout, and most difficult to cast, character. Bubbles started out as an odd neighbour, but over time has grown into being the heart of the show. He lives in a small shed and is devoted to his kitties, as well as being a budding singer. In turn, actor Mike Smith seems to be the most natural performer when it comes to the live shows. Although I toyed with the idea of Peter Kay or Steve Coogan doing a comedy character similar to a young Leonard the paper boy or Duncan Thickett. Or Marek Larwood from We Are Klang, to try and match Bubbles heer weirdness. But when it comes to oddball characters, giving it a British twist is what we do best, and I can’t think of anyone who would capture Bubbles’ nervous, naive nature than Mackenzie Crook. And in the same way that Gareth Keenan was originally a totally different character before Crook auditioned and won the role, Bubbles would be slightly tweaked by retain the spirit of the original character. Plus Crook is sublime in BBC Four’s The Detectorists, alongside the great Toby Jones.

Jim Lahey (John Dunsworth) to be played by …. JIM BROADBENT

The supporting characters in Trailer Park Boys are much more complex than in most comedy shows. Jim Fahey is the Trailer Park supervisor, an ex-police officer, with a serious drink problem. At the beginning of the series he is a comedic foil for the boys, almost like Officer Dibble in Top Cat, but later he goes on the offensive to try and get rid of Julian, Ricky, and Bubbles. He has season long arcs, and a love story for the ages with Randy. There were a whole bunch of slightly older British actors I considered. Paul Whitehous, Timothy Spall or Mark Heap. But there’s a underlying tragedy to Mr Lahey, and I think that Jim Broadbent would be fantastic in this role. He has a background in comedy, and one of his most recent roles, as James McAvoy’s therapist in Filth, shows that he isn’t afraid to get weird when required.

Randy (Patrick Roach) to be played by …. JOHNNY VEGAS

Randy is the Assistant Supervisor at the Trailer Park for most of the show, occasionally holding different positions depending on the whims of the owners. At one time in their younger days he was friendly with Julian, Bubbles, and especially Ricky, but now he is on the side of law and order, helping Lahey to thwart the boys. He is also truly in love with Mr Lahey. There was only really one choice for the role of the shirtless, cheeseburger-eating, rotund Randy – Johnny Vegas.

Sarah (Sarah Dunsmore) to be played by… JESSICA HYNES

Onto the female characters. Sarah has got the measure of the boys, never taking any of their nonsense and with almost no romantic entanglement to cloud her judgement. She is also far more successful than Julian when it comes to planning and executing schemes – Trailer Park Girls would be a much different show! Jessica Hynes is a comedy great – she was one of the highlights of my Christmas countdown with her star turn in Nativity 2 – and as a smart woman trapped by her circumstances, she would be perfect. She’s also grown beyond her role as Daisy in Spaced, but I reckon we could work in one reference with her and Nick Frost, and someone else later on…

Lucy (Lucy Decoutere) to be played by… SHARON HORGAN

Another smart, confident woman who is held back by one thing – although with Lucy it is her love of Ricky that keeps dragging her back to him. She knows that she deserves better than him, but she loves him so they always end up back together. Although Horgan has made her name with starring roles in comedies like BBC Three’s Pulling and more recently Catastrophe which has been picked up by Netflix. This has led to her new show Divorce getting picked up on HBO, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church.  This would be a great role for her to just be a comedy actor though, a bit like when Chris Morris was in the first series of The IT Crowd.

Barb Lahey (Shelley Thompson) to be played by… JULIA DAVIS

Barb is the owner of the Trailer Park, and the wife of Jim. She also has a bit of a dark edge to her, being ready to act in her own self-interest and sell the park to anyone with the money. Julia Davis would be great to be involved, stuff like Nighty Night and Hunterby more than shows her comedy chops. I also see Barb as a young woman being impressed by dashing police officer Jim Lahey before he lost his job and fell into his spiral of self destruction, so that is why she is so much younger than Jim Broadbent. This would also help her bond with Lucy and Sarah, who I’ve always thought more of as an older sister rather than a mother figure.

J-Roc (Jonathan Torrens) to be played by …. SIMON PEGG

J Roc is the trailer parks’ resident wannabe rapper. He has a million and one catchphrases that have evolved over the course of the show,“maafk”. For the equivalent version in Britain I needed a very British comedian with a love of hip hop – so why not Simon Pegg? I reckon we could shoehorn in ONE Spaced reference with the Tim, Daisy, and Mike reunion.

Cyrus (Bernard Robichaud) to be played by …. JASON STATHAM

You didn’t think I could get through this without The Stath, did you? Cyrus is the inept faux gangster/pimp/tough guy who is the Boys main criminal antagonist. I’ve not recast everyone in the series, but Cyrus would be the big bad over the course of the first season of my British version of Trailer Park Boys.

Sebastian Bach (Sebastian Bach) to be played by …. BRUCE DICKINSON

Rockstar Sebastian Bach plays a recurring role in Trailer Park Boys, and a British reboot would need someone of a similar stature. Iron Maiden front man Bruce Dickinson could get involved with a drug distribution scheme either with his band on tour or with his own jet (he’s got a pilot’s licence).

Cory and Trevor (Cory Bowles and Michael Jackson) to be played by… DANIEL RADCLIFFE and RUPERT GRINT

Cory and Trevor are basically used by Ricky and Julian as a supply of cheap labour and free cigarettes. They are basically included in the plans to be ready-made scapegoats and take the rap when things naturally go wrong. So why not get the boys from Harry Potter back together?

But where is it set?

Sunnyvale, Nova Scotia to be replace by… BRIDLINGTON, YORKSHIRE!

In this country, we don’t really have “trailer parks” on the same scale of North America, so it has to be a seaside resort. Bridlington it is!

And that’s it for my British version of Trailer Park Boys. I’d like to thank our Senior Wrestling Correspondent Jonny Hogarth for his help as a sounding board to bounce my ideas off with this article, as I mentioned throughout there really were a a lot of names in the mix. What other shows would you like to see remade in a British setting?

So, what do you think now, Bubbles?

That’s all I ever wanted to hear.

Until next time, stay gold Ponyboy, stay gold. See you soonish.

Like what you’ve read? LIKE us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and look us up on Instagram!

Fan Cast – Trailer Park Boys: The British Version As season 11 of Trailer Park Boys lands on Netflix, here's my attempt at launching at a British version.