| The Cat | |
|---|---|
| Red Dwarf character | |
| First appearance | The End |
| Last appearance | Back to Earth |
| Portrayed by | Danny John-Jules (British version) Kōichi Yamadera (British version, Japanese dub) Hinton Battle (American version, first episode) Terry Farrell (American version, second episode) |
The Cat is a character in the British science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf. He is played by Danny John-Jules.
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According to Danny John-Jules, the character of Cat is based on a combination of Little Richard's look, James Brown's moves and Richard Pryor's facial expressions.[1]
The character has no name other than "The Cat" or simply "Cat". He is the humanoid descendant of a modern domestic cat called Frankenstein who had been Dave Lister's pregnant pet cat. He may be the last remaining member of his species, Felis sapiens. His species expanded and evolved into a humanoid form over 3,000,000 years while sealed in the cargo hold of Red Dwarf while Dave Lister was in suspended animation. They formed a religion based on the saviour of Frankenstein: "Cloister the Stupid", the father of their race according to their legends (actually Lister), and "Fuchal", their promised land (actually the Fiji Islands, a place Lister held in high regard and planned to retire to). The race eventually splits and descends into civil war, over what colour the hats at the hot dog and doughnut stand Lister planned to open on Fiji were going to be (in the later-published novelization "Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers" the cause of the cat civil war is whether their god was named Cloister or Clister). Ironically the two factions claimed they were going to be red or blue, whilst Lister had wanted them to be green. Eventually the two factions formed a truce and built two great space arks to go and search for Lister and the promised land. One of the two arks, following a set of sacred directions (Lister's laundry list, which he lined Frankenstein's basket with), promptly crashed into an asteroid; it is not known what happened to the other, though it may have been visited by the Holoship, whose scout party immediately recognizes the Cat as belonging to this species. The assorted lame, sick and "stupid" were left behind. Over time, they all eventually died off, but a crippled female and a retarded male ("The Cripple and the Idiot") produced The Cat before dying. It appears that The Cat was mainly raised by a blind Cat Priest, though a brief mention is made to The Cat's mother in the novelization.
He has an alternate version of himself in an opposite universe called The Dog. Among his other alter egos is the "Duke of Dork", Duane Dibbley, a stereotypical 'nerd' and the Cat's idea of a meaningless existence—deprived of any grace or style. In the episode "Demons and Angels", The Cat's good and bad side are seen, his good side being a religious type wearing a hooded robe and sandals, who explains to the normal Cat that he is his higher self, his spiritual side, extrapolated from his being (the normal Cat replies "Extrapa-what-elated? Buddy, there is no way you are a part of me. No part of me would ever be seen alive in sandals!"). This version is eventually shot at and blown up with the "divine" Kryten when they believe that a bomb thrown from the "Low" versions of the crew is a greetings gift. The other half is more savage and gangster-like than either of the other cats; notably he has no fashion sense, being nearly dressed in nothing but rags, furs and black leather. His teeth have grown way out of proportion making him more like a Saber-toothed cat; this version was destroyed when the two new Red Dwarfs regenerate into the old one. An alternative Cat is briefly encountered when the Dwarfers meet themselves from an alternative timeline and are joined by Kristine Kochanski; this Cat seems more refined and subdued in appearance, in line with Kochanski's nature, and also has a much deeper voice. Cat's mirror opposite is also encountered in the mirror universe (Series VIII episode "Only the Good..."), a wise professor who finds it ridiculously easy to pronounce profoundly long words, e.g., Caesiumfrankolithicmixialubidiumrixidixidoxidexidroxide. This version of The Cat is more intelligent than both the original Cat and Duane Dibbley. In 'Ace' Rimmer's universe (series IV episode "Dimension Jump) the West Indian priest stationed on the Mimas test flight base bears a striking resemblance to Cat. The Padre smokes a pipe and congratulates Ace Rimmer on helping a sick boy recover.
In the 2009 special "Red Dwarf: Back to Earth", the crew encounter a female despair squid that Cat had smuggled aboard Red Dwarf many years ago during a trip to an ocean planet. It escaped and found its way into a water tank where it grew to adult size. Whilst attempting to capture the squid, they were covered in hallucinogenic ink and Cat, along with the rest of the crew, hallucinate an alternate reality in which they are fictional characters and that their lives are just a TV show from which they have somehow escaped.
During the first two season, the cat dresses in various 1940s-era suits (often gray or pink, with big shoulders and pocket handkerchiefs). He would also wear Cuban-heeled shoes with most of his outfits. He would also wear suits with tailed jackets and ruffled shirts (most notably cream-colored or reddish-pink). Some notable exceptions include a shiny red and black outfit and a royal blue two-piece over a white turtleneck.
Over the next three seasons, the Cat began wearing flashier outfits (like a tartan three-piece suit) and more leather and vinyl outfits (with boots). He also began wearing brightly colored hats and coats- such as his zebra-print coat (later revamped to yellow and black). He began sporting more jewelry and earrings. This was part of an effort by the wardrobe department to update his look. At one point in series 5, he even sported a silver streak in his hair.
Starting with series 6 and on through 7, The Cat's wardrobe was drastically simplified (John-Jules joking speculated that this was done as a cost-saving measure). He wore a black pvc jumpsuit (often with gloves) with a limited number of coats or suits worn over it. Ironically, he spent most of series 8 either in his prison jumpsuit or his CANARY battle fatigues.
He acts similar to a domesticated cat. As a humanoid cat, he exhibits the qualities of coolness, vanity, and aloofness. He loves to dress well in extravagant clothing, and to dance and scream like the soul artist James Brown. He often carries a mirror and is meticulous about his appearance. His first words in Episode 1 are: "How am I looking? I'm looking nice!".
He rarely calls his crewmates by name, often using the term "bud" or "buddy", but also refers to them by nicknames/pet names:
In early episodes, The Cat exhibits typical feline behaviours such as licking anyone who gives him food, playing with 'shiny things' and marking his territory, for which purpose he carries a small spray-can, the contents of which are unknown, in his pocket. While scent-marking, he repeats, "This is mine, this is mine, and all of this is mine." His extreme self-confidence results in him thinking himself to be irresistible to women. He is originally very self-centred, acting purely without concern when his old mentor the "Cat Priest" dies, giving Kryten an earring which he hates on the day before his automatic self-destruct and choosing to finish his lunch rather than carry Lister to the medical bay when he collapses. This behavior grows gradually less prevalent as the series goes on. In the episode Stasis Leak, the crew discover a portal, referred to as a "Magic door" by Cat, which allows them to go back before the crew are wiped out, he sees actual human females, and remarks "They make me want to do something. I don't know what it is! Whatever it is, I wanna do it a lot of it!" By Series IV, the Cat becomes less obsessed with mating, and begins to develop a friendship with Dave Lister and Kryten. He maintains a particularly strong dislike for Rimmer, taking any opportunity to insult him and disregarding Lister's attempts to spare his feelings.
As he learns to relate to the crew, he eventually stops licking them and marking his territory, and even begins to show genuine concern for others on several occasions. He becomes a skilled pilot of Starbug and develops an ability to "smell" dangererous phenomena, even in space—although he does not grasp scientific terms, describing anomalies as either "wibbly thing" or "swirly thing". Also, when a complicated issue arises or a strange anomaly is encountered, he is commonly known to pose the question, "What is it?", usually until the various explanations he is given make sense to him. His escape plans are almost always fashioned out of fantasy, and are generally reliant on objects that the crew either do not possess or are non-existent anyway. For example, he suggested that they "drop the defensive shields" when they had none, and in another situation, to don their "rocket pants", which Kryten promptly pointed out they didn't have and which didn't even exist. When the crew finally does go with one of his plans, the Cat questions their sanity for heeding his own advice, remarking, "What if we all get killed? I'll never hear the last of it!".
He takes particular pleasure in using the food synthesiser to get fish dinners, at one point standing in front of it repeating the word "fish" six times as the machine cranks out meal after meal, much to his obvious delight.
In the episode "Parallel Universe", The Cat performs the song "Tongue Tied", which appears as a dream sequence on a "dream monitor". The song was later released as a single in 1993, and reached number 17 in the UK charts. The artist was listed simply as "The Cat".
In the first and second pilot episodes of an American version of the television series, the Cat was played by Hinton Battle and Terry Farrell respectively. (Farrell's version was more outwardly catlike in appearance.)[2][3]
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