Jim Reaper was the Head of Sales for Divadroid International's Space Division.
History[]
When Red Dwarf received a post pod from Divadroid International, it only contained one video letter addressed to Kryten's owners. It was a message from the Head of Sales, Space Division informing Lister that Kryten was an obsolete model and would shut down within 24 hours.
He seemed quite happy to be signing Kryten's death warrant, explaining that the Kryten Series III was slow, stupid, crudely designed and quite amazingly ugly. He ordered Kryten to prepare for his termination by tying up his affairs and dismantling himself for shipping back to the company.
Later, when a hungover Kryten rolled his head over the remote for the video, he accessed an addendum to Reaper's message. The sales executive explained that a new android would soon arrive to replace Kryten. The new model, Hudzen-10, was stronger, faster and smarter than any other droid on the market. (RD: The Last Day)
Appearance[]
Jim Reaper has a message for Red Dwarf'...
Jim Reaper was a human male in his thirties who bore a striking resemblance to Kryten, except that Reaper spoke with an English accent. The mechanoid even looked identical to Reaper when a DNA modifier made him human. (RD: D.N.A.)
He may have been related to John Warburton, the template for the design of the Series 4000 mechanoid. (RD: Beyond a Joke)
Behind the scenes[]
Jim Reaper was played by Kryten actor Robert Llewellyn, only without the rubber mask. He explained that he felt very exposed playing Reaper without makeup. Reaper's face was very expressive, because Llewellyn was using all the facial muscles he used to portray the mechanoid.
The character's name was clearly a joke on The Grim Reaper, an embodiment of death, and how his message signaled Kryten's impending "death".