Skutters
From Tongue Tied
| RACES | |
| Skutters | |
| |
| Type: | Robot |
| Place of Origin | Earth |
| Appearances | Series I, Series II, Series III, Series VIII, Back to Earth |
| Members: | Bob Stabbim El Skutto Pinky and Perky |
| Actors | Danny John-Jules |
Skutters are maintenance robots used in Space Corps spaceships. There are at least two skutters in service onboard Red Dwarf, and thousands are said to be on board in the Red Dwarf Novels.
- Although only two full-size skutters were seen on screen at the same time during the series' run, there is little evidence whether Red Dwarf has only two working skutters or whether there are more.
The skutters on Red Dwarf have a liking for John Wayne, and are members of his fan club.
Since Arnold Rimmer's hologramatic form was not capable of handling physical objects, the skutters often found themselves doing menial tasks for him, even through technically they outranked him.
- According to Kryten in RD: The Last Day one of the skutters is named "Bob." Other names given to skutters are "Stabbim" mentioned by Rimmer in RD: Confidence and Paranoia, "El Skutto", also by Rimmer, in RD: Queeg, and "Pinky and smegging Perky," once again used by Rimmer, in RD: Better Than Life. Pinky and Perky are a reference to the pig marionettes in the 1960's British show Pinky and Perky."
[edit] Technology
The skutter design is a box that look a bit like a hover mower with a single arm which ends in a three-clawed hand with an electronic eye. Unlike many other mechanicals, they were not fitted with a chip to make them believe in Silicon Heaven, this was to save money during production. Due to this they find the concept comical, and only something stupid mechanoids believe in. The skutters are also apparently able to reproduce, two skutters could work together in order to build a number of smaller skutters, as seen in RD: Parallel Universe.
[edit] Behind the Scenes
- According to the DVD commentaries for Series I, the remote controlled skutters were prone to catch interference from other radio wave sources and go haywire on set.
- In the three-part mini-series Back to Earth, the Skutters were not remote controlled machines and were instead rendered using computer graphics based on the hand movements of Danny John-Jules. The person who created them was a fan of the show, and created them in exchange only for a signed copy of the Back to Earth script.
