Bodyswap

A malfunctioning skutter runs amok and rewires the ship's self-destruct system, which Lister then inadvertently activates while trying to order a milk shake and a crispy bar. As the auto-destruct can only be over-ridden by a senior officer, Kryten performs a mind-swap, and the mind of Executive Officer Carol Brown is temporarily placed into Lister's body. After the crisis is resolved, Rimmer tries to convince Lister to swap bodies with him: he will be able to enjoy the benefits of having a tangible body again for two weeks, while he exercises and gets Lister back into shape. However, he is unable to resist the pleasures he has been denied for so long, and eats, drinks, and smokes so much that Lister, appalled, demands his body back after just one week. Rimmer, enlisting Kryten's reluctant help, chloroforms Lister, reacquires his body, and absconds in Starbug with a full freight of junk food. When the others give chase, Rimmer crashes into a rocky planet and Lister gets his body back.

At the end of the episode, Rimmer comes in looking stunned and tells Lister, in Cat's voice "I was asleep, OK, when plastic Percy puts a sponge on my face and out go the lights!" Cat then enters carrying a heaping dinner plate and says in Rimmer's voice – before he commences gorging – "Just one night, I promise!" This is the second time Cat is speechless, as in the final line of dialogue in "Backwards" ("Don't ask").

Notes
  • This episode also coined the word Jozxyqk (pronounced Jozitzk'h) as a sound made when sexual organs become trapped in something. The word features during the scrabble game between Cat and Lister.

Production Notes
  • This episode has the only mention of the ship White Midget. This was a mistake on the part of the writers. In the Remastered version, Lister's voice is dubbed over so he says "The Midget" instead of "White Midget". Originally the new smaller ship that would be used was White Midget, a similar version of the Blue Midget, but the producers then invented Starbug which would be bigger and allow for more room to film inside.