09 May 2007, 3:37 am
I decided to have a Red Dwarf Marathon the other week, i had not watched the DVD's in a while so i ran through series 1 to 8. And i found myself watching the Arnold Rimmer character a lot, and i looked at some if his traits and i began to wonder:
Could Rimmer be an Aspie?
Of course, everyone is different on the spectrum of AS, but i noticed Rimmer had a few traits which could have snuck him onto the spectrum possibly.
In the early series, Rimmer had this obsessive desire to become an officer, since he had the second lowest rank on the ship; Second Technician, but he always felt he could do better, he did little else except talk about how he would be an officer.
He also had little hobbies in which he could tell you everything about, oddly, they uncluded a collection of shoe buffers and 20th century telegraph poles. he could tell you anything about it for days and not stop.
The last point seemed to be that he was generally misunderstood by everyone, of course, he had difficulty socialising. With traits like that, he might be hard to chat to, but it seemed there was a nice guy in there who wanted to be accepted for who he was and just not given any grief for his choices in life. I understand Red Dwarf is a comedy, and Rimmers traits were done for comic relief and probably not ment to be taken seriously. But being sentimental here, judging from what i saw, I wonder if Rimmer might have been an Aspie but not diagnosed.
Does anyone see what im saying? 
09 May 2007, 3:50 am
Yes, but he's also meant to be an obnoxious uptight snob. The officer obsession is not aspie, though maybe his other hobbies are.
I don't think Rob Grant and Doug Naylor meant for him to be aspie, but rather so that he is an obnoxious, slimy weasel with dorky tendencies. He is obsessed with bureaucracy and also loves to piss people off. I think it is rare an aspie (in real life, rather than cyberspace) will go to any great length to deliberately piss someone off. He does have obsessive tendencies, but I think it is more to do with him having this sort of mindset that wants to be an officer so much, he sticks to rules and regulations, or at least his interpretation. He's meant to be, I think, an obsessive NT loser with a Napoleon complex.
I think the Cat's a better candidate, because he starts out very self-centred, has unusual behavioural patterns, singularly obsessed with one thing (fashion. It is possible to be an aspie focussed on fashion) and has some trouble with empathy. Hell, Kryten is probably a better aspie than Rimmer. I might've said Lister too (the way he goes with curries) but at least Lister is sociable.
I've been watching Red Dwarf for close to a decade now, so I know what I am talking about. Rimmer, once he had the mind-graft (Holoship) could possibly be called Aspie, but in a different manner....
Next, you'll be calling Rik Mayall's characters Rick (The Young Ones) and Richard Richard (Bottom) aspie. 
09 May 2007, 3:58 am
I don't think Rob Grant and Doug Naylor meant for him to be aspie, but rather so that he is an obnoxious, slimy weasel with dorky tendencies. He is obsessed with bureaucracy and also loves to piss people off. I think it is rare an aspie (in real life, rather than cyberspace) will go to any great length to deliberately piss someone off. He does have obsessive tendencies, but I think it is more to do with him having this sort of mindset that wants to be an officer so much, he sticks to rules and regulations, or at least his interpretation. He's meant to be, I think, an obsessive NT loser with a Napoleon complex.
I think the Cat's a better candidate, because he starts out very self-centred, has unusual behavioural patterns, singularly obsessed with one thing (fashion. It is possible to be an aspie focussed on fashion) and has some trouble with empathy. Hell, Kryten is probably a better aspie than Rimmer. I might've said Lister too (the way he goes with curries) but at least Lister is sociable.
I've been watching Red Dwarf for close to a decade now, so I know what I am talking about. Rimmer, once he had the mind-graft (Holoship) could possibly be called Aspie, but in a different manner....
Next, you'll be calling Rik Mayall's characters Rick (The Young Ones) and Richard Richard (Bottom) aspie.
Lol, i doubt that, Rik Mayall is a great actor, his scenes in Blackadder were memorable
I just thought for a while rimmer might display AS traits, despite him being analy retentive, uptight, snobbish, believed he was a great man. I guess he is just so determined to become great in everyones eyes he sacrificed too much.
I always thought Kryten was aspie like too, because he has to do what we do, learn all about Humanity,, as Kryten was like data with mroe comedy effects in. I never thought Lister was aspie like as he was kind, compassionate, loved his currys, etc, although his luck with girls in suspect. And mention AS to the Cat and you would just get a big blank
09 May 2007, 4:18 am
09 May 2007, 4:27 am
What about the following?
*Paranoia (Confidence and Paranoia)
*Kryten (especially in Kryten and DNA... "Engage panic circuits, panic circuits engaged....wahaaaaaaaa!! !!", as well as "I'm in happiness mode")
*Perhaps some of the holoship crew? (Holoship)
*Possibly Dr Hildegard Langstrom? (Quarantine)
*The High version of the crew? Probably not aspie, but... (Demons and Angels)
*Duane Dibbley? Or is he just dorky? (Back to Reality and Polymorph 2: Emohawk)
*Bird Man? (Pete)
Paranoia: Possibly could have had AS, but then again, we are talking about a man who has nothing but paranoid, but a contender
Kryten: best candidate for an aspie, a lot of mannerisms would suggest this, as it;s an Android who does not understand humnaity, and tries to understand it. DNA would really be the best episode to show he had AS, as how he really was a humam
The holoship crew im not sure about, as we don't see them much, but possibly AS, what they get up to in the bedroom is a giveaway
Dr langstrom has a chance, but she went insane from power given to her from that virus, i would not have thought she had AS, but being such an expert in her field might suggest she has AS. Look at Bill Gates.
The high version of the crew i would not have expected to have AS, as they are holy men, although sanity is in question. if any evidence suggests them having AS, i have not seen it
Duane Dibley is just a major nerd, possibly at the very end of the spectrum where AS is barely noticable. it you take into account that scene in Emohawk: Polymorph II when he checks off his list of items, suggest he keeps schedules and likes to keep tihngs consistant.
Bird Man i would not have thought so, a man alone in a dark cell for years with no-one but a bird would o a bit nuts
09 May 2007, 4:37 am
09 May 2007, 9:31 am
Wow! I had to flick back through that book to remind myself, but pretty damm close there, a few qualities which might be autism
10 May 2007, 5:50 am
I LOVE Red Dwarf! I totally agree with the belief that Rimmer could be slightly Aspie. In one episode, when he is describing in great detail about a game he played with dice (forgive me for forgetting the name...), Lister says something which stood out as significant for me 'Rimmer, do you have some kind of social defect which means you can't see when you're totally boring people?' Having been told that, he then pauses for a moment, then starts again! This is totally something I would do! 
_________________
I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite
)10 May 2007, 5:57 am
It was 'Risk', a wargame where you can conquer the world using military 'units'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_%28game%29
10 May 2007, 6:01 am
Yup, that's the one! (forgive me, I recently moved house and have forgotten about 40% of my Red Dwarf knowledge...)
_________________
I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite
)
14 May 2007, 9:21 pm
15 May 2007, 1:13 pm
HurricaneRae
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: 9 May 2007
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 73
Location: Fort Wayne, IN
16 May 2007, 8:02 am
19 May 2007, 8:09 pm
| Similar Topics | |
|---|---|
| Have you been in a romantic relationship with another Aspie? |
11 Dec 2024, 3:25 am |
| Coming out of the aspie closet |
28 Nov 2024, 6:47 pm |
| Aspie dating success stories |
31 Oct 2024, 6:22 pm |
