Editing Red Dwarf (section)

===American version===
[[File:Red dwarf usa 9.jpg|thumb|left|Cast of second ''Red Dwarf USA'' pilot]]
Despite the original version having been broadcast on [[PBS]], a pilot episode for an American version (known as ''Red Dwarf USA'') was produced through [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] with the intention of broadcasting on [[NBC]] in 1992.<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 228.</ref> The show essentially followed the same story as the [[The End (Red Dwarf)|first episode]] of the original series, using American actors for most of the main roles:<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 225.</ref> [[Craig Bierko]] as Lister, [[Chris Eigeman]] as Rimmer and [[Hinton Battle]] as Cat. Exceptions to this were Llewellyn, who reprised his role as Kryten, and the British actress [[Jane Leeves]], who played Holly. It was written by [[Linwood Boomer]] and directed by [[Jeffrey Melman]], with Grant and Naylor on board as creators and executive producers.<ref name="Red Dwarf USA">{{cite web |url=http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/features/history/red-dwarf-usa |title=Dwarf USA: The full story behind 1992's ill-fated American Red Dwarf pilot |date=19 July 2002 |website=RedDwarf.co.uk |access-date=6 February 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302145610/http://www.reddwarf.co.uk/features/history/red%2Ddwarf%2Dusa |archive-date=2 March 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Llewellyn, Grant and Naylor travelled to America for the filming of the American pilot after production of the fifth series of the British version. According to Llewellyn and Naylor, the cast were not satisfied with Linwood Boomer's script. Grant and Naylor rewrote the script, but although the cast preferred the re-write, the script as filmed was closer to Boomer's version. The pilot episode includes footage from the British version in its title sequence, although it did not retain the logo or the theme music of the British version. During filming of the pilot, the audience reaction was good, and it was felt that the story had been well received.<ref name="Red Dwarf USA"/>

The studio executives were not entirely happy with the pilot, especially the casting, but decided to give the project another chance with Grant and Naylor in charge.<ref>Howarth & Lyons (1993) p. 227.</ref> The intention was to shoot a "promo video" for the show in a small studio described by the writers as "a garage".<ref name="Red Dwarf USA"/> New cast members were hired for the roles of Cat (now depicted as female) and Rimmer,<ref name="Red Dwarf USA"/> [[Terry Farrell (actress)|Terry Farrell]] and Anthony Fusco, respectively.<ref name="Resume">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103521 |title=Red Dwarf (1992) |website=[[IMDb]] |access-date=17 October 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218085224/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103521 |archive-date=18 February 2017}}</ref> This meant that, unlike the original British show, the cast were all Caucasian, which Charles referred to as "White Dwarf".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/reddw/o/usa/index.html |title=Red Dwarf USA unaired pilot |date=February 2010 |website=The Red Dwarf Section |access-date=28 June 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909061544/http://randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/reddw/o/usa/index.html |archive-date=9 September 2016}}</ref> Chris Barrie was asked to play Rimmer in the second pilot, but he declined. With a small budget and deadline, new scenes were quickly shot and mixed in with existing footage of the pilot and UK Series V episodes, to give an idea of the basic plot and character dynamics, alongside proposed future episodes, remakes of episodes from the original show.<ref name="Red Dwarf USA"/> Llewellyn did not participate in the re-shoot, though clips from the British version were used to show the character. Despite the re-shoots and re-casting, the option on the pilot was not picked up.<ref name="Red Dwarf USA"/>

The cast of both the British and American versions criticised the casting of ''Red Dwarf USA'', particularly the part of Lister, who is portrayed in the British version as a likeable slob, but in the U.S. version as somewhat clean-cut. In the 2004 documentary ''Dwarfing USA'', Danny John-Jules said the only actor who could have successfully portrayed an American Lister was [[John Belushi]]. In a 2009 interview on ''[[Kevin Pollak's Chat Show]]'', Bierko said that it was a "huge mistake" for him to play Lister, and also said that a "John Belushi-type" would have been better suited to the role.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kevinpollakschatshow.com/archive/?p=68 |title=Episode 28 – Craig Bierko |website=[[Kevin Pollak's Chat Show]] Archive |date=2 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102021746/http://www.kevinpollakschatshow.com/archive/?p=68 |archive-date=2 November 2012}}</ref>

The American pilot has been heavily bootlegged, but it has never been broadcast on TV in any country. Excerpts from the first pilot are included in ''Dwarfing USA'', a featurette on the making of the pilots included on the DVD release of ''Red Dwarf''{{'s}} fifth series. Because of rights-clearance issues, no footage from the second pilot is included in the featurette.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Character !! UK series !! 1st US pilot !! 2nd US pilot
|-
| Dave Lister || [[Craig Charles]] || colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[Craig Bierko]]
|-
| Arnold Rimmer|| [[Chris Barrie]] || [[Chris Eigeman]] || Anthony Fusco
|-
| Cat || [[Danny John-Jules]] || [[Hinton Battle]] || [[Terry Farrell (actress)|Terry Farrell]]
|-
| Kryten || [[David Ross (actor)|David Ross]] (series 2)<br />[[Robert Llewellyn]] (series 3–) || colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Robert Llewellyn
|-
| Holly || [[Norman Lovett]] (series 1–2, 7–8, 12–13)<br />[[Hattie Hayridge]] (series 3–5) || colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | [[Jane Leeves]]
|}