Plot
Holly (Norman Lovett) addresses the crew but forgets what he was going to say. Soon after the whole ship shakes under a tremendous impact. Holly now remembers that he had meant to warn the crew that the ship was about to be hit by a meteor. Rimmer's (Chris Barrie) legs start going walkabout on their own and Holly asks Lister (Craig Charles) to go down to the Hologram Simulation Suite to repair the damage. However, following Holly's advice, Lister connects the wrong cables and causes an explosion which makes him fly over the consoles.
Holly's increasing mistakes start to irritate the crew. After all he's supposed to have an IQ of 6,000. Then a mysterious face appears on the monitor screen where Holly's face is usually seen. Rimmer thinks it's aliens, but he introduces himself as Queeg 500, the Red Dwarf back-up computer. According to Queeg he is to replace Holly for gross negligence leading to the endangerment of personnel, and assumes control of the ship demoting Holly to night watchman.
The crew are initially pleased at the intelligence and efficiency of the new computer, however the next morning Queeg forces Rimmer out of bed early to do exercises. While Lister originally enjoys watching Rimmer getting worked to exhaustion he gets a nasty shock when he and the Cat are put to work scrubbing the ship, as Queeg refuses to give them any food otherwise. Finally understanding just how lenient Holly was towards them, the crew beg Holly to return and he challenges Queeg to a game of skill (Queeg chooses chess) to determine which of them will run Red Dwarf and which one will be erased. Queeg wins easily, and declares that Holly is to be wiped immediately from the ship's systems. Holly says his goodbyes to Lister, Rimmer, the Cat and slowly disappears from the screen. However moments later, Holly returns, and explains, to the crew's extreme surprise and exasperation, that he was Queeg all the time and it was all merely an elaborate prank, and that they should appreciate what they have.
Read more about this topic: Queeg (Red Dwarf)
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“The plot was most interesting. It belonged to no particular age, people, or country, and was perhaps the more delightful on that account, as nobody’s previous information could afford the remotest glimmering of what would ever come of it.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
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The Good Old Cause, reviv’d, a Plot requires,
Plots, true or false, are necessary things,
To raise up Common-wealths and ruine Kings.”
—John Dryden (1631–1700)
“The plot! The plot! What kind of plot could a poet possibly provide that is not surpassed by the thinking, feeling reader? Form alone is divine.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)