Meltdown (Red Dwarf)

"Meltdown" is the sixth, and final, episode of science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series IV and the twenty-fourth episode in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 21 March 1991. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye. The episode, featuring Wax-Droids of famous historical figures involved in a war of good versus evil, was originally supposed to open the series but was postponed due to the Gulf War conflict.

Kryten discovers a matter transporter paddle in the research lab of Red Dwarf. It can convert an individual into digital information and then transmit them in the form of light beams to another point in space within 500,000 light-years (although somehow at far in excess of the speed of light). The crew decides to explore the most interesting planet with breathable air within range, 200,000 light years away.Rimmer and Kryten go first to see if the atmosphere is breathable and send the matter paddle back, but are then chased by two Gappas, then taken prisoner by a gun-toting Elvis Presley and the Pope. Lister and the Cat follow but accidentally end up in what appears to be the Third Reich and are captured by Adolf Hitler, whose men take the device.

While in jail, Lister and Cat are interrogated by the Roman Emperor Caligula and Lister witnesses the execution of Winnie the Pooh by a firing squad consisting of Al Capone, Benito Mussolini, Napoleon, Richard III and James Last. It's clear to them that something very strange is going on. It soon becomes apparent that they have travelled to Wax-world — a Wax-Droid theme park that has been abandoned for millions of years, during which time the droids have broken their programming and gained sentience. Now the droid replica inhabitants of Villain World are waging war against Hero World, in "the ultimate battle of Good versus Evil". The evil Waxdroids use the heroes' wax to make more of their own kind, meaning the heroes are now greatly outnumbered. The heroes' faction is on the brink of defeat, as all of the great heroes like Sir Lancelot and John Wayne have been killed. There are only less than twenty "good" droids left: an eclectic assortment of actors, intellectuals, and pacifists (e.g. Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Mohandas Gandhi, Santa Claus, St. Francis of Assisi, the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa). Lister and Cat escape with Abraham Lincoln, who has explained the situation, after tricking Caligula and Rasputin into teleporting into a cupboard in their cell but lose the matter paddle to them in the process.