Tongue Tied
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"There was a time where I was was a teensy tiny teeny weeny bit... MAD! But not anymore. Look. This is my all clear!"
-Asclepius (Give & Take)


Asclepius was a very advanced medi-bot created in the late 23rd century programmed to perform all procedures, both physical and mental, on all living organisms.

Asclepius was named after the Greek god of Medicine of the same name, from old Earth mythology (which was known by Kryten but unknown by Rimmer, much to the chagrin of Rimmer). The medi-bot resided on it's own space station in Deep Space, aptly named Asclepius' Station.

History[]

The boys from the Dwarf encounter Asclepius after boarding a space station in search of new technology, only to discover that he has become completely mad over the years, although he himself denies it, having already given himself the all clear. He sedates Lister and the Cat with tranquilizer darts, thinking them to be two of his old patients, Mr and Mrs Johnson, and begins an organ transfer operation.

Rimmer and Kryten meanwhile encounter another robot on board, Snacky, and confuse him for Asclepius. They eventually find and save Lister and the Cat, rushing both them and Snacky safely on board Starbug. Asclepius, who was subdued by bazookoid fire, gets up and starts to chase them (he belives Kryten and Rimmer to be a "Mr and Mrs Bill"), but is unable to catch up before the station is destroyed by a meteor storm.

Back aboard Red Dwarf, the Dwarfers continue to assume that Snacky was in fact Asclepius, with Rimmer even attempting to use his psychiatric skills during an impromptu therapy session, before discovering the truth. (Give & Take, Series XI)

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • The deranged droid is featured on the spine of the Series XI DVD cover (or one side of it; it is reversible).
  • The song Asclepius sings while performing surgery is a twisted version of Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
  • Because Lister had already had his kidneys removed by Kryten before he boarded the space station, it is unknown what operation Asclepius was actually attempting to perform on him and the Cat and it is unknown where the kidneys in the jar were from. It is possible that he was actually trying to help, discovering that Lister had no kidneys, and was going to give him one of the Cats or insert the ones Rimmer destroyed. It is also possible the kidneys in the jar were from a previous patient of Asclepius.
  • Not long after this episode was aired Propstore sold the complete Asclepius costume for £2000, and it is now owned by Emily Gadd.
  • The boots that Asclepius worn are the same ones as kryten worn in Krysis just painted white instead of red.
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