The Mess Hall as seen in "The End" in Series I. Note the Skutters taking away the crew's refuse, presumably to Waste Disposal
The Mess Hall, also called the Refectory and the Commons Room, was a chamber aboard the JMC mining spaceship Red Dwarf, utilised for crew meetings or social functions. It was used mainly by the lowest ranking crewmembers, whilst the highest ranking officers had the Officer's Club.
Television Series[]
The End[]
Captain Hollister along with some senior officers held a token funeral for a recently deceased flight coordinator, George McIntyre. McIntyre's ashes were fired from a pneumatic tube in the Drive Room. Soon after, Captain Hollister gathered a random selection of the crew in the Mess Hall to hold a "welcome back" party for McIntyre's hologram. Dave Lister was joined by his drinking buddies Olaf Petersen, Selby and Chen, where they mocked Arnold Rimmer incessantly. During the same party, Captain Hollister informed the present crewmembers that Holly had detected a non-human lifeform aboard, asking them to take extra care. Lister told the Captain it was Rimmer. ("The End")
In the deleted scenes, Rimmer describes an embarrassing encounter with a female officer, Officer Lovell, that he once had in the Refectory. Rimmer deliberately brushed up against Lovell's breast, which earned him a punch, and the two exchanged various insults,
Bodysnatcher[]
The Refectory as depicted in "Bodysnatcher"
The Mess Hall features in the "lost episode" of Series I, "Bodysnatcher", reconstructed in The Bodysnatcher Collection. Here it is referred to as General Assembly Room 4.
Three million years later, Rimmer holds a roll-call for the 1,169 deceased crewmembers in the Refectory with only Lister present, who walks out on Rimmer's pointless exercise. ("Bodysnatcher")
Series VIII[]
The Brig a.k.a. The Tank on the restricted Floor 13 also had an assembly area for the prisoners. (Series VIII)
When first taken to the Tank, the regular characters were addressed here by Warden Ackerman for their induction process. Lister poured some of the Sexual Magnetism Virus over Rimmer, and the other prisoners began showing a little too much attention towards Rimmer. (Back in the Red)
Captain Hollister addressed the prisoners here when the ship was being devoured by the Chameleonic Microbe, to tell the prisoners that they were going to be left to die. ("Only the Good...")
Comics[]
The Mess Hall in the Red Dwarf Smegazine
The Mess Hall had some additional pre-accident appearances in the Red Dwarf Smegazine, where Lister, Petersen, Selby and Chen meet up for drinks. Rimmer skulks on the end of the table, writing notes on his body in an attempt to cheat at his exams. Planetoids and nebulae can be seen passing by the ship outside a window to the Mess Hall.