Meet Your (Late) Captain

Prior to "the accident", the Captain's Office (adjacent to the Drive Room, on Level 147), was occupied by Captain David Lister.

A former technician on The Red Dwarf, he saved that ship and its crew through his discovery of a faulty drive plate, thus preventing a catastrophic Cadmium II radiation leak.

That brought the life-long London Jets fan to the attention of the JMC top brass and quicker than you can say "up the ziggurat lickedy-split", he was on a fast track to becoming captain.

Captain Lister

After several jags on The Red Dwarf, and now married to a exotic dancer, Crystal (who danced on table nine at The Multiverse strip club on Venus), he was offered the captaincy of the JMC's flagship miner: The Red Knight.

As part of his deal with JMC for saving The Red Dwarf, the mustachioed, cigar-smoking Lister refused the cash settlement he was offered and instead negotiated for shares.

No one could have foreseen that the Dwarf would soon stumble upon a planet rich in Helium-7*, making Lister a fortune.

After returning the Dwarf to Earth one final time, Lister took over the reins of The Red Knight for what would turn out to be a life-changing voyage for most of its crew (i.e. changing them from alive to dead!).

One aspect of his time on Red Dwarf that Captain Lister had transferred with him to the Red Knight was a personal stasis booth in his office, which he used to store food and drink, ensuring it was always fresh.

* Helium-7 is an extremely rare - and thus valuable - natural resource, highly prized by the Jupiter Mining Corporation. However, it was also highly combustible.