"Backwards" is the first episode of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf Series III, and the thirteenth episode in the series overall. It premiered on the British television channel BBC2 on 14 November 1989. Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, and directed by Ed Bye, the episode follows the crew as they travel to an alternate Earth where time runs backwards.

The episode marks the first regular appearances of Robert Llewellyn's Kryten, Hattie Hayridge's version of Holly, the new spaceship Starbug, better production values, and a change in direction of story themes that would cement the show's cult status. The story was later reformulated as a novel by the same name. The episode was re-mastered, along with the rest of the first three series, in 1998.

Following the events of Parallel Universe, Dave Lister (Craig Charles) gave birth to twins who had to be sent back to the universe of their origin because of his universe's physical laws resulting in them rapidly aging. At the same time, the ship's computer Holly underwent a transformation to become his alternate universe counterpart Hilly (Hattie Hayridge) whom he fell madly in love with, while the others came across the broken pieces of the mechanoid Kryten (Robert Llewellyn), after he crashed on an asteroid while riding Lister's space bike, leading to Lister having to salvage and rebuild him, consequentially causing him to lose his old personality.

Some time after these events, Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie) takes Kryten out for a piloting test with Starbug 1, only for the pair to be sucked into a time hole and crash-land on a planet similar to Earth. When the pair see a sign written backwards and people performing actions and speaking backwards, Holly concludes they are on Earth in the distant future where time is now running backwards.

Kryten and Rimmer are initially disgusted by the "backwards" behaviour of people, but soon opt to use their forwardness to their advantage and apply as an entertainment act called, backwards, "The Sensational Reverse Brothers", until they can be rescued.

Lister and Cat (Danny John-Jules) finally track them down three weeks later in Starbug 2, but upon arriving, Lister is confused by the "backwards" nature of time, including the fact he has arrived with a feeling of cracked ribs and a black eye. Lister and Cat, after arriving, initially assume that they are in Bulgaria, and then finally understanding the nature of things when they realise they're in England and everything is backwards, and find Rimmer and Kryten enjoying themselves in their new jobs. Lister and Cat fail to convince the pair to leave, especially when Lister mentions a few examples of the backwards reality's bad sides. When they are fired for starting a fight, Kryten realises it is about to happen in reverse, resulting in Lister discovering his injuries are to be healed in it. Realising they cannot stay, Kryten and Rimmer decide to return to their time with the others, a notion reinforced by Cat's horrifying discovery of what happens to someone trying to relieve themselves in reverse.

With Rob Grant and Doug Naylor directly involved with the third series, under their Grant Naylor Productions team, they radically changed the look of the show. The opening credits sequence sported a new rock guitar version of the Red Dwarf theme tune playing over clips from the series. The opening sequence ends with the first appearance of the official logo of the show which was designed by DeWinters. Mel Bibby had also come on board the crew and re-designed the sets. His inspiration from Ridley Scott's Alien film clearly shown in the new set's murky and run-down feel.

Costumes were overhauled as well, with costume designer Howard Burden bringing in a stylish new look to the crew. Lister's jacket outfit, having been designed with his art school background in mind, included a voluptuous woman riding a rocket on the back. This woman had indeed been intended to be Wilma Flintstone but was changed to a generic looking female once the legality of using The Flintstones image arose. Rimmer's tunic uniform served as implying his devotion to duty as well as his hologrammatic status. While the Cat's wardrobe reached new heights in the fashion stakes, Kryten's appearance was based on the Series II look but produced more successfully.