I loved it! I was soo stoked when I first found out this was happening. Once a smeghead, always a smeghead. It's quite funny because this is one of my favorite british shows, and I came across it accidently. I used to record episodes of "Flying Circus" on BBC America, and I would set the recording to end a bit after the show. Well, Red Dwarf just happened to air right after, and I started watching, and I laughed my ass off. I loved it, and I sought out Series I-IV on VHS. I do think near one point, I had the entire series on VHS. I then bought them on DVD.
But getting back, these specials were great! And while I missed the laugh track, it didn't affect my view on the show at all.