Eumenides_0 What I love about British comedies is that they're always looking for something new. They're never content with repeating the same ideas under the guise of new actors and story lines. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is one of those crazy new ideas. Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness return to the '80s, look for everything that was bad in that decade's TV shows, for what was in need of a send up, and created this show which spoofs anything from A Team to Night Rider to Miami Vice.Garth Marenghi is a horror writer, a visionary, a dream weaver, or, as he puts it, an imaginer. He's really a mediocre novelist and a worse director and writer. But somehow he manages to get a TV show made with his publisher, Dean Learner, and actors Todd Rivers (the amazing Matt Berry) and Madeleine Wool (Alice Lowe). The show is awful, with corny plots, bad sfx, and a synth-heavy score typical of the time. Garth believes the show was so ahead of its time it could change the world. Unfortunately no channel bought it and Darkplace remained in his basement for nearly twenty years (except for a run in Peru).Decades later a channel decides to air the show. For this Garth adds a few interviews with himself and the crew. Many times they interrupt the action to comment on it. Obviously, these are the finer bits, with the serious way they discuss the show they made, incapable of realizing how poor it is.Alas, they only made six episodes. I can't understand why it didn't gain more popularity. The episodes are short and one will feel hungry for more. For this reason buying the DVD is a good idea. The crew created two extra interviews, each 30 minutes long, which are as amusing as any of the episodes and give a lot of insight into Garth, Dean, Todd and Madeleine's mysterious fate. This is the only DVD I've actually bothered to watch all the extras, they're all amazing and add a lot to the original show.Up there with the modern shows of its kind - The League of Gentlemen and The Mighty Boosh - this mix of humor and horror, of TV and movie spoofs is one of the most original and unforgettable shows made.

bridostheman I stumbled across this gem a couple of years ago late night after a few drinks. Coming into it about halfway through and a bit drunk i was thrown and unsure whether it was supposed to be taken seriously.Needless to say after a few minutes i soon realised that it was in fact comedy gold. I've just rediscovered it on 4OnDemand after someone reminded me about it in work and its just a good as i remember. Glaringly funny at points however it has fantastic intricacies you only catch the second time around (the old C4 logo needless detail but makes a massive difference).The only further comment i can give is ....WATCH IT!!!

mixta110 Darkplace is absolutely fantastic!!! Some may not get it, but for the ones with a brilliant eye for comedy and attention to detail, this in my books has yet to be beat. I love the office (UK) but this just pips it at the post. So many subtle strokes of wit and genius are hidden under the mask of the pretend fake cheap sets etc.Little nuances of dialogue, and facial expressions that could be easily missed by the casual viewer. Amazing quotes, and the setting is so authentic.Some cool quotes...Padre to Dagless " You're the most sensitive man i know. And I know god!" Sanchez. "Its egg in soup, serve that with a pork-pie/sausage roll." Thornton reed" And I've worked with Lulu! and 5 other people." I have just realised that merely writing down these quotes will do little to prove its comedy. Its all about the delivery of the lines and the comedic timing. Every single line of dialogue uttered by Sanchez and his actor alter-ego Todd Rivers, is pure gold. I'm glad he made it into the rather weak "IT crowd" in series 2, he truly made that series worth watching. The brilliant music video played in episode 6 "Red hot lover" is worthy of recognition alone. It even beats the "Rick rolled" video of Rick Astley on the web. Hilarious! I truly hope that Darkplace gets a much needed second series. Man to man with dean learner was good, but it suffered a lack of Sanchez.I also read rumours that a movie of Darkplace was getting made. I really hope this comes true.Come on channel-4, MORE DARKPLACE PLEASE!!!!!!!

Superunknovvn "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" is another original and hilarious comedy show that could only have been made in Britain. It shares a lot of its random humour and imaginative story lines with "The Mighty Boosh". Appropriately, Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt have guest appearances here, the latter of which steals every single scene he's in. The whole cast is amazing, though. From Matthew Holness as the ridiculously narcissistic title character, Matt Berry (who might be a bit of a one trick pony, but really gives the performances of his life on this show) and the ever so underrated Richard Ayoade, who also directed and co-wrote the whole thing (which kind of makes him the real life Garth Marenghi, come to think of it). You won't see such great bad acting anywhere else.The show makes fun of Stephen King-like horror writers and cheaply made detective-, hospital- and horror-series all at the same time. What comes out is a weird mixture of doctor-cops who run around a cursed hospital with guns trying to deal with all sorts of spooky occurrences and creepy creatures (while having to deal with the burden of daily admin). Garth Marenghi himself calls it "flat out, balls to the wall-horror".Every single line, every bad editing cut, every cheap costume is a big laugh. From the music to the hair to the stupid story lines, the show is dead on in its observations of a typical weekly TV series from the late 70's and early 80's.Unfortunately, this kind of humour didn't seem to resonate too well with a mass audience, so another series is rather unlikely. That's too bad, because I'm sure they could have come up with another set of six fantastic episodes. As it is, the show is a hidden gem for those who get it and will become even more of a cult favourite over the next few years.