Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a comedy television show based on the play Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight which first aired on 2004-01-29 and lasted only six episodes. The show is meant to lampoon other science fiction horror shows, especially those being presented by egotistical creators. The show had a low production value, enjoyed little advertising, and received a late time slot, so it did poorly in ratings, but it developed enough of a fan base to see reruns across various networks, a DVD release with additional footage, and the request for a film script which, sadly, was never filmed.

Cast

• Matthew Holness as Garth Marenghi as Dr. Rick Dagless M.D.
• Richard Ayoade as Dean Learner as Thornton Reed
• Matt Berry as Todd Rivers as Dr. Lucien Sanchez
• Alice Lowe as Madeleine Wool as Dr. Liz Asher

Status

I don't own this show.

Personal

While waiting for the house to open for a stage performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, my friend Wallee and I got a couple drinks at the attached bar. On a projector this show was being filmed. Although there wasn't any sound, the numerous visual gags, as well as the appearance of two actors from The I.T. Crowd caught my eye and I wanted to know what the show was. Later, I search on IMDb and found the show and watched it.

Review

Good

• This series takes the idea of a show about a show even further by making it about a lost series filmed in the 1980s only now being shown for the first time with the actors, now all 25 years older, describing it through commentary.
• There are wonderful lampoons throughout the series, many of which mock all the ridiculous settings, bad visual effects, fashions, camera angles, campy horror writing, etc. seen though the years.

Bad

• The show relies too heavily on low-quality parody. This is funny at first, but it begins to drag on, and, by the end of each episode, you're tired of it.
• The episodes don't have very interesting plots. Even when performing parody, the plot still has to be interesting enough to keep the viewer entertained.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Links