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Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

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Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
Front cover of DVD release
Created byMatthew Holness
Richard Ayoade
Written byMatthew Holness
Richard Ayoade
Directed byRichard Ayoade
StarringMatthew Holness
Richard Ayoade
Matt Berry
Alice Lowe
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of episodes6
Production
ProducerCharlie Hanson
Running time25 minutes (approx.)
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release29 January, 2004 –
4 March, 2004

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a comedy mini-series made for Channel 4 by Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade. Following on from Garth Marenghi's Netherhead, which won the 2001 The Perrier Awards, the show revolves around fictional horror author Garth Marenghi (played by Holness) and his publisher Dean Learner (played by Ayoade).

Darkplace is presented as a lost classic: a television series produced in the 1980s, though never broadcast at the time. The presentation features commentary from many of the "original" cast, where characters such as "Marenghi" and "Learner" reflect on making the show. Darkplace parodies numerous aspects of '80s low-budget television, including fashion, special effects and music, as well as the widespread practice of including commentary tracks on DVD releases of old films and television shows.

Darkplace was broadcast in a late-night timeslot, with very little advertising, and met with poor viewing figures.[1] The show nonetheless built up a significant internet following, leading Channel 4 to swiftly repeat the series and produce a DVD release. It was also reported that Channel 4's Film Four had asked Holness and Ayoade to write a script for a movie version of their programme.[2]

The show was later broadcast in the United States on the Sci-Fi Channel and Adult Swim.[1]

Show overview

The comedy series, released in 2004, lampoons 1980s television drama,[3] particularly horror, sci-fi, and "the rampant egotism of self-appointed 'mastermind' authors." [4] The show presents Garth Marenghi's Darkplace as though it were a real, low-budget television series, produced in the 1980s, and now getting its first screening; this hoax is the basis of the show's fictional frame. Darkplace's fictional show-within-a-show includes deliberately poor production and special effects, sub-par acting, and storylines that are "severely flawed and open-ended",[3][5] this is interspersed with 'present-day interviews' with the 'cast'.

The series' fictional premise is that some time in the 1980s, best-selling horror author Garth Marenghi and his publisher/publicist, Dean Learner, made their own low-budget television series with a single intent: "to change the evolutionary course of Man over a series of half-hour episodes."[6][7] Set in Darkplace Hospital, "over the very gates of Hell," in Romford, East London,[4] Garth Marenghi's Darkplace shows the adventures of Dr. Rick Dagless, M.D., as he "fights the forces of darkness while simultaneously coping with the pressures of day to day admin." Within this fictional context, Marenghi wrote 63 teleplays from which 50 shows were produced;[7] however, Channel 4 was eventually forced to reject the show due to its "radicality."[4][7] Though, Marenghi also cites possible government suppression: "MI8, which is actually three levels above MI6, pulled the plug. And they did it because I knew the truth."[3]

In 2004, due to the "worst artistic drought in broadcast history",[5] Channel 4 decided to air six of the original episodes.

The makers of Darkplace endeavoured to make the show seem authentic. From "the retro Channel 4 logo at the start to the distortion of the analogue music track at the start of scenes", "the fashion, ... the texture of film stock,"[4], "[the] deliberately poor continuity, cheesy lines, wooden acting and cheap special effects"; it is delivered "in such a pitch perfect way you can't help but laugh."[3] As a result, despite the show being a parody, it succeeded in sporting a very authentic and realistic '80s feel, to the point that many people who see the show for the first time initially believe that Darkplace really is an '80s relic. Also included are "present-day interviews", in which the character 'Marenghi', with co-stars 'Dean Learner' and 'Todd Rivers', comment on the show-within-the-show.

As with promotion for their earlier Perrier Award-winning stage show[8][9], Darkplace's creators confounded media by producing promotional material in-character.[10] The official website speaks of Garth Marenghi, and other characters as though they were real people, while making no mention of the real actors. Press releases also contained "realistic looking fake back stories for Marenghi and the other characters instead of making any mention of what the real cast have appeared in",[3] and an article by 'Garth Marenghi' appeared in The Telegraph discussing his "groundbreaking television series".[11] "More than a few people", and "media outlets" alike were caught out by this fictional framing.[3][4]

The show's musical soundtrack parodies the same subjects as the writing, and gained its composer Andrew Hewitt a BAFTA Nomination as Best New Composer for Film and T.V. (2004).[12]

Characters

  • Matthew Holness as Garth Marenghi, author, dream weaver, visionary, plus actor, who plays Dr. Rick Dagless, M.D.: 'Dag' is a Vietnam and Falklands War veteran and former warlock. He also keeps a Magnum revolver on him at all times.
  • Richard Ayoade as Dean Learner, Garth's publisher, who plays Thornton Reed, a camp hospital administrator who bears a trademark shotgun and answers to unseen hospital boss "Won Ton".
  • Matt Berry as Todd Rivers, an actor who plays Dr. Lucien Sanchez: Improbably handsome with the disconcerting habit of losing lip-synch, with coiffured hair, and a voice an octave lower than it should be. He generally uses an automatic pistol (with a backup in a leg holster in case his original turns on him).
  • Alice Lowe as Madeleine Wool, an actress who plays Dr. Liz Asher: stereotypical fluffy blonde with occasional psychic powers (sometimes exacerbated by P.M.S.). Madeleine Wool has disappeared since the making of the programme. It is implied through the in-character episode commentaries that Dean had something to do with her disappearance.

A few other (real) actors have recurring roles in the show-within-the-show: Kim Noble appears in every episode as Jim, a hospital worker whose main function is simply to listen to Dagless reel off a lengthy speech and respond with a "yes" or other monosyllabic reply, and Noble's real comedy partner Stuart Silver appears as "The Extra": a character whose name is unknown and has been a doctor, receptionist, keyboard soloist and barman. Julian Barratt also appears in three episodes as the hospital's padre.

Graham Linehan and Stephen Merchant appear twice as the hospital porter and chef respectively. Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt also appear in Episode 4, "The Apes of Wrath".

Episodes

File:Dean and garth.jpg
Dean & Garth

This list is ordered by the original air dates on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.

# Title Description Original air date
1.1 Once Upon A Beginning New doctor Liz Asher arrives at Darkplace Hospital, where a mysterious cat portends disaster. Can Dr. Rick Dagless, M. D., act in time to prevent all sorts of unspeakable evilness leaking out from the standard-sized hellmouth under Darkplace Hospital itself? It's not going to be much of a series if he does in one episode. Guest starring Julian Barratt. 29 January, 2004
1.2 Hell Hath Fury At Darkplace Hospital, lunch is delayed and objects begin flying about the place and generally moving quite a bit more than they would usually do. At first suspicion falls on the hospital's temporary clerical assistant, but Dr Rick Dagless M.D. is determined to find out the truth, even if it kills him - which it won't. Guest starring Stephen Merchant. 5 February, 2004
1.3 Skipper the Eyechild Somewhere on the wards of Darkplace Hospital, a man gives birth to a giant eyeball which brings out paternalistic instincts in Dr. Rick Dagless, M. D., still grieving for the loss of his half-human, half-grasshopper son. But could the eyeball be a potential killer? Well, what do you think? Duh! Guest starring Graham Linehan. 12 February, 2004
1.4 The Apes of Wrath A mysterious illness spreads like a particularly virulent disease through the wards of Darkplace, causing doctors and patients to revert to an earlier genetic state. It's up to Dr. Rick Dagless, M. D., to stop it before he too turns into a chimpanzee or an orangutan or something like that. Guest starring Noel Fielding. 19 February, 2004
1.5 Scotch Mist A mist descends on Darkplace - and it's Scottish and/or Scotch. Dr Rick Dagless, M. D. had better do something really good about it, or else all the hospital's resident sassenachs are in grave danger. Probably. 26 February, 2004
1.6 The Creeping Moss from the Shores of Shuggoth Dr. Sanchez's life is in danger from a patient with a fairly bad off-Earth broccoli infection. It's down to Dr. Rick Dagless, M. D., to save his buddy - and the world. Or if all else fails, come up with a delicious way of using excess broccoli. It won't come to that, though. 4 March, 2004

Reception

Darkplace originally aired in 2004. Only one series was produced. There is media speculation that the series' high production costs,[citation needed] combined with "average" or "poor" viewing figures, led Channel 4 to decide against commissioning a second series.[3][13] However, it gained a significant cult following through word of mouth and the internet, as demonstrated in numerous fan sites.[14] Channel 4 started a re-run of the series in October 2006 and released the show on DVD in the same month, while allowing the show to be re-broadcast on Virgin Media's On-demand service.[15] In 2005, it was reported that the channel's cinema division, Film Four, have asked Holness and Ayoade to write a script for a film version of their programme.[2] The show is now shown in America on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

On 27 July, 2006, Darkplace made its U.S. debut on Sci-Fi.[13] It has been airing on the Cartoon Network block Adult Swim every Friday since 9 November, 2007. After a hiatus, the show has begun airing on Fridays again since 6 March, 2009.

The series had a spin-off, the spoof chat show Man to Man with Dean Learner, which began on 20 October, 2006 on Channel 4. Dean's first guest was Garth Marenghi.

DVD

The complete series was released on DVD (PAL, Region 2 only) on 16 October, 2006, including the following special features:

File:DEANVD.jpg
The DEANVD logo on the front cover of the Garth Marenghi's Darkplace DVD
  • Commentaries on all episodes (in which the cast stay in character)
  • A deleted scene (Staged deliberately for DVD purposes)
  • Test footage (Staged deliberately for DVD purposes)
  • Original ‘One Track Lover’ Single (Extended Version), along with the Darkplace Theme and three 'Darkplace Moodscapes' by composer Stig Baasvik (In reality the composer is actually BAFTA award winning Andrew Hewitt)
  • Over an hour of extra talking heads
  • Photograph galleries (Staged deliberately for DVD purposes)
  • Original radio ads
  • Original story-boards and story-board to scene comparisons
  • An 'easter egg' (containing bonus footage) accessible by selecting, and then fast-forwarding, the 'Colour Bars' feature in the set-up menu
  • The entire Darkplace television sound-track; this can be accessed by either clicking on the picture of Liz Asher in the setting menu (this method works only if you are watching the DVD on a PC), or selecting One Track Lover to listen to and pressing 'previous', or by using your DVD player's 'Go to Title' feature and then entering the title number nineteen. The sound-track is approximately thirty-eight minutes long, and is divided into twenty-four chapters.

The cover of the DVD also features a play on the DVD logo, which instead reads "DEANVD".

References

  1. ^ a b "About Garth Marenghi's Darkplace". The British Comedy Guide. British Comedy Guide. 2009-07-13. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  2. ^ a b Bennet, Steve (2005-05-16). "Comedy Blog - Shocking News". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "GARTH MARENGHI'S DARKPLACE". The British SitCom Guide. The British SitCom Guide. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  4. ^ a b c d e Mackenzie, Michael (2006-10-05). "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace: The Complete Series". DVD Times. DVD Times.com. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  5. ^ a b Braun, Kyle. "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace Review". ugo.com. UGO Networks. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  6. ^ Brown, Keith Hennessey. "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace". Eye For Film. Eye For Film. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  7. ^ a b c "Garth Marenghi" (2004-01-26). "'I hereby vow never to work in TV again'". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  8. ^ "Marenghi wins Perrier Award". BBC News. BBC. 2001-08-26. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  9. ^ "Edinburgh Festival Fringe - The Perrier Comedy Awards 2001". Edinburgh Guide. EdinburghGuide.com. August 2001. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  10. ^ "Garth Marenghi uncovered". BBC News. BBC. 2001-08-21. Retrieved 2008-03-27.
  11. ^ Garth Marenghi (2004-02). "Comic's corner: Garth Marenghi". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 2008-03-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "BAFTA: Past Winners and Nominees". BAFTA. BAFTA. 2004. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
  13. ^ a b "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace". tv jots. tv jots. 2006-06-28. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  14. ^ A Save Darkplace fan site
  15. ^ "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace finally gets a DVD release". Eat My Brains. EMB. 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
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