Britain’s Most Unpopular Comedy: The Infamy of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

This is a video essay reviewing why Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace was one of the finest comedies in the history of television. And while that is a bold statement to make, in my opinion, it is the exact definition of a hidden gem that deserves more attention for its genius.

But what makes it so great and why should you give it a shot?

This is my video explaining why.

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What is Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace?

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a British horror parody television series created for Channel 4 by Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness, and first broadcast in 2004. The show focuses on fictional horror author Garth Marenghi (played by Matthew Holness) and his publisher Dean Learner (played by Richard Ayoade), characters who originated in the Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight stage show.

Darkplace is presented as a lost classic: a television series produced in the 1980s, though not broadcast at the time (except in Peru). The presentation features commentary from many of the "original" cast, where characters such as Marenghi and Learner reflect on making the show. Darkplace parodies the fashion, special effects, production gaffes, and music of low-budget '80s television, as well as the modern 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. It nonetheless built up a significant internet following, leading Channel 4 to repeat the series and produce a DVD release. In 2005, Channel 4's Film Four asked Holness and Ayoade to write a script for a movie version of their programme.

The show was later broadcast in the United States on the Sci-Fi Channel & Adult Swim and is also available to stream on Peacock.

The spoof comedy series, released in 2004, lampoons 1980s television drama, particularly horror, sci-fi, and "the rampant egotism of self-appointed 'mastermind' authors. "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, framed as part of a director's commentary series. Darkplace's fictional show-within-a-show includes deliberately poor production and special effects, sub-par acting, choppy editing and storylines that are "severely flawed and open-ended". 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." Set in Darkplace Hospital, "over the very gates of Hell", in Romford, London, 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 (in the commentary, he mentions that there were 67 episodes at one point, though it may have been intentional by Holness to show discontinuity); however, Channel 4 was eventually forced to reject the show due to its "radicality", 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."

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

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. During the interview with Garth a clip from the supposedly forthcoming movie, War of the Wasps, is shown, again featuring Dean Learner and his acting ability. Marenghi would also appear on the final episode of the series, which featured a clip from a video nasty that Garth and Dean had supposedly produced, which featured cameos from various Darkplace cast members.

And if you’re still reading this – hello.

This video is made through Fair Use under copyright law for the purposes of education in criticism or review; as well as parody or satire.
https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92c
https://www.copyright.org.au/ACC_Prod

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