Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
Front cover of DVD release
Format	Comedy, Horror, Science Fiction
Created by	Matthew Holness Richard Ayoade
Starring	Matthew Holness Richard Ayoade Matt Berry Alice Lowe
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	6
Production
Running time	25 minutes approx.
Broadcast
Original channel	Channel 4
Original run	29 January 2004 – 4 March 2004
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a comedy series made for Channel 4. Created by Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade, it is a parody of the horror genre and revolves around the character of Garth Marenghi himself, a writer of pulp fiction played by Matthew Holness. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... A comedy is a dramatic performance of a light and amusing character, usually with a happy conclusion to its plot. ... “Horror story” redirects here. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Matthew Holness is an English comedian. ... Richard Ayoade Publicity Photo Richard Ayoade (born c. ... Matthew Holness is an English comedian. ... Richard Ayoade Publicity Photo Richard Ayoade (born c. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Alice Lowe ( b. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... This article is about the British television station. ... is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A comedy is a dramatic performance of a light and amusing character, usually with a happy conclusion to its plot. ... This article is about the British television station. ... Matthew Holness is an English comedian. ... Richard Ayoade Publicity Photo Richard Ayoade (born c. ... Garth Marenghi is a fictional horror author created by English comedians Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade, and played by Holness. ...

Show synopsis

The premise of the series is that in the mid-1980s, Garth Marenghi and his publisher Dean Learner made their own TV series on a shoestring budget. Set in Darkplace Hospital in Romford, East London Garth Marenghi's Darkplace tells of the adventures of Dr. Rick Dagless, MD, as he fights the forces of darkness while simultaneously coping with the pressures of running a modern hospital. Dean Learner (standing, with cigar) & Garth Marenghi Dean Learner is a character created and performed by British comedian Richard Ayoade. ... , Romford is a large suburban town in Greater London, England and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Havering. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

In reality the series is a deliberate send-up both of the horror genre and of 1980s TV production. Action series such as Blake's 7, Doctor Who, The A-Team, The Sweeney, cult drama Twin Peaks and various American medical dramas are also obvious influences, and the comedy relies partly on familiarity with such programmes. More obscurely, Darkplace makes reference to Lars von Trier's "haunted hospital" TV series The Kingdom (Riget in Danish), which was later remade by Stephen King for an American audience as Kingdom Hospital. Much of the show could be taken as a parody of King's work (with the flying staplers and other deadly inanimate objects of Hell Hath Fury, for example, being a fairly direct parody of King's Maximum Overdrive and similar works). “Horror story” redirects here. ... A genre [], (French: kind or sort from Greek: γένος (genos)) is a loose set of criteria for a category of literary composition; the term is also used for any other form of art or utterance. ... Blakes 7 is a British science fiction television series made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for their BBC 1 channel. ... This article is about the television series. ... For the 2008 movie, see The A-Team (film). ... This article is about the television series. ... For the hills in San Francisco, see Twin Peaks, San Francisco, California. ... Lars von Trier (born Lars Trier, April 30, 1956) is a Danish film director. ... The Kingdom (Danish title: Riget) is an eight-episode Danish television mini-series, created by Lars von Trier in 1994. ... For other persons named Stephen King, see Stephen King (disambiguation). ... Stephen Kings Kingdom Hospital was a thirteen-episode miniseries based on Lars von Triers Riget, which was developed by horror writer Stephen King in 2004 for American television. ... Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 tongue-in-cheek horror film, written and directed by horror novelist Stephen King. ...

The episodes themselves are given added authenticity by the title sequence being preceded by Channel 4's original Blocks ident. This article is about the British television station. ... Television presentation refers to the way in which television stations present themselves between programs. ... A television ident visually identifies the network or station presenting a television programme. ...

Each episode of Darkplace includes interview sections set in the present-day, in which Marenghi and his co-stars comment on the show-within-the-show, which provides an extra layer of character comedy. These commentaries are always performed by Marenghi himself, Learner (In Hell Hath Fury, Marenghi introduces Learner as one of the few involved with the production who hasn't "died, or offended me.") and Todd Rivers.

The show's music soundtrack parodies the same subjects as the writing of Darkplace, and gained its composer Andrew Hewitt a BAFTA Nomination as Best New Composer for Film and TV (2004). Andrew Hewitt is a composer for film and television. ... The British Academy Television Awards, also known as the BAFTAs or, to differentiate them from the BAFTA Film Awards, the BAFTA Television Awards, are the most prestigious awards given in the British television industry, analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States. ...

Characters

The cast of Darkplace, from left to right: Todd Rivers/Dr. Lucien Sanchez, Dean Learner/Thornton Reed, Garth Marenghi/Dr. Rick Dagless and Madeleine Wool/Dr. Liz Asher.

• Matthew Holness as Garth Marenghi who plays Dr. Rick Dagless, MD: Dag is a Vietnam and Falklands veteran and former warlock. He also keeps a Magnum revolver on him at all times.
• Richard Ayoade as Dean Learner, Garth's publisher, who (utterly incompetently) plays Thornton Reed: A camp hospital administrator who bears a trademark shotgun and answers to Hospital boss "Won Ton". He also has a habit of upstaging Garth.
• 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 brought on by PMS). Madeleine Wool has disappeared in the time since the making of the programme.

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-life comedy partner Stuart Silver appears as "The Extra": a character whose name is unknown and has been a Doctor, a Receptionist, a Keyboard soloist and a Barman. Julian Barratt also appears in three episodes as the hospital's padre. Image File history File links Darkplacecast. ... Image File history File links Darkplacecast. ... Matthew Holness is an English comedian. ... Garth Marenghi is a fictional horror author created by English comedians Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade, and played by Holness. ... Richard Ayoade Publicity Photo Richard Ayoade (born c. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Alice Lowe ( b. ... PMS redirects here. ... Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, musician, music producer and actor. ...

Graham Linehan and Stephen Merchant appear twice as the hospital porter and chef respectively. Noel Fielding also appears as the Apeloid in Episode 4, The Apes of Wrath. Graham Linehan (born 1968) is an Irish television writer and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies. ... Stephen Merchant (born 24 November 1974 in Bristol) is an English Emmy, Golden Globe, British Comedy Award and BAFTA-award winning writer, director, and comedic actor. ... Noel Fielding (born 21 May 1973 in Westminster, London) is an English comedian and actor, best known for his role as Vince Noir in The Mighty Boosh. ... The Apes of Wrath is the fourth episode of Channel 4 comedy Garth Marenghis Darkplace. ...

Concept

Many of the show's jokes rely on the viewer recognising that the script reflects the views of the Garth Marenghi character, for example the characterisation of Dr. Asher as a frail woman liable to burst into tears at the slightest provocation, or the bizarre portrayal of the Scottish people in "Scotch Mist". More jokes come from the fact that the script is a way for Marenghi to flex his own ego and that Dagless is a clear Mary Sue, as evidenced when Dr. Lucien Sanchez wishes he was "more attractive, like Dagless," and when the hospital Padre says "You [Dagless] are the most sensitive man I know. And I know God," both in Episode 6, "The Creeping Moss from the Shores of Shuggoth". Deliberate continuity errors, sloppy stagecraft/editing and bad acting (especially on the part of Learner) are also constant comedic themes. This article is about the country. ... Mary Sue (or simply Sue) is a pejorative expression for a fictional character who is an idealized stand-in for the author, or for a story with such a character. ...

Episodes

Dean & Garth

1. "Once Upon A Beginning"
2. "Hell Hath Fury"
3. "Skipper the Eyechild"
4. "The Apes of Wrath"
5. "Scotch Mist"
6. "The Creeping Moss from the Shores of Shuggoth"

Image File history File links Dean_and_garth. ... Image File history File links Dean_and_garth. ...

Reaction

Darkplace originally aired in 2004 and, although popular with those who saw it, viewing figures were fairly poor, which is possibly why a second series has not been commissioned by Channel 4. However, it has gained quite a significant cult following through word of mouth and the internet, which led to the series being repeated and released on DVD so that a wider audience could enjoy it. Channel 4 started a long-awaited re-run of the series in October 2006 and released the show on DVD in the same month, whilst letting the show be re-watched on Virgin Media's On-demand service. In 2005 it was reported that the channel's cinema division Film Four have asked Holness and Ayoade to write a script for a movie version of their programme [1]. This article is about the British television station. ... This article does not discuss cultist groups, personality cults, or cult in its original sense of religious practice. See cult (disambiguation) for more meanings of the term cult. A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of pop culture. ... For other uses, see Word of mouth (disambiguation). ... Virgin Media Inc. ... Film Four is a British film production company owned by Channel 4. ...

On July 27, 2006, Darkplace made its U.S. debut on Sci-Fi at 10 p.m. EST/PST. [2] It aired on the Cartoon Network block Adult Swim every friday from November 9th to November 23rd 2007. is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... SCI FI (originally The Sci-Fi Channel, sometimes rendered SCI FI Channel when part of a longer phrase) is an American cable television channel, launched on September 24, 1992, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal programming. ... For Cartoon Network outside of the United States, see Cartoon Network around the world. ... Adult Swim is the name for an adult-oriented television programming network. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 38 days remaining. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

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. A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a new company formed from a university research group. ... Man to Man with Dean Learner is a British comedy chat show to be broadcast on Channel 4 in 2006. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

DVD

The complete series was released on DVD (PAL, Region 2 only) on 16 October 2006, including the following special features: DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The DEANVD logo on the front cover of the Garth Marenghi's Darkplace DVD.

• Commentaries on all episodes
• A deleted scene
• Test footage
• Original ‘One Track Lover’ Single (Extended Version), along with the Darkplace Theme and three 'Darkplace Moodscapes' by composer Stig Baasvik
• Over an hour of extra talking heads
• Photo galleries
• Original radio ads
• Original storyboards and storyboard 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 soundtrack; this can be accessed by either clicking on the picture of Liz Asher in the set-up 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 19. The soundtrack is approximately 38 minutes long, and is divided into 24 chapters.

The DVD did fairly well by television DVD standards, reaching the top 10 best-selling DVDs at number 9 in the UK. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

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

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

• Garth Marenghi's Darkplace at the Internet Movie Database
• Garth Marenghi's Darkplace at Channel4.com
• Save Darkplace The largest fansite for Darkplace
• Garth Marenghi's Darkplace at tv.com
• Darkplace page on the "official" Garth Marenghi website
• British Sitcom Guide
• BAFTA Nominated Score by Composer Andrew Hewitt
• Avalon Television Watch episode 1 of the series here.