Garth Marenghi's Darkplace [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2, Import]
Please note that this is a PAL, Region 2 DVD and requires PAL or multi-system capable DVD player. It will not play on standard North American DVD players. Please read the item technical description carefully. ----------------------------------- Synopsis: This spoof series invites you to see a 'long lost' 1980s TV chiller from acclaimed novelist, Garth Marenghi. With hammy acting and ridiculously shoddy filmmaking technique, GARTH MARENGHI'S DARKPLACE makes for seriously funny viewing.
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Garth Marenghi's Darkplace [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2, Import] Reviews
Pure freakin' genius are the only words to capture how delightfully awful it is. This is the single funniest scene in the entire show to me. It's very British and fully expects the viewer to get the joke on their own so if bone-dry humor doesn't float your boat then run far away. Episode One: "Once Upon a Beginning" introduces us to the hospital workers/genre archetypes that populate Darkplace Hospital, burdened with a hellmouth beneath it. Really bad special-effects broccoli.
"If we're all basically homos, shouldn't we get along.", asks Learner's character seriously as Dagless runs down the stages of human evolution. What an abominable crime against the horror-comedy genre that is. This is hard to do. So there is is, every episode of the ill-fated "Garth Marenghis Darkplace", filled with every low-budget horror cliche a fan could imagine amplified to ludicrous proportions and delivered without a hint of irony.
There is nothing else like this show and it is very much worth tracking down if you've ever truly enjoyed an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Then he insists anybody who sees racism in the story is racist themselves. The administrator (read: disapproving, by-the-book authority figure) played by Learner who obviously has never acted a day in his life. "Garth Merenghi's Darkplace" is the perfect horror satire. It's nigh impossible to describe just what makes this show such a riot. Turns out the only way to top watching inept television for laughs is intersperse short bits where the creators try to explain the ineptness as something deep and cerebral. Every character who changes spends quite some time drinking the bright green water from Darkplace's sudden conspicuously green glowing watercooler, but naturally nobody notices until the end. That's the premise of "Darkplace".
Classic. Chalk this up as the ultimate Stephen King parody/homage. This is the only show where I can say the credits alone made me laugh out loud. The episode features a man exploding which is shown from about 5 angles and each time it is more obviously a dummy. Okay, so how to describe the funny. Sadly, the show only had six episodes produced and while the premise might have worn thin with time, it was nowhere near that point when it got the axe.
It's presented as a "lost classic" that has been restored and enhanced with commentary from Marenghi and Learner. Oh yeah, it's that dumb. Picture the worst movie that you love to watch for unintentional laughs if nothing else. It takes them nearly the entire show to figure out that she is the cause in spite of the fact that she is in nearly every shot with them; even after someone randomly remarks that telekinetic powers are known to manifest themselves when somebody is feeling unappreciated.
"Skipper the Eyechild" is about an eyechild named Skipper. Yup. It's got terrible synth music, a cheesy guitar solo (by Dagless, of course), and lame lyrics about Sanchez's achin' heart; there's even a rap breakdown. Marenghi's excuse. Doctor Lucien Sanchez rounds out the main character list as the womanizer with an odd Patrick Stuart-esque quality to his voice. Seeing Marenghi and Learner splash their names across every credit is a hoot.
Why isn't this wonderland of horror parody genius available in America yet. "Scotch Mist" is probably the funniest episode, as it portrays Scottish people as subhuman savages but tries to play it real respectful-like. The premise is an insanely low-budget 80's style supernatural menace-of-the-week series with all of the awfulness and cliches that one would expect had Ed Wood done such a thing. The end result is about as comfortable as a Klansman trying to act the progressive liberal around his son's black girlfriend. How about rampant sexism, a murderous stapler, blatantly moronic self-written heroes incompetently portrayed as manly geniuses (or was that just Good Will Hunting)., intentionally stiff and redundant dialogue with bad dubbing that is prone to going off on pointless time-killing tangents, laugh out loud bad cuts, and racism that tries to come off as noble. I suppose it's good to know that it's not only American networks that are run by morons. Doctor Rick Dagless MD, Marenghi's moronic self-written hero who is constantly fawned upon by every other character. The music is credited as "based on melodies originally whistled by Garth Marenghi" and the special effects company is listed as "Deanamatronix".
The scene that follows has Dagless talking to the patient's disembodied head on the floor and then putting him out of his misery by smacking him like a hockey puck (in slow motion, of course) with a shovel that just so happens to be handy in the doctor's office while sad piano music plays. Flashbacks to Dagless's tragic experience with his own half-grasshopper son are portrayed as heart-rending as he attempts to save the product of giant killer eyeball-monster rape from being put to death. Last but far from least came "The Creeping Moss from the Shores of Shuggoth" which turns people into broccoli. As Sanchez pines for Liz who only has eyes for Dagless we're treated to the most insanely uncalled-for 80's music video sequence ever. "I know 'mon' means 'man' but I don't think 'och' means anything" observes a sagely Sanchez after a cryptic message from a Scottish ghost shows up on the answering machine.
The fact that the very rubber head bounces off the wall and lands back at his feet (still slow motion, still sad piano music) makes it even funnier. "I was trying to unify Britain", he says angrily in the commentary. It was created by British comedians Matthew Holness (who plays the title author/actor/visionary/etc)., and Richard Ayoade, who plays his publisher/producer Dean Lerner. Now picture a British parody of this phenomenon played 100% straight. Pity. No dice, huh. Actually, you won't have to run far because you can only get this on region 2 DVD right now.
Throw in some haunted bagpipes and you've got every Scottish stereotype and then some. I'm talking Shark Attack 3: Megalodon, Night of the Lepus, and Plan 9 from Outer Space meets the 80's here. "The Apes of Wrath" is the classic devolution storyline, done Marenghi-style. Learner's commentary yields a remark about how disgusting it is that a giant eyeball monster's penis can't be shown on network television.
"Hell Hath Fury" begins with the rest of the cast mistreating Liz at every step until her hair stands on end and she just stands there in plain view like Carrie at the prom while inanimate objects begin flying about the hospital and attacking the staff. Bad low-budget horror movies/television made even worse is the name of the game here and I doubt we'll ever see the like of it again. You've got Liz, the new woman doctor who is prone to bursting into tears (complete with instantly-running mascara which often disappears and reappears in consecutive shots) and general helplessness. .
For example, the Scotsmen's dialogue is subtitled in spite of the fact that their accented English is plainly understandable.
C'mon, guys, we're long overdue for a region 1 release.along with the followup Man on Man with Dean Learner I believe it's called.and I've never seen. Great show, which I've seen only due to my pal in Seattle who has a PAL player.
Other than that the show is awesome and Adult Swim does not play this show enough for viewers to fully enjoy such an odd show. The only thing that is difficult about this dvd is that it is a region 2 format and only reads on certain DVD's.
Now on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, this show is a must see. This is why British humor is ten thousand times more appealing than American. Welcome to the Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, a place of such utter darkness it will terrify you into absolute acquiescence. Imagine a 1980's horror show "restored" for 2004 complete with sexist remarks, shoddy camera work, terrible sound editing and over the top acting. This is Darkplace.
And it is absolutely hysterical. This has got to be one of the most intelligent comedies since (the original) Coupling. His immediate reaction is, "Are you alright." I nearly died laughing and never looked back. One of my personal favorite screen moments occurs when Garth's friend explodes as he opens his hospital room door.
Although, I did find this disc on amazon.co.uk for less than half of the price listed here. Hands down, among the best offerings from the channel. I came to from a heavy sleep to see an advertisement for this show on Adult Swim and immediately set my Tivo to grab it.
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