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Garth Marenghi's Darkplace [DVD]
Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Amazon Price | New from | Used from |
DVD
3 Sept. 2007 "Please retry" | — | 3 |
—
| £36.38 | £26.96 |
Watch Instantly with | Buy Episodes | Buy Season |
Format | PAL |
Contributor | Stephen Abrahams, Richard Ayoade, Matt Holness, Martin Hawkins, Matt Berry |
Language | English |
Runtime | 2 hours and 24 minutes |
Studio | StudioCanal |
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Product description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital Stereo ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary, Documentary, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: In the 1980s horror writer Garth Marenghi wrote, produced, directed and starred in Darkplace, a groundbreaking series set in a hospital and exploring the depths of the author's imagination. At least that's what Marenghi and his publicist/co-star, Dean Learner, claim in modern-day interviews which both bookend and interrupt the episodes. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, ...Garth Marenghi's Darkplace ( Garth Marenghi's Darkplace ) ( Darkplace )
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Language : English
- Product Dimensions : 13.5 x 1.4 x 19 cm; 85 Grams
- Manufacturer reference : 6867441010395
- Media Format : PAL
- Run time : 2 hours and 24 minutes
- Release date : 16 Oct. 2006
- Actors : Matt Holness, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry
- Subtitles: : English
- Language : English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
- Studio : 4dvd
- Producers : Stephen Abrahams
- ASIN : B000EU1P1Y
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: 11,027 in DVD & Blu-ray (See Top 100 in DVD & Blu-ray)
- 1,919 in Comedy (DVD & Blu-ray)
- 2,879 in Television (DVD & Blu-ray)
- 7,180 in Portable Sound & Video Products
- Customer reviews:
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A six-episode series purporting to be the video release of a never-before-seen Eighties "Haunted Hospital" horror program on BBC-4, GARTH MARENGHI'S DARKPLACE is a deadly accurate satire of the worst of BBC production, combined with the worst of a hack writer's televised ego trip. In between episodes mocking horror themes and low-budget British production alike, we get fake "commentary" from "best-selling horror novelist" Garth Marenghi (including insanely funny readings from some of his "classic" work), his publisher, producing partner and co-star Dean Lerner, and other co-star Todd Rivers. All the characters are fake, but commit to their pompous, self-justifying personalities so perfectly that some Americans believe this to have been an actual show on BBC-4!
In America a lot of fans (who have either caught parts of the show on YouTube, or during its brief run on Cartoon Network's ADULT SWIM mature programming block) assume it is a satire of bestselling US horror novelist Stephen King - specifically his short-lived ABC-TV series KINGDOM HOSPITAL. I personally believe the show takes on a lot more than King - including everything from Amicus horror anthologies to author-dominated television series to Lars von Trier's original Danish miniseries THE KINGDOM (superior to Stephen King's variant, and much quirkier).
All in all, a BBC comedy this Yank at least enjoyed hugely.
.
The ''plot'' is this, back in the 70's or 80's a (fictional) trashy horror novelist wrote a TV series that just couldn't be shown at the time. But now with TV being so short of ideas now it is dug out of the archives and each episode is shown with an itroduction by the (completly full of himself) writer.
.
The end result is not just great comedy-horror, but also a good dig at some of the standards of the time, especially institutional sexism.
I have to say that this DVD is even better than the series itself. The real genius is in the extras and the commentaries, which stay completely "in character" throughout the disc. That is, we're not hearing or seeing behind-the-scenes from Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade, but rather from Garth and Dean (and Todd! who steals the show more than half the time). I just thought it was brilliant, and I'm still laughing at certain lines as I recall them throughout the day.
Further, the entire DVD is itself a brutal parody of TV DVDs, from the pompous self-important commentaries to the extras that might seem like gold to the producers, but are absolutely useless to the home viewer. Then there are little touches such as during the commentaries, the show soundtrack will occasionally peak in volume for no reason whatsoever, as if something important were happening. Or all the background noise and throat-clearing that gets picked up. All of this behind the scenes material is like a hilarious "story within the story" that make this one of the best DVDs of the year as Ayoade and Co. make fun of the DVD genre itself with the same wit that worked so well for "Darkplace" vs. 80s television.
Richard, Matthew and Matt, if you see this, THANK YOU! This was better than a second series in every way! My wife and I really loved this DVD, probably the best one we've purchased all year, and certainly the funniest! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and DON'T FORGET THE COMMENTARIES!