Rodgerwilco
Entertainment boards w/ some Hockey mixed in.
- Feb 6, 2014
- 7,489
- 6,809
Just recently found this gem of a show and my god I love it. It's hard to describe the show without getting too meta, but here goes. It's available on Prime Video right now if anyone's interested.
Created by comedians/writers Matthew Holness, Richard Ayoade, also starring comedian Matt Berry, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a "show-within-a-show" which parodies 1980's TV drama/horror/sci-fi programs as well as the inflated egos of many authors of the time. The series is presented as a special release of a lost footage 1980's horror-drama of the same name which was resurfaced in 2004 during an 'artistic drought'. It includes "present day" commentary bits from the characters remarking on the show.
Each actor plays an actor within the fictional show, with Holness playing titular Garth Marenghi, who in turn plays Dr. Rick Dagless MD. Ayoade playing Marenghi's publisher and partner Dean Learn who in turn plays hospital administrator Thornton Reed. Matt Berry plays actor Todd Rivers, who in turn plays Dr. Lucien Sanchez. Alice Lowe plays actress Madeleine Wool, who in turn plays Dr. Liz Asher. Madeleine does not provide commentary on the series, as she is missing and presumed dead in the 'real world' of the series.
The fictional show's story focuses on the Darkplace Hospital and the supernatural events which occur within and around it. Drs. Rick Dagless and Lucien Sanchez, both hilariously disconnected and grandiose, are generally tasked with dealing with some evil supernatural force and bringing peace to the hospital.
Anyone else love this show? I think it strikes the perfect balance of so-bad-it's-good, because it's not trying to be so-bad-it's-good. It's trying to be a parody of someone trying to make something good that is just bad, which in turn makes it good. It very cleverly parodies all of the tropes, technical limitations, and artistic pitfalls of authors/directors like Tommy Wiseau or Neil Breen.
Also, I didn't even realize that Matt Berry is the same actor who was the voice of Mr. Handy (and Sebastian Leslie) in the new Fallout series until I was looking him up after discovering this series.
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