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That’s the point where Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace originally failed to connect with viewers – it got poor viewing figures, and initially seemed not to answer a central question. So far, so moderately tedious, and so very close to being exactly the thing it’s supposed to be parodying.
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The “too truthful” assertion is naturally then a further riff on the tendency of some horror authors to go too far into their own world and their own mythos, and either to believe their own publicity, or to try to convince their fans of the truth of what they write.
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The premise of the show-within-a-show is that Darkplace Hospital in Romford has what is essentially a Buffy-style Hellmouth underneath it, and that Dr Rick Dagless (played by Marenghi, played by Holness) and hospital administrator Thornton Reed, (played by Learner, played by Ayoade) must fight the forces of evil with some severely un-Romford firearms, while dealing with day-to-day hospital admin. It was never broadcast in Britain, and Garth confidently asserts that that was because it was too ahead of its time – and too truthful. The premise of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace is that in the Eighties, he made a show in which he and his publisher, Dean Learner (played by co-writer Richard Ayoade – oh, NOW you’re interested!), had total faith, and in which they took starring roles. Garth Marenghi is a fictional Eighties horror writer, played by co-writer Matthew Holness (who, to give him his due, looks like he was BORN to play a self-regarding Eighties horror novelist). The combination of these two factors gives you the premise for Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace. We would by no means name names, because the point really is that the status and regard was all too often thrust on these authors by fans, rather than coming from a point of personal egotism in the writers. In some cases, horror novelists were overweened on the explosion of interest in their genre, and were regarded as being the new gods of the medium. (Critters fans, I said what I said, don’t me!). Sure, the Eighties was the age of The Shining, American Werewolf In London, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, Cujo, The Thing and more, but it was also the age of Maximum Overdrive, The Stuff, and Critters. If you were, you’ll remember some fairly grim low-budget sci-fi and horror movies and shows that were clearly aiming at cult status like shows of the Sixties and Seventies (which often ALSO had extremely tight budgets and often some distinctly dodgy premises), but which had little soul and relied on schlock effects, shock value, and zippy cuts for extra surprise and the what-the-hell factor.įrequently, they were forced by budgets to use actors and directors with limited screen experience, resulting in the thousand-yard screen stare, bizarre dialogue reading, overdramatic acting, and those schlocky effects.Īt the same period, horror exploded as a genre – and not always in a good way.
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When trying to wrap your head around Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, it helps to have been around in the Eighties. Then there are comedies that put so much work into satirizing their subject, they almost become the thing they’re satirizing. There are comedies that are clever, and there are comedies that are merciless as they satirize their subject.