Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

In this inventive spoof of 1980s TV, author Garth Marenghi introduces his long-lost drama about a doctor battling evil forces

Genre: Sitcom
Broadcast: 2004
Channel: Channel 4
Episodes: 6 (1 series)
Creators: Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade
Starring: Matthew Holness, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Alice Lowe and Kim Noble
Writers: Matthew Holness and Richard Ayoade
Director: Richard Ayoade
Producers: Charlie Hanson, Jon Thoday and Richard Allen-Turner

A cult series which aimed to spoof the fantasy horror genre and mock low-budget 1980s TV dramas.

The series sees horror author Garth Marenghi (Matthew Holness) introducing the first UK broadcast of his 'terrifying and radical' 1980s TV drama Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.

Dr. Rick Dagless M.D. is a maverick doctor battling against the evil forces lurking beneath a hospital in Romford. He is assisted by Dr. Lucien Sanchez, Dr. Liz Asher and hospital boss Thornton Reed.

The 'archive' episodes broadcast are inter-spliced with recent interviews conducted with three of the drama's key players - Marenghi himself, his publisher, business associate and co-star, Dean Learner (Richard Ayoade) and cult horror star Todd Rivers (Matt Berry). Madeleine Wool (Alice Lowe), who played Dr. Liz Asher when the show was filmed in the 1980s, doesn't seem to be around to take part in the documentary though.

More description

Production Details

Production company

Avalon

Also known as

Darkplace

Laugh track

None

Broadcast details

First broadcast: Thursday 29th January 2004 on Channel 4 at 10:35pm
Last new broadcast: Thursday 4th March 2004 on Channel 4
Length of episodes: 30 minutes
Last repeat: Tuesday 20th November 2018 at 2:05am on Gold

Website links

Garth Marenghi's Website
A website setup by Matthew Holness in character as Garth Marenghi. It features fictional interviews, books and more.
Official Website
The official website from Channel 4. Features video clips from the show.
IMDb
Wikipedia