Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place is a strange one, and chances are, you haven’t heard of it. But, I can tell you to go watch it right now. The series is absurdly funny, and takes takes the idea of a parody to a new level. Rather than simply making fourth wall jokes, or taking itself too seriously as it goes over the top, it adds a new level of commentary within the world of the show. It sounds incredibly confusing written down, but it’s not. I have to hand it to the actors, because playing a character playing a character isn’t easy. And, largely, they all give great performances, but not in the classic way. The show makes a point of doing literally everything it could possibly do wrong in the short six episode series’s lifespan. Largely, it does this extremely well. But that isn’t to say it’s necessarily perfect. There are certain jokes that aren’t based on the over-seriousness of the world, causing the pacing and tone to take a quick U-Turn. Unlike other mistakes, this one was clearly unintentional.
While each episode often relies on the same type of humor to get a laugh, there are bits sprinkled within that humor that makes each episode worth it. A great example of this is a running gag that implies Dean Learner killed one of his co-stars, eventually building to an in memory video that ends with Dean Learner saying “If she was buried, it would probably be somewhere on the East-side, but nobody ever said she was buried.” This line shouldn’t work, but Richard Ayoade brings such a lifeless life to this character, that it made me bust a gut. The humor also relies on the audience’s knowledge of cheesy medical and horror shows from the 80s. If the audience doesn’t know, it’s fine, but there is another level to it from that knowledge. Because almost everything in the series feels that it could have actually been a show airing in the 80s. Down to the music, everything feels right. Though, as I mentioned earlier, there are some jokes that go just a little too far, breaking the comedic barrier. On a negative note, I should also mention not watching every episode in one sitting. While it’s still enjoyable, it’s much better to savor the genius work of Garth Marenghi in association with Dean Learner.
Overall, Garth Marenghi’s imperfections are it’s beauty, but when it does things that are genuinely good, it throws you off. It’s widely entertaining, and you should definitely watch it if you haven’t. 8.7/10
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