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Halloween

TGTPTU hosts take a breather from the ongoing eternal damnation that is Squib Season, but also from the big screen, to celebrate the season of spook with coverage of the six-episode BBC series: GARTH MARENGHI’S DARKPLACE(2004). A mainstay of the Koral Clan (original hosts Ken and Jack along with regular guest and songstress Andi) and frequently quoted over these fifteen seasons of the pod, the British mockumentary-slash-homage-to-bad-TV series defies easy summation, but your humble narrator of staggering talent will try:

The conceit of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace is that you’re watching a never-before-aired in Britain (it had a brief run in Peru), early-1990s, low-budget fright-of-the-week television series set in Darkplace Hospital (over the very Gates of Hell) and revolving around its main character Dr. Rick Dagless, M.D., a man more perfect and humble than yours truly if one can imagine such a fictional character existing. What adds a layer of complexity is that this main character Dag is played by the fictional author-dream weaver-visionary-plus actor (eagle-eared listener, did someone say Season 10 of TGTPTU early title confusion before settling on Side Hustle?), the pulp horror novelist Garth Marenghi who is actually played by actor Matthew Holness, the series co-creator along with the estimable real life author-actor-director-comedian Richard Ayoade who plays Dean Lerner, the series’ fictional producer and first-time actor portraying Thornton Reed, the Darkplace Hospital’s administrator and Dag’s boss. These two are joined in the show by Dag’s best friend and fellow M.D. Dr. Lucien Sanchez portrayed by fictional actor Todd Rivers as played by BAFTA-winner and What We Do in the Shadows (2019 spin-off TV series) vamp Matt Berry along with new hire Dr. Liz Asher, woman-emotions and psychic prone as fictionally scripted by the fictional Marenghi for fictional actress Madeleine Wool (IRL: Alice Lowe), the only one of the four fictional actors to not appear in the fictional actors’ commentary segments that intercut episodes of the show.

Fun fact: Three of the four main actors have gone on to write and direct movies of their own.

This episode Jack pops in; his pops Ken brings deep research on the cause célèbre, Holness’s inspiration for the Marenghi character, and Thatcher-contemporary: Gareth Morenghi; host Ryan doesn’t pop off; and Thomas can almost pronounce Richard Ayoade’s first and last name correctly (consistently getting at least half his name correct). Andi, originally slated to appear this ep, is nowhere to be found, presumed dead, but she was always like a candle in the wind: unreliable.

Well done, fellas and Liz.

THEME SONG BY: WEIRD A.I.
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Podcast: goodpodugly
Ken: Ken Koral
Ryan: Ryan Tobias