What I love about British comedies is that they're always looking for something new. They're never content with repeating the same ideas under the guise of new actors and story lines. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is one of those crazy new ideas. Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness return to the '80s, look for everything that was bad in that decade's TV shows, for what was in need of a send up, and created this show which spoofs anything from A Team to Night Rider to Miami Vice.<br /><br />Garth Marenghi is a horror writer, a visionary, a dream weaver, or, as he puts it, an imaginer. He's really a mediocre novelist and a worse director and writer. But somehow he manages to get a TV show made with his publisher, Dean Learner, and actors Todd Rivers (the amazing Matt Berry) and Madeleine Wool (Alice Lowe). The show is awful, with corny plots, bad sfx, and a synth-heavy score typical of the time. Garth believes the show was so ahead of its time it could change the world. Unfortunately no channel bought it and Darkplace remained in his basement for nearly twenty years (except for a run in Peru).<br /><br />Decades later a channel decides to air the show. For this Garth adds a few interviews with himself and the crew. Many times they interrupt the action to comment on it. Obviously, these are the finer bits, with the serious way they discuss the show they made, incapable of realizing how poor it is.<br /><br />Alas, they only made six episodes. I can't understand why it didn't gain more popularity. The episodes are short and one will feel hungry for more. For this reason buying the DVD is a good idea. The crew created two extra interviews, each 30 minutes long, which are as amusing as any of the episodes and give a lot of insight into Garth, Dean, Todd and Madeleine's mysterious fate. This is the only DVD I've actually bothered to watch all the extras, they're all amazing and add a lot to the original show.<br /><br />Up there with the modern shows of its kind - The League of Gentlemen and The Mighty Boosh - this mix of humor and horror, of TV and movie spoofs is one of the most original and unforgettable shows made.