MovieChat Forums > Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (2004) Discussion > I don't get it...

I don't get it...

posted 15 years ago by TobyOrNotToby
8 replies | jump to latest

Don't get me wrong, I think the show is funny, and I get what it's spoofing, I just don't see why everyone says it's an innovative masterpiece and the funniest thing ever made.

The idea of this type of spoof isn't particularly original and it's execution isn't brilliant here. It was essentially a single joke done well, and yes, they extrapolated that joke to include other clichés and concepts, but it's still the same basic joke done over and over again. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if it was just one or two episodes; I really did think the first episode was brilliant but after that it just got boring.

And before anyone mentions it, yes, I do see what they're trying to do, I've seen the type of show they're spoofing and I caught most of the dodgy camera angles, continuity and sound dubbing.

Could someone explain what I'm missing here? What makes it 'brilliant' as opposed to just good?

[–] DaveFromDaveLand 15 years ago

I think the following quote should answer your question:

"This cold night will turn us all to fools and madmen."
— King Lear, p46

[–] mmckenzie3 15 years ago

I don't know about brilliant, but it is a smart satire. if it wasn't on adult swim and there weren't some obvious gags i would think they were being serious and it would be unintentionaly hilarious. more than anything else it's spoofing ego maniac authors who are obsessed with themselves and think they're work is brilliant when it's actually crap. and of course it's also a spoof of things like the twilight zone and such.

[–] inb4dalock 15 years ago

The concept is just a serviceable backdrop. The writing and acting (both the in your face and the nuanced) are beyond comparison.

Maybe not for everyone, but who can explain why this isn't successful and shows like 2.5 men are?

It certainly isn't a "When the whistle blows" demographic.

[–] TobyOrNotToby 15 years ago

That could be it actually, I felt like I was expecting more of the concept than was delivered, and so probably paid less attention to the writing and acting after I got a bit blasé about the concept.

And don't worry, I'm certainly not saying it's anywhere near as bad as Two and a Half Men. It's just that from what I'd heard from various people, it was just as good as shows like Spaced, so I ended up a little bit disappointed. Which is probably another reason I didn't connect with the show - I'd heard so many brilliant things about it that I went in with too high expectations.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MissGoldHeart 14 years ago

The show's great because even though its certainly not the first parody or even the first of that style, it simply does it the best.

It has the perfect balance of playing it straight, looking almost exactly like the type of show its parodying, combined with some very clever writing that's both sharp and funny.

Most other satires lean too much one way or the other. They either play it so straight and dead pan that instead of seeming like a parody of a certain style, its almost like the show is just a bad imitation of that style or the writing and acting are so silly and goofy, that you can't suspend disbelief and imagine that the program to be the actual serious type of show that it satirizes.

Dark Place gets it just right.

[–] lightleviosa 12 years ago

Have you seen the extra? Personally the best parts of this show are the intereviews, especially with Dean Learner. There are so many great lines. The language is very sharp, sarcastic and I find them both hilarious and meaningful. It's more than a simple spoof, I think.

[–] klm85 12 years ago

I think you have missed the main source of humour in the show, the spoofing is the side show to the characters of the actors.

I think to best appreciate this you need to watch the longer interviews on the dvd extras.

This isn't your usual spoof show, it's more of a 'talking head' type thing, and it is this aspect which makes it unique and provides the main source of humour.