This is a show about the another show (this one being from the 80's!) that was lost to the world. The series begins with Garth himself reading from his book while ominous music plays in the background. The camera pans and zooms into his face, "Something was pouring from his mouth. He examined his sleeve. Blood? Blood. Crimson copper smelling blood. His blood. Blood. Blood. Blood.... and bits of sick."What makes this show so great is the commitment Ayoade and Holness put into the story lines and the humour behind them. I think this show caters to all levels of humour, but not necessarily all types of humour. So this show might not be for all people, but thankfully strange and truly bizarre humour is becoming more mainstream and a "thing". Man, I'm struggling to find ten lines to describe this because it's so easy to do it in just one - "Watch it!"

Nearly 10 years on, this one-off series is still, for my money, the last true work of genius to have invaded the small screen of UK comedy (or anywhere for that matter). Much like The Office, Brass Eye, I'm Alan Partridge and Spaced before it, there are so many hysterical laugh-out-loud moments and so much attention to detail that even on repeated viewing you are sure to catch something new or only half-remembered from each of the 6 episodes. Some quotes/scenes seemed to achieve instant cult status among fans, but there are other bits no one ever mentions: for e.g. the introduction of 'the temp' from episode 2 which manages to put me on the floor every time I see it, or the random nurse + patient love scene at the beginning of the episode Scotch Mist, which could just be the most awesomely rubbish 60 seconds of TV ever created. To name but two examples out of hundreds!It's a shame that Darkplace has apparently never seen a region 1 DVD release because this means most US fans will have missed out on what are probably the best selection of extras on any DVD I can think of. The two half-hour documentaries, comprised of more interviews from the actors, are almost as funny as the episodes. Garth Marenghi's rants against authority, Dean Learner's musings on production techniques, and in particular Todd Rivers discussing everything from the plight of sex-pests to bad acting on Eastenders - while cradling a nearly empty shot-glass of whisky - really add to the Darkplace experience. Subsequent UK comedies such as The IT Crowd, Mighty Boosh, Peep Show, and The Inbetweeners may have received way more success and critical acclaim, but in my opinion they're not a patch on Dagless and co. Stay holy!

Me and my husband came across this entirely by accident one night while flicking through the channels and couldn't stop laughing at it. we were devastated when it was only on for a few weeks and we still talk about it now. It really needs to be brought back onto the telly for people to enjoy it all over again. I would love a new series too but just seeing the original would be just about good enough. All the cheesy '80's'style bad wobbly sets and stilted acting are spot on. Trying to explain the premise to people is impossible, the only way to get it across is to watch it. If you watch the IT crowd you will be familiar with some aspects of it. The boss in the IT crowd will point you in the direction of the amount of cheese.

I stumbled across this gem a couple of years ago late night after a few drinks. Coming into it about halfway through and a bit drunk i was thrown and unsure whether it was supposed to be taken seriously.Needless to say after a few minutes i soon realised that it was in fact comedy gold. I've just rediscovered it on 4OnDemand after someone reminded me about it in work and its just a good as i remember. Glaringly funny at points however it has fantastic intricacies you only catch the second time around (the old C4 logo needless detail but makes a massive difference).The only further comment i can give is ....WATCH IT!!!