The Most Significant Televisual Event Since 'Quantum Leap': 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace' Is Now Streaming On Amazon Prime Video
Greetings traveler, I have some great news: Garth Marenghi — author, dream weaver, visionary, plus actor — is now on Amazon. After years of being (legally) unavailable to stream here in the U.S., the hilarious cult series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Created by Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness, the series stars Holness, Ayoade, Matt Berry, and Alice Lowe, and it's probably one of the funniest goddamn shows you'll ever watch. Darkplace only lasted one season, but in the years since its 2004 debut it's built up a huge cult following – and now more folks can learn why (provided they live in the U.S. and have Amazon Prime).
What is Garth Marenghi's Darkplace?
I'm glad you asked. Launched in 2004 on the UK's Channel 4, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is a hilarious series designed to resemble a cheesy, poorly-made 1980s TV series. In the world of the show, Garth Marenghi (Matthew Holness) is a horror writer (modeled, at least partially, on Ramsey Campbell) who describes himself as "author, dream weaver, visionary, plus actor."
In the 1980s, Marenghi made a TV series called Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. The show was intended for Channel 4, but it never actually aired. Now, decades later, Marenghi says that Channel 4 came to him and asked for the unaired shows. Marenghi obliged, and the show gives us the "unaired" original series spliced with new interviews with Marenghi and his publisher Dean Learner (Richard Ayoade), who also appeared on Darkplace.
In the show-within-a-show, Garth Marenghi plays Dr. Rick Dagless, M.D., a doctor who works at Darkplace Hospital alongside his boss Thornton Reed (Ayoade), and fellow doctors Dr. Lucien Sanchez (Matt Berry) and Dr. Liz Asher (Alice Lowe). Darkplace was built over the gates of hell and as a result, all sorts of supernatural happenings unfold within its walls. The end result is very, very silly, and funny as hell.
Can't I Just Watch This For Free on YouTube?
Man, you sure have a lot of questions. But yes – you can! I certainly won't fault anyone for not wanting to subscribe to Amazon and give the already obscenely wealthy Jeff Bezos more money, so by all means, feel free to seek this out for free on YouTube. That said, the versions floating around YouTube are bootlegs and not the best quality. The video quality of the episodes on Amazon is much better. But if that sort of thing doesn't matter to you, go ahead and watch on YouTube. Still, the fact that the show hasn't been on an official U.S. streaming service until now is kind of a big deal.
Is It Streaming on Amazon Outside the U.S.?
It is not, sorry! When I tweeted this news out the other day I had multiple people jump into my replies and say, "Well, it's not streaming in my country!" And believe me, I sympathize! But I have no control over this, so please, leave me alone, I beg you. Hopefully, Amazon will be able to add it outside the U.S. as well sometime soon. Until then, I'm sure you can find Darkplace elsewhere. Maybe.