Shit

[TheLeen]

I’ve been ill-at-home today, so I could watch a bit of telly, so I eventually watched Darkplace, and really, I couldn’t make up my mind at first, is this utterly brilliant or utterly shit? When in doubt, I think I’d always go with brilliant I think. Also, I watched all episodes, all specials (minus commentary track on episodes), got a headache, watched half the episodes again when the boyfriend came home, and put “Man To Man with Dean Learner” in my amazon shopping basket (the internet is a wonderful thing).

Anyway, I kept wondering where I knew the female actor from, which brings me to this thread’s subject, and it wasn’t until the end of episode four that I recognised her, that is, when she said “If you boys make another crack about my taking a shit in Dag’s car, I’ll give you the thick end of the wedge”, and when she said “shit” I noticed that it’s the same actress who said “You’ve got shit on your head” in The IT Crowd’s episode three, Alice Lowe.

Topic

[TheLeen]

Oh yeah and, the music on this DVD is bloody fantastic.

[Paul Muller]

The music is brilliant.

I came home pissed at about 5am once and fell asleep on the sofa listening to it on loop.

[Phil]

It’s brilliant.

Listen to me.

Do not, under any circumstances, listen to Ian.

[Dave]

“I’m one of the few people who has written more books than he’s read”

[Phil]

I wish I was handsome like Dagless.

[Ian Symes]

It’s shit. Ha!

[TheLeen]

Ooh, Matt Berry is teh sex though. In this.

Somehow.

[Phil]

>Somehow.

I know how: “Not my fault. Monkey bastard hands!”

[Pete Part Three]

WE SHOULD BE MAKING LOVE!

[ChrisM]

>is this utterly brilliant or utterly shit?

Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place?
I’m not sure if it’s utterly of either, but i’d say it’s a bit of both. It’s kinda rubbish, but intentionally so, and as such it strangely works. And it is genuinely funny. One little snippet that tickled me was when the camera pan’s next to the guy who plays Mos from the IT Crowd while he is standing very still, for reason’s I forget, and then his eyes slide over and peep at the camera. Very daft. But in a good way.

[Jo]

Hey! I want less shit!

[Tarka Dal]

Excellent! I thought everybody here thought it was shit so I stopped mentioning it long ago. Marlene listen to the commentaries immediately! Unlike standard commentaries they don’t take the form of the writers talking about the show…well they do, but in this case it’s Marenghi, Leaner and Todd Rivers so it’s effectively a couple of hours bonus Darkplace material. Also if you fast-forward the DVD past the end of one of the documentaries there is an easter-egg clip of Dean Learner advertising his new TV channel.

When the DVD was finally released the three of them did a signing at the Virgin Megastore in Piccadilly Circus. A huge queue meant the signing lasted at least three hours and the three of them remained in character throughout, most notably Todd Rivers became increasingly drunk and irritable at having to sign so many autographs.

Man to Man is a bit hit and miss. It’s good to see something, anything more in the Holness/Ayoade universe, but the spoof chat-show format obviously has a lot more competition what with Partridge, Mrs Merton and the American one from the late 90s I can’t remember the name off.

The episode’s with Marenghi and Steve Pissing (essentially Nigel Mansell) are probably the best of the six. There has been talk of a full-length movie version of Darkplace. Presumably they’d have to drop the talking heads for that and make it as-is or rather as-was. Also Garth Marenghi was on the bill for the Mighty Boosh Festival that took place about a month ago. If Ian’s made it this far I’m sure there’s a “That’s sure to be good” due about now.

[Andrew]

Darkplace is brilliant. That is all.

[Phil]

>if you fast-forward the DVD past the end of one of the documentaries there is an easter-egg clip

Wow, I didn’t even know this. Any further clue on how to find it? I’ve watched all the documentaries and I’m pretty sure I just get returned to the menu after them…

[Tarka Dal]

That was off the top of my head so I might be wrong but I’m sure it has something to do with the documentaries.

I’ll try and work it out again. Also one other thing I forgot menus are absolutely beautiful.

[Tarka Dal]

Okay I was wrong, it’s the colour bars:

Egg 1:

On the main DVD menu, select “set-up”.
Once in the set-up menu, highlight the “colour bars” option, and press play. Fast forward through this (it’s about 1 minute long). Once at the end, it will jump to a set of hidden videos.
The first is a video of Thornton Reed introducing “Channel Ladykiss”, followed by a video of a Darkplace patient frantically reading Garths Novels, followed by a hidden interview with Todd Rivers talking about method acting.

Egg 2:

On a DVD player
1. Insert disc
2. Press GOTO on remote control
3. Go to title 19. Usually done by typing 19 and/or using the arrow buttons.
4. Press ENTER
On a computer
1. Insert disc
2. Go to set-up menu
3. Click on the picture of Liz
Alternatively, use your DVD software to manually go to title 19.
If it works, you will see a still frame of the title, from the title sequence. All of the songs and incidental music from the series will now play, which last 39 minutes.
As this places a still picture on the screen for so long, it may damage some TVs, especially rear-projection ones.

[Phil]

>All of the songs and incidental music from the series will now play

Fucking excellent!

>it may damage some TVs,

…oh.

[TheLeen]

> When the DVD was finally released the three of them did a signing at the Virgin Megastore in Piccadilly Circus. A huge queue meant the signing lasted at least three hours and the three of them remained in character throughout, most notably Todd Rivers became increasingly drunk and irritable at having to sign so many autographs.

Oh, that is fantastic.

[Tarka Dal]

It’s the same on the commentaries. Todd’s alcholism is played up so he becomes increasing dismissive of the show and, I think it’s a long while since I watched them, buggers off mid-way through recording.

Phil, the simplest way around the soundtrack/TV issue is to listen to the via your PC. Better still visit this link:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/thegoalrash/savedarkplace/forumframe.htm

Not sure if anyone is osting is still hosting the full soundtrack, but it’s the best place to ask.

[ChrisM]

Liked the episode where the water gets contaminated and glows green… and nobody notices until near the end.

And the grasshopper boy. Sick stuff. But the sort of thing which makes me snigger.

Oh and THE amputation…. Oh dear….

[Tarka Dal]

I had seen the trailer a few times and not being a fan of much of new comedy at the time not been that keen. I then chanced upon the first episode one night, tuning in just before the end of part one. I was about to pick up the phone and call my lawyer, but then I saw something which made me laugh…

Dag was about to put his mate out his misery – by smacking his head off the walls with a spade (which just happened to be in the room). That first gag was just absolutely my sense of humour.

[Pete Part Three]

>Todd?s alcholism is played up so he becomes increasing dismissive of the show and, I think it?s a long while since I watched them, buggers off mid-way through recording.

No, he sticks around to the end but just gets increasingly more drunk.

[Tarka Dal]

Doesn’t he disappear for a while half-way through and then return later?

[Phil]

His mobile phone rings at one point and he goes to take the call (this may or may not have actually happened out-of-character as I couldn’t hear what he was saying in the distance and so can’t confirm that any of it was humorous!) but I think he’s back by the end of the episode.

That’s what I remember, though. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it as well and he could have departed another time.

[Tarka Dal]

No that was probably it, and I’m just getting confused in my old age.

[Mr Flibble]

It’s very hard to pretend to be crap. Darkplace manages it beautifully.

[Nakrophile]

Darkplace is actually so good it’s fucking good. The DVD is pone of the greatest ever things I own. Man to Man is good as well, but I wish they hadn’t gone with the laughter, even if I kind of understand why they did.

HEY!

[Jonathan Capps]

As much as I tried to like Man to Man, I can’t help feeling it’s complete and utter shit.

Darkplace is good, though.

[Tarka Dal]

Utter shit seems a little harsh since it’s essential the same humour. It’s just a shame they weren’t given a second series of Darkplace which I think most Darkplace fans would have preferred to Man to Man.

[Pete Part Three]

I only ever saw Man to Man when I was pissed, and I still didn’t find it funny.

6 eps of Darkplace is probably enough. Skipper the Eye Child is still the undisputed classic.

[James]

I love Darkplace. The Boxset extras are brilliant.

[Nakrophile]

Into the mouth!

[Phil]

>The Boxset extras are brilliant.

The single-disc standard DVD boxless boxset?

[James]

Yes that one. So good it thinks it’s a box.

[Phil]

:-)

It IS, I can say safely, one of the best single-disc packages I’ve ever experienced. Not skimpy on the bonus material, and everything that’s there is golden. Spinal Tap is also a great single-disc’er…and long overdue for a better double.

[Andrew]

There is a double disc Tap set. The deleted scenes are almost a second movie!

[Jonathan Capps]

I thought all that was stuffed on a single disc?

[Phil]

Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s only been single disc for region 1 anyway. Nothing I can find otherwise on Amazon at least.

Heck of a lot of deleted scenes (which is good) but apparently a load of the ones on the old laserdisc version weren’t carried over (which is bad…but it’ll be rectified whenever we DO get a double-disc version…I hope…).

[John Hoare]

This is the two-disc Region 2 I’ve got:

http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/2074/This-is-Spinal-Tap-Special-Edition/Product.html

[Danny Stephenson]

I’m really ashamed to say that I’ve known about the film for absolutely ages, but only saw it in it’s entirety a few months ago. I’ve been missing out so I might get that Double Disc Set now that I know about it.

[Phil]

>This is the two-disc Region 2 I?ve got:

Believe it or not, I think all of that stuff is on my region 1 single disc release, spread over two discs. I can check later to find out for sure.

Actually, the deciding factor is probably the deleted scenes. If you have significantly more than we do, then, maybe, it would require the second disc. Though, from what I recall, we had easily an hour’s worth of them, and probably closer to an hour and a half…

Bah. Why don’t more people write compare/contrast articles about stuff like this?

[Author]

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