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Funny Fortnight Favourites: Darkplace Remembered

25 Aug

© Dan Goldsmith / Avalon Television

This weekend sees Channel 4 countdown its top 30 comedy shows ever, as part of its Funny Fortnight. One show in the top 30 was somewhat unloved at the time, yet has since gone on to become widely regarded as a cult classic.  Here’s Michael Glynn’s take on why Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace is worth your attention…

Back in the 1980s, acclaimed horror writer Garth Marenghi set to transfer his talents the small screen; the results were a television program ‘so radical, so risky, so dangerous, so goddamn crazy’ that it didn’t see the light of day until Channel 4 broadcast it during the worst programming drought in broadcast history in 2004. To bump up the runtimes of the episodes we were treated to interviews with Garth’s publisher, Dean Learner, who also starred in the series, as well as the other cast members.

Except of course, none of that is true. GARTH MARENGHI’S DARKPLACE was actually spawned from the minds of Matt Holness and Richard Ayoade, and filmed in the early 2000’s – though you would be hard pressed to believe that last part. With an emphasis on cheap production values and bad acting it’s easy to believe you’re really watching a forgotten piece of TV, even the retro Channel 4 logo is present. Continue reading →

Funny Fortnight Favourites!

13 Aug

© Channel 4

Details have emerged of the exact transmission times for much of the programming in Channel 4′s Funny Fortnight – which features a number of TVO faces in new productions and old favourites.

These include Julia Davis and Sharon Horgan in Bad Sugar, Matt Berry in Toast Of London  Kevin Eldon and Colin Hoult appearing in The Function Room and repeats of The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Brass Eye, Jam and more.

The season will also include new material from Vic & Bob and Harry Hill, archive programming long forgotten, stand-up from the likes of Steve Coogan, Lee Evans and Peter Kay, plus a count-down of the Top 30 Comedy Shows in the history of Channel 4.

© Talkback Productions

The special season starts this Thursday night (Aug 16th) with the broadcast of Peter Kay’s latest live show, followed by Phonejacker spin-off Verry Terry from Kayvan Novak.  The first TVO flavoured show crops up after these – with a repeat showing of the infamous Brass Eye at 11:30pm.

Not too long afterwards, the early hours of Friday 17th bring us a repeat of Russell Brand And Friends at 1:10am, which featured a memorable appearance from Paul Kaye as Mike Strutter.  Another Onion flavoured repeat comes along on Saturday night (Aug 18th) with another chance to see a firm favourite from The IT Crowd.  Series two opener The Work Outing is the chosen episode, which of course, was the one with the gay musical, the disabled toilet, and Richmond’s missing copy of Heat.

© Phil Fisk

Sunday evening (Aug 19th), sees the first new show to feature TVO faces, in the form of star-packed trad-sitcom The Function Room.  In this pilot episode, police officers hold a public meeting to discuss crime in the local area.  However, their plans for the event get derailed when it emerges local residents only want to talk about one thing – a notorious criminal with a highly offensive alias.

The Fucntion Room stars the legendary Kevin Eldon, League Of Gentlemen/Psyschoville star Reece Shearsmith, Fast Show favourite Simon Day, and The Vicar Of Dibley‘s James Fleet, alongside Paul Ritter, Daniel Rigby, Blake Harrison and our very own Colin Hoult!  Eldon portrays unflappable Inspector Marks, who wants to present a human face to the force, but is just a little bit weird.  Meanwhile Hoult and Josephine Bulter play local well-to-do couple Stuart & Marina, who effortlessly rub all the other locals up the wrong way.

A few hours later, early into Monday, Aug 20th, is a very rare chance to see a compilation episode of The 11 O’Clock Show from 1999.  The satirical news-based show was a breeding ground for comedic talent – launching the careers of Iain Lee, Daisy Donovan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Mackenzie Crook and Ricky Gervais.  It also brought to prominence Rich Hall’s blossoming UK career, and boasted a fine writing staff which included James Bachman, Rhys Thomas, Tony Way, Phil Whelans, Charlie Brooker and Stephen Merchant, and one of it’s associate producers was none other than Spencer Millman!

© Kuba Wierczorek

Monday 20th is, perhaps, the biggest night for Onion fans – starting with the première of Toast Of London at 10pm- written by Matt Berry and Arthur Matthews, and starring Matt alongside Robert Bathurst, Geoff McGivern,  Tracy-Ann Oberman and Lee Cornes.  With that fantastic cast behind it, the lineage of both it’s writers, and the hilarious preview clip which appeared online recently, we’ve marked this one down as a must-see.

© Dan Goldsmith

Not long afterwards, the repeats kick in, with a re-run of Steve Coogan‘s 1994 live show Live & Lewd at 11:40pm, preceded by a new introduction from the comic.  This is followed by a repeat episode of Chris Morris‘ dark and devious project Jam featuring Kevin Eldon and Julia Davies, followed by a very rare chance to see Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace back on our screens with the classic episode, Skipper The Eye-Child.

For those who don’t know, Darkplace aired not long before the first series of The Mighty Boosh, and this sci-fi horror spoof featuring Matthew Holness, Richard Ayoade, Alice Lowe, Matty Berry, Kim Noble, Stuart Silver and occasionally, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding too {though not in this episode, sadly} was a golden nugget of genius which sorely deserves en-mass reappraisal.

Things go a little quiet on the Onion front for a while after that, beyond Friday night’s short editions of Baby Cow’s Comedy Blaps which will feature the voice of Steve Coogan, but with the promise of Julia Davies & Sharon Horgan‘s Bad Sugar, repeats of Anna & Katy, Star Stories  and Black Books, plus the countdown of Channel 4′s greatest comedy shows ever still to come at some point between the 25th and the 31st, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the schedules for any news worth shouting about.

In the meantime, enjoy the gallery of images from Bad Sugar below.  With the likes of Olivia Colman, Reece Shearsmith, Peter Serafinowicz, Greg Davis & Kayvan Novak joining Davis & Horgan, this is looking likely to be an absolute cracker!

Blinkbox Booshdom!

6 Aug

© Copyright blinkbox Entertainment Limited.

Steve Coogan‘s sitcom Saxondale and anthology spoof Dr Terrible’s House Of Horrible are amongst a smattering of TVO favourites available to watch free online.

UK based video on demand service Blinkbox offers television and film from both sides of the pond to download or stream via pc, mac, games consoles, tablets and smart tv’s – and already offers a large back catalogue of programming for purchase.

This includes the TVO flavoured likes of The Mighty Boosh, Dead Boss, This Is Jinsey, Horrible Histories and Mongrels, and movies Come On Eileen, Weekender and The Boat That Rocked to name but a few.

Coogan’s work is well represented on the site, from films such as Tropic Thunder and Hot Fuzz (also featuring our very own Alice Lowe), and the televisual adventures of one Alan Partridge.

Now as part of a deal with the BBC, a number of comedy classics are available to stream free of charge.

These include Saxondale – which also featured Matt Berry, James Bachman and Tom Meeten, and underrated spoof Dr Terrible - featuring Julia Davis.

© BBC

Also up for free viewing is criminally ignored sitcom Lab Rats featuring Dan Tetsell alongside Chris Addison and Dead Boss star Geoffrey McGivern.

You can also take another look at Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive which co-stars Sharon Horgan and Alice Lowe, or That Mitchell And Web Look featuring James Bachman.

For something a little bit more ‘out there’, you can also catch rarely seen French animation series A Town Called Panic – which included Lucy Montgomery and Alexander Armstrong in it’s English dub cast.

To browse the full Blinkbox catalogue, click on any of the links above, or be really obvious and fall onto it’s home page via the word Battenberg - and of course, almost all of these shows, and more, can still be purchased the good old fashioned way on dvd and blu-ray via THE VELVET ONION AMAZON STORE!

Funny Fortnight Forthcoming!

20 Jul

© Channel 4

Channel 4 have released more details of their Funny Fortnight next month, which features more than a smattering of TVO regulars and influences.

Over 30 hours of programming across two weeks of television, the season promises brand new shows, excellent stand up and familiar faces staging their returns to the channel.

A new video preview over on the Channel 4 press website showcases highlights from some of the channel’s flagship shows, and offers an exclusive look at a number of exciting specials.

© Tiger Aspect Productions

Amongst these new shows is Bad Sugar - written by Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong of Peep Show and Four Lions fame.  It combines three of comedy’s biggest names of the moment - Julia Davis, Sharon Horgan and Olivia Colman, and centres on a dysfunctional, wealthy mining dynasty, with an ailing patriarch and some greedy siblings.

The show also stars David Bradley, Peter Serafinowicz, Kayvan Novak and Reece Shearsmith, and it’s producer is Derren Schlesinger – who was previously responsible for both Four Lions and Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy.  Undoubtedly one of the most exciting shows on telly in some time, this Tiger Aspect Productions show has real potential to be a smash hit.

© Objective Productions

Also set to première is Toast Of London, the new sitcom pilot by Matt Berry and Father Ted/Big Train creator Arthur Matthews.  Matt stars as successful actor Steven Toast, who has recently made a career faux pass by electing to star in a controversial west end stage play.

Recently divorced, and attacked in the street by members of appalled public, the previously much loved actor auditions for a role in the long running television series, Inspector Somerset.  However, it’s producer has been imprisoned for racial chanting on set, so Toast auditions for the part of a gay corrupt detective during prisoner’s visiting time.  Made by Objective Productions, we’re keen to see if this show lives up to its potential.

Other new shows include: Them From That Thing  – a two part sketch show featuring Kayvan Novak, Sally Phillips and many more, co-written by one Charlie Brooker; The Function Room - a traditional looking sitcom featuring the likes of Reece Shearsmith, Kevin Eldon, Simon Day and James Fleet; Lucky Sexy Winners - a new panel show from Vic Reeves & Bob Mortimer; Very Terry - a Phonejacker spin off from Kayvan Novak focusing on car salesman Terry Tibbs; Harry Hill: The Reunion - in which the madcap comic seeks out the cast of his old Channel 4 show to find out “where are they now?”; The Boyle Variety Performance  – a spoof of the annual royal-attended show from Frankie Boyle; Just Around The Corner  – from the creators of Drop The Dead Donkey; and I’m Spazticus  - a prank show featuring disabled performers which has been seven years in development since its pilot aired in 2005.

© Avalon Productions

And that’s not all!  As we previously reported, Channel 4 are counting down their 30 Greatest Comedy Shows, which will feature the Onion flavoured vehicles Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, The IT Crowd, Brass Eye, Father Ted, Star Stories, Spaced, Black Books, and Friday Night Dinner. 

These classics will be up against the likes of The Comic Strip Presents, Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out, The Adam & Joe Show,  Da Ali G Show, Trigger Happy TV, Pheonix Nights, Bo’ Selecta!, Peep Show, Green Wing and The Inbetweeners and more.

© Talkback Thames

The channel have also turned to the writers of classic shows to name their favourite episodes, which will air across the fortnight.  These include Graham Linehan‘s favourite ever The IT Crowd  and Father Ted; Chris Morris‘s legendary Brass Eye; mockumentary series Star Stories which featured Fergus Craig, Alice Lowe, Tom Meeten, Laura Patch, Rhys Thomas and Dolly Wells in it’s expansive cast; plus episodes of Spaced, The Inbetweeners, Peep Show and Vic Reeves Big Night Out.

There’s also a chance to catch tv premieres of live shows from Alan Carr, Peter Kay, Lee Evans and Micky Flanagan, plus the early and rare Vic & Bob special The Weekenders, Harry Endfield one-off Norbert Smith: A Life and Peter Cook’s interview with Clive Anderson, plus editions of Comedy Labs featuring Dynamo, Peter Kay, Karl Pilkington and TVO’s very own Anna And Katy!  Plus we’ll still have The Midnight Beast featuring Simon Farnaby every Thursday too!

Phew – we think we’ll need a lie-down after all that!  Exciting times indeed.  We’ll aim to bring you a complete run-down of exactly when each show will air as soon as possible, so stay peeled.  In the mean time, check out the video preview over on the Channel 4 press website – and you can pick up a string of Channel 4 classics in The Velvet Onion Amazon Store.

Thirty Greats

22 Jun

© Avalon Productions

It may be hard to believe for some of our older readers, but Channel 4 hits the big 30 this year, and as we’ve previously mentioned, there’s a whole host of comedy content to savour during their anniversary.

Part of that collection of comedy old and new looks set to be a countdown of The 30 Greatest Comedy Shows – and predictably, a number of shows with an Onion connection are in the running.

Shows with a TVO connection on the list include Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, The IT Crowd, Brass Eye, Father Ted, Star Stories, Spaced, Black Books, and Friday Night Dinner, whilst the list also contains healthy competition from The Comic Strip Presents, Vic Reeves’ Big Night Out, The Adam & Joe Show,  Da Ali G Show, Trigger Happy TV, Pheonix Nights, Bo’ Selecta!, Peep Show, Green Wing and The Inbetweeners to name but a handful.

It’s a stellar list, which viewers can impact upon by voting for their three favourites over yonder.  Voting closes on 4th July.

Usually, these shows feature new interviews with members of the cast and crew, so we’ll undoubtedly be watching this one very closely.  As soon as we hear of a confirmed transmission date we’ll be sure to keep you peeled.

The Terror Of A Missing Barratt

24 Oct

We’ve previously mentioned that Julian Barratt would be contributing to Soho Theatre’s annual Halloween show Terror, which begins later this week.

© Soho Theatre

However, we’re sorry to have recently discovered that Barratt is no longer involved in Terror 2011. Apologies to anyone who has purchased tickets based on our previous announcements, although we’re confident that you’ll enjoy the performance nevertheless. Based on reports from previous years, Terror provides the perfect terrifying evening for this time of year!

Soho Theatre has an array of other terrific acts for you to see for the next few months, and we hardly know where to start with their ever expanding list. In addition to Terror 2011 (which includes a special appearance from one half of the fabulous cabaret act Frisky & Mannish and Laura Corcoran) you can also see the recently reviewed Stuart Silver, letting you inside his brain-space until 29th October.

Then there’s also Soho Later, with Sarah Kendall (who you may recognise from JackalFilms‘ Beehive), the magnificent Tim Key, for a few dates at the end of this year, and also Stewart Lee (who needs no introduction to fans of the Booshniverse!), who can be found expressing himself there from November until February. Carl-Einar Hackner (pictured), a Swedish version of Tommy Cooper, who left us dazed and astounded at a past Fulchfest, will also be performing at the theatre next month.

Furthermore, Booshdom’s own Paul Foot will be a part of Set List which will be running through-out December. The show is described as “A Whose Line Is It Anyway?-style challenge for stand-up comedy” and features big names such as Tim Minchin, Rich Hall, Phill Jupitus!

We have only just scratched the surface of what can be found at this small but famous venue, so don’t be sad about a lack of Barratt – and book yourself a seat to one of many other brilliant shows!

Now We Feel Like Ants

23 Oct

© Stuart Silver / The Soho Theatre

After hyping up Stuart Silver’s debut solo show, You Look Like Ants, we took it upon ourselves to visit Soho Theatre and throw in our 2 cents, on what could possibly be the most peculiar yet memorable comedy experience you may have.

When walking out of the Soho Theatre after seeing Stuart Silver, we arrived at one conclusion, with one further question still pending.

First, the conclusion: the title of the show does, clearly, derive from the prospect of Stuart being this enlightening figure who invites you to come and learn about life, death and everything in-between. The show very much makes you think. From the moment Silver walks onto the stage, ukelele in hand, he begins to preach (yes, preach) and play – about the trivialities that we go through as adults, his in depth outlook on life (with the use of rabbits as a metaphor for death), and the comparision of how we live as adults to how we lived as children.

Now  to the unanswered question: whilst the tangents Stuart goes on are mesmerising, you do sit there for a moment wondering, “Am I supposed to laugh?” If you’re familiar with the work of Kim Noble and aware of Noble & Silver’s style of comedy, then you can walk into You Look Like Ants expecting exactly what is provided.
Noble, as we know, offers a deadpan delivery with clear puns and dry wit. With Stuart he offers the complete opposite; his delivery is informative and the passion behind his words is clear nonetheless, but if you’re in the need for a knee-slapping, head-rolling-back laugh-fest, this is far from it.

With this, the show falls straight into the Booshdom world as it gives it’s audience their own time to laugh, making it feel more personal to them as an individual and generating more discussion whilst filing out of the theatre .
There is the urge to simply listen and express that feeling that so many of us have had in the past: ‘I didn’t laugh – but it was funny!’

This is a night that will leave you chattering away with your peers no-end, with many questions left to ponder at the end of it (with some seriously mean uke skills thrown in too! You have to see it to believe it!).

Stuart Silver’s show continues until October 29th so grab your tickets while he’s still there!

You Look Like Ants, This Looks Like A Competition!

19 Oct

© Stuart Silver / The Soho Theatre

Thanks to the kind people at the Soho Theatre, we can offer a handful of free tickets to see Stuart Silver‘s new show, You Look Like Ants this weekend!

Silver, who appeared in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Man To Man With Dean Learner and The Mighty Boosh, as well as a ten year, BAFTA winning live partnership with Kim Noble, has created his first solo show since Noble & Silver came to a natural end, and is performing it every night for the next ten days at Soho Theatre Upstairs.

You Look Like Ants is an intimate, humorous tragi-ballad live show, promising a conversational and textually rich epic journey where Stuart seeks to get a hold on what life is really about, under the crush of great advice. With ukulele when you least expect it. And when you expect it.

The show runs at the Soho Theatre from tonight until Saturday 29th October, and we have a couple of pairs of tickets for Thursday 20th October, Friday 21st October and Saturday 22nd October’s performances to give away.

All you have to do is come up with an amusing caption to the ant-filled image you see above.  Obviously, the closer you can get to an ant-pun the better!

Email your answers, along with your preferred show date [Thurs 20th, Fri 21st, Sat 22nd] to stuartsilver@thevelvetonion.com and we’ll send your responses over to the Soho Theatre team, who will judge the results and contact the winners!

Entries must be received by 3pm tomorrow, Thursday 20th October.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED.  CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS! 

All entries MUST be sent to stuartsilver@thevelvetonion.com by 15:00pm on Thursday 20th October 2011.  One entry per reader.  The Velvet Onion will not accept entries as comments on this article, replies on our Facebook/Twitter pages, messages on our forum or emailed to any other account.   No personal information required, but your email addresses will be shared with The Soho Theatre.  Your email addresses will not be added to mailing lists or subscriber services, nor will they be shared beyond The Velvet Onion and The Soho Theatre.  Submission of an entry does not equate to confirmation of tickets, merely as entry to a judged competition.  Winners will be decided and contacted by The Soho Theatre, though The Velvet Onion may print the names of winners on it’s website and social networking pages.   The Velvet Onion and The Soho Theatre reserves the right to withdraw this competition if any overriding issues arise.  There is no monetary value to this competition and no physical prize.

Silver Stream Of Thoughts

18 Oct

Not too long ago you may have peeled our find of Stuart Silver performing his solo show You Look Like Ants, at the Soho Theatre.

If you are still not swayed into grabbing yourself a ticket for this bound-to-be wondrous show, then you can now let the man himself try and convince you, as he shares with you some streams of conciousness in this video.

You can watch said video below and also right here is where you can be led to the Box Office. Get your tickets while you can as his show comes to a halt on 29th October!

Ants In Soho

10 Oct

© Stuart Silver

Stuart Silver brings his latest show, You Look Like Ants to the Soho Theatre next week.

Silver, who alongside comedy partner Kim Noble, appeared in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Man To Man With Dean Learner and The Mighty Boosh, has been one of the quieter members of Booshdom in recent years, due to his day job as a workshop leader and tutor of drama, film-making, creative writing and much more.

Now his return to the stage comes in the form of You Look Like Ants: an intimate, humorous tragi-ballad, in which Silver seeks to get a hold on what life is all about.

Funded by Arts Council England, the show premièred last month, and now comes to The Soho Theatre for a ten day residency between 19th and 29th October 2011.

Tickets are on sale now, with prices ranging from £10 to £15, depending on the day, right over yonder.

For more info on Silver’s activities, visit his official website.

You Look Like Ants

1 Sep

© Stuart Silver

Stuart Silver returns to the stage with his latest show, You Look Like Ants this weekend.

Silver, who alongside comedy partner Kim Noble, appeared in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Man To Man With Dean Learner and The Mighty Boosh, has been one of the quieter members of Booshdom in recent years, due to his day job as a workshop leader and tutor of drama, film-making, creative writing and much more.

Now his return to the stage comes in the form of You Look Like Ants: an intimate, humorous tragi-ballad, in which Silver seeks to get a hold on what life is all about.

Funded by Arts Council England, the show premiers this Friday, September 2nd at The Vortex, London.  The show, a double bill with musician Ana Silvera, starts at 8:30pm and tickets can be picked up for £10 online right here.

Following this, the show comes to one of TVO’s favourite venues, The Soho Theatre, from 19th to 29th October 2011.  Tickets for these performances have not yet gone on sale, but TVO will endeavour to inform peelers when they are made available.

For more info on Silver’s activities, visit his official website.

Forgotten Favourites: Man To Man With Dean Learner

1 Sep

© 4 DVD

Earlier this year, Richard Ayoade wowed audiences with his directorial movie debut, Submarine.

With his next feature in the writing stages, and his former collaborator Matt Holness also writing and directing a forthcoming film, we felt this was an opportune time to look back at their last project together – 2006′s Man To Man With Dean Learner.

To do this, we turned to friend of the Onion, Ashley Silverstein, who reflects on the six-part series below.

Man To Man With Dean Learner, aired just once for six weeks on Channel 4 in late October 2006.  Shot almost a year earlier (from 13th to 17th December 2005), before a live studio audience under its working title, Deano’s After Dark in Cambridge, Richard Ayoade and Matt Holness brought to Channel 4 much more than just Garth Marenghi’s long awaited return to tv sets in this twisted, almost anti-Alan Partridge chat show undertaking.

Produced by Boosh allumni Spencer Millman, the show is a study in the hauteur of characters first brought to life in its predeceasing show, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, and featuring  appearances by fellow Darkplace allumni Matt Berry, Kim Noble, Stuart Silver and Alice Lowe.  More a narrative continuation than a spin off, Man To Man of course focuses on the titular Dean Learner, a man whose character flirts with the boundaries of humour and odiousness, oftentimes leaning more toward the latter. Continue reading →

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