Coming to America : Garth Marenghi's 'Darkplace' and Coogan's Baby Cow, 'Survivors' Revival.
Going to hit you with a fair few snippets in one go here...
Firstly, one of the shows I've dug memories about from within the confines of my mind over recent times has been little-seen gem 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace' [Twitch Post]. Top-notch Sci-Fi parody comedy it is, and it's slightly-delayed R2 UK DVD appearance, couple of years after it was first broadcast, is about to happen. Don't know what else I can say to tempt you onto that one, other than it's damn good - spawned a follow-up series called 'Deano's After Dark' which is due to air very soon here in the U.K - And now the Sci-Fi Channel air to air the show in the USA very soon. Nice, try to catch it there if you can, or just buy it - oh, and there's plenty of clips of YouTube too. [Twitch Post].
Secondly, Steve Coogan's company Baby Cow have signed a deal with America which will see some show (apparently) air as they are (some might need subtitles - Johnny Vegas doesn't talk much sense, in a way) and some will see American remakes. Potentially the most prolific and 'hit' (rather than 'miss') company in comedy right now, you could well see Coogan's cracking new BBC 2 show 'Saxondale' sooner than you think. There's also a huge list of stuff already out there on R2 UK DVD and talked about here at Twitch too : 'The Mighty Boosh' (off its' tits, literally), 'Dr.Terribles House of Horror' (Hammer Horror parody), 'Cruise of the Gods' (Coogan and Brydon, as per 'Tristram Shandy'), 'Human Remains', 'I am Not an Animal' [Twitch Post] (great adult animation), 'Ideal' [Twitch Post] (stunning alternative sitcom with Johnny Vegas - a favourite of mine), 'Keith Barrett Show' (another Rob Brydon guise), 'Monkey Trousers', 'Marion and Geoff' (Brydon again), Julia Davis's ultra-dark 'Nighty Night' [Twitch Post], 'Sensitive Skin' (very gentle urban London-set comedy - lovely), and so many more... if you've got a few hundred dollars to spare, well all of those are worth a look to say the least.
'Doctor Who' happenings - well, Catherine Tate [Twitch Post] is revealed as the star of the Xmas Special which is about to begin shooting - wonder if that leads to a USA breakthrough? Shows us more of this cross-genre casting (comedy actress, into Sci-Fi comedy/drama thingy). No more signs of 'Torchwood' (the spin-off show from 'Doctor Who') though it's clearly been inserted into the mythology now it's appeared physically in the recently-ended Series Two. R2 UK DVD Box Set for Series Two is out In November 2006, I think. Revivalist Russell T Davies' early (early 90's) Sci-Fi shows make an appearance here in the U.K on R2 UK DVD - 'Dark Season' and 'Century Falls' late July 2006. Kate Winslett is in one of them. Dunno what they're like though. There's also talk of a revival of a show written by the creator Terry Nation of the Dalek's being made - a six-part show about post-apocalyptic Britain called 'Survivors'.
