Garth Marenghi's Darkplace/YMMV

""What I couldn't work out was how he'd managed to make another man pregnant. I guess we'll never know. So, just to restate, that is something we'll never know, you're not going to find out later.""
 * Adaptation Displacement: Most of the cast originated in a couple of stage plays, Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight and Garth Marenghi's Netherhead, performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2000 and 2001 respectively. The fact that it was Edinburgh makes things ten times better.
 * Better on DVD: The sheer amount of bonus mock interviews, plus the in-character commentary, gives a much better experience than watching the show on its own.
 * Big Lipped Alligator Moment: Intentionally invoked with the song "One Track Lover".
 * Also an example of The Cast Showoff: Matt Berry (who plays Todd Rivers, who plays Lucien Sanchez) loves to sing.
 * Cult Classic
 * Ear Worm: One Track Lover.
 * Idiot Plot: "Thank God I only took a tiny sip!"
 * Marty Stu: Dr. Rick Dagless, M.D.
 * He also goes into Jerkass Stu territory.
 * Narm: ...where do we begin? Deliberate, though.
 * Nightmare Fuel: It may be because of its somewhat fake feel, but some of the content of the series manages to be genuinely terrifying in spite of its intentional hokiness.
 * Nightmare Retardant: Pretty much the whole point of the series.
 * Plot Hole: The entire show is something of a gaping plot chasm, but even Garth seems aware of his lack of scope.


 * So Bad It's Good: Intentionally So Awful It's Awesome. See also So Unfunny It's Funny.
 * Special Effect Failure: Intentional, and honed to an art form.
 * Too Good to Last: Only one series of six episodes was made, and it wasn't renewed due to low ratings, most likely because people didn't realize it was a parody. Ironically, the original Darkplace was cancelled as well. A case of The Plot Writing Real Life?
 * Although it did get what was effectively a second series: the spinoff Man to Man With Dean Learner is essentially a branching out of the concept, with Richard Ayoade reprising his role as Dean opposite a host of has-been celebrities all played by Matthew Holness (including Marenghi himself). Each episode is filled to the brim with parody videos in the vein of Darkplace.
 * Wangst: Much hay is made about Dagless being a 'brilliant yet troubled doctor'. Given the nature of the show and the quality of the writing, this usually translates to angsty, over-the-top brooding about ill-defined and ludicrous things.