138. Garth Marenghi's Darkplace | Podding On

In this Podding On episode, we dive into Series 1, Episode 1 of Ludwig. Directed by Robert McKillop Written by Mark Brotherhood First aired on 25th September 2024 Ludwig is a conspiracy thriller mixed with a good old-fashioned whodunnit murder mystery with a good helping of comedy. Puzzle setter John 'Ludwig' Taylor's life of solitude is upended when his identical twin, DCI James Taylor, disappears. Drafted in by his sister-in-law Lucy, John reluctantly assumes his brother's identity as a detective in the Cambridge Police Authority in order to find clues to his brother's whereabouts.  He inadvertently solves an unrelated murder whilst posing as his brother in the major crime unit. When he realises the crime is a puzzle, it becomes quite simple to solve.  Puzzle setter John 'Ludwig' Taylor's life of solitude is upended when his identical twin, DCI James Taylor, disappears. Drafted in by his sister-in-law Lucy, John reluctantly assumes his brother's identity as a detective in the Cambridge Police Authority in order to find clues to his brother's whereabouts.  He inadvertently solves an unrelated murder whilst posing as his brother in the major crime unit. When he realises the crime is a puzzle, it becomes quite simple to solve. Support The Podcast We will never put adverts on this podcast, and to help keep it sustainable, we need your help. If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us in one of the following ways: - Become a Patreon Subscriber (£3/month) and get access to all our Podding Off episodes and video versions of the show: https://patreon.com/aqnin9 - Drop us a one-off donation and sponsor a future episode: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/aqnin9 Questions? Thoughts? Suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email us: [email protected], find us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aqnin9.bsky.social, or drop us a message on Patreon if you're a member.

This week's episode is a wrap up and overview of The League of Gentlemen, Series One. We've been doing episode-by-episode breakdowns on Patreon. Join us here for everything we've done so far and to watch Series Two along with us.  Directed by Steve Bendelack Produced by Sarah Smith Written by Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson First Broadcast between 11th January and 15th February 1999 Set in the fictional town of Royston Vasey, The League of Gentlemen charts the lives of a platter of absurd and grotesque characters, marrying a comedy sketch show with an unfolding narrative thriller as we see these characters bounce into one another and gradually impact the course of events. Support The Podcast We will never put adverts on this podcast, and to help keep it sustainable, we need your help. If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us in one of the following ways: - Become a Patreon Subscriber (£3/month) and get access to all our Podding Off episodes and video versions of the show: https://patreon.com/aqnin9 - Drop us a one-off donation and sponsor a future episode: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/aqnin9 Questions? Thoughts? Suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email us: [email protected], find us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aqnin9.bsky.social, or drop us a message on Patreon if you're a member.

This week, we cover Black Mirror Season 4, Episode 4 - Hang the DJ  The System, known as Coach, is a dating platform designed to find users their perfect love match through a series of relationships of varying lengths that calibrate their compatibility via a mysterious algorithm. We see Frank and Amy on their first dates at the start and follow them through the episode, where, frustratingly, it seems no subsequent relationships quite have the spark that they had.  Support The Show We will never put adverts on this podcast, and to help keep it sustainable, we need your help. If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us in one of the following ways: - Become our Patreon Subscriber (£3/month) and get access to all our Podding Off episodes and video versions of the show: https://patreon.com/aqnin9 - Drop us a one-off donation and sponsor a future episode: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/aqnin9 Questions? Thoughts? Suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email us: [email protected], find us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aqnin9.bsky.social, or drop us a message on Patreon if you're a member.

Our cultural artefact for this Podding On episode is the 2007 documentary Heima, which followed Sigur Rós as they played a series of free concerts around Iceland after their mammoth world tour in support of their 2005 album, Takk. Questions? Thoughts? Suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email us: [email protected], or find us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aqnin9.bsky.social  Join us over on Patreon, where we are doing a full re-watch of The League of Gentlemen, with Podding Off episodes every other week. Support The Show We will never put adverts on this podcast, and to help keep it sustainable, we need your help. If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us in one of the following ways: Become our Patreon Subscriber (£3/month) and get access to all our Podding Off episodes and video versions of the show: https://patreon.com/aqnin9 Drop us a one-off donation and sponsor a future episode: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/aqnin9

Our cultural artefact for this Podding On episode is the 2004 British horror parody television show created by Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. We chat about the Pilot Episode - Once Upon a Beginning Directed by Richard Ayoade Produced by Charlie Hanson Written by Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness First aired Thursday, 29th January 2004 When Dr Liz Asher played by Madeleine Wool played by Alice Lowe arrives for her first day at Darkplace Hospital, she has an ominous vision: blood, guts, a real horror show. Boss Thornton Reed, played by Dean Learner, played by Richard Ayoade, wants this resolved, in a strictly orthodox manner. But Dr Rick Dagless MD, played by Garth Marenghi, played by Matthew Holness, rarely does things by the book. But fortunately his buddy, Dr Lucien Sanchez, played by Todd Rivers, played by Matt Berry, is there to offer a helping hand. Questions? Thoughts? Suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email us: [email protected], or find us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aqnin9.bsky.social  Join us over on Patreon, where we are doing a full re-watch of The League of Gentlemen, with Podding Off episodes every other week. Support The Show We will never put adverts on this podcast, and to help keep it sustainable, we need your help. If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us in one of the following ways: Become our Patreon Subscriber (£3/month) and get access to all our Podding Off episodes and video versions of the show: https://patreon.com/aqnin9 Drop us a one-off donation and sponsor a future episode: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/aqnin9

Our cultural artefact for this Podding On episode is the 1984 mockumentary film, This is Spinal Tap, which follows the legendary British heavy metal band Spinal Tap on their tour of the USA to support the release of their new album, Smell The Glove. Questions? Thoughts? Suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email us: [email protected], or find us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aqnin9.bsky.social  Join us over on Patreon, where we have just started a full re-watch of The League of Gentlemen.  Support The Show We will never put adverts on this podcast, and to help keep it sustainable, we need your help. If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us in one of the following ways: Become our Patreon Subscriber (£3/month) and get access to all our Podding Off episodes and video versions of the show: https://patreon.com/aqnin9 Drop us a one-off donation and sponsor a future episode: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/aqnin9

We had more Black Mirror requested, so our cultural artefact for this episode of Podding On is Nosedive (Series 3, Episode 1). Over on Patreon, we are preparing to start a full re-watch of The League of Gentlemen.  Support The Show We will never put adverts on this podcast, and to help keep it sustainable, we need your help. If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us in one of the following ways: Become our Patreon Subscriber (£3/month) and get access to all our Podding Off episodes and video versions of the show: https://patreon.com/aqnin9 Drop us a one-off donation and sponsor a future episode: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/aqnin9 Questions? Thoughts? Suggestions? We'd love to hear from you! Email us: [email protected], or find us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aqnin9.bsky.social 

Our cultural artefact for this Podding On episode is the Netflix TV phenomenon, Stranger Things. Stranger Things is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross Duffer) that premiered on Netflix on July 15, 2016, and concluded with its fifth and final season on November 28, 2025. Set primarily in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s, the series follows a group of young friends who investigate the mysterious disappearance of their friend Will Byers, uncovering a secret government laboratory, a telekinetic girl named Eleven, and a terrifying parallel dimension known as the "Upside Down" that is home to monstrous creatures, all while being pursued by supernatural forces and government agents.   Over on Patreon, we podded off about Making Of documentaries and how the one about Season 5 of Stranger Things might have revealed a little too much sausage making. Support The Show We will never put adverts on this podcast, and to help keep it sustainable, we need your help. If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us in one of the following ways: Become our Patreon Subscriber (£3/month) and get access to all our Podding Off episodes and video versions of the show: https://patreon.com/aqnin9 Drop us a one-off donation and sponsor a future episode, like Jennifer Lee did for this one: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/aqnin9

Our cultural artefact for this Podding On episode is the 2006 album Sam's Town by The Killers, which was their follow up to their successful debut record, Hot Fuss. Why is Sam's Town our favourite of their albums? That's what we chat about. Over on Patreon, we podded off about second albums, deception in music production, pitch correction/autotune, and Noel Gallagher. Support The Show We will never put adverts on this podcast, and to help keep it sustainable, we need your help. If you enjoy what we do, please consider supporting us in one of the following ways: Become our Patreon Subscriber (£3/month) and get access to all our Podding Off episodes: https://patreon.com/aqnin9 Drop us a one-off donation and sponsor a future episode: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/aqnin9

The cultural artefact we are exploring in this Podding On episode is TV show, The Mighty Boosh. We walk through the three series that aired between 2004 and 2007. Thank you to our new patrons for this episode: David, Gemma, Sarah, Verity, and Zoe Support The Show We will never put adverts on this podcast.  Become our Patreon Subscriber and get access to Podding Off (private feed): https://patreon.com/aqnin9 Or drop us a one-off donation and sponsor a future episode: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/aqnin9 Noel Fielding at Alan Partridge Presents The Cream of British Comedy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVWM1ktJS8A