Man to Man with Dean Learner

'Man to Man with Dean Learner' is fabulous continuation to 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace' with its continuing universe of absurd and crude humor and continuity errors (on one moment Dean Learner lights a cigarette and in the next one he smokes a cigar). Dean Learner continues to surprise us with his own egocentric and disillusioned genius persona, like he himself single handedly created the (entertainment)world. At this point in the history Dean Learner's character comes across like distorted hybrid of Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump.

But the real treat of the series is the showcase of Matthew Holness's talents who portrays all the six quests in the show, including infamous Garth Marenghi. Those six different characters are very different, and they don't feel simply comedic routines, but comedic characters with real person in them. What I mean is, when you watch them, you don't see Matthew Holness doing absurd cross parodies of different artists, but you see an actual person like Merriman Weir, or Randolph Caer. In the comedic key of course.

If you loved 'Darplace' there is very high chance that you will like 'Man to Man'.

I first caught this in October 2006, when it was originally shown on Channel 4. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Over the years I have dipped back into it.

Nine stars because it's just a little less funny than the predecessor Garth Marenghi's Dark place. There is this episode about the social outcast 'Randolph Caer' that our makers put at the end of this sequel to Garth Marenghi. Throughout the show, weird guests, all played by that same Matt Holness get interviewed and patronised by Dean Lerner. The very final episode about the most extreme - and deceased - Randolph Caer was extremely funny already 20 years ago, but already gut wrenching then. And now post-covid I wonder: Do most people naturally assume that social outcasts must naturally take the COVID vaccine ? Is there an unwritten law that everyone takes for granted ? Ugly = you must inject meds into your healthy body ? Maybe that's why this final episode of this funny show felt sick to the stomach (albeit hilarious) already a good decade ahead of COVID. I'm absolutely wondering whether that unspellt law might drive people's unfair decisions, subconsciously.

Between this and my hatred of "The I. T. Crowd" I controversially think the show is nearly as intolerable as "The Big Bang Theory" and that's not even counting all of Graham Linehan's anti-trans nonsense, this only shows that Richard Ayoade is completely thrown off by having to use a live studio audience. They nearly destroy all sense of timing and subtlety in his style of comedy, and for something that's supposed to be a send-up of bad talk shows, it's bizarre the worst part of all of them was presented 100% sincerely.

Well, that, and there's a criminal under-use of Matt Berry in this. Sally Hawkins, too.

The first episode of 'Man to Man with Dean Learner' that just aired was at least up to scratch with most episodes of 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace' and had me at "My Maisonette". Hope it keeps up the good work of 'faux terribles' on my TV. Richard Ayoade is one of the best in the new breed of "alternative comedy"(I hate this phrase but am too lazy too think of another one.) comedians on TV today.I'm glad that on a trip of local DVD retailers today "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace" was sold out across the board. Even from his brief stint in Nathan Barley I knew that Ayoade was a serious talent and I'm sure he would have been great as Dixon Bainbridge in 'The Mighty Boosh' To continued success! In the vein of these programs I also felt it necessary to extend my review, in order to secure a place on this public domain.