British sketch comedy television series (1999?2003)
Smack the Pony
is a British
sketch comedy
show that was originally broadcast between 1999 and 2003 on
Channel 4
. The main performers on the show were
Fiona Allen
,
Doon Mackichan
and
Sally Phillips
. There were also regular appearances from
Sarah Alexander
,
Darren Boyd
and
Cavan Clerkin
. The show's theme tune was a version of the
Dusty Springfield
song "In the Middle of Nowhere", sung by
Jackie Clune
. In addition to the three principal cast members, the show was written by many writers, the core of whom went on to write
Green Wing
and
Campus
.
Among the show's regular themes were unsuccessful relationships, competition in the workplace and latent lesbianism, but sketches would also dip into the surreal. Two regular strands involved a series of different women making
dating agency
videos about their general likes and dislikes, and a musical parody that would close the show.
History
[
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]
The show was created by
Victoria Pile
after being commissioned by Caroline Leddy of
Channel 4
and
Peter Fincham
at
Talkback
, who believed that audiences would welcome a female-oriented sketch show.
[1]
The show's title was intended as a spoof of the kind of stories that would feature in annuals aimed at young girls. Originally "Spot the Pony", it was changed at
Kevin Lygo
's suggestion to "Smack the Pony" which some people mistakenly assumed was some kind of sexual euphemism.
[2]
A pilot was filmed featuring
Sally Phillips
,
Fiona Allen
and
Amanda Holden
. When a full series was commissioned Holden dropped out and
Doon Mackichan
took her place. Holden still appeared in four episodes of the first series.
[1]
Other contributors making regular appearances were
Sarah Alexander
,
Darren Boyd
and
Cavan Clerkin
, while
Miranda Hart
also appeared in a first series episode.
[1]
In Germany, the first transmission of the show aired on
ProSieben
, where the theme tune was changed to
Texas'
2001 version of "
I Don't Want a Lover
", and featured a different title sequence.
Deliberately silly and avoiding repetitive catchphrases,
[1]
the show's surreal humour proved popular and the series had a regular audience of around 2.5 million viewers in the UK.
[2]
In 2003 the show's leads announced that they would not be continuing with the format, preferring to quit while the show was a success rather than risk diminishing the quality of the material.
[2]
The trio reunited for a skit in aid of
Comic Relief
for
Red Nose Day 2017
.
[1]
Selected characters
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]
Most of the characters in the programme are non-
recurring
.
Dating Agency Videos
? A part of almost every episode, we see different women or often sisters/couples looking for a partner/partners. This was at first represented by a title screen featuring a picture of the person, and their name and age. This then was replaced by that of a
website page
.
Irritating Flatmate
? An irritating nurse who shares a flat with two of her colleagues. She emphasises everything, which often leads to her flatmates' doing something behind her back, such as adding soap and cleaning chemicals to her yoghurt.
The Fake Diabetic
? A woman who fakes
diabetic hypoglycemia
so she can have special offers and free items at shops and supermarkets, and which the staff treats seriously. This skit only happened from series 3 onwards.
The Oblivious Women
? Consists of three women (in different sketches) who are completely oblivious to very obvious things. Sketches included a dog-walking woman being asked to sign a petition so that owners could walk their dogs near the pond. She says that she is not a dog person and is actually phobic. The petitioner and woman look down causing the woman to realise she is walking a dog and then scream. Others included a woman not realising she was pregnant until being asked to sign a petition affecting children.
Singing Match
? In this sketch, a woman sings along to a tune on the radio, only to be outshone completely by her co-worker who takes over in the following verse. During the rest of the song, her singing becomes more and more intense and extreme as she tries to get back at the other singer, and she ends up screaming and excusing herself with a paper cut on her finger. This particular sketch was voted number 22 in the 2005 Channel 4 programme
50 Greatest Comedy Sketches
, chosen by members of the public. It was written by Marie Findley of the
Mediæval Bæbes
and was also based on their antics.
Competitive rivals
? This involves the four women who try to 'outdo' each other by subtly showing off bigger and better items such as water bottles and gifts.
Naked man
? This recurring skit appears in a few first series episodes. The female cast members are going about their daily business when a totally naked man walks across the screen, gets off from bus etc. and causes the women to faint, then they pick themselves up.
High-heeled woman
? This sketch was spread over all the series, and had a woman performing sports (such as a relay race or surfing) wearing inappropriate
high-heeled
shoes. An alternate version of this skit is a woman swimming or shopping in a wedding dress.
The "Vet"
? The sketch featured more prominently from the second series. It featured a vet who had difficulty recognising animals, who would then recommend silly and unusual diagnoses to the animals, such as telling a woman her kitten needed glasses.
The Ex
? Another sketch that featured more in the second series. A woman clings to the leg of her ex-boyfriend constantly (at work, a nightclub, and even clinging to his leg at his wedding etc.), telling him that she's still in love with him, and hopes to reconcile (unsuccessfully, however).
List of episodes
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]
Series 1 (1999)
[
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]
- Episode 1:
19 March 1999
[3]
- Episode 2:
26 March 1999
- Episode 3:
2 April 1999
- Episode 4:
9 April 1999
- Episode 5:
16 April 1999
- Episode 6:
23 April 1999
- Episode 7:
30 April 1999
Series 2 (2000)
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]
- Episode 1:
14 April 2000
[4]
- Episode 2:
21 April 2000
- Episode 3:
28 April 2000
- Episode 4:
5 May 2000
- Episode 5:
12 May 2000
- Episode 6:
19 May 2000
- Episode 7:
26 May 2000
Series 3 (2002)
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]
- Episode 1:
11 January 2002
[5]
- Episode 2:
18 January 2002
- Episode 3:
25 January 2002
- Episode 4:
1 February 2002
- Episode 5:
8 February 2002
- Episode 6:
15 February 2002
- Episode 7:
22 February 2002
Specials (2002?2003)
[
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- Special 1:
26 December 2002
- Special 2:
3 January 2003
Awards
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In 1999 and 2000, the first two series of
Smack the Pony
won the
Emmy Award
for the 'Best Popular Arts Show', and all three series were nominated for
Bafta awards
.
[1]
Two sketches from the show made it onto Channel 4's
50 Greatest Comedy Sketches
, the first being
Saying Goodbye
at number 39 and
Singing Match
at number 22.
[6]
Video, DVD and streaming
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In Britain, a VHS and DVD of
The Best of Smack the Pony
were released in 2002 and 2003 respectively. The complete first and second series were released on DVD in
Germany
(dubbed in
German
but with alternative English soundtrack) in January and June 2006 respectively.
Seasons 1-3 plus the Christmas Specials are available to stream in the UK on
Channel 4
[7]
.
The complete series 1?3 have been released on DVD in Scandinavia by Pan Vision and Finnkino in 2008. It features original soundtrack with Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Danish subtitles but excludes the specials.
[8]
The series is currently available in the United States on Hulu.com as of at least 2012.
Russian version
[
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]
Russian
TNT-TV
hosts a localised version of the show titled
Women's League
(
Russian
:
Женская Лига
,
Zhenskaya Liga
).
[9]
The show uses some recurring themes from the original, as well as the original content.
References
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External links
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