Smack the Pony

Smack the Pony
The Best of Smack the Pony DVD Cover, featuring (left to right) Doon Mackichan, Fiona Allen and Sally Phillips.
Format	Comedy sketch show
Created by	Doon Mackichan Fiona Allen Sally Phillips
Starring	Doon Mackichan Fiona Allen Sally Phillips Sarah Alexander Darren Boyd
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	23 (plus 2 specials)
Production
Running time	20-22 minutes approx.
Broadcast
Original channel	Channel 4
Original run	19 September 1999 – 3 January 2003

Smack the Pony was a British sketch comedy show that ran from 1999 until 2003 on Channel 4. Its title was intended to sound like a euphemism for female masturbation; the working title was Spot the Pony. The main performers and writers on the show were Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips. There were also regular appearances from Sarah Alexander and Darren Boyd. The show's popular theme tune was Dusty Springfield's song In the Middle of Nowhere, sung by Jackie Clune. In Germany, the first transmission of the show aired on ProSieben, where the theme tune was changed to Texas' 2001 remix version of "I Don't Want a Lover". It also had a different title sequence.

Among the show's regular themes were unsuccessful relationships, competition in the workplace and latent lesbianism, but sketches would also dip into the surreal; such as two women jumping from their car as they neared a parking space and brushing in front of the path of their car to allow it move forward further à la curling. 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.

Selected characters

Most of the sketch characters in the programme are not recurring or permanent, just one-offs.

Dating Agency Videos - A part of almost every episode, where we see different women or often sisters/couples looking for a partner/partners.

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.

The Fake Diabetic - A woman who fakes having diabetes so she can have special offers and free items at shops and supermarkets.

The Oblivious Women - Consists of three women (in different sketches) who are completely oblivious to things very obvious. Sketches included a woman walking her dog being asked to sign a petition so that owners can walk the dogs near the pond. She replies "Oh, I don't know, I'm not really a dog person, I'm actually slightly phobic." The petition woman pauses and that results in the women realising she is walking a dog and screaming for help. Others included a woman not realising she is pregnant.

Singing Match - This involves two women when one begins singing a song, the other joins in, but tries to outshine the other; eventually their singing concludes in being terrible and they both become angry at each other. 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 about three of the characters who try to 'outdo' each other by trying to subtly show off bigger and better items. For example, the 1st character brings out a bottle of water and starts drinking, the second spots this and smugly brings out a bigger bottle, the 1st character retaliates and brings out another bottle of water. It then resorts to the 3rd character with the best, guzzling down a bottle from a water dispenser.

List of episodes

Series 1 (1999)

• Episode 1: 19 March 1999
• 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)

• Episode 1: 14 April 2000
• 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)

• Episode 1: 11 January 2002
• 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)

• Special 1: 26 December 2002
• Special 2: 3 January 2003

Awards

In 1999 and 2000, Smack the Pony won an Emmy Award for the 'Best Popular Arts Show'. 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.

Video and DVD

In Britain, a VHS and DVD of The Best of Smack the Pony was 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.

Russian version

Russian TNT-TV hosts a localised version of the show titled Women's League (Russian: Женская лига, Zhienskaya Liga). ^[1]. The show features some recurring themes from the original, as well as the original content.

See also

• Green Wing

References

External links

• Smack the Pony at TV.com
• Smack the Pony at Channel 4 On Demand
• Smack the Pony at the Internet Movie Database