Smack the Pony

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The Best of Smack the Pony DVD Cover, featuring (left to right) Doon Mackichan, Fiona Allen and Sally Phillips.

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.

Dusty Springfield's song In the Middle of Nowhere, sung by Jackie Clune, was played over the title credits.

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.

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

The sketch Singing Match was number 22 in the 2005 Channel 4 programme, 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches, voted by members of the public. It was written by Marie Findley of the Mediæval Bæbes and based on them. The sketch, Saying Goodbye, was at number 39.

1 Selected characters
2 Video and DVD
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] 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.

Irritating Flatmate - An irritating woman who shares a flat with two nurses. She emphasizes 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.

The Oblivious Women - Consists of three women (in different sketches) who are completely oblivious to things very obvious. In a memorable sketch a woman walking her dog is 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.

The Singing Competitors - Two women, when one begins singing a song, the other joins in, but tries to outshine the other; it ends up sounding terrible and they both are angry at each other.