Cult - SM:TV Live

As part of the cult posts I'm going to be making, the first 'cult' show I will be blogging about is 'SM:TV Live'.

SM:TV Live (Saturday Morning TV Live) was one of ITV's most popular Saturday morning shows of all time starting at 9.25AM every Saturday. Each show was filled to the brim with comedy sketches, competitions and games, cartoons and other popular CITV shows and celebrities.

The most remembered SM:TV sketch was the long running 'Friends' parody, Chums.  Most of the episodes opened with a take on the popular phrase “is filmed in front of a live studio audience” for example “Chums if filmed in front of a bright studio audience. ” Regular happenings of Chums included the studio guest(s) knocking the door and becoming a new housemate or a friend incorporated into the storyline, the sketch also included Dec and Cats secret love, every week the two would almost kiss but be interrupted by Ant or one of the guests. Episodes ended with a 'freeze frame' for which the voice over man would say his lines and the cast would generally try to keep a straight face. Some of the most famous sketches of Chums included the band aid parody which is a parody of his biker grove character when Ant discovered he could not blink (his biker grove character went blind after a paint balling incident).

 Below is the infamous 'Ant Aid' sketch where a host of then celebrities sing for Ant.

 

Other popular sketches included the Pokéfight, a spoof of popular show 'Pokémon' which at the time was in it's height of popularity and shown on the show. It consisted of Ant and Dec dressed as Ash and Misty, they would have a Pokémon battle but using their own 'Pokémon'. “Fartbeat” and “Fart-attack” both of which were parodies of Heartbeat and Art Attack, they each revolved around jokes about breaking wind. Another popular sketch was Dec Says/The Secret of My Success where a letter was sent in by a "viewer" and Dec could always somehow relate to it, which then lead to Ant having a flashback where everything was "very different..." It would then be a story where Dec was shown to be a schoolboy and Cat having a stronger Birmingham accent playing 'Cat the dog'.

Another well remembered section of SM:TV Live was 'Wonkey Donkey'. During this section viewers rang in to guess what the “catchphrase was” being show on screen (see below). Dec was often seen shouting "IT'S GOT TO RHYME!!" at the screen as well as getting angry shouting at the child and/or their family in the background.

SM:TV Live was one of the most popular Saturday morning shows because of it's three level humour that kids, teens and adults could all find funny, including it's innuendos which you would never get away with on kids TV nowadays! It's legacy will always be remembered by teenagers and adults and has earned itself a cult status.