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SM:tv Live (an abbreviation of Saturday Morning Television Live), also stylised as SMTV Live and in early promotional material SMTV://live, was a British Saturday morning children's magazine show, broadcast on ITV between 29 August 1998 and 27 December 2003. It was part of ITV's CITV output.
On the surface, the programme did not seem to stray away from the format of other Saturday morning output, featuring an live audience of children, competitions and cartoons, though it constantly won in ratings battles with the BBC's Live & Kicking and became ITV's most successful children's game show since Tiswas.
The major success of SM:tv Live has been attributed in equal parts to Anthony McPartlin & Declan Donnelly's original presenting partnership with Cat Deeley, it's use of thinly-veiled comedic innuendo aimed at older viewers, and it's broadcast of the Japanese cartoon series Pokémon. At the height of its popularity, SM:tv Live regularly attracted 2.5 million viewers. Ant & Dec's company Gallowgate, ITV Studios and Mitre Television currently owns the rights to the show.
Presenters[]
- Main article: Cast
Most famously, SM:tv was hosted by it's original presenters, Anthony McPartlin, Declan Donnelly and Cat Deeley, from it's inception in 1998 until 2001 (McPartlin and Donnelly) and 2002 (Deeley). Since their respective departures, the programme was hosted by a variety of other people - including Steps members Ian 'H' Watkins and Claire Richards, Big Brother winner Brian Dowling and comedian Stephen Mulhern.
Show's content[]
Sketches[]
- Main article: Sketches
Presenters often conducted a variety of sketches on the programme during SMTV Live's broadcast. Most were performed by McPartlin and Donnelly, with assistance from Deeley, with many often being parodies of programmes being aired between 1998 - 2003.
Main features[]
- Main article: Features and Competitions
Alongside sketches, the programme also featured a mixture of competitions - both phone-ins and studio-based - and other segments. Competition prizes differed from those offered by other Saturday morning children's programmes, by including more valuable items on offer including holidays.
Programming[]
Children's programming featured on SMTV Live consisted of two categories - cartoons and live-action programmes:
- Cow and Chicken (1998–1999)
- Animaniacs (1998-1999)
- I Am Weasel (1998-1999)
- The Angry Beavers (1998)
- Sabrina The Teenage Witch (various runs from 1998 to 2003)
- The New Addams Family (1999)
- Dexter's Laboratory (1998–1999)
- Power Rangers Turbo (1999)
- Power Rangers in Space (briefly in 1999)
- The Worst Witch (1999)
- Pokémon (1999 to 2001 & 2003)
- Digimon (Season 1 and briefly 2 only) (2000–2002)
- Men in Black: The Series (1998–1999)
- My Parents Are Aliens (2001)
- Bernard's Watch (2001)
- Scooby-Doo (2001)
- Clueless (2001–2002)
- Starstreet (2001-2002)
- Girls In Love (2003)
- Cold Feet (2001)
- Popstars UK (2002)
- Hey Arnold! (2002)
- The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2002-2003)
- Butt-Ugly Martians (2002)
- Sitting Ducks (2002)
- SpongeBob SquarePants (2003)
- The Flintstones (2003)
- That's So Raven (2003)
- All Grown Up! (2003)
Supplementary Shows[]
- SM:tv Gold
- CD:UK
Related Shows[]
- Pass the Buck (BBC One era) (1998-2000)
- Slap Bang (ITV) (2001)
- Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV) (2002-)
- Britain's Got Talent (ITV) (2007-)
- Celebrity Juice (ITV2) (2008-2022)
Theme tune[]
Synth-based tune then the guitar-heavy theme composed by David Lowe.
Promos[]
- Main article: Promos
Loads of promos for SMTV Live were intact from 1998 to 2003.
Production[]
Title Sequence[]
The program's title sequence followed the journey of a series of cartoon characters, each rushing across a real-life home to be the first to turn on a television and, subsequently, SM:tv Live. It was accompanied by two theme songs: a synth-based tune, for the program's first few months on air[1], and an upbeat, guitar-heavy theme that became most synonymous with the show.[2] This second tune was also used for SM:tv Gold.[3] The program's title sequence which occasionally made it's cameo appearances on most episodes of the show as well as CD:UK from August 1998 until September 1999 and most episodes of Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
Logos[]
- Main article: Logos
The SM:tv logo was characterised with a cartoon-styled 'SM,' accompanied by the letters 'tv' that were placed within a television set. Underneath, the word 'LIVE' was written in block capitals. Most famously, this text was placed on a spiralling background, of varying colors.
Set[]
- Main article: SM:tv Live Set
The programme featured two main set designs, the first of which, used in 1998, featured the trio sitting atop a large circular platform. Behind them was other elements of the CD:UK studio, of which the two programmes shared space. This was later changed so that the presenters would sit on the floor of the studio, surrounded by a crowd of young viewers, up high behind them.
The sets were created by Vivid Design Works,[4] who also worked on sister show CD:UK.[5]
The programme's set and the CD:UK studio have also occasionally later made it's cameo appearances on the short-lived ITV late-night game show, Slap Bang, in which it was the forerunner to the long-running ITV variety television series, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.
Then by early 2002, the programme's set appears on an episode of CD:UK.
Behind the Scenes[]
The programme's first producer was Ric Blaxill, a former Top of the Pops producer who managed the show for it's first month on air.[6] He was replaced by Steve Pinhay, who also produced the BBC game shows Pass the Buck and The Enemy Within.[7] From 1999, until the show's end in 2003, SM:tv Live was produced by David Staite.[8]
In 2000, ITV broadcast a documentary focusing on the art of presenting children's television, titled It Shouldn't Happen to a Children's Presenter.[9] The programme featured a segment on SM:tv, following the behind the scenes process of making an episode of the show. It is available to view on YouTube.[10]
Red Button Interactivity[]
From February 16th 2001, the ITV Digital television service allowed SM:tv viewers to access information about the programme, through their interactive 'red button' service. By pressing the red button, viewers could see details about the day's guests, the running order of the show, information on the presenters (at the time Deeley and James Redmond) and the programme's contact details, as well as several arcade-style games of some of SM:tv's most popular competitions.[11], In 2012 the show's Red Button interactivity rights are retained by a deal with the BBC and the rest is history.
Legacy[]
According to Twitter user Farnie, an episode of SM:tv can be viewed at Dubai's Children's City museum.[12]
Related Pages[]
Series Final[]
Documentary[]
- The Story of SM:TV Live
Sponsors[]
- Main article: List of Sponsorships on SMTV Live
SMTV Live was sponsored by many brands.
Segments[]
- Main article: Segments
SMTV Live aired many segments.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duSshyjP3jU
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OleBuTEvVw
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T2YQEFmejw
- ↑ http://www.vividdesignworks.co.uk/portfolio/tv-film-sets/2259172
- ↑ http://www.vividdesignworks.co.uk/clients/
- ↑ http://www.cityshowcase.co.uk/biographies/show/ric-blaxill
- ↑ https://www.thetalentmanager.co.uk/talent/3465/steve%20pinhay
- ↑ https://www.thetalentmanager.co.uk/talent/27973/david-staite
- ↑ https://vimeo.com/137554245
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtD7fzDDrXU
- ↑ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tech/news/a6134/smtv-goes-interactive-on-itv-digital.html#~poaBvWZ3bn2pXS
- ↑ https://twitter.com/farnie/status/642639713459810305