Pond Life (TV series)

Pond Life
Genre	Animation, Comedy, Television comedy
Created by	Candy Guard
Voices of	Sarah Ann Kennedy John Thomson Maria Manton Charlotte Mitchell Brian Murphy Cleo Harrington Mark Ashby
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	21
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Release
Original network	Channel 4
Original release	1996 – 2000

Pond Life is a British animated television series that was written and directed by Candy Guard and follows the misadventures of its neurotic and self-obsessed protagonist, Dolly Pond. Two series were broadcast on Channel 4 in 1996 and 2000. A series of 13x11minute episodes was screened from 3 to 18 December 1996, mainly at 5.45pm, but two episodes exploring more adult themes were reserved for a double screening at 11.25pm. This series was repeated between March and June 1998. A second series of 7x30minute episodes followed between 19–30 September 2000 to tie-in with Channel 4's Animation Week of 23–29 September 2000.

The series began life in 1992 with a pilot episode entitled I Want a Boyfriend ... Or Do I?, co-commissioned by Channel 4 and S4C.^[1]

Pond Life was Guard's second breakthrough and was commissioned by Channel 4 in 1996. Scheduling problems marred the series' reception; it was originally intended for broadcast at 9.45pm, but was shown four hours earlier, which required edits to remove adult language. It was shown at the same time as Australian soap Neighbours, and was aimed at the same core audience as the soap. Despite these problems, Pond Life won several awards and received a Writer's Guild nomination for Best Sitcom. Guard was pleased because it was up against several live-action comedy series, including Only Fools and Horses. A second series was broadcast in 2000.^[2]

Although Pond Life is a traditional hand-drawn cartoon, the comedy series was directed at adult audiences and specifically targeted at female viewers.

Characters

• Dolly Pond - Voiced by Sarah Ann Kennedy. Dolly is a self-centred, somewhat whiny 30-something woman who lives alone in the flat above the shop she works in. She has lived in the same cul-de-sac all her life, which is an almost perfect metaphor for the 'dead end' life she sees herself trapped in. Dolly is convinced she deserves a better job, more exciting friends and a generally more glamorous lifestyle, but her attempts to obtain these always fall flat or end in disaster. Dolly also has a tendency to want things simply because she can't have them; for example, convincing herself she is pregnant after learning her rival Gloria Leaf is trying for a baby, despite not having had sex in months.
• Belle Stickleback - Voiced by Emma Chambers. Dolly's best friend, whom she has known since school. She seems to be more down-to-earth and sensible than Dolly (although Dolly describes her as 'laid-back and silly' to her mother). Dolly is definitely the dominant half of the partnership, which often frustrates Belle, and the two have their fair share of falling-outs because of it; however, they usually make up soon enough, largely because Belle is too lethargic to break the pattern. Belle is overweight and very sensitive about it (something the tactless Dolly usually fails to consider) and is keen to find a steady boyfriend.
• Nobby - Voiced by John Thomson. Dolly's ex-boyfriend, who lives in the flat upstairs. Despite the fact that Dolly usually treats him with disdain, he spends most of his time trying to win her back. When on one occasion Nobby finally gives up and starts a relationship with Belle's sister, Kelly, Dolly decides she can't live without him and goes all-out to win him back; however, once she succeeds she soon becomes disappointed with the reality of it. In spite of Dolly's frequent attempts to put Nobby off the two still spend a lot of time together, probably due to a lack of alternatives.
• Edna Allwright ('Mrs A.') - Voiced by John Thompson. An 85-year-old, single Welsh woman who owns the shop that Dolly works in, known to all as Mrs A. She is a long-term family friend of the Ponds, has a dog named Perky and, as revealed in the episode "Addict", has been smoking since she was eight. Mrs A seems to have little idea of how to run a business, taking twenty years to realise a shop at the end of a cul-de-sac doesn't get any passing trade. Mrs A's surname symbolises her humdrum life, and what Dolly fears hers will become (something Gloria Leaf picks up on when she tells Dolly 'If you're not careful you'll be turning into Mrs Allwright').
• Len and Ivy Pond - Voiced by Charlotte Mitchell and Brian Murphy. Dolly's parents, who tend to still treat her like a child; something which frustrates her, but that she is not afraid to take advantage of when it suits. They don't understand Dolly's frustration with life and encourage her to settle down with Nobby.
• Alan and Alana - Voiced by Cleo Harrington and Mark Ashby. Dolly's older sister and brother-in-law. They are happily married with two children, in contrast to the miserable Dolly, who they often treat as an object of pity.
• Tad and Poll - Both Voiced by Maria Manton. Alan and Alana's children, usually dismissed as 'brats' by Dolly.
• Gloria Leaf - Voiced by Cleo Harrington. An old school 'friend' of Dolly's, who appears to have everything Dolly doesn't - a glamorous job as a model, a well-off steady boyfriend etc. However, she still lives in the cul-de-sac despite her more affluent lifestyle. She is usually overtly friendly to Dolly, but usually manages to make a sly dig at her in most of their conversations (or at least show off how well she is doing by comparison).

Episodes

Series One

Boyfriend - Dolly bumps into an old friend from school, Sid, and the two get along well. However, when Belle points out that Sid fancies Dolly, she becomes incredibly nervous and makes a mess of things. Dolly then becomes obsessed with the idea of a relationship with Sid.

Holiday - Dolly persuades Belle to go on holiday to Greece; but while Dolly wants a cultural trip, Belle just wants to sunbathe and enjoy nights out. When Belle has a holiday romance with a Greek barman, she and Dolly decide to enjoy the holiday separately - but neither gets what she was hoping for.

Bitter and Twisted - Struggling with a bad back and depression, Dolly sees both an osteopath and a counsellor. While Dolly is very keen on her handsome Australian osteopath Keith, counsellor Ruth seems to need help more than Dolly does. Dolly's feelings for Keith don't appear to be reciprocated, but she's shocked to discover she does have an admirer amongst her therapists after all...

Success - Jealous to learn Gloria Leaf has a bit-part in a film, Dolly goes for a shot at fame herself by entering a poetry competition. "Clouds", which she wrote aged 11, wins the local heat, but Dolly panics when she realises she has to write a second poem to perform at the final. Then, on the night of the final, there's a shock in store when Dolly meets her fellow poets.

Fit - Belle organises a day of relaxation for the ever-stressed Dolly, but she simply doesn't know how to switch off - and ends up stressing everyone else out in the process.

Commuting - Dolly gives up working in Mrs A's when she gets a new job in Birmingham, but her family are sceptical about her plan to commute daily. When Dolly has to deal with busy Tubes, delayed trains and irritating fellow passengers - not to mention rogue livestock - it seems they might be right.

Glastonbury - Dolly persuades Belle and Nobby to join her at Glastonbury, but struggles putting the tent up and finding their way around means they barely get to see any performances. However, they do manage to get into the festival vibe in one sense, when experimenting with drugs leads to some surprising results.

Get on Downer - Lacking excitement in her social life, Dolly plans to throw a party - but after mentally crossing Belle, Nobby and her family off the guest list, realises she doesn't really know anyone else. In desperation Dolly encourages Gloria Leaf to invite her friends, but soon finds her new guests aren't as exciting as she'd hoped.

Mr Wrong - When Nobby's latest attempt to win Dolly back fails, he finally gives up and begins dating Belle's sister Kelly instead. Dolly soon becomes jealous and regrets ditching Nobby, going all out to win him back - but soon realises she only wanted what she couldn't have.

Series Two

Pet

Fat

Falling Out

Addict

Good Looking Boyfriend

Family Futures

Home release

One VHS tape of Pond Life was released with seven episodes including Boyfriend, Glastonbury, Holiday, Get On Downer, P.M.T, Driving Test, Birthday Suit. Since Pond Life has never been released on DVD. All episodes are available on Candy Guard's website.^[3]

Footnotes

External links

• Pond Life at the Internet Movie Database
• Episode guide at epguides.com
• The Pond Life channel on YouTube