When I first started watching Red Dwarf (apparently my mother rather excellently sat me down and watched the first broadcast of series 1 with me when I was but a wee nipper – Mum knows best) I was transfixed with the use of the word ‘smeg’ as an expletive. I thought it was inventive and hilarious so I used it in my daily life whenever possible. I was a child and the sheer childishness of this new swear word appealed to me greatly.Many years on and things have changed somewhat. For me, when I hear the word ‘smeg’ I don’t think of a new and funny word that was concocted by Grant and Naylor to add originally to their show, but I think of the severe overuse it’s had right through the fan world. Fan-sites and forum posts alike have ‘SMEG’ smeared all over them and the stink has gotten to me.
So, presuming we get new Dwarf material soon, will the word ‘smeg’ stay sullied in my mind, or I will be able to let go of my hatred and actually enjoy it being used in the context it was originally intended? I’m not sure, to be honest. It’s certainly getting hard for me to deal with ‘smeg’ whilst watching the old episodes simply because of the way it’s become a stigmata for the show and I hate it for that. A certain semi famous radio DJ claimed that “The crux of Red Dwarf is whether you find the word ‘smeg’ funny or not” – of course this is total bunk, but the legion of people using the word ‘smeg’ ad nauseam really don’t do much to disprove this argument.
So, has ‘smeg’ been overused and ruined for you? Are you chocking on the large lumps of ‘smeg’ forced down your throats daily? Has it ruined certain scenes from the old shows and do you think it will affect your enjoyment of any new Red Dwarf?
Smeggy smeg smeg.
John Hoare / June 7, 2005 at 4:26 pm / #
Smeg!
I don’t find other people’s use of the word ruins its use in the series. I refuse to let it. Especially when it is never actually the joke itself anyway, so it’s not what you’re actually laughing at. But then, of course, you all know that.
To be honest, I get far more annoyed with people using ‘smeg’ to pointlessly belittle the show (yes, yes, it really is the entire point of the series, obviously, now fuck off) than fans just overusing it. The latter can get slightly tiresome, but, you know, everyone enjoys a series in their own way and that.
(Off the point slightly, but I think smeg was only used badly in the series twice, I think. Firstly, ‘THE SMEG IT IS’, and secondly in Beyond A Joke: “Right, lets send them back to their ship and get the hell out of ‘ere before they get their smeg together!”)
Smeg!
Smeghead2044 / June 7, 2005 at 8:26 pm / #
I guess my username wont have helped things but I was young and foolish when I chose it and now I can’t be arsed to change it.
I think the only time “smeg” really annoyed me is when the censor on BTLi was set to change the word “fuck” to “smeg” and so you’d end up with “smeged” instead of “fucked” or even “smegged”.
gary / June 8, 2005 at 9:17 am / #
The one problem with the word SMEG is what it actualy means. It is an abreviation of the word SMEGMA.
This is the slimy compound found under the skin on the male member.
YUK
Tanya Jones / June 8, 2005 at 2:42 pm / #
And there will be more elementary biology with Gary next week.
I feel the same way as John (now there’s a surprise): it’s a testament to how well the show is written that ‘smeg’ never really gets tiresome. Up until series 7, anyway.
John Hoare / June 8, 2005 at 4:14 pm / #
That’s smegging right! Smeg! Smeg it!
Austin Ross / June 8, 2005 at 5:17 pm / #
Ah, smeg mode.
John Hoare / June 8, 2005 at 5:25 pm / #
*applauds*
Cappsy / June 8, 2005 at 5:57 pm / #
“The one problem with the word SMEG is what it actualy means. It is an abreviation of the word SMEGMA.”
You may have spotted some very subtle allusions to this in my original post.
John Hoare / June 8, 2005 at 6:03 pm / #
Would it help if I brought my picture out again?
performingmonkass / June 9, 2005 at 2:39 am / #
Before I was into RD, all I knew about it was the word ‘smeg’. Anyone would think it was a major deal, but the use of the word is barely noticeable. Well, maybe in The End it’s notceable because they put more emphasis on it, with the Todhunter scene. But still, I hate how it has been used on various occasions to take the piss out of people who go to ‘scary’ fan conventions and are into this wierd ‘cult’ thing with a guy with vampire teeth. Fuck anyone who does this because they don’t understand the brilliance of Dwarf. It’s like when people assume that shows like Father Ted or South Park are a certain way, even though they don’t watch them. They think all it is is Mrs. Doyle saying ‘go on go on’ over and over again and Jack saying feck. Fair enough, this happens, but actually watch the show before coming to stupid conclusions about it, motherfuckers!
antipodean / June 9, 2005 at 4:46 am / #
> The one problem with the word SMEG is what it
> actualy means. It is an abreviation of the word
> SMEGMA.
> This is the slimy compound found under the skin
> on the male member.
> YUK
Not true. Grant & Naylor have gone on record saying it has nothing to do with smegma. Or the Italian oven company “Smeg” either. They just made it up from what sounded like a good combination of vowels and consonants.
Smeghead2044 / June 9, 2005 at 9:05 am / #
> Not true. Grant & Naylor have gone on
> record saying it has nothing to do with
> smegma.
Well Rob Grant went on record on Channel 4’s Top Ten Sci-Fi saying that it has everything to do with smegma.
Cappsy / June 9, 2005 at 12:58 pm / #
“Well Rob Grant went on record on Channel 4’s Top Ten Sci-Fi saying that it has everything to do with smegma.”
He never said it had ‘everything to do with it’, though. He explained what smegma was (presumably after being asked about it) but never commited himself to saying it had any connection with smeg.
Ian Symes / June 9, 2005 at 2:50 pm / #
Surely I’m not the only one who didn’t believe them when they said they weren’t aware of the word ‘smegma’ before it was pointed out to them? It had even been used in Python.
John Hoare / June 9, 2005 at 3:18 pm / #
The odd thing about this is that nobody *actually* knows whether it was definitely based on smegma or not, as conflicting answers are given everywhere. Rob and Doug have definitely gone on record as saying that they came up with the word simply by coming up with sounds that sounded like good insults; like “gimboid” and “goit”. Whether this is just a LIE or not, I don’t know.
Of course, “smeg” was used before Red Dwarf anyway:
http://observationdome.ofla.info/archives/2005/january/21-2119.html
And I’ve heard reports of it being used in the 70s, but I can’t confirm that…
Smeghead2044 / June 10, 2005 at 1:27 pm / #
“He never said it had ‘everything to do with it’, though”
You must be the only person who took what I said literally.
And I’m pretty sure he was talking about “smeg” in that programme.
performingmonkass / June 11, 2005 at 1:39 pm / #
They should have used ‘bell cheese’ instead.