British Comedy Guide

Healed

A knock on the door of the doctor’s surgery.

Doctor: Come In.

Man: Oh, sorry to barge in, there’s no receptionist on the desk. Have you got a minute?

Doctor: Of course, come in. You look like death warmed up. What’s your name?
Man: Lazarus.

Doctor: Ah yes Mr Lazarus. Hang on a tick, I’ve got your death certificate here on file.

Man: Oh yes you will have. I was dead you see.

Doctor: Dead? But now your…

Man: I’ve been healed from death thankfully. All that has cleared up. But I think I’ve got an ingrowing toenail.

Doctor: Toenail? But you were dead. It says here on the certificate. Died on Thursday, fishbone stuck in the windpipe . I remember it. I came to your house and pronounced you dead just before sunset.

Man: Don’t worry about that Doc. All that death business has cleared up. This toenail is giving me hell.

Doctor: Cleared up? You can’t be healed from death. It’s not medically possible.

Man: Rubbish. Of course it is. Here I am after all! Although I might die from this toenail the pain its causing.

Doctor: But you were DEAD. I signed the death certificate!

Man: I know. Look, don’t be offended but after you went, we all had a chat and thought you were wrong and well, we asked for a second opinion.

Doctor: A second opinion? You were dead, nothing more could be done for you.

Man: Not what this other bloke said. He laid his hands on me, whispered a few words and bingo – not dead anymore.

Doctor: It doesn’t sound like medicine to me. Let me look in my text book.

Man: It won’t be in there Doc, its all cutting edge stuff apparently. This new fella is bloody good.

Doctor: What’s his name?

Man: Doctor Jesus . Studied at Nazareth University. I don’t remember that much. I was all floatly around the ceiling to be honest. He needed a new pair of shoes, I do remember that. Nice beard though.

Doctor: But you’re dead!

Man: Don’t worry about it Doc. Look, I won’t breathe a word of it to anyone. It’ll be our little secret. No one will write it down, its not like millions and millions of people are going to want to read about it, is it? I really need you to look at this toenail.

Doctor: Yeap, of course. Lets have a look.

Man puts toe on desk.

Doctor: Oh nasty. You’ll need an operation.

Man: What? An operation? Doctor Jesus would have just touched it a bit, said a few words and it would all be healed.

Doctor: If this Jesus bloke is so good why didn’t you take your toenail to him then?

Man: I tried Doc. But he was busy giving out fishes on the hill. Too be honest I didn’t fancy fish again this week.

You could give this a bit of an edit I think.
And IMHO needs a better punchline.

Is there's something in 'Nails'?

eg "If he's so bloody special why couldn't he sort you out"
" I tried, but one mention of the word nails and he was off like a shot"

Bit rough and ready - but there might be something in it.

Could be a corker.

Agree with Lazzard about the punch and also that it's a great idea. Loved the jovial banality of it, especially

Quote: bigfella @ August 24 2012, 5:48 PM BST

Man: Don’t worry about that Doc. All that death business has cleared up. This toenail is giving me hell.

Man: I know. Look, don’t be offended but after you went, we all had a chat and thought you were wrong and well, we asked for a second opinion.

Man: I was all floatly around the ceiling to be honest. He needed a new pair of shoes, I do remember that.

Loads to enjoy in this and liked the way it tittered along. I was expecting the toenail to be more significant at the end as it was mentioned so much, so must admit I prefer Lazzard's punch as that pins it better I think.

Quote: bigfella @ August 24 2012, 5:48 PM BST

A knock on the door of the doctor’s surgery.

Doctor: Come In.

Man: Oh, sorry to barge in, there’s no receptionist on the desk. Have you got a minute?

Doctor: Of course, come in. You look like death warmed up. What’s your name?

Man: Lazarus.

That's your sketch, bigfella.

First rule of writing: never fall in love with the sound of your own voice.

Paring it down to that extent takes all the character from it.

Quote: Shandonbelle @ August 24 2012, 8:36 PM BST

Paring it down to that extent takes all the character from it.

Agreed.
There's brevity and there's failing to mine the joke's full potential.

Quote: Lazzard @ August 24 2012, 11:10 PM BST

Agreed.
There's brevity and there's failing to mine the joke's full potential.

And there's putting the viewer to sleep.

But each to their own, as they say. Rolling eyes

Thanks for the comments folks.

Yes, I wasnt happy with my punch, Lazzard's nails is certainly better.

Nice to see VV back.

Hi Bigfella,

My point isn't that it's a boring sketch. It's not boring. I just meant that it's never a bad idea to get out while you're winning.

If the set, costumes, etc were all around 33 AD, the ultra short version would be a sure-fire winner, I think.

The long version certainly has potential but you run a very real risk of going downhill from the 'Lazarus' intro.

If you prefer the longer version, ingrowing toenails aren't very funny. Couldn't he have piles instead?

Piles are always funny (unless you've got them, of course).

Quote: Shandonbelle @ August 24 2012, 7:08 PM BST

I prefer Lazzard's punch as that pins it better I think.

Quote: bigfella @ August 25 2012, 7:40 AM BST

Yes, I wasnt happy with my punch, Lazzard's nails is certainly better.

Guys, 'Lazzard nailed it', surely?

Quote: AJGO @ August 25 2012, 10:25 AM BST

Guys, 'Lazzard nailed it', surely?

:D I tried my best not to say that!

Quote: Shandonbelle @ August 25 2012, 3:49 PM BST

:D I tried my best not to say that!

:D You're a better woman than I am. I also considered a few options with Jesus not being able to walk on water cos of the holes in his feet so was on a horse that said 'neighs', getting a third opinion so everyone against the diagnosis could say 'nays', and introducing a bloke to deliver the punchline called Neil. So I'm sure you all appreciate that what I ended up putting was in fact me showing remarkable restraint.

EDIT: So the punchline could go 'To Neil'! I couldn't even get the massive pile of rubbishness right!

Quote: AJGO @ August 25 2012, 4:03 PM BST

Jesus not being able to walk on water cos of the holes in his feet

Laughing out loud I declare a goblet of wine for that alone.

Quote: Shandonbelle @ August 25 2012, 4:26 PM BST

Laughing out loud I declare a goblet of wine for that alone.

A better joke involving something about that exists but I can't remember it and will still be taking the goblet of wine, ta!

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