http://uktv.co.uk/dave/article/aid/646402
So Nick Helm's joke has been voted "The Funniest Joke of the Fringe 2011" and they've quoted it as;
"I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
When in actual fact the joke is the much better...
"I needed a password with eight characters so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
Well done to Dave, for taking a funny joke and making it substantially less funny.
To be fair, Helm's version is less funny than the version about "eight characters with at least one capital" that my mum emailed me in 2009.
Quote: Kevin Murphy @ August 25 2011, 11:16 AM BSTTo be fair, Helm's version is less funny than the version about "eight characters with at least one capital" that my mum emailed me in 2009.
I've only just been made aware of that version and, personally, I'd say Nick's is much better as it has a much higher level of internal logic.
Quote: Tony Cowards @ August 25 2011, 11:18 AM BSTI've only just been made aware of that version and, personally, I'd say Nick's is much better as it has a much higher level of internal logic.
Fair point.
Maybe I just didn't laugh as hard this morning because I'd heard it before.
Good joke, and there's no way they should have quoted it wrong, it wouldn't matter elsewhere but on the channel where he won?...sloppy.
Tony you seemed to have changed your stance a little with the word 'version'... if it's an old joke slightly reworked it's still a bit of a nick isn't it? Did Cheggers do the original version?
Quote: Marc P @ August 25 2011, 11:42 AM BSTTony you seemed to have changed your stance a little with the word 'version'... if it's an old joke slightly reworked it's still a bit of a nick isn't it? Did Cheggers do the original version?
Comedians write similar jokes all the time, especially with certain phrases, so I'm giving Nick the benefit of the doubt that he's written a similar "version" to the one mentioned.
Personally, I wrote a joke with the punchline "that's how I roll" which, unbeknownst to me, was almost identical to a Stewart Francis joke. I only realised when I saw him on Lee Mack's TV show and dropped it immediately from my set.
This kind of occurrence is not really comparable to Chegwin who is clearly just taking jokes from Tim Vine's joke book, Milton Jones's sets, old Simpson's episodes etc, etc and then claiming them as his own.
I was joking about the Chegwin reference but that one seemed a bit close given it has won an award. There's Zeitgeist and unconscious assimilation I guess.
question really should be "Why did Nick not come up with an original joke" followed with "how do you win an award for a non original joke"
then maybe "what the f**k is the judging panal's criteria"
what came second, please don't tell me it was "Velcro, what a rip off"
It hasn't got a judging panel- it's user voted.
Quote: another40winks @ August 25 2011, 2:25 PM BSTquestion really should be "Why did Nick not come up with an original joke" followed with "how do you win an award for a non original joke"
then maybe "what the f**k is the judging panal's criteria"what came second, please don't tell me it was "Velcro, what a rip off"
I think it's a bit harsh to say it's not "original", the two jokes share the phrase "eight characters" and are about passwords, yes they are similar ideas but I'd say they are different gags.
If you write a "knock knock" joke it isn't the same as all the other "knock knock" jokes just because it shares the same two words and a similar set up.
Sorry Tony it is the content not the format. This isn;t a format based joke at all.
Quote: Tony Cowards @ August 25 2011, 3:03 PM BSTI think it's a bit harsh to say it's not "original", the two jokes share the phrase "eight characters" and are about passwords, yes they are similar ideas but I'd say they are different gags.
If you write a "knock knock" joke it isn't the same as all the other "knock knock" jokes just because it shares the same two words and a similar set up.
True, but knock knock jokes like 'man walks into a pub' jokes are more like a running gag theme that everyone knows, whereas the 'eight characters' gags are not seen in that way.
I've never heard the joke, there's no reason to suggest Helm had either.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ August 25 2011, 3:23 PM BSTI've never heard the joke, there's no reason to suggest Helm had either.
Me neither and as a one-liner comic I try to be aware of as many jokes as I can so that I can avoid duplication of other people's gags.