Comedy writing is a tough business.
It can be very tough to stand out. One of the best ways to get noticed is to write spec scripts; that is, scripts for episodes of shows that already exist. That demonstrates your ability to adapt your own comedic voice to existing characters, a skill needed to succeed as a member of a comedy writing staff.
Of course, plenty of writers have spec scripts. But how can you differentiate yourself from the crowd?
If you’re comedian Billy Domineau, you write a Seinfeld episode set directly in the aftermath of 9/11. Splitsider has the details here, and they include this story about the script’s origin:
Domineau, a freelance joke contributor for Weekend Update and former Onion News Network writer, wrote the script as a lark and uploaded it to Google Docs —you can read it here or embedded below — and it’s currently blowing up amongst comedians on Facebook. He told Sean McCarthy of The Comic’s Comic that he “was helping someone write a sketch a few months back and told them theirs needed to be an exercise in bad taste, ‘Like imagine if there was a 9/11 episode of Seinfeld…wait a minute.” So, naturally, he wrote it.
They have the script hosted, if you want to read the entire thing. It’s just about as offensive as you can imagine, with clean-freak Jerry unable to get past the dust all over the city, George taking undue credit for rescuing World Trade Center victims, and Elaine trying to find a way to break up with her boyfriend who was pulled from the rubble.
Wow.
It’s definitely funny, in parts, and he gets the basic gist of Seinfeld. But it’s tough to laugh at some things, still, for a lot of people. The goal was something in poor taste, and in that sense, Domineau definitely delivered.
