Hello, droll posters.

I'm not sure if this has been covered before, but is there some sort of search engine that can determine whether a concept for a comedy drama or otherwise has been written before? With all this talk of ideas being ripped-off, stolen or otherwise, I don't want to waste my time writing something that's already been written. FM springs to mind. (Mine was better!)

Now, I've been toying with an idea for a one-off comedy drama which (i think) is culturally relevant, and as far as I can tell, hasn't been done. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it'll be the best one-off comedy drama in the history of comedy evah, but I'd love to give it a bash as I think it would be good. I'm going away for a few months and would like to dedicate my time to writing the script.

So far, I haven't seen it anywhere else, here or state side, I have double-checked my unconscious and sub-conscious (nope, nothing there!) so hopefully I won't be repeating what I've seen somewhere in the past. But how do I know for sure? How can I make sure it's not been done before?

What about trying the key word search function on IMDB?

Apparently there is some sort of software or something you can use to check.
When I studied with the OU they warned us that they have software to our check TMA's for plagiarism, personally I think they were just lying bastards.

Does it matter that much?
If you haven't copied something line for line then it isn't copied, you can't copyright an idea so if somebody has done it before then who gives a toss as long as yours is better.

If it's about some whacky characters stuck on a spaceship thousands of years in the future, a man, a cat, a hologram and an anderiod then probably you should rethink.

**EDIT**
I wouldn't say any script is a waste of time. The more you do something the better you get at it. Every rejected script is still a personal advancement. (Wow, is this bottle really almost empty?)

Fantastic. What software is it? Do you know?

Dolly, thanks for that, I'll try it out.

Quote: oldcowgrazing @ May 18 2009, 1:58 PM BST

Fantastic. What software is it? Do you know?

Dolly, thanks for that, I'll try it out.

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Sorry, haven't got a clue?

Quote: hey_nonny @ May 18 2009, 1:56 PM BST

If it's about some whacky characters stuck on a spaceship thousands of years in the future, a man, a cat, a hologram and an anderiod then probably you should rethink.

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No chance of that!

Quote: hey_nonny @ May 18 2009, 1:56 PM BST

When I studied with the OU they warned us that they have software to our check TMA's for plagiarism, personally I think they were just lying bastards.

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That's probably TurnItIn, which is sold to universities to check for plagiarism. We definitely use it at the uni I work at, to check essays/assigments and coursework.

http://www.coursework.info/content/plagiarism_turnitin/

It's specifically for that though, not for scripts and stuff.

Dan

You'd think they'd've devised one for scripts though!

Arse! It's already been written. A colleague has just told me that she's read a book similar to it.

You'd have been better off just writing it and not asking around. If you haven't consciously copied it can't be plagiarism, can it? If on the other hand you want to ensure you are pursuing a truly original idea before investing a lot of time in it, well... if it is truly original you're never going to be able to prove that.

Quote: Griff @ May 18 2009, 7:28 PM BST

Everything's always already been written. A week doesn't go by where I don't see some book or film or TV show about some idea I once imagined was my own genius brainchild that nobody else could ever have thought of.

Depends how high-concept your concept is. If, as was said earlier, it's about a man, a cat, a hologram, an android etc on a spaceship, then obviously you're stuffed.

If not, don't worry about it. So someone read a book with the same idea once. Screw them and screw their book. There must be about a million novels published every year about the trials and tribulations of schoolkids growing up in suburbia etc. Doesn't stop The Inbetweeners being a massive hit.

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It's not really very high concept, in fact it's quite obvious, if that makes any sense!

Quote: Badge @ May 18 2009, 7:41 PM BST

You'd have been better off just writing it and not asking around. If you haven't consciously copied it can't be plagiarism, can it? If on the other hand you want to ensure you are pursuing a truly original idea before investing a lot of time in it, well... if it is truly original you're never going to be able to prove that.

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You're not wrong because if I'm not careful, someone (who's not a procrastinator) will write it in the time I've spent ars(k)ing around.

One of the biggest dangers/bummers is when you write something 'of the moment'.
The chances are whatever inspired you will have inspired someone else.
Happened to me with a film I wrote based around a choir.
Something must have been in the ether a couple of years ago because there's suddenly loads of choir based stuff in the works.
Mine, though well-liked, arrived too late.
Same thing happens in movies.
Even though development time is about 2 1/2 years, how many times do we see similar films coming out all at the same time?
The thing is you have to proceed as if you're the only guy who's had the idea, then get it infront of someone as soon as possible.
I tinkered with mine too long, so wasn't even in the running.
Carpe Deum, mate.

You're right.

The phrase "My sitcom concept's been ripped off" is something we've heard more than most in the 10 years of The Sitcom Trials. And sadly it's rarely if ever the case.

Look at this year's Sitcom Trials. Three of the 5 finalists were flatshare sitcoms where an odd new person joins the flatshare. Not something you can copyright, obvious similarities, but even more obvious differences.

Ditto sitcoms set in offices, sitcoms set in the world of Number 10 spin doctors (there's been 3 of those on BBC TV alone, let alone the dozens more that have gone unmade, including the Trials' own Perfect 10 (see YouTube)).

Before I had even tried writing a sitcom I remember being bored by a drunk in a pub who insisted his sitcom idea about a funeral parlour had been ripped off by ITV's In Loving Memory. 20 years later he was probably telling the same story about Fun In The Funeral Parlour. (The lesson we can learn from that is that sitcom set in funeral parlours are always shit).

So, unless you want to show us all your script so we can judge whether it's been ripped off or not, I'd give the benefit of the doubt the other way.

Quote: Kev F @ May 25 2009, 11:37 AM BST

The phrase "My sitcom concept's been ripped off" is something we've heard more than most in the 10 years of The Sitcom Trials. And sadly it's rarely if ever the case.

Look at this year's Sitcom Trials. Three of the 5 finalists were flatshare sitcoms where an odd new person joins the flatshare. Not something you can copyright, obvious similarities, but even more obvious differences.

Ditto sitcoms set in offices, sitcoms set in the world of Number 10 spin doctors (there's been 3 of those on BBC TV alone, let alone the dozens more that have gone unmade, including the Trials' own Perfect 10 (see YouTube)).

Before I had even tried writing a sitcom I remember being bored by a drunk in a pub who insisted his sitcom idea about a funeral parlour had been ripped off by ITV's In Loving Memory. 20 years later he was probably telling the same story about Fun In The Funeral Parlour. (The lesson we can learn from that is that sitcom set in funeral parlours are always shit).

So, unless you want to show us all your script so we can judge whether it's been ripped off or not, I'd give the benefit of the doubt the other way.

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OK.