I was surprised to learn that so very many of the gags I remember as being from "Airplane!" were actually from "Airplane II: The Sequel".
Jack Jones singing the Love Boat, seeing the boobs in the security monitor, the multi-country newscasters, and Steven Stucker's CLASSIC long line...
"first, the Earth cooled. Then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat. So they all died, and turned into oil. Then the Arabs came and they bought Mercedes Benzes. Then Prince Charles started wearing all of Lady Di's clothes. I couldn't believe it! He took her best summer dress, and put it on and went to town..."
But to say that most of the gags were jokes that hit the mark every time... as I just read here on IMDb, is a clear overstatement.
Case in point:
McCroskey: "There's a passenger who is carrying a bomb." Elaine: "A b-" *gasps* McCroskey: "No, not a buh, a bomb."
Smile-funny, not laugh-funny, but they actually took a second, much worse stab at this gag a short time later.
Ted: "(Saluchi) has a bomb on board." Stewardess: "A BAAAH?" Ted: "No, not a buh, a bomb."
Totally fails.
In listening to the director's commentary on "Airplane!", I learned that the Zucker brothers and the Abrahams dude had nothing to do with The Sequel.
Further, in watching the Sequel today, I saw the name Ken Finkelman as the writer and director. I knew I recognized that name...
According to IMDb, he's the actor and star in that Canadian show called The Newsroom. Since I'm a news reporter, I bought that on DVD a couple of years ago to see if the cover's claims of "Funniest and most brilliant CBC show ever produced" was true. (I watched from beginning to end, but just felt like I was missing something. I'd say more, but this is about "Airplane!".)
But Airplane II felt a little more star studded... Shatner (his wife Marcy Lafferty is also a lady in line), James Noble (Governor Gatling from Benson), Rip Torn, the guy from Battlestar Galactica, Sonny Bono, Wheel Of Fortune's Pat Sajak as a news anchorman (his editorial: AAAAAAAAHH!), David Leisure (Empty Nest and the Isuzu guy), Rick Overton, Herve Villaichaize as the little breather, and IMDb sez Joyce DeWitt (Janet from Three's Company) and George Wendt (from Cheers) even have uncredited roles!
But clearly, Howard W Koch thought he could capture lightning in a jar more cheaply... with Finkleman sted ZAZ, and it came off as a cheap knockoff more than a real ZAZ production (like Airplane and Police Squad).
It's no wonder that the teaser after the credits end (for Airplane III) never came to be. -Sebastian Kunz
Jack Jones singing the Love Boat, seeing the boobs in the security monitor, the multi-country newscasters, and Steven Stucker's CLASSIC long line...
"first, the Earth cooled. Then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat. So they all died, and turned into oil. Then the Arabs came and they bought Mercedes Benzes. Then Prince Charles started wearing all of Lady Di's clothes. I couldn't believe it! He took her best summer dress, and put it on and went to town..."
But to say that most of the gags were jokes that hit the mark every time... as I just read here on IMDb, is a clear overstatement.
Case in point:
McCroskey: "There's a passenger who is carrying a bomb." Elaine: "A b-" *gasps* McCroskey: "No, not a buh, a bomb."
Smile-funny, not laugh-funny, but they actually took a second, much worse stab at this gag a short time later.
Ted: "(Saluchi) has a bomb on board." Stewardess: "A BAAAH?" Ted: "No, not a buh, a bomb."
Totally fails.
In listening to the director's commentary on "Airplane!", I learned that the Zucker brothers and the Abrahams dude had nothing to do with The Sequel.
Further, in watching the Sequel today, I saw the name Ken Finkelman as the writer and director. I knew I recognized that name...
According to IMDb, he's the actor and star in that Canadian show called The Newsroom. Since I'm a news reporter, I bought that on DVD a couple of years ago to see if the cover's claims of "Funniest and most brilliant CBC show ever produced" was true. (I watched from beginning to end, but just felt like I was missing something. I'd say more, but this is about "Airplane!".)
But Airplane II felt a little more star studded... Shatner (his wife Marcy Lafferty is also a lady in line), James Noble (Governor Gatling from Benson), Rip Torn, the guy from Battlestar Galactica, Sonny Bono, Wheel Of Fortune's Pat Sajak as a news anchorman (his editorial: AAAAAAAAHH!), David Leisure (Empty Nest and the Isuzu guy), Rick Overton, Herve Villaichaize as the little breather, and IMDb sez Joyce DeWitt (Janet from Three's Company) and George Wendt (from Cheers) even have uncredited roles!
But clearly, Howard W Koch thought he could capture lightning in a jar more cheaply... with Finkleman sted ZAZ, and it came off as a cheap knockoff more than a real ZAZ production (like Airplane and Police Squad).
It's no wonder that the teaser after the credits end (for Airplane III) never came to be. -Sebastian Kunz