# Airplane! and Zero Hour **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460 "2010-03-05T19:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/1 "2010-03-05T19:39:29Z")
TCM is showing Airplane! tonight, immediately followed by Zero Hour. In case you didn’t know, Airplane! is a practically shot-for-shot remake (with add’l gags, of course) of Zero Hour. For instance, “I picked the wrong week to quit smoking” is in Zero Hour; “…wrong week to quit sniffing glue” isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/2 "2010-03-05T19:52:42Z")
A bit of trivia: Airplane! was distributed under the title Flying High! in Australia and New Zealand. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/3 "2010-03-05T20:28:38Z")
Surely you can’t be serious! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/4 "2010-03-05T20:34:03Z")
I caught about 10 a few minutes of Zero Hour a few years ago, couldn’t watch without the matching scene from Airplane! imposing itself. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/5 "2010-03-05T20:50:25Z")
I haven’t seen _Zero Hour_ since I was a kid and it was on some Sunday afternoon on Channel 43. This will be great! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/6 "2010-03-05T20:58:04Z")
I saw it a few months ago, the last time it came around on TCM, and couldn’t enjoy it at all. The punch lines just kept saying themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/7 "2010-03-05T21:06:37Z")
I got Zero Hour from Netflix, and I was also shocked at how close Airplane was. The weird shots of WW II planes on their bombing runs in Airplane might have been taken directly from Zero Hour. Well worth renting. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/8 "2010-03-05T21:08:39Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I got Zero Hour from Netflix, and I was also shocked at how close Airplane was. The weird shots of WW II planes on their bombing runs in Airplane might have been taken directly from Zero Hour. Well worth renting. I wouldn’t be surprised, I understand that Zucker, Abrhams, and Zucker bought Zero Hour so they could make Airplane! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/9 "2010-03-05T21:12:08Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Surely you can’t be serious! 😉 It’s a big building with patients. But that’s not important. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/10 "2010-03-05T21:13:56Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised, I understand that Zucker, Abrhams, and Zucker bought Zero Hour so they could make Airplane! Yes, they did buy the rights. They used whole chunks of dialogue from the original movie, and even kept some of the same character names (like Striker). ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/11 "2010-03-05T21:28:23Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Yes, they did buy the rights. They used whole chunks of dialogue from the original movie, and even kept some of the same character names (like Striker). Striker, striker, striker, Striker! (punches hysterical female passenger) Stewardess, I speak jive… Over Macho Grande? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/12 "2010-03-05T21:32:46Z")
I have a drinking problem. _splash!_ ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/13 "2010-03-05T22:03:29Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Striker, striker, striker, Striker! > (punches hysterical female passenger) _giggles maniacally_ The finest part of that bit is that the person pauses, mulls the logical inconsistencies over in his mind, gives a little shrug, and then punches her. It’s those little subtleties that are the genius… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/14 "2010-03-05T22:21:18Z")
_Golly!_ ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/15 "2010-03-05T22:24:08Z")
I had never heard of Zero Hour! Thanks for the heads up. It’ll be a hoot! ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/16 "2010-03-05T22:58:36Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > I had never heard of Zero Hour! Thanks for the heads up. It’ll be a hoot! I \*have \*heard that Airplane takes liberties with Zero Hour, but didn’t know it was such a scene-by-scene spoof. To the DVR! ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/17 "2010-03-05T23:36:39Z")
Wonderful! I didn’t know either! Awesome. Thanks. “There’s no parking in the white zone.” “Ted, we all know what this about. You want me to have an abortion” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/18 "2010-03-06T00:11:30Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Yes, they did buy the rights. They used whole chunks of dialogue from the original movie, and even kept some of the same character names (like Striker). What I heard was that they bought Zero Hour after plagarizing/ripping off/parodying Zero Hour, just to prevent any lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/19 "2010-03-06T00:40:16Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Over Macho Grande? I’ll never be over Macho Grande. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460/20 "2010-03-06T00:47:38Z")
There are a few lines/scenes in Airplane! that, while not zingers, are cheesy enough to where I would’ve sworn they were written specifically for the movie Airplane. Turns out, a lot of these came verbatim from Zero Hour! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-and-zero-hour/531460.md?page=2)