# Surely you can't be serious **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 2, 2026, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358 "2026-07-02T14:35:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/101 "2026-07-03T17:01:36Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I believe they originally wanted Florence Henderson, who played Carol Brady. Back in 1980, she’d have been much too young to play the part. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/102 "2026-07-03T19:16:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Actually, come to think of it… I moderate the D&D club at my school, and this past year, I was helping some new players (current high school students) make new characters. One of them was looking at the rogue class, and asked what “Thieves’ Cant” was. I told her “It’s basically slang so thick that if you weren’t raised on the street, you have no hope of understanding it.”. The light bulb went off over her head, and she said, “Oh, I speak Jive!”. So cute. That had to put a real smile on your face. Or at least in your head behind your professional poker face. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/103 "2026-07-03T19:21:11Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > She could have said, for example, “I speak Ghetto” My opinion, as a resident of those days: “Jive” is mostly neutral. It conveys “black culture” without (to this white person) being condescending or insulting. Jive is happy, friendly. “Ghetto” sounds like “violent, bad”, and more than a little derogatory. Ghetto invokes drugs and gangs and all the things that frighten white suburban people. IMO, Jive struck the right balance. > [@Moriarty](#): > > Pete Rose was originally going to be the co-pilot played by Kareem Abdul Jabbar. The same character in _Zero Hour_ was played by Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch. He would have been as familiar to audiences as Pete. But Kareem was better. You don’t see many 7’2" pilots! And you can’t make the insult about lack of defense to Pete. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/104 "2026-07-03T19:25:45Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And you can’t make the insult about lack of defense to Pete. - “You don’t try very hard, except in the playoffs” would have been even funnier with Rose. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/105 "2026-07-03T21:47:18Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I can’t find a cite, but I believe they originally wanted Florence Henderson, who played Carol Brady. The way I heard it, they originally wanted[Harriet Nelson](https://greatentertainersarchives.blogspot.com/2026/02/movie-moment-airplane.html) IMHO Billingsley was a better choice.. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/106 "2026-07-03T22:33:29Z")
[Howard Jarvis - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Jarvis) > In 1980, he had a cameo appearance in the film Airplane!, playing an incredibly patient taxicab passenger. His character apparently spends the entire movie sitting in an empty cab waiting for the driver (played by Robert Hays) to return, with the meter running all the while. Jarvis has the final line in the movie, which he says after the end credits; he looks at his watch and says “Well, I’ll give him another twenty minutes, but that’s it!” The inside joke was that Jarvis would never have paid for such a charge in real life.[14] ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/107 "2026-07-03T22:41:28Z")
Being canine-centric, to me one of the funniest scenes was when the young intern arrives at the home of Captain Kramer (Robert Stack) to give him a ride to the airport … [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/U4tU3ZRFoUI/hqdefault.jpg "Airplane! funny dog scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4tU3ZRFoUI) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/108 "2026-07-03T22:50:57Z")
Nobody has mentioned the “Radar Range” guy in the control tower, so I will. That’s Jonathan Banks, who we all know from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/109 "2026-07-03T23:23:00Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Nobody has mentioned the “Radar Range” guy in the control tower, so I will. I used to wonder why he was wearing a leather flight jacket. I still don’t know, but the original character in _Zero Hour_ had one, too. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/110 "2026-07-03T23:30:57Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Nobody has mentioned the “Radar Range” guy in the control tower, so I will. That’s another joke that might be lost on younger viewers. The Amana Radarange (spelled that way) was the first commercially available microwave oven, and for awhile many people used that term for any microwave. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/111 "2026-07-04T05:14:18Z")
_“You’re all over the place. Talkin’ about basketball. Then talkin’ about jive. What assholes!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/112 "2026-07-04T05:38:52Z")
I have a fantasy of meeting Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and saying to him, “I know you! You’re Roger Murdock! You’re a pilot for Trans American Airlines!” ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/113 "2026-07-04T05:42:54Z")
One joke people often miss is when Rex Kramer/Robert Stack is putting on his uniform while looking at a full-length mirror, and then what should have been his reflection walks out of the space where the mirror had been. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0D-n0yctyGY/maxresdefault.jpg "Airplane! (1980) Rex Kramer Mirror Scene") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D-n0yctyGY) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/114 "2026-07-04T06:22:20Z")
Does anybody under 50 get the “Jim never has a second cup of coffee at home” joke? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/115 "2026-07-04T10:31:32Z")
I didn’t get it as a kid, but I didn’t think I needed to: I just figured it was something that, well, yeah, she might blandly observe to herself right about then — setting up the joke where, later, she blandly observes that Jim never _vomits_ at home. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/116 "2026-07-04T12:02:30Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > I have a fantasy of meeting Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and saying to him, “I know you! You’re Roger Murdock! You’re a pilot for Trans American Airlines!” A few years ago I had some sports talk show on TV and the guest was Kareem. After a bit the host grinned and said “And you were in **Airplane!** ”. He clearly had been waiting to talk about it and it was going to be the highlight of his day. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/117 "2026-07-04T12:35:12Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I didn’t get it as a kid, but I didn’t think I needed to: I just figured it was something that, well, yeah, she might blandly observe to herself right about then — setting up the joke where, later, she blandly observes that Jim never _vomits_ at home. It’s from a series of TV commercials in the '70s. Husband and wife are out, someone offers husband a second cup of coffee, husband says yes, and then the voiceover. It’s the same actress from the commercials in the movie. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MJ4kCF22O2w/hqdefault.jpg "1970s Yuban Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ4kCF22O2w) And then they extend the joke later with the “Jim never vomits at home.” (At least, I remember it as a series of commercials, and not just that one. They were recent enough and popular enough that most people would have recognized that reference when the movie was new.) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/118 "2026-07-04T13:17:54Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > It’s the same actress from the commercials I was familiar with the commercial(s) that the movie was parodying, but I didn’t know that! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/119 "2026-07-04T13:54:11Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > It’s the same actress from the commercials in the movie. I missed that reference completely! **DUH!** 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2026, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358/120 "2026-07-04T13:58:52Z")
And quit calling me Shirley. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surely-you-cant-be-serious/1031358.md?page=7)