# Will someone \*Please\* explain the whole "Snakes On A Plane" thing to me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 19, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051 "2006-03-19T22:24:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/21 "2006-03-20T14:28:39Z")
I heard they were planning a sequel, _Snakes on a Treadmill,_ but it never took off. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/22 "2006-03-20T15:19:47Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > You might enjoy this [Fark.com photoshop contest](http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1941583) : _If all films were produced by the people that created the movie “Snakes on a Plane”._ > > My (lame) entry retitled “Less Than Zero” to “Blowjobs For Crack”. My favorite: Star Trek IV is Whales on a Starship. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/23 "2006-03-20T15:23:06Z")
> [@Ichbin Dubist](#): > > I heard they were planning a sequel, _Snakes on a Treadmill,_ but it never took off. You, sir, have just posted the funniest one-liner I’ve read here in a long while. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/24 "2006-03-20T15:48:47Z")
Yes, yes indeed. Bravo. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/25 "2006-03-20T17:18:21Z")
> [@Ichbin Dubist](#): > > I heard they were planning a sequel, _Snakes on a Treadmill,_ but it never took off. And finally, to close out the brilliant trilogy: _Snakes on a Plane on a Treadmill._ ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/26 "2006-03-20T17:54:46Z")
So Jackson isn’t playing a guy named Jack Snakes or something like that? It is just a movie about Snakes on a plane? Not since I watched [The Robot Vrs the Aztec Mummy](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050717/) have I been so well prepared for the plot of a movie before seeing or hearing anything about it (aside from the title) It’s so safe, there are no surprises. It’s almost comforting. I think I might be ready for middle age ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/27 "2006-03-20T18:45:12Z")
Oh Man, that Fark page is killing me. “How the JEWS killed JESUS” Pure comedy gold. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/28 "2006-03-20T18:50:24Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > A few years ago, there was this absurd _Saturday Night Live_ sketch (John Goodman was hosting) where, for no explained reason, cobras get loose in the passenger cabin of a jetliner. > > WILL FERRELL: Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to inform you that there are now **eleven** cobras lookse in the passenger cabin . . . > > So it’s kind of like art imitating art. Somehow, I’m (mis?)remembering that the skit was actually supposed to be a fake ad for a movie called “Snakes on a Plane”. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/29 "2006-03-20T18:56:55Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Somehow, I’m (mis?)remembering that the skit was actually supposed to be a fake ad for a movie called “Snakes on a Plane”. Snakes on a plane? What a brilliant concept! ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/30 "2006-03-20T18:58:45Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Snakes on a plane? What a brilliant concept! But what would you call it?! ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/31 "2006-03-20T20:25:39Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > But what would you call it?! Apparently not [Flight 121](http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.01/play.html): “The studio tried to change the flick’s name to Pacific Air Flight 121 earlier this year, but star Samuel L. Jackson balked, saying the title was a big reason he signed on. . .” I must say, I now have even more respect for Mr. Jackson. This even makes up for him appearing in **three** _Star Wars_ movies without one solitary utterance of “Motherf\*\*er!”. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/32 "2006-03-20T20:46:50Z")
There’s gotta be a Simpsons episode in the works with Sideshow Bob called: Rakes on a Train. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/33 "2006-03-20T20:51:42Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > (Note that the use of “on” in the context of aircraft is an idiom for “in”. Cf. noted linguist George Carlin: About this time, someone is telling you to get on the plane. “Get on the plane. Get on the plane.” I say, “f\*\*\* you, I’m getting _in_ the plane.”) Phrasal verbs that deal with place and motion can be confusing: traditionally you get _on_ something relatively big, but get _in_ something relatively small: you get on a train, but get in a carriage. You get on a ship, but get in a boat. Thus at the end of _Casablanca_ Rick tells Elsa to get _on_ the plane, but in _Raiders_ {an early instance of the aeronautical herpetology motif in cinema}, Indy has a snake _in_ his cockpit. He hates snakes. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/34 "2006-03-20T21:05:45Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > The title just induces giggles. Add in Samuel L. Jackson, and it sounds like a cult classic, like _Killer Klowns from Outer Space_. It’s still not as funny a title as _Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!_ ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/35 "2006-03-20T23:38:51Z")
> [@Ichbin Dubist](#): > > I heard they were planning a sequel, _Snakes on a Treadmill,_ but it never took off. Better than gold. Platinum. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/36 "2006-03-21T04:32:04Z")
I hope Sam Jackson gets the titular line. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/37 "2006-03-21T11:44:12Z")
You people just don’t get it. It’s not just snakes. On a plane. It’s **Samuel L. Jackson**! and **snakes**! **on** a plane! CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/38 "2006-03-21T12:19:42Z")
So it’s allegorical, eh? Nothing to do with real snakes, real planes or real Samuel L. Jacksons. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/39 "2006-03-21T16:06:05Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > So it’s allegorical, eh? Nothing to do with real snakes, real planes or real Samuel L. Jacksons. That’s correct. It’s actually a metaphor for a relationship that this middle-aged married couple has, and strength of the bonds of intimacy they have with their oldest friends and their siblings, many of whom are terminally ill. That’s obvious from the title, though. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051/40 "2006-03-21T16:25:21Z")
AWESOM-O: Okay, like you got this plane and there’s like snakes on it and Samuel L. Jackson is there. Studio executive: Brillant! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-someone-please-explain-the-whole-snakes-on-a-plane-thing-to-me/349051.md?page=3)