Categories & segments

Airplane! poster
Airplane!

Casting What-Ifs

Airplane! The Rewatchables

Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty are preferred after a long list of reported alternatives for Ted, Elaine, Rumack, Roger, and the jive translator.

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:22Read transcript
  • David Letterman auditioned for Ted Striker, but the panel prefers that he was not cast.
  • The studio reportedly pushed Barry Manilow for Ted.
  • Fred Willard reportedly declined Ted because he did not understand the script.
  • Tim Matheson reportedly could not take Ted while filming 1941.
  • Caitlyn Jenner auditioned for Ted and did not get the role.
  • Robert Hayes is preferred because he plays the absurdity straight.
  • Sigourney Weaver and Shelley Long auditioned for Elaine before Julie Haggerty was cast.
  • Dom DeLuise, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, and Jack Webb reportedly declined Doctor Rumack.
  • Leslie Nielsen is preferred for Rumack.
  • Pete Rose was wanted for Roger but baseball scheduling led to Kareem’s casting.
  • Harriet Nelson was wanted as the jive translator before Barbara Billingsley was cast.
  • Peter Graves initially rejected the script as tasteless before being persuaded to play Over.
Airplane! poster
Airplane!

Half-Assed Internet Research

Airplane! The Rewatchables

The real LAX announcers, dailies demand, Ethel Merman’s final role, Elmer Bernstein’s score, Kareem’s Zero Hour analogue, Al White’s jive dialogue, and a deleted opening gag are reported.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:07Read transcript
  • The real married couple who recorded the LAX announcements performed the red-zone and white-zone argument.
  • Demand to watch the dailies reportedly required the studio to add a second screening room.
  • The film was Ethel Merman’s final acting role.
  • Elmer Bernstein was asked to score the comedy with the seriousness of his dramatic work.
  • Kareem was cast in the athlete-pilot role because Zero Hour! had used football star Elroy Hirsch.
  • Al White researched Black English, wrote the jive dialogue, and also wrote Barbara Billingsley’s lines.
  • A test audience’s silence caused an opening-airport spitting gag to be removed.
The Legend of Billie Jean poster
The Legend of Billie Jean

The Andy and Red – Zihuatanejo Award for What Happens the Next Day?

The Legend of Billie Jean The Rewatchables

Modern celebrity speculation is followed by imagined futures for Lloyd, Binks, Hubie and Billie Jean.

Flex pick · Chris Ryan

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:27Read transcript
  • In 2025 she might appear on the Hawk Tua podcast, join the Unwell network and release music; in 1985 she might return to Corpus Christi and become a schoolteacher.
  • Lloyd is imagined entering VHS pornography with equipment, capital and experience of crime.
  • Binks is imagined moving to Burlington, working at Ben & Jerry’s and getting beaten up after selling bad acid at a Dead show.
  • Lloyd’s father is imagined with a minor role in the David Koresh standoff; Hubie becomes lieutenant governor, and Billie Jean faces lengthy copyright litigation.
  • Hubie’s governorship and Binks becoming Doug McCray’s father in The Town are additional jokes.
  • Hubie using the Billie Jean episode to claim he learned his lessons and launch a Texas political career is endorsed.
The Legend of Billie Jean poster
The Legend of Billie Jean

Apex Mountain

The Legend of Billie Jean The Rewatchables

Five personal teenage-crush favorites are discussed, with additions and eligibility exclusions.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:26Read transcript
  • The retrospective list is framed around the speaker’s own high-school years and five favorite high-school movie characters.
  • The five named favorites are Kelly Preston in Secret Admirer and Mischief, Helen Slater in Billie Jean, Joyce [transcribed Heiser] in Just One of the Guys, an garbled Karate Kid actress, and Mia Sarah in Ferris Bueller.
  • Jennifer Gray in Ferris Bueller is added.
  • Rebecca D. Moray in Risky Business is excluded because her character is not in high school; Molly Ringwald was not a favorite, and Sean Young in Stripes is excluded as an adult.
  • Winona Rader in Lucas and Amanda Peterson in Can't Buy Me Love are additional examples.
Displaying discussions 1105 - 1116 of 2932 in total