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.

Recasting Couch

Lynda Carter is proposed as an added passenger for a brief celebrity gag.

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:12:29Read transcript

Lynda Carter is proposed as one more passenger for a roughly ninety-second appearance.

Half-Assed Internet Research

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.

Picking Nits

The war timeline, medical equipment, food-poisoning symptoms, speed of onset, storage of sick passengers, and proposed Lake Michigan diversion are questioned.

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:23:18Read transcript

Ted’s age and conflicting wartime flashbacks make his war history unclear in a 1980 setting.
The tube pulled from the sick girl is questioned because its removal immediately causes convulsions.
The poisoned fish should cause vomiting or diarrhea rather than sedation.
The group argues the fish symptoms would not happen that fast.
The group asks where all the incapacitated passengers were placed.
Kramer’s immediate proposal to divert the airplane into Lake Michigan is criticized for risking innocent people.