Comments on: Hubble mission moved to October 10

By: Anton P. Nym

Anton P. Nym — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:31:32 +0000

Oddly enough, I own a copy of the novel “Zero Hour” was based upon, _Flight Into Danger_. It’s a teaching copy from some ancient time, that I picked up in grade school as a thank you from the teacher for helping clear out the closets on the next-to-last day in school. When I finally watched “Airplane!”, I was one of the few in my gang who got the reference.

Back on-topic, though, here’s hoping the Hubble mission goes as planned; I love that ol’ light bucket.

— Steve

By: MarlowePI

MarlowePI — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:17:06 +0000

Yes, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting MY flying car. I just don’t want anyone else to have one.

By: GuanoLad

GuanoLad — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:08:24 +0000

>>*Actually, no I don’t. Would you trust your fellow drivers in a car that flies?

I have always thought that. No inertia and an extra dimension to cause accidents in? No thank you!

By: Bramblyspam

Bramblyspam — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:47:26 +0000

Shuttle launches weren't just supposed to be two dozen per year. According to this here article, NASA's original numbers advertised 50-60 launches per year, at a cost of 5.5 million per. Never trust a government agency's cost estimates for a new program.

By: Adrian Lopez

Adrian Lopez — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:10:53 +0000

Video comparison of Zero Hour v.s. Airplane, including the “didn’t have fish for dinner” line that seems like it ought to have been an Airplane original but wasn’t:

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v1234064XeA6r98t

By: tracer

tracer — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:56:20 +0000

_Airplane!_ is, beyond a doubt, the greatest movie ever made.

However, _Zero Hour_, the movie it’s based on, is hard as hell to find. I had to go to an obscure “rare videos” website to find someone who had a recording of one, and I think he taped it off his TV and then used my credit card information to buy stuff from Saks Fifth Avenue (though I of course have no proof that it was him).

Incidentally, on my website (listed above), you’ll find a link to a complete transcript of the movie _Zero Hour_, with the lines it shares in common with _Airplane_ printed in bold type.

By: hale_bopp

hale_bopp — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:55:24 +0000

You see, it is the coffee woman

By: J. D. Mack

J. D. Mack — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:55:01 +0000

For anyone who is a fan of “Airplane,” you*must* rent the movie “Zero Hour.” “Zero Hour” is a totally serious movie from around 1961, and “Airplane” is a scene-by-scene parody of this movie. Even the scene of the woman being slapped.

J. D.

By: Phil Plait

Phil Plait — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:44:16 +0000

Well, nuts. I knew it was the woman, and not Ted Striker (obviously, I love that movie) but I forgot to edit the post before it went live. Thanks for reminding me. I fixed it.

By: Phil Plait

Phil Plait — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:36:20 +0000

Note: it’s not 12:30 p.m., it’s 12:30 a.m., so half an hour after midnight Eastern time. I fixed the post.

By: Kevin F.

Kevin F. — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:48:45 +0000

I don’t know if you allow weblinks here, but here’s the clip

Sorry, I’m an Airplane! fan from way back.

By: Kevin F.

Kevin F. — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:46:48 +0000

hale_bopp and Pierre speak truth – it was the woman who yelled “I’ve got to get out of here”.

OH, and there’s a DVD of Airplane! out now and the special features totally rocked.

By: hale_bopp

hale_bopp — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:32:09 +0000

I can’t remember her name, but it was the woman who pondered, “He never has a second cup of coffee at home,” that had the panic attack and was getting shaken, beaten, shot, etc.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:31:58 +0000

I think that reliable autopilots (and a whole lot of legal wrangling) are a hard prerequisite for flying cars, and that auto companies are going to be a long time about selling a car with an autopilot – for liability reasons.

We have experimental AI that can handle a car on the freeway, and somewhat more experimental AI that can handle cars in urban areas, but the tech isn’t quite there yet. It will be a very bold auto manufacturer that first sells a car with such a system, however good the tech. They ~will~ get in accidents (occasional accidents are inevitable), and the car makers ~will~ be sued for “causing” the accidents. The case may even be justified, depending on what they sell.

But oh, how I want a flying car (:

By: PG

PG — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:25:44 +0000

My 10-year-old keeps asking me, “Why don’t they just let computers control all the cars?”
I never have a better answer than “People like having their freedom to drive however they want.”

By: davery

davery — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:23:36 +0000

Pierre @ 2, you’re right, it wasn’t Ted Striker, it was a woman passenger. Check this video, you can see it about 50 seconds in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdEmmXiB7ew&feature=related

By: Nathan

Nathan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:52:44 +0000

No, it definitely wasn’t Ted Striker who was being struck, it was one of the woman passengers. Was Ted flying the plane at that point?

By: Pierre

Pierre — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:45:33 +0000

I don’t think that in the movie Airplane, it was Ted Striker that was having a panic attack and needed to be wacked. I think it was some other passenger. But then I haven’t seen that movie in 10 years at least. Still, it was a funny scene.

By: David D.G.

David D.G. — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:44:17 +0000

*Actually, no I don’t. Would you trust your fellow drivers in a car that flies?

Ooooooooh, good point. Maybe I'm not so eager for those things to come out after all, at least not unless they are automatically Ottopiloted. ~David D.G.