Is 'Snakes on a Plane' An Original Idea?
Could it be that SNL had the jump on this insanity?
 |
Just like everyone else in the Internet world I've become used to laughing about the Snakes on a Plane title. It's a nice cheeky deal with Sammy Jackson thrown in for good measure. It also seems like a pretty innovative idea too doesn't it? OR DOES IT?? I'm going on record saying snakes have been seen on a plane before! On top of that, it was a full eight years ago by big name actors like Will Ferrell and John Goodman!
You can hear Brad and I discuss this very issue in live audio right on our latest podcast here. It's the opening topic and it's a doozy.
In my family we are religious "SNL" viewers and our favorite skits get quoted constantly. Somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind something about Snakes seemed familiar. Then I remembered Will Ferrell's voice in the darkness saying, "Ladies and gentlemen we are traveling at 32,000 feet, and oh by the way, I've released a live King Cobra on to the plane." I did a little research on the episode and it turns out the skit is called "The Cobra" and John Goodman hosted that night back in 1998. Goodman was in a passenger seat and asked his wife (Cheri Oteri) if she'd heard what the pilot had said. She was watching a movie and blew him off, and then of course the snake started striking and people started flying around. Ferrell came back on a few times to say more snakes had been released, eventually capping off the skit by saying he'd been bitten and he was going to go toward the light. This is all from memory mind you, because no transcript of this episode exists. Also, the skit was next to last in the show (before TiVo), which means only the truly crazy "SNL" freaks (like me) would have guzzled it.
But here I am, preaching the truth. The Snakes on a Plane idea was done eight years ago in New York, New York. Whether or not it was actually stolen is up in the air. My assumption is that it may have been caught somewhere in the recesses of John Heffernan's mind when he initially pitched the idea to Paramount Pictures-based MTV Films. Then again, the story did come from David Daleassandro, so maybe he is the one we should be talking to. Eh David?
Now, you can imagine how smart I felt after thinking this bad boy up, but then I threw it in the Google machine and did find some folks who were thinking the same way too. I guess a few others stayed up late in 1998 (hey, that rhymes), to check out their thoughts on the matter clicky on your choice of snakafied links below.
Links from Other Sites You May Like
Showing 7 Comments
~ PLEASE NOTE ~
If, in any way, your comment is an attack on the author of this post or a previous commenter, your comment will be deleted without question.
Add a New Comment |
Click to Read Our Commenting Rules & Guidelines
Yep. Loved that sketch – I still remember it because it was so stupid to watch but hilarious to explain to others. The cobra was a crazy sock puppet that eventually gets into the cockpit. Cant find it anywhere on the internet though. SNL should have put it up on their site a long time ago…
@tt: I've been looking everywhere on the internet and can't find it either – I try to tell people about it and they think I'm crazy. It was funny at the end too when the cobra was talking with flames behind it saying "… you'll seeee meeee".
I thought I was the only one who remembered this one! My sister and I used make jokes about this when we were little. Sadly, I can't find it at all on the internet.
Oh! I loved this sketch, too!
I like to play the Belt Game! And the Hat Game! It will be meeeee that you tip to the ladies!
Back when SNL reruns aired on Comedy Central, this episode got quite a bit of air time.
Love it! I can't believe that SNL doesn't have this on their lame site.
"You reach for a nice scarf to warm your neck, instead you grab meeeeeee!"
Will's casual pilot voice is great in this skit.
speaking of lost SNL skits, does anyone remember one from the 80'swith Alec Baldwin as a 6 year old girl in the hospital with a rare disease that causes him to have the appearance of a 40 year old man. Strange, creepy and hilarious. No one I mention it to can remember it. Tell me I'm not crazy.
On the off chance anyone sees this so long after the original post…
Every season of SNL is available for streaming on Hulu Plus and Netflix, but each episode is heavily edited, and the cobra sketch isn't available (I've only watched on Netflix but it's safe to assume it's the same content as Hulu). I'm still hoping someone finds it on an old VHS tape and puts it out there, but I'm not holding my breath.
@tjgirl — The sketch you're referring to is in s24e9 and the clown is played by Molly Shannon. You are not crazy, but you're also not going to get to see the sketch any time soon, because it ALSO is edited out of its ep on Netflix, for reasons I cannot fathom.