Continuing the fine tradition of spoof comedy made famous by David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in 1979’s Airplane! While the plan had been for the creative team to return for the second installment, creative differences caused the deal to fall through, and production went ahead with Ken Finkleman not only writing (he had previously penned another sequel, Grease 2), but also directing his very first feature.
For the second film, Finkleman hearkened back to the franchise’s roots… spoofing disaster films like those made by Irwin Allen (The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno) in the early seventies. But changing times bring new trends, new fads, and in the case of Airplane II, new things to mock. The science fiction craze that had taken a hold of cinema in the late 1970s (particularly Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey) brought an element of the final frontier to the sequel’s goofiness. Even noteworthy plane hijackings in the world news even received light treatment. All in all, it amounted to a film more ridiculous than the first.

Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Peter Graves, and Lloyd Bridges all returned from the original to reprise their roles in the sequel. Hays once again took on the persona of the utterly pathetic Ted Stryker, still combating shell shock from his war days with Hagerty as the overwrought flight attendant/love interest Elaine Dickinson. New to the film were Star Trek alum William Shatner (as Commander Buck Murdoch), Rip Torn (as both Bud Kruger and President Ronald Reagan), and Chad Everett (as rival for Elaine’s affections, Simon Kurtz).

How do you describe the plot of a spoof? Well, this one follows a storyline that goes something like this. A lunar space shuttle called Mayflower One is preparing for a controversial trip to the moon. Aware that the shuttle is unsafe, Ted Stryker escapes from an insane asylum (back when they were called that) and buys a ticket in order to stop the launch. Sure enough, Mayflower One’s computer malfunctions, causing the shuttle to steer itself directly toward the sun. With the pilots Oveur, Unger, and Dunn out of commission, Ted must once again face his demons and rescue a helpless crew. But this time, matters are complicated by Joe Seluchi (Sonny Bono), a passenger intent on committing insurance fraud by committing suicide… with a bomb.

Ads at the end of Airplane II “threatenedâ€Â a third film but the poor showing at the box office prevented the possibility from becoming a reality. Still, along with its predecessor, Airplane II has quietly become a cult classic over the years, enjoying the kind of immortality that only cable broadcasting can provide and giving fans everywhere the opportunity to scrum over its comedic merits. It also laid the groundwork for future spoofs like those of The Naked Gun and Hot Shots franchises.