The plot device of a modified stealth aircraft with the ability to "dock" with a commercial airliner was not new in 2005. The 1996 film Executive Decision used this method as a major plot point with a nearly identical scene of the docking - however in this episode the docking occurs in the rear section of the aircraft while in the movie it happened at the front. The use of a near-identical scene, even 9 years apart, was quite unusual as Disney (Alias) and Warner Brothers (Executive Decision) have been rivals since the 1940s.