Episode 3 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

[JulyDiaz 2797]

In the early 1980s, Steven Spielberg embarked on a mission to tell the story of his parents’ divorce through the lens of a wrinkly alien puppet with skeletal crab fingers and the voice of an old lady dying of emphysema. After being rejected by one studio for being “too Disney” (the early 80s were a time when Hollywood would give a hard pass to the words “Spielberg” and “Disney”), Spielberg finally got to bring his vision to life in 1982 with E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The story of a young boy befriended a stranded alien sack of drooping flesh went on to become the number one movie of all time (a record that was not broken until Jurassic Park hit theaters eleven years later), and E.T. became one of the most beloved children’s characters despite the fact that E.T. scares the absolute shit out of most children.

 

 

In this week’s episode, Abe and Tom are joined by Cracked stand-up and podcasting guru Alex Schmidt as they discuss all the whimsy, technical know-how, and armless children that went into making E.T. an instant classic. Along the way, they discuss how E.T. almost ate fistfuls of M&Ms, how Elliott was nearly scolded at school by Principal Indiana Jones, and how E.T. is apparently a plant. Like, a house plant. From outer space.