Stranger Things takes a lot of inspiration from various books and films from the 1980s, among those Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. In only three seasons, Stranger Things has included various Easter eggs and references to the classic sci-fi film, and here’s every one of them. The Duffer Brothers’ hit series Stranger Things debuted on Netflix in 2016 and was an unexpected success, building an extensive and solid fanbase around the world.
Stranger Things combines science fiction and horror with a heavy dose of nostalgia, which has played a big part in its success. As the series is set in the early 1980s, it has taken a lot of inspiration from the works of Stephen King, John Carpenter, and Steven Spielberg, and so it has included various references to their characters and movies, some more subtle than others. The 1980s aesthetic, influence in narrative and more were elements that the Duffer Brothers had very clear from the beginning, and in their pitch they showcased footage and music from classic movies from the 1970s and 1980s, such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Poltergeist, Stand by Me, and Firestarter.
One classic sci-fi movie that has been referenced since the first episode of the series is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Written by Melissa Mathison and directed by Steven Spielberg, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released in 1982, and tells the story of Elliott (Henry Thomas), a young boy who saves and befriends an alien left behind on Earth and who ends up hiding in his tool shed. E.T. is considered one of the greatest films of all time and continues to serve as inspiration to many. It’s not surprising, then, that Stranger Things has included Easter eggs and references to the movie since season 1 – and here’s every one of them.
Stranger Things Season 1
Stranger Things season 1 introduced viewers to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, and the dangerous experiments taking place at Hawkins Lab. After one of the subjects, Eleven, made contact with a monster from another dimension, a gate to it was opened, letting the monster in and creating major chaos at the lab. This incident allowed Eleven to escape, who ended up at a diner, trying to steal food. After the owner of the diner was killed by Hawkins Lab agents for helping Eleven, she ran away again and ended up in the forest. There she was found by Mike, Dustin, and Lucas, who were looking for their missing friend, Will. That scene is reminiscent of the one in E.T. where Elliott comes across with the alien for the first time. Elliott’s fear and surprise is accentuated by the flashlight pointing directly at the alien’s face, just like Mike did when they found Eleven in the woods.
Very much like E.T., Eleven had to remain hidden in Mike’s house, specifically in the basement, though she had a chance of exploring the house when no one was home. Eleven then turned the TV on and had a flashback to some of the experiments she went through with Dr. Brenner after watching a Coca-Cola commercial. The TV was as new to Eleven as it was to E.T., who was terrified by a Tom and Jerry episode but fascinated by a scene from a film with a UFO abducting people – a different type of flashback to the one Eleven had. Later on in season 1, the group was trying to “disguise” Eleven so she could blend in at school, and this is a tribute to the scene in E.T. where Gertie (Drew Barrymore) dresses the alien up in a dress and blonde wig. Speaking of Gertie, the outfit Mike’s little sister, Holly, wore when following the bulbs at the Byers’ house is similar to the one Gertie wears at the end of E.T., when the alien goes back to his planet.
Other references to E.T. in Stranger Things season 1 are the people from Hawkins Lab using telecom vans to spy on everyone in town, looking for clues to the whereabouts of their targets, and the famous bikes scene. Perhaps the most memorable scene in E.T. is when Elliott and company are running away from government agents to save E.T, and so the alien uses his telekinesis to lift them into the air and towards the forest. In Stranger Things, the group also escaped from the bad guys (in this case, scientists from Hawkins Lab) on their bikes, but instead of lifting them up, Eleven used her powers to flip a van coming at them and crashing it behind them, blocking the rest of the cars.
In addition to all that, a subtler nod to E.T. can be found at the beginning of the season, when Will Byers was being chased by the Demogorgon. Just like when Elliott discovers E.T.’s presence, the Demogorgon was only heard but not seen, and Will’s reaction was one of pure horror and shock, like Elliott’s – of course, E.T. turned out to be harmless, whereas the Demogorgon took Will with him to the Upside Down, where he almost died.
Stranger Things Season 2
Season 2 of Stranger Things focused on the consequences of Will’s time at the Upside Down and the arrival of a bigger and more dangerous creature from the other dimension: the Mind Flayer. Meanwhile, Eleven continued hiding, only this time at Hopper’s cabin in the woods, as she was believed to be dead. Season 2 was set around Halloween, 1984, and given that she had been living far away from her friends, Eleven tried to convince Hopper to let her go trick-or-treating and wore a sheet with eyeholes cut out, just like Elliott did with E.T. so no one would know he was an alien. Later on, a direct E.T. Easter egg can be found in Dustin’s room, as there was an E.T. figure on the dresser next to the aquarium he put D’artagnan (the baby demodog) in.
Stranger Things Season 3
As the series progresses, the references to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial decrease, but season 3 still included some. Stranger Things season 3 revealed that the Russians were conducting their own experiments to open gates to the Upside Down, and established a secret lab underneath the new Starcourt Mall. The gang was divided into three groups this time, though they ended up joining forces at the end as they also had to defeat an even bigger Mind Flayer, which was killing a lot of people in Hawkins. At the beginning of the season, Dustin came back from camp and told his friend he had a girlfriend: Suzie. But as she doesn’t live in Hawkins, he had to come up with a way of communicating with her, and so he created a radio tower of his own. The device is reminiscent of the one E.T. and Elliott come up with so E.T. can “phone home”, and both turned out to be successful after a couple of failed attempts.
Although Stranger Things keeps evolving and its nods to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial are not as frequent as they used to be, it’s unlikely season 4 won’t include any Easter eggs and references to it, given how much it has influenced the series as a whole. With Stranger Things season 4 taking inspiration from a lot of movies, fans will have to pay closer attention to catch all those little details related to Spielberg’s classic movie.