What’s Aged the Worst?
Adult skepticism; M&M’s; Asteroids reference; lost Barrymore surprise; plagiarism dispute; voice impressions; video game
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:02Read transcript
- E.T.’s apparent death, especially the overhead river image, remains painfully distressing; the earlier resurrection reference offers hope.
- Growing older shifts identification toward Mary’s safety concerns and the scientists’ lost discovery, reducing childhood’s unquestioning wonder.
- Mars declining M&M’s placement and the now-obscure Asteroids-score reference have aged poorly.
- The surprise that the child became adult star Barrymore has disappeared; this is merely something that aged rather than a moral criticism.
- The hosts discuss an unresolved plagiarism allegation involving Ray’s 1967 Alien script, Scorsese’s apparent support and Spielberg’s denial; independent similar ideas remain plausible.
- Bad E.T. voice impressions are a downside to the memorable vocal style.
- The rushed 1982 holiday video game is called among the worst and blamed in contemporary accounts for the 1983 industry crash.
- The hosts recount unsold cartridges buried in a New Mexico landfill and a 2014 excavation, illustrating the video game failure.
- Sayles’s unmade Night Skies is a regretted lost project despite elements surviving in E.T.; his Piranha work reportedly led to Spielberg hiring him.