The 3028: Theme Park History & Pop Culture Listory
May 29, 2026 · 2 hr 1 min · 12 segments
Matt and Kevin wrap Season 9 of the 3028 and the Universal film/theme park series with a look back at a quintessential 80s phenomenon and fan favorite, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial…
Matt ParishHost
You know what's cool about this show in particular, E.T., is that we've already done an E.T. show, right? We did the, [laughs] we did the game that broke Atari, E.T.
Um, and we, and we talked about E.T. and we talked about the game, but we didn't really get into the, you know, the back history of the film or, like, why it was so big or why it continues, uh, to thrill people and, you know, be a sort of heartwarming film for people through the years.
Like, I know that when we started this s- [laughs] series, this was not really a movie you wanted to do.
Is it, is it something you feel like now, having done the show, you look at from a different angle?
Um, I think what happened, and, and I don't wanna get too deep and dark here, um, but, uh, you know, I was a ch- I was a child of divorce, and a lot of other bad stuff was happening to me at the time, and I saw this movie at a time in my life when I was like, "I am Elliot." Um, and so sometimes when you see a movie like this and you recognize yourself in it, you're like, "I feel seen.
I feel good about this." But for me, I was like-There's no cute little alien coming to rescue me from my, my troubles.
Just the, the movie made me feel uncomfortable because it was too close to home, and I still kinda feel like that.
Um, so, like, the behind-the-scenes stuff and the, and, like, the making of the movie, all the other stuff about it, everything swirling around it, I, I think is very much, um, in my wheelhouse.
But for some reason, the movie itself, it's not that it doesn't connect with me, it connects with me too much.
You know what's cool about this show in particular, E.T., is that we've already done an E.T. show, right? We did the, [laughs] we did the game that broke Atari, E.T.
Um, and we, and we talked about E.T. and we talked about the game, but we didn't really get into the, you know, the back history of the film or, like, why it was so big or why it continues, uh, to thrill people and, you know, be a sort of heartwarming film for people through the years.
Like, I know that when we started this s- [laughs] series, this was not really a movie you wanted to do.
Is it, is it something you feel like now, having done the show, you look at from a different angle?
Um, I think what happened, and, and I don't wanna get too deep and dark here, um, but, uh, you know, I was a ch- I was a child of divorce, and a lot of other bad stuff was happening to me at the time, and I saw this movie at a time in my life when I was like, "I am Elliot." Um, and so sometimes when you see a movie like this and you recognize yourself in it, you're like, "I feel seen.
I feel good about this." But for me, I was like-There's no cute little alien coming to rescue me from my, my troubles.
Just the, the movie made me feel uncomfortable because it was too close to home, and I still kinda feel like that.
Um, so, like, the behind-the-scenes stuff and the, and, like, the making of the movie, all the other stuff about it, everything swirling around it, I, I think is very much, um, in my wheelhouse.
But for some reason, the movie itself, it's not that it doesn't connect with me, it connects with me too much.
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