The days of television being seen as the smaller, cheaper version of films is long over, with
some of the best TV shows and their rabid fan bases putting blockbuster movies to shame.
But when the people behind the scenes of a TV show are just as dedicated to big screen
properties and storytellers as any other fan, some awesome easter eggs or references can
be snuck in.
Here are Screenrant’s 10 Movies Hidden in Popular TV Shows.
Breaking Bad
The series creator Vince Gilligan never denied any claims that he was a fan of Quentin Tarantino,
so fans were looking for influences from the first episode.
It didn’t take long, either.
The main characters, Walter White and Jesse Pinkman were seen as an obvious riff on two
stars of the movie Reservoir Dogs: Harvey Keitel’s ‘Mr. White’ and Steve Buscemi’s
‘Mr. Pink.’
It took four seasons for the similarity to pay off, when Jesse and Walt wind up coming
to blows, recreating the famous scene between their Reservoir counterparts.
Firefly
Even if the actual science behind freezing somebody in “carbonite” was never really
explained, there’s one thing we DO know: when George Lucas had Han Solo frozen in a
block of the substance in The Empire Strikes Back, he created one iconic prop.
Joss Whedon was more than a casual fan of the galaxy far, far away, and found a clever
means of showing his love when making his own space adventure, Firefly.
The presence of a miniature Han in the crew’s quarters may break the fiction, but the model
can apparently be spotted in every episode, for those fans who manage to spot it.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
The animated series set between the second and third Star Wars films covered a lot of
ground, but they found time to squeeze in some easter eggs for director George Lucas
along the way.
When Asoka does battle with a group of kidnappers hunting their victims for sport, viewers can
spot one of the infamous crystal skulls from the fourth Indiana Jones movie.
But for Star Wars fans who prefer the archaeologist’s early adventures, another episode also saw
Separatists looting an alien stronghold, with an unmistakable Ark of the Covenant, lifted
directly from Raiders, among the treasures.
Game of Thrones
When the mother of dragons marches on the city of Meereen in the fourth season of Game
of Thrones, an unforgettable fight takes place.
But before soldiers clash steel, one of the city’s soldiers emerges to insult the would-be
queen using some choice language.
Except the translation offered isn’t totally accurate.
Once the scene aired, the show’s linguist, responsible for creating the fictional languages,
was bombarded by fans asking if they had misheard.
But they hadn’t: the speech is lifted word for word from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Unlike the medieval comedy, the soldier gets what he has coming almost immediately.
The New Batman Adventures
Batman fans will always remember Joel Schumacher as the director who took the superhero’s
films from cool to crazy, adding nipples on the Batsuit, and turning the Batmobile into
a glowing eyesore.
Batman’s animated universe stayed far more faithful, and apparently, the writers behind
Batman’s New Adventures weren’t thrilled with Schumacher’s version either.
One episode of the series brings each of Batman’s comic identities to life as a group of kids
disagree over the stories they’ve heard.
Once versions of the 1960s TV show and Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns are played
out, another kid gives his own pitch.
The flamboyant boy’s description of Batman is a playful shot at the later films, with
the “Shoe Maker” sign driving the point home.
Who says the company can’t laugh at itself?
Breaking Bad
Tarantino wasn’t the only director Vince Gilligan referenced in his hit series, since
the New Mexico setting of Breaking Bad couldn’t help but take the creator back to his love
of westerns.
Specifically, the films of director Budd Boetticher.
So when it came time to introduce a replacement for Jesse, Gilligan named the karaoke-loving
cooker after his inspiration.
Gale Boetticher didn’t get a very happy ending, but at least his origins came from
a happy place.
Use stills for the westerns.
The Walking Dead
The zombies of this AMC series owe plenty of thanks to special effects wizard Greg Nicotero,
whose role behind the scenes has only grown since the show debuted.
That doesn’t just mean easter eggs or references to classic zombie films like George Romero’s
Dawn of the Dead, but nods to classic horror in every shape and size.
Take, for instance, the season 5 premiere, when Rick and the gang pick their way through
a collection of wooden crates.
Take a closer look at one crate, and its mailing information is crystal clear: “SHIP TO HORLICKS
UNIVERSITY, VIA JULIA CARPENTER.”
To find out what’s in the box, viewers just need to re-watch Romero’s Creepshow, where
it first appeared.
But they may regret that they did.
Arrested Development
Fans will never forget that odd disguises or surprise reveals of Gene Parmesan, the
Bluth family’s go-to private investigator.
But when Arrested Development took to Netflix for season 4, they crafted another weird joke
around actor Martin Mull.
Throughout the season, the family members took to eating a unique dish, mixing parmesan
cheese with plain old yellow mustard.
Nobody seems to enjoy it, but they might once they get the joke.
Martin Mull may be best known for his TV roles, but he also appeared in the big screen version
of Clue, based on the board game.
What role?
Colonel Mustard.
The show goes a step farther, having him pick up a knife next to a ballroom, in case the
joke passed anyone by.
Supernatural
The CW series is known for its meta and self-referential episodes, including one in which the Winchester
Brothers travelled to an alternate world where their life was a strange TV show.
But the nods to horror movies are where the real gold can be found, so when the brothers
investigated a haunted movie set, the writers went all out.
For starters, acknowledging real-world WB horror movies.
But the best reference was to a horror movie that’s… not exactly a classic: Boogeyman.
Taking a shot at the Emily Deschanel and Lucy Lawless movie about a monster in the closet
is harmless – until you realize that it’s “terrible script” was written by Eric
Kripke, the creator and writer of Supernatural.
Unsurprisingly, he didn’t write the script for this episode.
House of Cards
In the world of finicky, ruthless directors, David Fincher is on his own level.
You can’t argue with his results, having delivered movies like Se7en, Gone Girl and
Fight Club, but his movie career got off to a terrible start.
His first film, Alien 3 was a disaster behind the scenes, and Fincher’s demands of his
cast and crew only made things worse.
Years later he would tell a story of one line producer who told him to go easier on those
around him, and try to be more of a people person.
He replied by saying that he loved people, but hinted that he saw them as things to be
managed.
The words were so chilling to writer Beau Willimon, that when it came time to write
the script for the Netflix series – which Fincher would direct and produce – he put
the director’s exact words into the mouth of its calculating main character, Frank Underwood.
Apparently movie-making and politics aren’t so different after all.
So what do you think of our list?
Did we miss any movie easter eggs, references or inside jokes in some of your favorite TV
shows?
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