In 1982 Steven Spielberg further developed his credentials as a blockbuster filmmaker with E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. Everyone knows the story of this friendly, Pepperami-shaped alien, but if you happen to have been in cryo-sleep for the past 30-odd years, here's the gist: Disaffected lad Elliott's life changed forever after he formed a bond with a cosmic straggler who was left behind by his fellow waddlers during an exploratory expedition. Invited to live secretly at the boy's house, E.T. got a first hand look at human culture, doing everything from getting tanked up to exploring feelings of latent transvestism. Toy firm Texas Instruments were pleased as plastic-moulded punch when groundbreaking learning tool the Speak & Spell was used by the shortest guy in the room to send a distress signal back to his home planet. Nowadays the tame pleasures of the device can be done on any smartphone, but back then this was the future, and impressed the hell out of a generation of children.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
