It may seem like TV shows are made pretty fast, but regardless of their final ratings, the creators, set decoratos, and the rest of the staff still care about putting in little things here and there, hoping viewers would notice them. Sometimes, these details are easy to spot, but other times, you’ll need multiple viewings to find them.
Here are some of the most missable references and easter eggs in TV history.
1. The Simpsons – McBain
Have you ever noticed that The Simpsons are doing their darndest to mock as many famous people as they can? One such mockery is Rainier Wolfcastle, who looks a lot like a certain senator. Wolfcastle is a huge Hollywood star in the show, famous for his “McBain” action movie series, so clearly it’s Bruce Willis, right? Wrong! It’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, dummy.
2. Fringe – The Observer
There was this amazing sci-fi show on FOX called Fringe, where a bunch of federal agents used “fringe science” to investigate unexplainable events. Think X Files but with actual answers. And on this show, there was a bald dude – the Observer – who was always lurking around somewhere in the background of every episode. But the network took it a step further and this guy started popping up in other FOX shows and live sports broadcasts. Pretty cool, huh?
3. Futurama – Nibbler
If you’re a fan of Futurama, you might remember the moment in the first episode where Fry falls off his chair and lands in a cryo-tube, only to wake up in the future. In season five, we find out that it was actually Lila’s pet, Nibbler, who pushed him into the tube. And if you go back to that first episode and look closely, you can see Nibbler’s shadow in the scene where Fry falls.
