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Get ready to pause, rewind, and look closer, because these hidden TV details are too good to miss! Join us as we count down the most clever and hilarious easter eggs ever hidden in television history! From cryptic background numbers to multi-season long commitments to a single joke, these sneaky details prove that the best TV writers always reward their most attentive fans!
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00:00Did she recast Pietro?
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:04And today we're counting down our picks for the most funny and clever hidden details in television history.
00:08Although, we'll be limiting ourselves to just one per show, or else this whole list would probably just be The
00:12Simpsons.
00:13Woohoo!
00:15Number 20. Space Cowboy.
00:18Castle.
00:18Firefly is perhaps the greatest one-season wonder in television history.
00:22Now you can luxuriate in a nice jail cell, but if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty
00:29floral bonnet, I will end you.
00:30While fellow Nathan Fillion's show Castle ran for a whole lot longer, it still felt the need to give the
00:35sci-fi western its due.
00:36There's a litany of smaller references sprinkled throughout the series, but the most entertaining one comes when Castle wants to
00:42dress as a space cowboy for Halloween.
00:44His daughter, though, points out that he's already done that before.
00:47What exactly are you supposed to be?
00:50Space cowboy.
00:51Okay, A, there are no cows in space.
00:54B, didn't you wear that, like, five years ago?
00:56Not only is this a snicker-inducing wink for Fillion fans, but it's also one of the more clever ways
01:00to acknowledge an actor's past.
01:02I like it.
01:04Number 19. Reserved.
01:06Friends.
01:06Ah, the age-old question.
01:08No, not about whether Ross and Rachel were on a break.
01:10Cause I thought we were broken up!
01:12We were on a break!
01:13We're talking about how on earth these guys always get the best seats at Central Perk.
01:17As anyone who's been to a coffee shop in New York knows, getting any kind of sitting room is a
01:21bloodbath.
01:21Huh.
01:22But the friends not only always have a place to sit, it's the best seat in the house, every single
01:27time.
01:27Luckily, the set dresser acknowledges this.
01:29In a few scenes scattered throughout the series, you can see a tiny reserve sign on the table.
01:33Guess Gunther is a good friend to have.
01:35Um, can I get a napkin too?
01:37Oh, like you don't already have everything.
01:40Number 18. An actor's resume.
01:43Supernatural.
01:44The most uncanny part of this paranormal procedural is how it manages to sneak in so many campy details into
01:49its writing.
01:50I hear you.
01:51Okay?
01:52Yeah, I'm being an ass.
01:53And I'm sorry.
01:55But right now we got a freaking zombie running around.
01:57We need to figure out how to kill it.
02:01Right?
02:03Our lives are weird, man.
02:06You telling me?
02:07There's truly a million we could choose.
02:09But the one that made us laugh the most saw Sam and Dean on a TV set.
02:12There, they call out Gilmore Girls and make a cheeky reference to actor Jared Padalecki's time on the show.
02:17Now to the right here is Stars Hollow.
02:20It's the setting for the television series Gilmore Girls.
02:24And if we're lucky, we might even catch one of the show's stars.
02:29Jensen Ackles isn't safe either.
02:31His stint on a superhero show gets a wink too.
02:33And then up to the right here we have New York Avenue.
02:37And that's where they shot Lois and Clark.
02:39Even this early in Supernatural's run, it was just having fun.
02:43And you could see that in these kinds of meta gags.
02:45Number 17.
02:47Breaking Bad
02:47One of television's best full circle moments comes in the form of a pair of pants.
02:52We're serious.
02:52Even though creator Vince Gilligan famously doesn't plot out his stories,
02:55Breaking Bad's final season includes a nostalgic throwback to the pilot.
02:59Uh, what are you doing?
03:02These are my good clothes.
03:04In both, Walter ends up in the desert.
03:06But in season 5, he actually comes upon the same pair of trousers he ditched way back in that first
03:10episode.
03:11Take my true love by her hand, lead her through the town.
03:19We could wax poetic about the symbolism, but in the essence of time, we'll just get Breaking Bad as flowers.
03:24Who knew a pair of pants would end up being one of the most persisting images in one of the
03:28greatest shows of all time?
03:33Number 16.
03:34The Return of Sam Malone.
03:35The Good Place.
03:36Ted Danson has been in so many iconic comedies over the years, they have to start referencing each other.
03:41You know the thing is, the problem really with being a do-gooder?
03:45What's that?
03:46In this case, The Good Place delivers a love letter to what is arguably Danson's most recognizable role, Sam Malone.
03:59He spent a long time as everyone's favorite bartender on Cheers, so the second The Good Place had a chance
04:04to show Danson making drinks, they pounced.
04:06It makes sense as a moment where Michael reaches out to support Eleanor, but for those of us who grew
04:10up watching and pour a pint, it holds a different, special kind of meaning.
04:14I gotta go home.
04:15What do I owe you?
04:16The real question, Eleanor, is what do we owe to each other?
04:22What?
04:23Did I sell you a drink?
04:25Am I a bartender?
04:27Drinks are on me.
04:29Good luck.
04:30Number 15.
04:31The Little Wooden Box.
04:33Parks and Recreation.
04:34We all know Ben and Leslie are absolute sitcom couple royalty, but the show knew it too, and buried a
04:39physical reminder of their love right in front of our eyes.
04:41It starts out when Ben gives Leslie a campaign pin inside a wooden box.
04:45Wow.
04:47You knew?
04:49I figured it out a while ago.
04:51I'm sorry, I should have told you I knew, but I just wanted this to last as long as possible.
04:56Later, she returns the package as a goodbye gift, only for Ben to use it a third time to hold
05:01their engagement ring.
05:02Yeah, this old box is kind of a big deal.
05:04Neither of them overtly mention its significance, but eagle-eyed fans know that when this box comes out, they're in
05:09for some adorable romantic shenanigans.
05:11I need to remember every little thing about how perfect my life is right now, at this exact moment.
05:21Okay.
05:23Number 14.
05:24Nibblers to Blame.
05:25Futurama.
05:26The very first episode of Futurama begins with our hero, Fry, falling into a cryogenics tube and waking up thousands
05:32of years in the future.
05:37What the?
05:38Huh? Huh? Huh?
05:40It would take four entire seasons to learn how that happened.
05:43Nearly a hundred episodes later, Nibbler reveals that, in order to secure the Nibblonians' conquest, he's the one who sent
05:49Fry into cryostasis.
05:50We had no choice.
05:52You were the only one who could help us.
05:54What is one life weighed against the entire universe?
05:58But it was my life.
06:01The thing is, if you look closely, you can see Nibbler's silhouette in the pilot.
06:05No one knew what they were looking for back then, but it speaks to Futurama's smart writing that this long
06:10-awaited answer had been right in front of us the whole time.
06:13Huh.
06:13Did everything just taste purple for a second?
06:16Oh well.
06:17Let's go home, you dumb poop machine.
06:19Hey!
06:21Number 13.
06:22Recruits from the West Wing.
06:24Star Trek Voyager.
06:25As a general rule of thumb, any time there's a wall of text in a TV show,
06:28you can bet someone on the production team is going to have some fun.
06:31Are you giving up?
06:34I'm merely accepting reality.
06:36That's exactly what happened in Star Trek Voyager.
06:38In a scene showing a list of deceased crew members, the characters of the West Wing make a surprising appearance.
06:43It's just their first initial and last name, but anyone who's seen the political drama would recognize them anywhere.
06:49It's not a crossover we ever expected, but given they're on the deceased list, it wasn't a very long one
06:53anyways.
06:54You can't bring your hobbies into work, okay?
06:58Got it.
07:04Except on Star Trek holidays.
07:07There's no such thing as a Star Trek holiday.
07:10We'll work hard around here.
07:12We'll make one.
07:13Number 12.
07:15Sweater's Return.
07:16Schitt's Creek.
07:16How do you say goodbye to a character as iconic as David Rose?
07:20With wit, heart, and of course, a wall of impeccably designed sweaters.
07:24Do you like this sweater?
07:26Jared Leto gave it to me and I've always been on the fence about it.
07:29His taste in fashion became an integral part of his character over the years, so it's sweet to see that
07:33part of him come full circle in the finale.
07:35We should have gotten married indoors.
07:37You said indoor weddings are tacky.
07:38No, I said most weddings are tacky and they often take place indoors.
07:43During David's pre-wedding panic, a wall of his most recognizable wardrobe is hanging behind him, a somewhat literal representation
07:49of the many memories and types of sweaters we'd been through with him.
07:52It just goes to show that Schitt's Creek knew its characters inside and out.
07:56Nice sweater, bro.
07:57Um, God, I, this is so old and I can't even remember where I got, do you guys remember, sorry,
08:03where I got this sweater?
08:05Number 11.
08:06License Plate.
08:06Heroes.
08:07George Takei went where no man had gone before, and then came back to network TV decades later for a
08:12show about superheroes.
08:13What is this, Mr. Solo?
08:15Mr. Spock has orders to kill you, Captain.
08:19He will succeed.
08:22Apparently.
08:23Of course, Heroes couldn't resist acknowledging Takei's history in Star Trek.
08:27It's not too flashy, but if you look closely, his character's license plate matches the registry for the USS Enterprise.
08:33While comic book stories are known for hidden details, it's these relatively small references that end up being the most
08:38satisfying.
08:39After all, it takes a special kind of superfan to connect a license plate to a spaceship.
08:51Number 10.
08:52Countdown.
08:53How I Met Your Mother.
08:54Even in a sitcom, not every climax is a punchline, and the same can be said for Easter eggs.
08:59In an episode aptly titled Bad News, the story builds to the revelation that Marshall's dad has passed away.
09:04My dad said?
09:06It feels like it comes out of nowhere, but if you pay attention, the background of each scene includes numbers
09:11that count down from 50 to 1, offering a literal ticking clock to the tragedy.
09:16It's one of those things you can't unsee once it's been pointed out, and only adds to the ominous sense
09:20of impending doom.
09:27Number 9. Long Dog Scavenger Hunt.
09:30Bluey, pick up your magnifying glasses and head to Disney+, because finding every long dog is a never-ending
09:35game of I Spy.
09:36We're going to spy on Atreides. Oof.
09:40Don't worry if you haven't spotted it. The toy is almost never the center of attention in any shot.
09:44But, in order to entertain viewers and themselves, Bluey's production team began hiding long dogs throughout the episodes.
09:50But what if you say it?
09:51I'll never say it.
09:53Soon enough, that inside joke hit the mainstream.
10:00And now, there are whole fan groups dedicated to finding the long dog in each installment.
10:05We admire the dedication, not just because it's a Herculean effort, but also because this is an easter egg hunt
10:10that just keeps on going.
10:12Keep looking, keep looking.
10:13Number 8. Joel and Ellie, Meet Joel and Ellie, The Last of Us.
10:17Adapted from a beloved video game of the same name, there's an endless number of callbacks baked into the show's
10:22DNA.
10:23What did you say?
10:25Everything happens for a reason, right?
10:27However, we have to highlight one that even die-hards may have overlooked.
10:31I still believe.
10:32In the game, Ellie has a particularly nasty fight with a rotten guy named James.
10:36The show follows this storyline to a T.
10:38Except in this case, James is played by Troy Baker, who originally played Joel in the game.
10:42While it's not exactly a flattering role, the fact they brought him back for a cameo is still plenty cool.
10:47Don't worry, Ashley Johnson fans, the original Ellie actress got a cameo too.
10:51Please! Please!
10:53Number 7. Cryptograms Galore, Gravity Falls.
10:56We could, and have, filled an entire list of hidden details in the show.
11:00It's hard to believe it's been six years since I began studying the strange and wondrous secrets of Gravity Falls,
11:06Oregon.
11:07The entirety of Gravity Falls is built upon small references, subtle foreshadowing, and piecing together miniscule breadcrumbs.
11:13Perhaps the show's greatest clue, though, appears in the credits of each and every episode.
11:18Each one signs off with a cryptogram that, when put through an ever-changing cipher, reveals secret messages about the
11:23series.
11:24There's a message in there! I swear!
11:26As a reminder, this show aired on Disney XD.
11:29Then again, the way Gravity Falls respected its audience's intelligence is why it's remembered as one of the all-time
11:34greats.
11:39Number 6. Rock Bottom Corrections, The Simpsons.
11:42Look, choosing just one quirky detail from The Simpsons is a fool's errand.
11:46No exaggeration, there's probably thousands of subliminal messages in the series, and more we probably haven't even found.
11:52Disingenuous mount-a-bangs with her subliminal sectainery of pox on them!
11:56But if we had to pick just one, we'd look to the episode, Homer Badman.
12:00A wall of text runs by the screen too fast for any normal person to read.
12:04Rock Bottom would like to make the following corrections.
12:09Wow, VA juice isn't one eats gasoline.
12:12And Ted Koppel is a robot!
12:14But if you pause it, The Simpsons writers buried some nice jokes for you, including a message to get a
12:19life.
12:19If that doesn't sum up The Simpsons to a T, we don't know what does.
12:26Number 5. Third time's the charm. Community.
12:29Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.
12:31Do you see him? He's there if you look in the window behind Annie.
12:33While Community is known for its meta humor, the fact it actually brought this ghoul to the small screen is
12:38just next level.
12:39What's the blonde's name? Bitter Butter Beetlejuice?
12:42Naturally, Beetlejuice doesn't show until the third time they say his name. The cool part is that it isn't said
12:47in the same episode.
12:48Don't you usually wear the stripy turquoise Beetlejuice numbers?
12:51Or even the same season. It took years for them to say Beetlejuice three times, and only then does he
12:56pop up.
12:56There's nothing in your playlist but Spooky Party, the Beetlejuice soundtrack, and NPR podcast.
13:01Talk about committing to the bit. For Community though, we shouldn't expect anything less.
13:06Number 4. Up, Up, and Away. Seinfeld.
13:08Good old Clark Kent is practically a main character in Seinfeld.
13:11He doesn't talk, and is only seldom mentioned, but he's always there if you look for him.
13:14Sometimes it's on a fridge magnet, sometimes it's an action figure, or sometimes he's directly called out.
13:19Too bad you can't get your buddy Superman to fly around the Earth at super speed in reverse time.
13:27Jerry Seinfeld himself is a huge Superman fan, but whether or not it was he who ensured the spandex-clad
13:32hero appeared in so many episodes of the series, doesn't take away from this super easter egg.
13:37It's often been a sanctuary for me.
13:42Kinda like Superman's Fortress of Solitude.
13:45What?
13:47Uh, Superman, he, uh, built the Fortress of Solitude up at the North Pole to, uh, you know, sort of
13:53get away from it all.
13:55Find the Superman is a fun game to play on rewatch.
13:58Clearly, people liked it, since Psych pulled a similar stunt by hiding a pineapple in each episode, too.
14:03Now let's go say hello to our new neighbors.
14:05Number 3. Give Buster a Hand. Arrested Development.
14:08You don't always see much foreshadowing in absurdist sitcoms, but that's why Arrested Development is something special.
14:13In an innocuous episode, Buster talks about missing a hand.
14:16Oh, I never thought I'd miss a hand so much. You people are just like me.
14:20At the time, he's referring to a strangely constructed armchair. Little did he know, less than episodes later, he'd be
14:26missing a hand in a more literal sense.
14:28There's no way anyone's picking up on this subtle call-out the first time around, but on a rewatch, it's
14:33guaranteed to leave you laughing.
14:34You have to make love in your own hand. Mother!
14:38With all that being said, we have to hand it to Buster. Sorry, bad choice of words.
14:41And while you're at it, let's all give me a big hand!
14:48Number 2. 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42. Lost.
14:54Perhaps one of the most legendary background details in television history is nothing more than a series of numbers.
14:59The numbers of what brought me here. As it appears, they've brought you.
15:06If you've seen Lost, you know the sequence of digits follows the castaways all throughout their lives.
15:12While it's notably on The Hatch and Hurley's winning lottery ticket, they actually appear in dozens upon dozens of places
15:17across the series.
15:18Excuse me! Excuse me! Look out! Heads up! Go through!
15:21It's rare for a full episode to go by without at least some of the famed digits appearing in the
15:25background.
15:26The coolest part isn't the numbers themselves, but the insane scale to which they're incorporated into every corner of Lost's
15:31story.
15:31Wait! The numbers are bad!
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15:50Number 1. Evan Peters' second lap as Quicksilver, WandaVision.
15:54Marvel knew exactly what they were doing casting Evan Peters in WandaVision.
15:58He spent several years as Quicksilver in the Fox X-Men films.
16:01What are you doing?
16:02I'm holding your neck so you don't get whiplash.
16:04What?
16:06Whiplash!
16:07At the time, those didn't have any connection to the MCU.
16:10So you can imagine the frenzy when Peters appeared as another version of Pietro in WandaVision.
16:15Who's a popsicle?
16:18For those not as privy on casting details, it may not have seemed like a big deal.
16:22But for fans of the Fox X-Men movies, this acknowledgement sparked a whole fandom renaissance.
16:27Even if Peters' Pietro didn't end up being real, the fact the MCU included him at all is still a
16:31great wink.
16:32Are you okay?
16:36I'm fine.
16:38Aha.
16:40What's your favorite TV easter egg?
16:42Let us know in the comments below.
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