E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg's high-grossing 1982 film, included a clip from Sesame Street. During a scene with E.T. and Gertie (played by Drew Barrymore), the show is playing on the TV long enough for two sketches to appear. The first is an animated film about the letter B which aids E.T. in learning how to speak. The second scene features Big Bird introducing Grover in the courtyard as he demonstrates two chin-ups (this scene has been released commercially on Old School: Volume 1 as an insert for Episode 0536). The audio that ends the scene, however, was taken from Episode 1364 to provide a more appropriate dialogue for the film: Big Bird observes a rocket ship and remarks, "I think it came from outer space," just as E.T. begins to communicate his desire to phone home.

The E.T. puppet also made an appearance in The Earth Day Special, as did the Muppets.