So, I’ve been jonesing to re-read the 1985 paperback, E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet. I’ve had it since it came out, and have only read it once. I remember one scene in it, but that’s all I can recall. Since it and the original adaptation of the Melissa Matheson screenplay were written by William Kotzwinkle, I decided to read both.

Digging into the quickly read novel, you can see how much the film changed from Matheson’s initial script to what ended up on the screen. The basic moments are there as E.T., an alien botanist is left behind on Earth and he befriends a young boy, Elliott.

But there are a lot of differences that show up in the novel, and I figure since everyone is familiar with the story of E.T. I can jump right to the things that stood out.

E.T. is, according to the story, over a million years old. And while Steven Spielberg has said E.T. is a sentient plant, that doesn’t get a mention in this. What is weird is that plants, vegetables, animals all seem to have human thoughts, which they can share with E.T., who emits a large telepathic field.

He also has the ability to release a mist from his toes and fingers as a way to camouflage himself.

That’s interesting enough, but I didn’t really care for the forest animals and Harvey the dog understanding everything and trying to communicate with E.T. – that would have made the movie really bad.

There’s a little more with Keys, who apparently is also affected by E.T.’s telepathic field. And speaking of more, there is a lot more with Mary, Elliott’s mother, whom E.T. develops a bit of a crush on.

There are some interesting bits, and you can see how reworking the script made things smoother and more cohesive. But it’s fascinating to see how things developed.

Elliott, himself, is a bit of a twerp. He’s supposed to wear his thick glasses, and isn’t always the nicest of Mary’s three children. Gertie, the youngest, is pretty much the same character as the one who ends up on screen, and she is around when E.T. begins to learn English.

And that leads to another issue: E.T. is a little more verbose in the book than in the film. He speaks in full sentences.

The entire household is under E.T.’s telepathic field, and everyone has odd dreams because of it. This is something that I’m glad was dropped. Obviously, there’s a psychic connection between Elliott and E.T. in the film, and it works better with just the two of them.

So let’s move on to the rest of Michael and Elliott’s friends. There’s Greg, Steven and Tyler. In the film, and somewhat in the book, they seem to be established as Michael’s friends, and they all play D&D together. In the novel, despite being Michael’s friends, they all seem to be in Elliott’s grade. I don’t see an older brother wanting to hang out with his brother’s young friends.

And then there’s Lance. Apparently, things went so far as to have cast Corey Feldman in the role before it was cut from the script. Lance is a complete nerd who tries to insinuate himself into Elliot’s life when he learns about E.T. (and also falls within the alien’s telepathic field).

The book is an interesting experiment, and if the film, contained within its pages, had been made, I don’t think it would have worked.

Spielberg and Matheson reworked the story to work as a story about divorce and friendship, and married some of the scenes and moments, moving them around in the narrative, and making it work like the magical experience it remains.

It’s an interesting read, but it is very much not the movie we love. But it’s fascinating to see how the screenplay grew into what we know.

So let’s see how Book of the Green Planet stands the test of time.