Ever been to Roku City? If you have a Roku TV or Roku streaming device, then Roku City has been to you. Right there in your TV screen, that cityscape that scrolls across your screen every time you leave your Roku idle enough for the screensaver to kick in. That’s Roku City.
And it’s packed full of Easter eggs as homages to classic television shows and movies. Part of the fun for those who own Rokus is seeing how many they can spot. It all adds up to Roku being, by far, the most playful, whimsical, and entertaining of the major streaming devices.
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tons of movie references
King Kong has long been a staple of Roku City. Watch the cityscape scroll by closely enough, and you’ll see in the far background the silhouette of the beast himself shimmy up a skyscraper, and then attempt to bat away the attacking biplanes that fire at him, just as in the 1933 film.
Dom’s (Vin Diesel’s) 1970 Dodge Charger from the Fast & Furious movie franchise makes an appearance, as does the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder that plays a central role in the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. You can see the latter on a jack stand. You’ll know the exact scene it’s referencing if you’ve seen the movie.
James Bond’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5, laden with hidden gadgets, makes an appearance, too. The car receives almost as much screen time in Goldfinger (and some later Daniel Craig-era Bond films) as Sean Connery, who plays Bond.
Cruella De Vil’s ambiguous 1930s roadster speeds by at one point, driven by a Dalmatian, and the Ghostbuster’s 1959 Cadillac ambulance can be seen parked in a garage. The monstrously possessed tree from Poltergeist outside the window makes an appearance, and the bike from E.T.
Alongside Seattle’s Space Needle and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge sits the Tyrell Corporation’s distinctive, pyramid-shaped headquarters from Blade Runner.
I’m only barely scratching the surface. The precise number of Easter Eggs changes, as does the selection. Some, like King Kong, remain year after year. Others, like the leg lamp from A Christmas Story, come and go.
Roku’s fond of tweaking Roku City temporarily for major events, such as during the Emmys and for certain holidays. Once we near Christmas, you’ll see what I’m talking about, as Roku City will, for a short while, transform into a broadly winter holiday-themed cityscape.
