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Back to the Future (1985)


Shannon L.
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That Jimmy Kimmel thing was great ... 

 

Gosh, Christopher Lloyd is 77 years old.  Dang.

Seems crazier that he would have only been 47 back in 1985. Grey hair really made him look older. Plus it would have meant that Christopher Lloyd would have only been 17 in 1955.

Edited by Kel Varnsen
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I know Fox lives in New York (and it's the only reason he does Good Wife at all or that series he had briefly two years ago). So poor ol' Christopher Lloyd is the one who had to be flown in for Kimmel and that thing at the Bendix diner. 

 

Actually CLEARLY that's the same car we see "Doc Brown" meet outside Kimmel's Brooklyn theater (that they then slap the flying FX on), so... synergy eh? Clearly Toyota arranged this whole thing, probably up to and including the whole idea of coming on Kimmel in the first place.

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The one scene that honestly never fails to make me laugh is from the third movie. They're at the dance/shindig/whatever and Mad Dog is menacing Doc and goes to shoot him with his tiny boot gun but Marty flings the pie pan at him, hits him in the wrist (causing him to miss) and goes 'Hey, back off, JERK!'

Mad Dog looks at his entourage and they all shrug, having no idea what Marty even said, and turns back (still looking really confused) and just goes 'Strong words, runt!'

I don't even know why. It's such an innocuous bit of slang but I guess it does make sense that people from the Old West wouldn't know what he was talking about.

Of course, it's also followed up by Mad Dog wanting a showdown with Marty and his group interrupting him because they have other crimes to commit for much of the week. "How about Friday? We doing anything then?" "No... nope, Friday's good. You can kill him then." "FRIDAY, RUNT!" (Not sure it was actually Friday but you get the idea.)

Another Part 3 bit with Mad Dog that always makes me chuckle is when he's counting down for Marty to show himself for the shootout and he stops forgetting what number comes next and turns around to look at one of his posse and they hold up the number of fingers to remind him what comes next and he quickly yells it out like 'Oh, yeah! I knew that number!'

The Tannen's in every era were just amazing buffoons. Thomas Wilson rocked every version of Biff (lecherous 1985 Biff, young 1950s Biff, track suit lackey 1985 Biff, alternate universe Biff) and then got to go all out as Mad Dog. He's as important as the other big 3 (Marty, Doc, Lorraine) because without a great antagonist the comedy really falls flat.

Edited by TobinAlbers
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I wonder if they knew that they had such a hit on their hands that it would resonate with everyone to this extent.  Did anyone see the Today Show interviews with Leah Thompson, Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox?  They said that the script was rejected several times and Leah thinks maybe it had to do with the fact that Marty's mother had the hots for him.  They were also asked which lines they get repeated to them the most often by fans.  They were:

 

Michael:  "McFly, you Irish bug (I think he said bug-I don't remember this line)!"

Christopher:  "Roads?  Where we're going we don't need roads."

Leah:  "You're my density."

 

Leah's quote would be the first one that came to my mind, but I'm surprised that Christopher's isn't "Great Scott!".  As for Michael's, the first two I think of are:  "You built a time machine out of a Delorean?!" or "What the hell is a jiggawatt?!"

I'm surprised he picked that one, because that's something Biff says to George, not Marty - it's in the first movie when he's talking to Lorraine in the diner.  Biff comes in and says "McFly, you Irish bug, I thought I told you not to come in here!"  I too would've thought Michael would get "You built a time machine...out of a Delorean?", or "Wait a minute Doc.  Are you are trying to tell me that my mother has got the hots for me?"  I will say, my favorite Doc Brown line from any of the movies is his deadpan "Maybe you were adopted?" when they first see George in the past.  

 

It would take me too long to list everything I love about the movies, but I do think my favorite "hell yeah!" moment is in the first one, when George finds his courage and confronts Biff.  And I'm not even talking about the eventual punch, I think George has never been stronger than his quiet, but measured "No Biff.  You leave her alone."

 

Also, through the anonymity of the internet is where I finally admit this secret shame - not until I rewatched all the films this past weekend did I realize that Goldie Wilson had a gold front tooth when Marty sees him in the past.  I can't even count how many times I've seen the first movie, and that was the first time I noticed it.

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Another Part 3 bit with Mad Dog that always makes me chuckle is when he's counting down for Marty to show himself for the shootout and he stops forgetting what number comes next and turns around to look at one of his posse and they hold up the number of fingers to remind him what comes next and he quickly yells it out like 'Oh, yeah! I knew that number!'

The Tannen's in every era were just amazing buffoons. Thomas Wilson rocked every version of Biff (lecherous 1985 Biff, young 1950s Biff, track suit lackey 1985 Biff, alternate universe Biff) and then got to go all out as Mad Dog. He's as important as the other big 3 (Marty, Doc, Lorraine) because without a great antagonist the comedy really falls flat.

I also like the part where Marty tells Biff the fight is off and he forfeits. Biff then asks, "What's a forfeit?" and one of his lackeys says, "It's winning without a fight". Then Biff yells "He can't do that...You can't do that!"

 

I like in the first movie when Lorraine follows Marty home and asks him to the dance. In the background, you can see how squicked out Doc is.

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I like in the first movie when Lorraine follows Marty home and asks him to the dance. In the background, you can see how squicked out Doc is.

I like the moment when she says something about how a man should be strong and be able to defend a woman and Marty takes a quick look at Doc, who shrugs and gives him a look that says "Can't argue with that".

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 I will say, my favorite Doc Brown line from any of the movies is his deadpan "Maybe you were adopted?" when they first see George in the past.  

My favourite Doc bits are in 1 and 3 when he complains about the crudity of the models of the town that he built because he didn't have time to build it to scale.

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I think the third movie was the only time I know of, that Christopher Lloyd had a love interest.

He had one in Taxi at least once or twice (not for long though,given the state of Rev. Jim's mind).

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It never fails to amuse me how Lorraine goes from an overprotective mother that can't stand Jennifer in original 1985 to "I sure do like her, Marty, she is such a sweet girl" in the new and improved 1985. She even gets coy about their trip to the lake, implying means the happy sober Lorraine either trusts Marty or at least trusts that Marty and Jennifer would be smart enough to take necessary precautions.

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Original Lorraine fell for and married her nerdy, wimpy high school boyfriend who didn't really amount to much and was still being pushed around by Biff 30 years later. New timeline Lorraine fell for and married her confident, ambitious high school boyfriend who was very successful in life. Considering how much better her life got i can see how that would change her perspective on high school Marty getting serious with his girlfriend.

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That reminded me, Crispin Glover (an interesting person but a REAL oddball) had a problem with the idea at the end that money=happiness.  That wasn't the message.  Because George finally stood up for himself, he gained self-confidence (as Kel noted) and as a result went on to have a much more successful life.  Which is why him and his family are in a much more successful place at the end.  The wealth came from being a stronger and more confident person who was willing to take a risk.

 

Glover also had an issue with Marty getting the jeep, thinking that his parents being happy should be the greater reward.  I can get the point he was trying to make there but again, I think the movie shows that.  When Marty says good-bye to George and Lorraine, the way he delivers that line "It's been a learning experience" tells the audience that he was grateful to really get to know both of his parents in a way he never thought possible.

Edited by benteen
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Watched all three in the marathon at the theaters yesterday. A few people dressed up, but there were 3 or 4(!) Jennifers. Who would have guessed she was the popular character! But I guess her outfit is much easier to replicate than any of Lorraine's.

 

I had never seen the film on the big screen before, and there is so much to appreciate about it on that scale. The make-up aging on Chis Lloyd from 55 to 85 is something I'd never really noticed before, it's just subtle enough to show that he has aged in 85 just as everyone else has. Crispin Glover's performance is also amplified by what he does in the background of shots (George slinking away after the town square chase while Lorraine looks on, infatuated, is heartbreaking but also helps sum up how out of his comfort zone his character was.

 

But by far and away this best, is the deafening silence after the lightning strike. There's so much build up between the score, the yelling, the wind, and then it all falls silent and it's just Doc. Fantastic

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That reminded me, Crispin Glover (an interesting person but a REAL oddball) had a problem with the idea at the end that money=happiness.  That wasn't the message.  Because George finally stood up or himself, he gained self-confidence (as Kel noted) and as a result went on to have a much more successful life.  

 

I agree. It wasn't that they had money that made the difference. They were all so much happier. It wasn't that money = happiness, it was happiness = success. Sure, they had nice things but they all liked each other so much more, the teasing was gentle and the love they all had was far more evident. They were in the same house, after all... so it wasn't like they were suddenly in a mansion or whatever. They just took care of themselves, each other and their house/lives better because of the improvement of their self-esteem.

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Honestly, as much as I loved Crispin Glover's George, they really should have just gone ahead and recasted the part like they did with Jennifer Parker. Sure, there's a a bunch of stuff they would've had to re-film, but it would have been better for the trilogy for George to have actually had some presence in them instead of a standin covering his face and archival footage. It's not like the producers didn't have experience of doing it.

 

Andrew McCarthy could've made a good George, I think. (Although he apparently had some major problems back in the 1980's.) Patrick Dempsey could've worked, too.

 

I also think they could've worked in Wendie's pregnancy by having it be in 1985B...Marty's reaction would've been hilarious, and it would have fit into the tone of the Alterna-1985 by having Linda be pregnant.

Edited by methodwriter85
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Sure we don't have flying cars or real hoverboards, but its funny that one of the biggest misses of BTTF2 is the lack of cell/smart phones and that newspapers and phone booths still exist (yes, I know they do sortof still exist, at least newspapers, but not that many use them anymore).  Of course, the movie being made in 1989, cell phones weren't in wide usage at all. I think either Lethal Weapon 1 or 2 (1987 and 1989) showed Danny Glover using a 'mobile phone' that looked like a phone attached to a brief case.  Had BTTF2 been made maybe 6 or 7 years later, when people started using cell phones (I think I got my first sometime in the mid-late 90s), they might have been able to hypothecize its development more.  While its true that Star Trek envisioned a farther future, it certainly got mobile communicators and tablets right.

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One thing I've always been curious about is what George's job was after Marty changed the future.  He and Lorraine were celebrating his first novel, and I think it's clear he no longer works in whatever dead end office job he and Biff had in the original timeline, but they never said what his new job was.  I assume it had to do with writing since he enjoyed that but I want details! 

 

I also agree that the family was happier at the end of the movie and that was the clear message.  Dave had a job that implied financial security, yes, but also seemed to bring out his maturity.  We don't have any indication that he was still living at home in the new timeline, so I just assume that he came over for family breakfast (maybe he even treated everyone).  Linda had been raised with more self confidence and now had many boys vying for her attention.  She was no longer the insecure young woman who wanted to make those connections but lacked the confidence and emotional security to take those steps.  Lorraine as well, was now happy with her life and, like the rest of them, was more active and self confident than in the original timeline.  I think it's a pretty clever demonstration of how Marty's trip brought his family the happiness that was missing in the original timeline.

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Keeping in mind Biff had to be in the last family scene, it's interesting that Marty's trip caused a positive outcome for him as well with owning his own business, even if it's turning the tables by working for George.

Every time I watch the scene at the end and Dave is in a suit I wonder why he's still living at home if he's so successful, given its 10:30 in the morning it's quite plausible he's just stopping by so I like your explanation, scarynikki!

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Keeping in mind Biff had to be in the last family scene, it's interesting that Marty's trip caused a positive outcome for him as well with owning his own business, even if it's turning the tables by working for George.

 

It would be interesting to see what happened in that intervening 55-85 period with Biff and the McFlys. Maybe he sheepishly slinks through his senior year of High School after being embarrassed, but that refocuses him on his true passions of cars, and has taken to fixing his own to avoid more $300 bills. Meanwhile George and Lorraine, who in 85 appear to at least acknowledge Biff was responsible for them coming together take some pity on reformed Biff after his grandmother passes away, and George's renewed "Believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything" attitude leads him to impart the same on Biff.

 

And... Oh god, I've started writing BTTF Fan Fiction unintentionally!

 

Also, the family, while better off, does not to be on a significantly different standing. They're still in the same house and neighborhood. It's just been kept up better and some more expensive vehicles are in the driveway.

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We don't have any indication that [Dave] was still living at home in the new timeline, so I just assume that he came over for family breakfast (maybe he even treated everyone). 

I assumed he was living at home;  when Marty asked how he was going to go camping "because the car was wrecked", Dave's reply was "Wrecked?!  Why am I always the last to know about these things?" which I assumed meant that he needed the car (for some reason, never quite figured out why they'd all still be sharing a car...)

 

Of course, it's probably part of the same plot hand-waving that assumed that changing George and Lorraine's life still meant that Dave, Linda and Marty would all be conceived at exactly the same moment as before and they'd still live in the same house as before, when it seems they were more likely to be living in Hilldale.

Edited by jcin617
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There's also Back to the Future 3 when Marty returns at the end.  It's the next day in 1985 (a Sunday) and both Dave and Linda are leaving the house with George and Lorraine, indicating they both still lived at home.

 

Good question about what George was before he got published...maybe he worked for a newspaper or magazine?  Maybe he wrote a couple of short stories?  Or perhaps he did have a "regular" job that he held until he was finally able to get his first novel published, remember Marty's advice about putting your mind to something.

 

Hadn't thought about that in regards to Biff but yeah, if he owns his own business then he's not doing too bad for himself either.  I'm surprised Lorraine would want him around that after the attempted rape.

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Marty kind of ends up cheating himself out of that happier life and upbringing the rest of the family got due to his efforts. I mean, all HIS memories are still of the sad sack version of his family from the original timeline, and he doesn't really know the new versions at all.

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It is an ironic ending that Marty ends up with a more loving family but one he doesn't recognize.  Though at least he got to know his parents when they were younger.

 

I'd like to think as he spent more time in 1985, Marty started to remember stuff that happened in this new timeline.

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Other Time Travel movies have gone that route where your memories instantly change.

 

Jumping too far down the time travel paradox takes away from these stories though. There's simply too many variables. I mean if Marty disrupts George Meeting Lorraine under those circumstances and she falls for Marty, wouldn't Marty instantly disappear under that series of events? Does the timeline work in probabilities? Is that the point of the multiverse?

 

Ahhh, back to my Fan Fic!

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Marty had the benefit of being the last born of 3. If he was the first born he probably would have been showing the effects about the time he met 1955 Doc and who knows how the rest of the story would play out.

Anyone here ever see the movie Frequency? The Jim Caviezel character changes his past and admits later being confused with the mixing of old and new past memories.

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Marty kind of ends up cheating himself out of that happier life and upbringing the rest of the family got due to his efforts. I mean, all HIS memories are still of the sad sack version of his family from the original timeline, and he doesn't really know the new versions at all.

 

 

I remember before the second film was released, I'd read a magazine article in which the question was posed about what became of the "other Marty" (aka "Marty 2")  since Original Marty created a paradox by changing the time he returned to 1985 (and witnessed himself going to 1955).  The writer thought THAT Marty still succeeded in getting his parents together but ended up in the first reality (Mom the drunk, loser sibs, Dad still being walked over by Biff and likely everyone else).  I remember feeling sad for him until BTTF 2 explained what happened.

 

 

There's also Back to the Future 3 when Marty returns at the end.  It's the next day in 1985 (a Sunday) and both Dave and Linda are leaving the house with George and Lorraine, indicating they both still lived at home.

 

 

 

This didn't bother me;  Linda graduated the previous year (the "Class of '84" shirt she wore in the photo) and was likely a college student, so her living at home made perfect sense.  Dave was older than her (not sure by how much - maybe 3 years), so he would have graduated College and got a great office job, but being that Hilldale was in CA, I always thought he still lived at home until he could afford to move out.  Way better than the old reality in which he was working in a fast food joint making minimum wage.

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Marty kind of ends up cheating himself out of that happier life and upbringing the rest of the family got due to his efforts. I mean, all HIS memories are still of the sad sack version of his family from the original timeline, and he doesn't really know the new versions at all.

It is an ironic ending that Marty ends up with a more loving family but one he doesn't recognize. Though at least he got to know his parents when they were younger.

I'd like to think as he spent more time in 1985, Marty started to remember stuff that happened in this new timeline./quote]

I think Marty deep down always loved his parents for all their faults. The original timeline McFlys were dysfunctional, but it was obvious they did love their children. George did try to console Marty for losing out the audition, trying to convince him that it wasn't the end of the world.

Certainly meeting the teenage version of his parents did help Marty understand them better. And his grief over George being murdered in the Part II alternate 1985 was genuine.

Edited by Spartan Girl
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Of course, it's probably part of the same plot hand-waving that assumed that changing George and Lorraine's life still meant that Dave, Linda and Marty would all be conceived at exactly the same moment as before and they'd still live in the same house as before, when it seems they were more likely to be living in Hilldale.

 

To be fair on that last point, Hilldale was supposed to be a pretty new development- probably a symbol of the 1980's housing boom.

 

If Marty had his own car, it seemed weird that David and Linda wouldn't have their own, though.

 

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I'm wondering what happened with Biff between 1985 and 2015. He seemed to have a bit of his 1955 personality in 2015 that was missing in the new 1985.

I wonder if was still there regardless of the new timeline or not. We see him being nice to George in alternate 1985 as a result of George decking him in 1955 but who knows how he treats other people - after all, Griff is a 2015 version of 1955 Biff who might have learned his behavior at home.

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The bigger plot hole for me is why did Doc, after going to the future, have to come back to 1985, pick up Marty and Jennifer and bring them to 2015. If the problem with Marty's son happened on October 21, 2015, why not just travel back to October 20, 2015, find the Marty living in that time period (who would obviously know about time travel) and get that guy to help stop his son from getting in trouble. I would think telling someone what happens one day in the future is alot less risky than taking someone 30 years into the future.

One way to explain it is that Doc would have known that Marty got in the accident which destroyed his musical ambitions, and did a number on his life because he was called a chicken.  Also that the reason Marty's son got arrested was because he was called a chicken.  So it could have been Doc trying to get Marty to see that his overreacting and letting that word get to him was no way to go through life.  He's trying to help out his friend, like Marty did for him and for his parents.

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One way to explain it is that Doc would have known that Marty got in the accident which destroyed his musical ambitions, and did a number on his life because he was called a chicken.  Also that the reason Marty's son got arrested was because he was called a chicken.  So it could have been Doc trying to get Marty to see that his overreacting and letting that word get to him was no way to go through life.  He's trying to help out his friend, like Marty did for him and for his parents.

 

I'm with that. It can't be an coincidence that in the re-shoot cliffhanger, they have Doc give a very telling pause when Marty asks about himself.

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We see him being nice to George in alternate 1985 as a result of George decking him in 1955 but who knows how he treats other people - after all, Griff is a 2015 version of 1955 Biff who might have learned his behavior at home.

 

 

Based on what we saw with Biff's ancestor, Mad Dog Tannen, it seems anger and violence are a family trait. 

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I got the trilogy and watched it last night and the first one is clearly the best.  And though one of the producers in the Netflx special says the original footage with Eric Stoltx as Marty will never be released, we do see still and some scenes, albeit without sound. Even I could see he was wrong for the part. Or maybe it's my Michael J. Fox bias. Lot of extra content, but a lot of the same clips and interviews overlap.

And I never realized that Crispin Glovet wasn't in the last one. No wonder we never saw Georgia clearly-it wasn't Crispin!  And I wondered why he wasn't interviewed in the special features, or even Tom F. Wilson.

And how did I not realize that Billy Zane was in this movie??!!!

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Quote

I got the trilogy and watched it last night and the first one is clearly the best.

Definitely!  Plus it can still stand on its own even if the other films vanished.  The finale is a close second, but the 2nd film is treated like the ugly stepchild at times.  I think its weakness is because it wasn't planned (BTTF was meant to be a standalone film, not a trilogy) and being the bridge between a trilogy can be a difficult road for a film.

 

Quote

And though one of the producers in the Netflx special says the original footage with Eric Stoltx as Marty will never be released, we do see still and some scenes, albeit without sound. Even I could see he was wrong for the part.

Agreed.  It just wasn't a good fit for him. 

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 I never realized that Crispin Glover wasn't in the last one. No wonder we never saw Georgia clearly-it wasn't Crispin!  And I wondered why he wasn't interviewed in the special features, or even Tom F. Wilson.

 

Knew about that one a while ago!  Glover burned bridges with Hollywood with his demand to be paid for his previously filmed scenes used in the second film.  He won the right in court (so if any previously filmed clips are used as "flashbacks" they require the permission/compensation of the actor to use), but lost his film career.  I wasn't aware that Wilson wasn't interviewed.  Although I can't help but notice he hasn't been seen much since the BTTF trilogy either that I know of.  He has popped up during the 30th anniversary as a guest on other shows.

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I didn't know that about Crispin Glover.  Too bad.

As for Tom, he did a fair share of voiceover work for toons. I only remember him being the voice of Billy Draco, the low level thug who was responsible for killing Dick Grayson's parents in Batman: The Animated Series-"Robin'sReckoning."

As for part II, I just found myself rolling my eyes at Jennifer freaking out when she saw her older self.  She KNEW they were going 30 years into the future! Unless she thought she wouldn't age.

I hated the alternate 1985, that was a result of Biff stealing the almanac.  But I do laugh at how we don't have flying cars in 2015, like the movie did.  And I never noticed the interactive JAWS 19(!) that Marty thought was real.

But Fox is just so adorable and funny, I can handwave a lot of the ridiculousness.

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Quote

As for Tom, he did a fair share of voiceover work for toons.

He also voiced Biff Tannen (and Tannen ancestors) for the BTTF cartoon series!  I always thought it was a hoot.  IIRC Christopher Lloyd also voiced Doc Brown for the series.

 

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 I just found myself rolling my eyes at Jennifer freaking out when she saw her older self.  She KNEW they were going 30 years into the future! Unless she thought she wouldn't age.

Well you know how teens are!  Always thinking they'll be the same - just different clothes and hair!

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I read one interview with Tom Wilson about the BTTF 30th anniversary but he has wanted to put the role of Biff behind him for a long time.  You can read interviews about it, how he doesn't like to answer questions about it and pretty much just reads a statement about it when asked.

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All I can think of now when I see the alternate 1985 is how much Biff Tannen reminds me of Donald Trump. Can we fix the election by going back 30 years in time and righting whatever screw up got us to this point?

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On ‎5‎/‎25‎/‎2016 at 9:14 AM, Princess Sparkle said:

Have you ever seen his standup song about it?  It's pretty funny:

 

he has his own channel on youtube.

here he is doing a song about attending sci fi cons to get money

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(edited)

Family Guy best moments - Back to the future George McFly.  I cracked up at George dealing with Martie looking exactly like Lorraine's Prom date.

Edited by Luckylyn
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I've been watching Family Ties and I completely forgot that Crispin Glover guest starred in the second season as one of Alex's friends (the episode where he turned 18). And a year later, they both appear as father and son in this movie!

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57 minutes ago, Cobb Salad said:

The Cubs won the World Series!  Although the team they won against in Back to the Future II was different, they were off by only a year. 

Blame it on Marty messing with the space-time continuum ;) 

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