019 Back to the Future Turns 40: Trivia, Casting Drama, and Totally ’80s Memories

When Brooke starts flipping through Michelle’s high school yearbook, the conversation quickly turns into a full-blown time-travel episode — fitting, since this week the sisters celebrate Back to the Future’s 40th anniversary.

From the movie’s unlikely origins (thanks, Bob Gale’s dad!) to the 40 studio rejections, the almost-title Spaceman from Pluto, and the Eric Stoltz what-ifs, Michelle and Cherie geek out over everything that made the film iconic. They cover why Michael J. Fox nearly didn’t get the part, the truth about that poor DeLorean, and yes — why the original time machine might have been… a refrigerator.

The sisters also wander into fan-fiction territory (Richard Nixon at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, anyone?), swap ‘80s memories, and debate the eternal question: was Marty’s vest red or orange?

Grab your Pepsi Free and buckle up — because where we’re going, we don’t need roads.

In this episode:

• The real-life yearbook story that inspired Back to the Future
• Why 40 studios said “no”
• Eric Stoltz’s lost Marty footage
• The DeLorean: cool looks, terrible engine
• Forgotten fears of ‘80s refrigerators
• Huey Lewis cameos, Michael J. Fox’s double-duty filming, and that “too darn loud” moment
• A tangent or two about Romancing the Stone, The Wedding Singer, and ‘80s fashion crimes

Listen if you love: Movie trivia, ‘80s nostalgia, sibling banter, or hearing how close we came to living in a world where Spaceman from Pluto was a thing.