Have You Seen?! The Movie Podcast

Back to the Future: When This Baby Hits 88 MPH...

• Roll Credits Studios • Season 1 • Episode 7

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Great Scott—Dylan finally watched Back to the Future, and we go deep on why this story still feels fresh. We start with the seed that sparked it all—Bob Gale wondering if he’d be friends with his dad in high school—and follow how that simple question becomes a tight, propulsive script packed with setups, payoffs, and character stakes you can feel. From the opening wall of clocks to the icy DeLorean and the “spaceman from Mars” gag, every beat earns its place.

We unpack the tonal shift that changed movie history: the six-week shoot with Eric Stoltz and the late recast to Michael J. Fox. That single move lightened the load without lowering the stakes, letting Marty meet chaos with wit while Doc Brown—played as “Einstein meets Mozart”—conducts the energy with big, precise flourishes. We spotlight the visual storytelling that rewards rewatching: newspaper clippings, the Brown estate’s scars, and tiny props that foreshadow major turns.

Nostalgia here isn’t syrup; it’s texture. 1955 arrives with apple‑pie shine and real grit: diner hierarchies, dress codes, a pit‑crew gas station, and Goldie Wilson’s ambition set against open doubt. George McFly’s transformation is the emotional hinge, turning frustration into a cathartic punch that rewires the future. And the soundscape seals the deal—Alan Silvestri’s heroic score, Huey Lewis’s meta cameo, Lindsey Buckingham and Eric Clapton on the soundtrack—music that marks time as clearly as the time circuits.

We also dig into craft choices fans love to debate: why 88 mph feels like a rule instead of a gimmick, why the DeLorean’s clunky reality makes it endearing, and how the team dodged a fridge-based time machine in favor of an icon with gullwing doors. Whether you’ve worn out your VHS or you’re meeting Hill Valley for the first time, this conversation maps what makes timeless movies tick: clear rules, human stakes, and precise storytelling that still hits 88 with purpose. If you enjoyed this, follow the show, share it with a movie friend, and leave us a review—what detail jumped out at you this time?

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Joe:

Like they're like, what do they do to the dog? Why are they doing this to the dog? You know? Yeah. And so it's so great to, you know, to see him back and that's what truly matters.

Dylan:

Yeah. Welcome to Have You Seen the movie podcast of where every movie is a premiere.

Joe:

Great Scott! This week we're revving up the DeLorean for one of the most iconic sci-fi comedies ever made. Back to the Future. And yes, Dylan hasn't seen it. I've basically lived it.

Dylan:

Back to the Future came out in 1985 and is rated PG. Expect mild language, wild hairstyles, a suspiciously cool scientist hanging out with a teenager. So, Joe, can you set the scene?

Joe:

Um see. Filmed in 84. Uh it was they shot. So how far back do you want me to go? Maybe not back to 1955, but um I can give you a bookmark. Yeah. Uh so Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale both wrote Back to the Future. Yeah. And it it started with Bob Gale. Uh he was he was visiting home and he was just going through some stuff in the attic and he was looking through some old yearbooks uh from his parents. Oh. And he thought, what would it be like? What would it have been like if I was in high school with my parents? Would they have hung out with me? Um you know, would we have been friends? And and that kind of sparked the the idea of going back in time.

Dylan:

Yeah. Oh, that's a really great setup for that though. Um so yeah, like before even going into the movie, like there's still stuff that like I know references of just from pulp culture and stuff. Um you know, you've got the the DeLorean. Yeah. And um I knew about him skateboarding around. And um I knew about lightning striking the clock tower. But like, truly, that's about it. Yeah. Like I didn't have too much of a grasp on the whole whole video or you know, the whole movie.

Joe:

So what were what were some things like I I'd like to know what were some things that you thought might have been there that weren't like things that maybe you thought were there are gonna be in this movie that that actually weren't, or anything like that.

Dylan:

Yeah, so something that I thought was gonna be there, and I think this is just from being like at Hollywood Studios Orlando.

Joe:

Uh-huh. What I'm just saying. It's called Universal Studios Orlando. Yeah, Hollywood is the other part, the other way.

Dylan:

Um yeah, just from like going to Universal Studios Orlando. Um I've never been to the Hollywood one. Um, like the the hoverboard.

Joe:

Yeah.

Dylan:

Because I remembered like seeing that. And so I thought that that was going, I don't know, going to be something that maybe the the doc was messing around with or something, something like that.

Joe:

Yeah.

Dylan:

That um yeah, that he would be like, you know, oh, don't touch that, and Marty still messes with it or whatever. Yeah. Just like the the giant speaker. Right. The aquifier. Yeah. Yeah.

Joe:

Yeah. There's so many things with that scene that as a musician, I'm like, that thing would have blown like way before that.

Dylan:

Right. Turning all the dials up to up to 10 on it, or however high it goes, yeah.

Joe:

Goes to 11. Um, yeah, so it's cool. It's cool to hear things that you know people anticipate and then maybe maybe it's like turns out better or turns out worse. Yeah, you know.

Dylan:

Yeah, I mean, I feel like going into this, you definitely have expectations that have already been set. Um I I I had high expectations from it knowing that it's your favorite movie, yeah, or your favorite franchise series.

Joe:

Yeah.

Dylan:

Um so yeah, I definitely had high expectations for it, and I feel like it was met for the most part. Um so like for you, how how do you feel like what watching it for the first time and then like you've introduced it to like so many people in kind of our friend group that have watched it for the first time, like with you. Yeah. So how how does how do you feel like being able to take people through that and for you just being able to just watch it over and over again?

Joe:

Yeah, I love it. Um I think this past I think it was this past summer that um I introduced it to my nephew, and we all watched it together. Yeah, and then they wanted to watch it so bad that we were gonna try to watch it the next time we got together, and we ended up just zooming it. Yeah. Uh I just put on the iPad, they watched it on their side, I watched it on mine. And if they had questions, I would answer. Yeah, yeah. Like, why did this happen? Or, you know, what did they say here, or what did that mean? Or uh, because there's so many dockisms and so many Marty things that that happen um that I can explain it. So it's it's kind of cool to and and the other part of it too, especially with my nephew, is um it was it was filmed in my backyard, you know. Um Went the Hills Mall was the the mall that I grew up going to. Uh I literally have pictures um of birthday parties from down the street. There's a park over there, and you know, and every time I see when Marty shows up um to the mall, um the stores that I used to go to and and all that, I can, you know, I can see all that stuff. Uh you know, so it it just it just um yeah, it's just very nostalgic for me for from home and that's so cool. Yeah.

Dylan:

Um for the overall pacing of the movie though, I felt like it was good paced. I felt like it was it was fast. Um, you know, it got got to the point with stuff quickly. And I I liked that. Yeah. It kept me engaged the whole time. Yeah. Um, I feel like that's kind of hard for movies.

Joe:

I always find the only slow part is when they're uh having dinner, but that sets so much up. Yeah. It's like you just realize later like you know, watching it again, I was like, man, this scene sets up so much with you know, and that's kind of how they worked, and and they would just scenes were very purposeful, right?

Dylan:

You know, and so just yeah, well, and it like just in that scene alone, like it's so good because it it you know, it introduces the TV to the mom's family when the mom was a teenager. And the but the future part, like she almost has like an animosity.

Joe:

Is that the right word? Yeah, I think so.

Dylan:

Like um, like an animosity towards it that she doesn't it seems it seemed to me like she didn't like having the TV on, you know, while they were having dinner.

Joe:

Uh-huh.

Dylan:

And like I feel like it definitely helped set that up from like, you know, the all the family watching it, because I'm sure that probably was just the first of a whole whole line of yeah, yeah. And then um it was funny too, like when they were like, Oh, you should stay at the night, and she like put her put her hand on Marty's leg, yeah. He jumps up, he's like, I gotta go.

Joe:

Yeah, and the cool thing too is like just these little subtle things because he talks about where you know the whole rerun thing, and he goes, This is where he dresses up as a spaceman from Mars. Yeah. And then you see that play out later. Yeah. It's like, yeah, there's just a lot of little like setups and payoffs in this movie.

Dylan:

Yeah, I'm like, I'm already planning on like re-watching it with you sometime and being like, okay, like just take you know, take this one scene and just tell me like everything in this scene. Just just I just want to take it all on board.

Joe:

Yeah. When they were writing it, they would take um like uh three by five cards.

Dylan:

Yeah.

Joe:

And they would have like a concept of like, okay, um, we want to do this and we want to finish it with this. Yeah. And so how like where are we gonna put these things? And then they would just put them up on a board and and just kind of kind of like the uh whenever you see behind the scenes of the imagineers, right? Yeah, and like Pixar and all that kind of stuff. It's just the same kind of thing if where they would they would just storyboard and say, here's what we want to happen, and how are we gonna do that, you know? And so all those little Easter eggs that play out.

Dylan:

And like stuff like that, I I tend to miss because I usually if it's a good movie, I'll get so like engrossed in it, yeah, that I totally just like will skip over that. Uh-huh. And I don't know why my brain does that, but yeah, yeah.

Joe:

You just kind of want certain facts and like move on. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Dylan:

But like I think like for the overall tone balance of the movie and stuff, like they did such an excellent job, the writers did, of you know, giving it that sci-fi feel, but also showing restrain with that because they could have they really could have gone over the top with it. Um I know I'm saying this about a time traveling DeLorean that has to go up to 88 miles an hour.

Joe:

Right.

Dylan:

But still, like it everything that they really showed with it, like I felt like made sense and had a purpose and wasn't just there to be all you know flashy and high-tech looking. Right.

Joe:

Yeah. And like although they did a pretty good job at that.

Dylan:

Right. But like, like I said, like everything seemed like it had a purpose, and it wasn't just like a bunch of buttons on a control panel that are flashing for no apparent reason.

Joe:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it was funny because just like taking that little drive with you in your car and then watching the DeLorean, I'm like, man, your control panel has more on that. You know. Although if I had something like that in my car, I'd probably try to figure out a way to make my control panel look like the DeLorean. There's gotta be a way.

Dylan:

Yeah. Um so yeah, Michael J. Fox played Marty McFly. Um I enjoyed his performance. Yeah. Um I th I don't know. I thought at times that he definitely looked older than he was trying to portray.

Joe:

Uh-huh.

Dylan:

But I also think that that comes from the the clothes that he was wearing and kind of the those around him. Because it's just not it's just one of those things that like the outfit was definitely of its time more. Yeah. And so I think when your brain kind of correlates that with the older generation and stuff, and it just kind of sync, you know, tries to sync everything together. Yeah. So um first starting it, I was like, man, he looks older than he should. Yeah. And then and then like actually getting through it, yeah. Like later on, like I I bought it. Uh-huh. Yeah.

Joe:

Yeah. Yeah. So Michael J. Fox, um, if you didn't know, wasn't the original Marty McFly. Oh, really? And there was an actor named Eric Stoltz that was hired um for to be Marty. So originally they had gone to his um uh you know managers and stuff like that. So Robert Zemekus, they went to them, they're like, hey, we're doing the Spielberg movie. Um, we'd really like him to be in it. Can you have him come? And they're like, nope. He was filming Family Ties at the time. Um, and the producers were like, We're we're not letting him go for anything, like he's our star. Like even that whole show started originally around the parent, but he became such a standout that it became more about the kids. And so at that point, he's like this rising star. Right. And his managers are like, No, we're not letting him do anything else but this. So he so between between seasons of the TV show, he filmed a movie called Teen Wolf, and they shot down the street from like, you know, where so Biff's house, George's house, and Lorraine's house are were all like all in the same street. Oh so they were filming the movie like up and down the street. Okay. So he's down the street filming what he called, um, he said he felt like he was in drag because he had all this hair on him and he was playing this wolf. Yeah. And he goes down the street and he's like, Oh, what are they filming here? Oh, it's a Spielberg movie. And he's like, I'd really love, I would have really loved to have been in that. Yeah. Not knowing this whole time that it went through his managers and they put it off because they didn't want to let him go. So they filmed with Eric Stoltz, um, they hired him, they filmed um six weeks into the movie, and they had talked to the you know producers, and they're like, you know, the they were the producers like, you guys gotta start shooting, so find somebody. So they're like, okay, if it doesn't work out with him, can we try to recast it later? And they're like, sure. So it's all about time and money.

Dylan:

Right.

Joe:

So six weeks into it, they just find that he he's a good actor, he's a great actor, but he um was just taking the role too seriously, and they needed somebody, and he was very method. So you had like Crispin Glover, George McFly, who was really method, and then you had Eric Stolte who's really method, and it just made it more of a serious movie, like like he's trying to save the world, he's trying to save like you get that sense from Michael J. Fox, but not as much as like this chaotic, like you know, the whole everything's gonna, you know, right. So it was just way too serious. So um they called everybody one night um to the set and they said, you know, we basically were letting him go and we're gonna bring somebody else in. So by that time, the after the six weeks was done and they had looked at dailies and they weren't happy, they went back to the main producer and said, Hey, we're gonna recast. And he said, You guys are crazy. So they they called up his agents and he was available and they made it happen. Wow. So he uh he had to film basically um he only got he only got four hours of sleep every night because he was filming Family Ties, and then he'd go over to the set to wherever they were filming in you know for uh Back to Future. And they filmed in Burbank, in La Puente, in uh at the back lot of Universal. I mean they filmed all over California, Southern California, and and so it's just he'd he'd get in his car and um or basically he had a driver, uh, he'd go to the set, get in the back, try to sleep on the way to wherever, then go film, then go home, and they would just it was just a continual thing. Oh wow so that was that was the first Marty McFly, you know.

Dylan:

So yeah. Now explain to me Doc Brown. Like, because I was disappointed that we didn't get as much time with him as I kind of felt like there should have been. Uh-huh. Because I feel like he has a lot of crazy eccentrics going on that if we had more time, I feel like would have I don't know, it made more sense. Yeah. I don't I don't know if that can be made sense of. Right. But yeah.

Joe:

Well it it does because it I mean it's all about the subtle hints that you you get at the beginning. Yeah you know, they show his life and there's new paper newspapers clippings, newspaper clippings of like history and like um, you know, the uh what did it say, um Brown estate um catches fire and you know, all this stuff. So there's all these little things, but Christopher Lloyd's interpretation was Einstein meets Mozart. And so that was Doc Brown. Like he was he was he was a brilliant scientist who was a conductor. Right. And so he his motions, his his uh character, his you know, animated way about was was kind of illustrating both of those two people. Gotcha. And then you know, you kind of see in his um in his like den or his study all the different scientists, you know, that he has yeah, I thought that was kind of a cool touch. Yeah, yeah.

Dylan:

Yeah, with the um the newspaper clippings kind of at the beginning too, like look going over those real quick, yeah. Like, because there was one that he sold and then the the other one was that it was torn down.

Joe:

So there was a f it looks like basically in that it was like there was a fire. Yeah, and so he ended up selling the majority of the property except for where he was living.

Dylan:

Yeah, yeah, and I did notice that you know, at the beginning he's just living in like a giant garage, right, essentially, yeah. And you know, when Marty leaves to go to school, you see that it's all paved and stuff, uh-huh. And then um later, like going back to it, they kept the DeLorean in the same garage, yeah, you know, just earlier. Right. And um and you know, drawing drawing the line between those two. I was like, oh, look at that.

Joe:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They make it so that you know everything kind of connects and stuff. Right. But the funny thing is like I always wondered, like, because there is that Burger King, and I wonder if like that was was that a business or was that part of the like just the property that he sold off and Burger King bought it or whoever. Right. But I noticed a lot of Burger King rappers in the yeah, and I just pictured Doc waking up in the morning and getting grabbing a burger or something. Here's my whopper. Yeah, here's my whopper.

Dylan:

Man, I was so glad that George got kind of his redemption at the end of the movie, though, because I was mostly annoyed with George throughout like the entire movie. Oh, yeah. And I was like, come on, dude. Like, he's not that much bigger than you. Yes, he's taller than you, yeah. But I mean, like, you know, he's not that much bigger than you, and you know, don't don't let him bully you around. Yeah. And they did such a good job of um showing George's meekness and everybody around him, or you know, the people around him in his life are trying to be like, come on, man, stand up for yourself, you know. Um you have Marty like in the beginning when they're you know in regular time, and then the waiter when they go to the past, and the mayor, Goldie Wilson.

Joe:

Yeah, Goldie Wilson. Yeah, you need to stand up for yourself, boy. Right. I love that whole thing because the funny thing is like living living through it and being here in 2025, like uh you know, 1955, and not to get political, but 1955, you would never hear of a mayor who is black, right? And then we're living in a time after we've had a black president, like that's pretty cool. Right.

Dylan:

Right. Well, and they even do a good job, like in the movie, of pointing to that too, because when Goldie says, I could be mayor or I'm going to become mayor, yeah, and the the shop owner, yeah, it seems, yeah, is like, um, you know, Goldie's talking about cleaning up the town, the shopkeeper is like, Great, start with the floor. Yeah, exactly.

Joe:

Yeah, he's like he's like a colored mayor, that'll be the day. Right. Yeah, thank you. Yeah. That's such a good character, too, you know, just that all these little character actors in the in the movie. Right.

Dylan:

That just well, and it definitely helps sell like the time change too. Is that you know, something like that is that was unfortunately the norm for that time, and yeah, they they showed it.

Joe:

Yeah.

Dylan:

Um I thought with Lorraine too, um she was definitely she's definitely more feisty than than the mom. Yeah. Oh yeah. I I thought that was a good twist. Because like I wasn't expecting that. And um, you know, her going through it and starting to hit on like Marty and stuff. Right.

Joe:

Yeah, the um in that scene where where uh you know they're in the bedroom and and she's like uh you know he's like, Where are my pants?

Dylan:

And she's like over there on my hope chest. Yeah, yeah.

Joe:

It's like Michael J. Fox having been in sitcom, he kind of came not knowing, like not really understanding movies, yeah, a huge amount, like he had been been in movies, but he he didn't understand, so he came with like ideas, and uh you know, he didn't even realize that that might have been bad or whatever, but people ate it up, and since he had such a like comedy shtick and and TV, that whole scene he added that line of yeah, because it was something like you know, it's on my drawer, or it's in my dresser drawer or something, and he goes, Can we try it? You know, I was thinking, you know, maybe she says uh it's on my hope chest, you know, yeah, and they were like, Oh, so they you know, they they kind of wrote it out and and uh and they did it, and they're just like, Oh man, this is making it, you know, yeah. And the hard part for him at that point was once he got on the movie, it was kind of hard because he had to break in. Because, you know, with people filming with Eric Stoltz for you know that time, they were like, This is our guy, you know. So then they bring in a new guy and they're like, Oh, and then they're feeling also feeling that the the thing of like, are we gonna get fired if we don't do a great job or play along or whatever? So it was all kind of you know, but once walking on eggshells, yeah, walking on eggshells. But once he started to do that and make everybody feel at ease, they were just like, Oh, okay, we're we're you know, like he's a good actor, we're gonna riff with him.

Dylan:

Yeah.

Joe:

And the other thing at the time too was there is a there was a line drawn between you're a TV actor and you're a movie actor. And so some of the cast was a little feeling like, I'm a movie actor, this is a TV actor, like what's going on, you know? And so again, once he started doing that and throwing like that whole scene uh together, um, they just they started, you know, building chemistry and scenes started getting really good. And um, but that the all his all his uh like so when he's putting on his pants and he falls, yeah, he throws that into like yeah, that was really funny.

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Dylan:

He's you said it was 84.

Joe:

Yeah, that's filmed.

Dylan:

Stielberg says Stielberg does such a good job of like keeping to his roots in childhood with like all the Americana stuff. Yeah. And um you know, it makes it makes you wonder like how much of the the past was Just based on what he lived and grew up with.

Joe:

Yeah. Yeah. I mean he definitely had an influence in in this and with Semecus and Gail. Like they're very collaborative. Yeah. And you know, they're very open to ideas and and all that. And it just it really is, especially when they get to, you know, the fifty fifty-five, it's just that apple pie Americana. Right. I was thinking, so in 85, when you would go to the gas station, you'd pull up, and a guy would come out, and he would start your gas. You'd stay in the car, he'd start your gas, he'd wash your windows. Yeah. Um, and uh and check your oil, check your fluids. That was how it was in the 80s. You look at the 50s, and just that subtle like five guys come around, and it's like you're in the and they're hustling.

Dylan:

Yeah, they're a NASCAR pit stop in there. Exactly. That's what I was gonna say.

Joe:

It was the pit stop. Like that was that was the level of service that you got when you just went to get gas. Right. You know, like oh man, just to have stuff like that again, like service has gone down the drain, and and that's one thing that really it nails it because it's like there is such a higher standard for so many other things. The way the kids uh dressed at school, right? They were so dude it up, you know. Yeah, um, I mean, they were just to the nines, and it was like that's how school was. You dressed, right? That's how you dressed, the dress code. And uh, you know, people found subtle ways to kind of show their own, like rolled up uh, you know, uh you know, rolled up jeans and that kind of thing. But cuff jeans and you know, all those 50s looks, but uh but still there was a there was a standard and and they just showed a lot of that. I mean, even even to the uh family eating around the table. It's like yeah, there was a TV there, but but they were all together eating at the table. Right. You know, it's just good. Yeah. Yeah.

Dylan:

Um and the music the music throughout the whole thing was just it was excellent. Yeah. Um I mean I you you couldn't ask for for better, honestly.

Joe:

I know. Um I drove when I was driving over, uh, I put the soundtrack on.

Dylan:

Did you?

Joe:

Yeah, and it's so like when you're driving to that theme. Yeah, I can't I don't want to hum it and but um it's just so epic. And and you know, there's just all these couple little themes in there that just they're they're heroic, they're big, they're you know, and then you have these other songs in there. Um, so the soundtrack for me is like awesome because it's like this, you know, there's these songs in the movie that are like one is um Time Bomb Town that plays when he wakes up, and then another one, um uh Heaven is one step away from Eric Clapton, um, that plays like when he comes back and the bum is is listening to the radio.

Dylan:

Yeah.

Joe:

And I mean you have Eric Clapton and Lindsay Buckingham. Lindsay Buckingham um was one of the major people in Fleetwood Mac. And so even having those artists, um, and then Huey Lewis and the news, at the time, they were on top. They were, I mean, uh we talked about we talked about Hughie Lewis and the news in um The Ghostbusters, uh, you know, and they they had that. Well, I mean, they they were asked to do one song and they ended up doing two back in time in Power of Love. Yeah, and because they were just like they they love the movie. Yeah. Um, I don't know if you you probably didn't catch it because you don't know what he looks like, but in the audition scene when uh when they're playing and the principal principal gets up and says you're too darn loud, or the the judge gets up and says, You're too darn loud, that was Huey Lewis.

Dylan:

Yeah, that's cool.

Joe:

So like even at the time, you know, I don't know Ed Sheeran, who who would be today's, you know, right, you know, but like putting him in a movie and like saying you're too darn loud, you know. Right. So yeah, I mean, so there there's just I mean Alan Sylvestry just just if you just had him would be enough. But to have all the other artists that are on the soundtrack and in the movie, and even the starlighters um that sang in, you know, because those are actual jazz musicians that were on stage, and you know, um Marvin Barry actually sang, yeah, the actor. So it yeah, it's just quality.

Dylan:

Yeah. And then um so with like the the time traveling and stuff, like I like how they just started the whole thing with the all the clocks. Yeah, like that was a good intro. And um so like so like with the DeLorean, like was there like what was the specific reason that it had to be up to 88 miles an hour?

Joe:

Um I think that was just man, I can't remember the exact reason, but all of the everything put together, like he said the stainless stainless steel construction, and then getting up to that speed and causing that reaction with the plutonium inside. And so like I think the speed flux and then the flux capacitor flexing, yeah, you know, all of that was like a recipe for how time travel went right now.

Dylan:

Um so like for an 85 is the DeLorean like pretty much our modern day um cyber truck.

Joe:

Not necessarily. No, okay. Um it's not a rolling toaster. No, no, it it wasn't so part of the joke uh that you see is um especially when he's trying to go back to the future, uh huh, is it keeps conking out. Right. That was a real uh you know, that was a real uh it was a real thing that happened with the DeLorean. It was it was known to not be the best car. The stunt drivers for the movie even said they hated driving it because it made him look bad. Yeah, because the steering and the you know the rotation pivoting, all that kind of stuff. Yeah, um the the way it functioned did not handle like a stunt car would. Yeah. And so they would try to make these hard turns and it just wouldn't do it. You know, it's like, yeah, it's like driving a car without power steering or something, you know. It was just like that bad. And and so it it just it just altogether, you know, Michael J. Fox even said he hated driving it because it of the way it, you know, the even the inside, he said he he would he busted his knuckles several times on the time uh units and things like that because it was so tight in there. Uh, but the driving was horrible, it would stop, it would mess up. Oh it, you know, I can't even think of a car that that would be like that today, but right, you know, you're more of a car guy than I am.

Dylan:

Which that's saying something.

Joe:

Yeah. But uh, yeah, so it it was it was meant to be a luxury car. It was meant to be uh like a Ferrari, it was meant to, you know, the DeLorean, the guy who made the DeLorean, his name was DeLorean. Absolutely named, yeah, yeah. He came from GMC and went on his own and wanted to make a luxury muscle car, basically. And and so that was kind of it. But in the long run, the company ended up uh folding because somehow, and I'm not I think the owner was involved in it, but basically they were shipping drugs through the tires uh coming overseas, and so they got busted. And yeah, yeah, yeah. Man. But yeah, with the the I think the funny thing with the time with the clocks and all of that is I almost got the sense that, especially with that experiment, that he was already doing something, that he was that he maybe he had already time traveled. Yeah, you know, there's just this feeling of like because they were gone so long that all that that um dog child just collected, right?

Dylan:

You know, the canned dog child.

Joe:

Yeah, and one uh Easter egg in that whole scenario is you see that um guy hanging off the clock, yeah, and then it happens later.

Dylan:

Oh, that's funny. Yeah, that's hilarious. I didn't even think about that. Because when I remember seeing that clock and and thinking to myself, and I was just like, that would be really interesting to have in your in your house, like as a timepiece on the wall. Yeah, but yeah, now that you say that though, I'm like, oh yeah.

Joe:

Yeah. So um the that first trip to 1955. Um you know, the the way it's all set up is is the way they looked at it was the the rise of the teenager was right at that point. Yeah. And so, you know, you have the fashion, you have the clothes, you have this like I mean, for lack of a better term, cookie cutter, but there was this again that this kind of a bar or a you know, a way of of life. Right. And and everybody was, you know, a certain way.

Dylan:

You definitely had had societal expectations.

Joe:

Yeah. And even when he's walking around with a yellow suit and that car passes and she's like, Henry, keep driving, you know. It's just like he's so out of out of, you know, out of the, you know, when everybody thinks then eventually everybody thinks he's a navy sailor. Yeah, you know. That's one of my favorite lines is, you know, look at this dork with the life preserver, you know. Look at this guy with the life life preserver, the dork thinks he's gonna drown. Yeah. And so, but it was, you know, there's a lot of movies like Rebel Without a Cause that influenced kind of the way they looked and the way they uh walked and everything, and um costumes, all that kind of stuff.

Dylan:

Um yeah, it definitely would have been like such a culture shock for him to go back like like the way you did.

Joe:

Yeah, yeah, and even for him like getting dropped into this, you know, nostalgic period of time that you know, you you you're used to seeing in black and white.

Dylan:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Did they do like a change in the color tone when they were filming the 55s?

Joe:

I didn't get that necessarily other than the clothes. Yeah. Um you know, there was yeah, the clothes changed because of the time, but I didn't really get like a if if so, subtle. And I never really it wasn't like Pleasantville or whatever. I don't know if you've ever seen that movie. But no.

Dylan:

Thank you for asking.

Joe:

On the next episode.

Dylan:

But yeah, I I think I it was a really good intro for Marty too. It to kind of seem like to show his personality is like the whole late for school intro. Because it's like it's so good that you know, it's like, oh yeah, it's eight o'clock. Every single you know, clock in here is deafeningly loud. It's like perfect, it's 8 24. Right. He's like, What?

Joe:

Yeah, I'm late for school.

Dylan:

Yep.

Joe:

And I I love it because they set him up as not, you know, one of the things with with the character on Family Ties was Alex P. Keaton was a young Republican, and he dressed in a suit, and you know, he was this, you know, bookworm, and he was smart. He he was a uh you know, debate uh champion, all that kind of stuff. So it really broke the mold for for this character to show like he's skateboarding, right? He's late for school, uh, you know, like he's just an average kid, and and they show books in his room and and all that stuff. But I mean there, I think there's even a book that's one of those like um not a cheat book, but one of those like books where it it helps you read through the get the like main point of yeah, and he just wants to rock out. Yeah. And like when, you know, it like I just imagine his his day is like you know, he he's hanging out with Doc, and then he might go practice with the pinheads for a while and hang out with his girlfriend, and you know.

Dylan:

I thought it was super amusing too that in the beginning they have the case of plutonium just under the bed.

Joe:

Yeah. Yeah, and it's so funny because everything's like being revealed to you, and you're you're just being pushed into this, and all of a sudden, like I mean, the TV is talking about plutonium being robbed or missing and stuff like that.

Dylan:

And then hey, we found it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Joe:

The skateboard just rolls. Yeah.

Dylan:

Yeah. And then you have the first actual time traveling test with the DeLorean and Einstein. Uh-huh. And I was I was so afraid for that dog. Yeah. Yeah. I thought it was really great too. How um how they set up the stopwatch to like demonstrate it's not just like, oh, yep, disappeared for a little bit and now it's back. Hey da-da. Right. But like they actually tried to kind of explain it a little bit more at the time. And then also, I was not expecting it the DeLorean to have the ice buildup around it.

Joe:

Uh-huh. Yeah.

Dylan:

That was such a good touch. Yeah.

Joe:

Because yeah, you have that they go out, it leaves fire tracks. Right. It comes back in and it's cold.

Dylan:

Yeah. Because like, I don't know if it was because of the fire tracks or what, but I was ex expecting the outside of it to be hot.

Joe:

Yeah.

Dylan:

And that, like, you know, when he was like, you know, getting the door handled, and he's like, ooh, yeah. You know, I was I was totally like in my head, like, I was like, yeah, because it's gonna be hot. Then he's like, it's ice cold.

Joe:

And I'm like, what? What? Yeah. Yeah. The funny thing is that when they were doing screenings for the movie, that and I was wondering how you would have reacted. I didn't really get a reaction from you. Uh, I was like kind of waiting, but like a lot of people thought that the dog was dead. Like, they're like, what do they do to the dog? Why are they doing this to the dog? You know, yeah. And so it's so great to, you know, to see him back and you know. Right. Right.

Dylan:

Because that's what truly matters.

Joe:

Yeah. It's funny though, now that everything's HD and 4K and all that stuff, you could you could definitely make out when the car's going around that it's a guy in a dog suit.

Dylan:

Yeah. Um another good scene is when Marty finally makes it to the Brown estate and meets him for the first time, and he's giving him, you know, 21 questions. Yeah. And he's like, don't give me the answer. Right, right.

Joe:

Yeah. You're trying to raise funds for the youth auxiliary.

Dylan:

Yeah. Well, and it was funny too, because it's almost misleading the way you starts it. Because like he's like, You're from far away. Marty's like, well, yeah. Yeah.

Joe:

Like, yeah.

Dylan:

I thought that, like, I thought that all of it was gonna follow that of where it's like technically, you know, that's the answer, but also it's drastically wrong. Yeah. I thought that's I thought that would be funny.

Joe:

Yeah. Yeah. No, and just breaking it, you know, he's just like, okay, I'm done. Like, right now, right. I'm from the future from a time machine that you build. I haven't built any time machine. Yeah, but again, the setup, you know, like that story that he tells him just before all that goes down. Yeah. You know.

Dylan:

The DeLorean was almost a refrigerator.

Joe:

Yeah. Yeah. So the DeLorean, they were trying to figure out how to do time travel, and one of the ideas was to do to like have a you know uh nuclear combustion uh like at a nuclear plant. Yeah. And because so 85 would have been a different scenario, but in 55, you know, they were doing, you know, experiments and and things like that. And so they wanted to they thought about having a refrigerator, and you know, you'd go in the refrigerator, and then that's how you would time travel. Yeah. Um, there's I think it's Indiana Jones' the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, that they actually show that. Um really? Yeah. It's not the time travel, but they show him like it's a nod to it. He's in this nuclear like test facility, and it's all fake houses and stuff. So he like somehow they drop this bomb and he gets in a refrigerator. But ultimately what happened is um when you film a movie, there's kind of standards of you know, if if you pra if if a kid could reenact it, it needs to be safe. And so whatever whatever it is, you have to make sure that it's gonna be something safe. Right.

Dylan:

They didn't want a young Joe climbing into the fridge, exactly.

Joe:

And I'd be on a very special episode of Punky Brewster or something like that. But of what? Punky Brewster. That was a TV show. Okay, there was actually an episode where a kid got uh stuck in a refrigerator. Poor guy. Yeah, yeah. But uh yeah, so they didn't want a bunch of yeah, little me's going in there and doing it. You know I would have done it. Right.

Dylan:

Well, Marty's trapped in 1955, his parents are falling apart, and Doc still is figuring out the flux capacitor, but we're out of time.

Joe:

Join us next week for part two when we race lightning, rewrite the future, and see if Dylan finally gets back to nineteen eighty-five. One point twenty-one gigawatts!