Back to the Future (TV Series)
From Iwe
| Back to the Future | ||
| Season one title card | ||
| Genre | Animation Adventure Comedy Sci-fi | |
| Created by | Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale | |
| Based on | Back to the Future and characters created by Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale | |
| Written by | Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale | |
| Directed by | Robert Zemeckis Bob Gale | |
| Starring | Christopher Lloyd Bill Nye | |
| Voices of | David Kaufman Dan Castellaneta Cathy Cavadini Mary Steenburgen Josh Keaton Thomas F. Wilson Troy Davidson Danny Mann | |
| Theme music composer | Alan Silvestri (uncredited) | |
| Opening theme | "Back in Time" | |
| Ending by | "Theme from Back to the Future" (Instrumental) | |
| Composer(s) | Michael Tavera | |
| Country of orgin | United States | |
| Original language(s) | English | |
| No. of seasons | 2 | |
| No. of episodes | 26 (list of episodes) | |
| Production | ||
| Executive producer(s) | Bob Gale | |
| Running time | 30 minutes | |
| Production company(s) | Universal Cartoon Studios Amblin Television Zaloom/Mayfield Productions BIG Pictures | |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution | |
| Broadcast | ||
| Original network | The CW | |
| Original release | September 14, 1991 – December 26, 1992 | |
| Chronology | ||
| Proceded by | Back to the Future: The Ride | |
| External links | ||
Back to the Future (also known as Back to the Future: The Animated Series) is an American animated science fiction comedy adventure television series for television based on the live action Back to the Future movie trilogy. The show lasted two seasons, each featuring 13 episodes, and ran on CBS from September 14, 1991, to December 26, 1992, and reran until August 14, 1993, on CBS. The network chose not to renew the show for a third season (citing low ratings). It later reran on FOX, as a part of the FoxBox block from March 22 to August 30, 2003. It was the very first production of Universal Cartoon Studios.
Although the cartoon takes place after the movies, Bob Gale has stated that the animated series and the comic books take place in their own 'what if' and alternate timelines and are not part of the main continuity. This show marked the debut television appearance of Bill Nye on a nationally broadcast show.
Contents |
Premise
Characters
- Main article: List of Back to the Future characters
- Marty McFly (voiced by David Kaufman) – The main character of the series. Marty spends a lot of time visiting the Brown house where Doc, Clara, and their sons live. He continues to travel through time alongside Jennifer, Doc and the rest of the Brown family on many of their misadventures. Marty and Jennifer become students at Hill Valley College after graduating from Hill Valley High School.
- Jennifer Parker (voiced by Cathy Cavadini) – Marty's girlfriend.
- Emmett "Doc" Brown (portrayed by Christopher Lloyd in live action segments, voiced by Dan Castellaneta in the animated segments) – Marty's best friend and the inventor of the time machine, which he built out of a DeLorean sports car in 1985 and later built a locomotive time machine from 1885 to 1895. He lives with Clara and two sons Jules and Verne.
- Einstein (voiced by Danny Mann) – The sheep dog living with Doc, Clara, Jules, and Verne. He is also Marty's friend.
- Clara Clayton Brown (voiced by Mary Steenburgen) – Doc's wife, who, along with the rest of the family, moved to the 20th century. She and the Browns lived in a farmhouse outside Hill Valley in 1991. Clara has settled well into 20th century life, and became a teacher at Hill Valley Elementary. She occasionally joins her husband, sons, and Marty on their time travel road trips.
- Jules Brown (voiced by Josh Keaton) – Verne's elder brother. His middle name is Erastosthenes. Unlike younger brother Verne, Jules is intelligent for his age and, similarly to his father, uses long words in his everyday vocabulary. He calls Marty McFly "Martin". Jules is top of the class in his school; however, he is not very popular and has but a few friends. He has a crush on his classmate Franny Philips and enjoys baseball and inventing.
- Verne Brown (voiced by Troy Davidson) – Jules' younger brother. He is a cheeky young man; however, he hates losing and doing chores. He likes video games and watching television. He is almost always seen wearing a raccoon skin cap. Unlike his older brother Jules, Verne is quite popular at school and has many friends, including Marty McFly. He acts his age, unlike Jules. Verne often uses his favorite insult, "skunkhead", primarily toward his older brother. Verne also developed a rivalry with Biff Tannen's son, Biff Jr.
- Biff Tannen (voiced by Thomas F. Wilson) – Biff is the great-grandson of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen and is the present day villain of the series, although most episodes feature his numerous ancestors or descendants instead (Marty once rhetorically questioned if there was a "Biff" in every time period and place they visited). In the series, Biff also has a son, Biff Jr. (voiced by Benji Gregory).
Mary Steenburgen (Clara Clayton Brown) and Thomas F. Wilson (Biff Tannen) voiced their characters from the films. Christopher Lloyd played Doc Brown in the live-action segments which opened and closed each episode while Dan Castellaneta provided the animated Doc Brown's voice. James Tolkan was also featured as a guest voice in one episode, however he returned only to voice a completely different character as opposed to his Principal Strickland character from the films. In addition, Bill Nye appeared as Dr. Brown's Lab Assistant during the live-action segments at the end of each episode performing scientific experiments related to the episode. Nye also serves as the show's technical advisor. These segments later led to Nye getting his own show.
Episodes
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 13 | September 14, 1991 | December 14, 1991 | |
| 2 | 13 | September 19, 1992 | December 26, 1992 | |
Season 1 (1991)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Brothers" | John Hays and Phil Robinson | John Loy and John Ludin | September 14, 1991 |
| In the first episode and series premiere, Verne, upset with his brother, Jules, runs away from home using the DeLorean. Doc, Marty and Jules use the Time Train to go back in time to find him. They find him during the American Civil War on February 11, 1864 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. When General Beauregard Tannen's armies kidnap Marty, Verne gasps. Jules and Verne end up on opposite sides of the war; Verne is recruited by the Confederates and Jules in the Union army. During a big battle, both armies see the boys meet and huddle together in the center of the battlefield. The soldiers realize that they are fighting their own brothers, cousins, uncles and nephews. Both parties walk away from the battle without fighting, and they all chase after Doc, Marty, and the boys.
The episode reveals the origins of the word "butthead". General Tannen calls his troops "buttocks brains" and Verne corrects him to say "butthead". Ancestors: General Beauregard Tannen (Biff)/General Ulysses S. Clayton (Clara) Bill Nye Segment: Making an electromagnet. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "A Family Vacation" | John Hays | Wayne Kaatz and John Loy | September 21, 1991 |
| Without consulting the family while leaving Marty and Jennifer alone, Doc takes Clara and the boys back to medieval times to escape the technology that he feels his family has become so reliant upon. Leaving the DeLorean that goes back to their home turf, Doc angers Clara, and Jules and Verne leave them. Once there, Clara is kidnapped by the evil Lord Biffingham and Doc is thrown into the dungeon. Jules and Verne meet up with Harold McFly (Marty's ancestor), whose lady love, Jennivere (Jennifer's ancestor, almost), has also been kidnapped by Lord Biffingham. The boys and Harold arrive at the castle in time to witness a "jousting" match between the Lord and Doc. Clara escapes from the tower and makes a hot air balloon out of silk and a tapestry loom. As a true heroine, she rescues Doc and foils Biffingham's evil scheme. Doc realizes that he should consult her before making anymore decisions for the family. When Harold and Jennivere are together again, Doc, Clara, Jules, Verne, and Einstein head back in their home turf to visit Super Splash Water World, where Verne was expecting to go.
Despite the 'Complete Animated Series' having all episodes uncut, the first live-action segment of this episode is not shown. Ancestors: Lord Biffingham (Biff)/Harold McFly and Jennivere (Marty) Bill Nye Segment: Making a hot air balloon. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "Forward to the Past" | Phil Robinson | Earl Kress | September 28, 1991 |
| To test a new invention called the Sonic Garbage Molecular Redistributor, without Marty, Doc and the boys head back to prehistoric times before 3,000,000 years so that they will not endanger anyone. Before they can run their test, a Tyrannosaurus gives chase and with the help of a friendly Pteranodon, they escape. At nighttime, they finally set up to run the test. Doc spots a shooting star, which is actually a large meteor, heading toward earth. Doc zaps it with his redistributor and destroys the meteor, thus saving earth, but draining his car battery. Using lemons to power the battery, they head back into the future and civilization as they know it has changed. Odd breeds of dinosaurs rule the earth. Doc realizes that he must return to the past to restore the meteor and in doing so, sentencing their friend, Donny the Pteranodon, into extinction with the rest of the dinosaurs. When the group returns to present-day Hill Valley, while Marty and Einstein are visited again, Verne befriends a little bird that resembles Donny.
Issue 2 of the Back to the Future comics is an adaptation of this episode. The title is a parody of the title Back to the Future. Bill Nye Segment: Making a lemon battery. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Witchcraft" | John Hays | Mary Jo Ludin | October 5, 1991 |
| Marty catches Jennifer talking with the school jock named Kelp and assumes she is dating behind his back. Jennifer, who has been tutoring the jock, tries to explain the situation but Marty does not listen to her. While the Browns are in Egypt a spear damages the flux capacitor and they are flung into another time. Marty goes to the Browns' house and receives a message that Doc and his family are in Salem, Massachusetts during the Salem Witch Trials. Taking the DeLorean, Marty brings a spare flux capacitor for the train to Doc, but the DeLorean that Marty and Einstein are in is in the water and comes out. As Doc fixes the train, Marty, Clara and the boys go to a town function. Marty spurns the advances of a young lady named Mercy (who is a Tannen) and she accuses him of being a witch out of spite. Marty is condemned for being a witch without being able to defend himself. Marty is sentenced to the "water" test and Doc saves him with a makeshift scuba suit. When Marty returns home, he apologizes to Jennifer for making accusations without first hearing her side of the story.
Ancestors: Mercy Tannen and her father (Biff) Bill Nye Segment: Examining water pressure. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "Roman Holiday (aka Swing Low Sweet Chariot Race)" | Mark Klastorin, Michael Klastorin and John Ludin | Phil Robinson | October 19, 1991 |
| With Marty as company, Doc heads to Ancient Rome to return overdue library books. Jules and Verne overhear their father talk about the arcades and stow away in the DeLorean to play the Roman "video games", (the boys have been forbidden to leave the house because they were grounded for misusing their father's latest invention – a holographic device.) Jules and Verne accidentally end up with Doc and Marty in Ancient Rome (approx. 36 AD). Once there, Marty insults Bifficus and is challenged to a chariot race. Doc is mistaken for a rebellious slave and is going to be thrown to the lions. The boys run amok in Ancient Rome and end up meeting Judah, a slave, who helps them get out of trouble. In the end, Marty loses the race because Bifficus must rise to power in order for the Roman Empire to fall. Doc uses his holographic device to avoid becoming lion chow and the boys help Judah escape to become a free man. Marty switches places with Judah and rejoins Doc and Jules and Verne, who are about to go back in their home turf.
Issue 3 of the Back to the Future comics is an adaptation of this episode. Ancestors: Bifficus Antanneny (Biff) Bill Nye Segment: Examining drag (air resistance). | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Go Fly a Kite" | Randy Gale, Michael Zimbalist, John Loy and John Ludin | N/A | October 26, 1991 |
| Jules taunts his brother Verne by saying that Verne must not be a biological member of the Brown family because he is not as smart as Doc and Jules. Verne uses his father's photo invention and accidentally believes that Benjamin Franklin is his biological father. Taking the DeLorean back in time, Verne interferes with Franklin's invention of electricity. When all of the electricity goes out in present day Hill Valley, Doc, Marty, and Einstein trace Verne back to Benjamin Franklin. Doc saves Verne from falling off a clock tower and Verne realizes that he is Doc's biological son and that he would still be loved as much even if he were adopted. (This episode also showed an excerpt of the first Back to the Future film).
Bill Nye Segment: Examining static electricity. | |||||
| 7a | 7a | "Time Waits for No Frog" | Cliff MacGillivray, John Loy and John Ludin | Phil Robinson | November 2, 1991 |
| Doc and Marty go to Ancient South America to find a cure for Marty's athletes' foot. The cure comes in the form of an extinct frog—the Bufo marinus—which emits an acid from its skin. Doc and Marty meet up with the vile conquistador Biffando and his goons. Biffando releases them and follows them at a distance, to the lost City of Gold. Marty and Doc end up being captured by Incan natives and are put in a large pit with hundreds of Bufo marinus frogs. With that many frogs, Doc says that he and Marty will "melt like the Wicked Witch of the West" from The Wizard of Oz. Using a tuning fork, Doc makes the frogs go crazy and it looks like Marty can "control" the frogs. The Incans release Doc and Marty and stop Biffando from stealing any gold. Doc and Marty take a couple of frogs home to reestablish the population in the 20th century.
This is the only episode of the series that has two 15 minute stories in it, instead of a full length 30 minute story. Ancestors: Biffando De La Tannez (Biff) Bill Nye Segment: Examining sound waves. | |||||
| 7b | 7b | "Einstein's Adventure" | Phil Robinson | Alex Herschlag | November 2, 1991 |
| While Doc is in the hardware store, Einstein is asleep in the back of the DeLorean when it is stolen by a couple of bank robbers. The robbers activate the DeLorean's time circuits and head to Sydney, Australia, 1790. Einstein is bounced out of the car on impact and the robbers end up "breaking in" to an Australian prison. Einstein ends up saving the crooks and when they get back to the future, the crooks return the money and turn themselves in.
Ancestors: Mongo P. Tannen (Biff) Bill Nye Segment: None. This is the only story in the series that does not have a science segment following it. The Bill Nye segment following the story Time Waits for No Frog actually serves as a linking device between that story and Einstein's Adventure. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "Batter Up" | Mark Hoffmeier, John Loy and John Ludin | John Hays | November 9, 1991 |
| Marty goes back to the 1897 National League Pennant Race to help his ancestor, Pee Wee McFly – the pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters, win the Series. Using one of Doc's inventions, a pair of glasses that helps the batter to hit like a major leaguer, Marty "steps" in for Pee Wee and wins a critical game. Instead of being thankful, Pee Wee is terrified – he is being pressured to "throw" the games by Diamond Jim Tannen, a big time gangster. With Jules and Verne, Marty helps Pee Wee win the Pennant and Diamond Jim gets hauled off by the police.
Ancestors: Pee-Wee McFly (Marty)/Diamond Jim Tannen (Biff) Bill Nye Segment: None, however the science segment at the end of the episode featured Brett Butler, a center fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time, talking about how curve balls curve using the Magnus effect. This is the only science segment in the show that didn't feature Bill Nye. | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "Solar Sailors" | Phil Robinson | Earl Kress, John Ludin and John Loy | November 16, 1991 |
| As an anniversary gift to his parents, Jules has created an invention that displays front page headlines from history and gives his second gift – tickets on a space cruise in the year 2091, one hundred years into the future. Clara and Doc take the DeLorean to the future and board MSC Jennifer – a solar sail ship whose captain is Ms. Marta McFly Jr., Marty's great-granddaughter (the granddaughter of either Marty McFly Jr. or Marlene McFly and daughter of Marta McFly). Back at home, Jules and Verne use the headline machine and find out that the solar sail ship is in danger (it is sabotaged by Ziff Tannen, Griff Tannen's grandson). As Doc and Clara attempt to repair the solar sails, Jules and Verne head to the future to help save their parents. Ziff is eventually caught, and Doc and Clara return home safely.
Descendants: Marta McFly, Jr. (Marty)/Ziff Tannen (Biff) Bill Nye Segment: Exanining how a vacuum works. | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "Dickens of a Christmas" | Rick Cunningham, John Loy and John Ludin | John Hays | November 23, 1991 |
| After hearing everyone complain about the summer heat, Doc takes Marty and his family to 1800s London to celebrate a "Dickens" Christmas. Once there, Doc entrusts his pocket watch (with the key to the DeLorean hooked on it) to Jules. When Clara, Doc and Marty go inside a toy store, a pickpocket steals the watch from Jules and the boys pursue the thief. Jules and Verne are caught by the leader of the pickpockets and are forced to join the group. While Doc and Marty go to look for them, Ebiffnezer Tannen, the landlord of the toy shop, throws the shopkeeper, his family and Clara into debtors' prison. Doc and Marty rescue the boys and decide to teach Ebiffnezer a lesson on humanity by having Marty dressed up as the ghost of Christmas (with flying effects created by the hoverboard.) Ebiffnezer has a change of heart and releases everyone from debtors' prison, but he recognizes Marty.
Ancestors: Ebiffnezer Tannen (Biff) Bill Nye Segment: Using a pendulum to show the difference between potential energy and kinetic energy. | |||||
| 11 | 11 | "Gone Fishin'" | Phil Robinson | Wayne Kaatz and John Ludin | November 30, 1991 |
| It is the "Father-Son Big Mouth Bass-Off" and the boys learn that their father is afraid of fishing. Using a wacky invention, the boys go into Doc's memory and find out that while staying with his Oddball Uncle Oliver one summer, four-year-old Doc fell into the river while fishing. The boys, with Marty tagging along, head back in time to prevent the accident thus eliminating Doc's fear of fishing. The boys prevent the accident but create a new one, and Marty falls into the river. When little Emmett Brown casts his line, it gets caught on a low flying stunt biplane. When the pilot lands, Emmett is heralded as Daredevil Brown. Little Emmett becomes very famous doing crazy stunts around the country. When he arrives in Hollywood, movie producer D.W. Tannen proposes a very dangerous stunt (the ol' barrel over the waterfall stunt) but promises that a dummy will take Emmett's place. In reality, Tannen plans on keeping Emmett in the barrel for the "realistic" look but Marty and the boys foul up his plans and save Emmett. When Marty and the boys head back in the future, Doc is ready to go to the Bass-Off.
Ancestors: Oliver Brown (Doc)/D.W. Tannen (Biff) Bill Nye Segment: Examining Newton's law of gravity. | |||||
| 12 | 12 | "Retired" | John Hays | Peyton Reed, Mark Gowen, John Ludin and John Loy | December 7, 1991 |
| On April Fool's Day, Jules and Verne "sabotage" many of Doc's inventions, including his Brain Wave Analyzer. After using the tampered machine, Doc thinks he has used up 99.99% of his brain and retires from science. After many attempts at seeking other employment (parking cars, mowing lawns, making pizzas), he goes back in time to the Cro-Magnon period. Realizing that there are still things left to invent (the wheel, etc...), he decides to go to Marty's rock and roll concert – it is something totally mindless. Marty has "borrowed" one of Doc's tampered inventions – the Environmental Adjuster – to create special effects for the concert and in doing so, creates a catastrophic rainstorm/flood. After accidentally tearing up the curtain, when Marty lands into the water along with Jules and Verne, it is up to Doc to use his remaining .01% " of his brain to get everyone out of danger. The boys confess to their pranks and the inventor returns to his life of science.
Issue 4 of the Back to the Future comics is an adaptation of this episode. Bill Nye segment: Examining cloud formation. | |||||
| 13 | 13 | "Clara's Folks" | John Loy and Mary Jo Ludin | Phil Robinson | December 14, 1991 |
| Verne, Jules and Marty head back to 1850 Wyoming to meet Jules and Verne's maternal grandmother on the Oregon Trail. Once they arrive, Martha falls instantly in love with Marty and causes Clara to disappear in the future (mirroring the events of the first film). The boys and Marty must arrange for Martha to meet Daniel, their grandfather, so the two of them can fall in love. Wild Bill Tannen (Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen's father) enters the picture and kidnaps Martha for himself. Doc, who has used the locomotive to travel back in time, arrives with Daniel to find that Wild Bill has run away and Verne and Martha are in the process of being attacked by a Grizzly Bear. Doc surveys the area, recognizes the terrain and instructs them to throw a buffalo hide over a hole and mere moments later, a column of water (Old Faithful) elevates them up and out of danger. Daniel and Martha's eyes meet and they fall in love. History is back on track.
Ancestors: Daniel Clayton and Martha O'Brien (Clara)/Wild Bill Tannen (Biff) Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, son of Wild Bill Tannen, previously appeared in Back to the Future Part III (film)Back to the Future Part III. Bill Nye Segment: Examining geysers. | |||||
Season 2 (1992)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Awards
- 1992 – Outstanding Film Sound Mixing – Jim Hodson, Bill Koepnick and Harry Andronis (won)
- 1992 – Outstanding Film Sound Editing – Bill Koepnick, Russell Brower, Jim Hodson, Aaron L. King, Matt Thorne and Mark Keatts (won)
- 1993 – Outstanding Film Sound Mixing – Ray Leonard and Paca Thomas (won)
- 1993 – Outstanding Film Sound Editing – Paca Thomas, Ray Leonard, Marc S. Perlman and Melissa Ellis (won)
Comic books
References
External links
Template:Universal Animation Studios Template:Children's Programming on CBS in the 1990s
