Having watched “Back to the Future” trilogy again recently, I thought about what the movie would be like if it were based in 2005 instead of 1985 as a starting point. The points of time travel would be 1975, 2035 and 1905 for each movie, respectively. Based on the technology we have today and how we perceive the future from this point (e.g. flying cars are not likely any time soon, if ever), how would the movies be made if the basic premises of the movies remained the same? That is:
[ul]
[li]BTTF1: Get Marty’s parents to meet after Marty accidentally alters the course of history such that his fate is doomed otherwise.[/li][li]BTTF2: Unfuck the altered and corrupted 2005 and get things back the way they were before.[/li][li]BTTF3: Get Doc back to the present day after going back to 1905 and dealing with the woefully limiting technology available.[/li][/ul]
Here are some of my thoughts:
[ul]
[li]Marty would probably use a cell phone to keep in touch with Doc on his way to the demonstration in the mall parking lot. He has his cell phone with him when he flees from the terrorists and gets zapped back to 1975. I don’t know if Marty would attempt to use his cell phone in 1975, only to realize that it would not work then. Anyone who sees him using it has no idea what it is. Perhaps Marty also has music CDs with him.[/li][li]Marty might inadvertently make references to the Internet when talking to a 1975-ite. Phrases such as email (which existed in 1975 but was not a household word), world wide web, “dot com”, etc. were completely unknown back then.[/li][li]By 1975 most people had TV, even color TV, so what sort of new-fangled technology would be all the rage then? All I can think of is the advent of 8-track tapes, which were short-lived. Most big advances in technology that we have today occurred in the 1980s and beyond. Perhaps “I saw it on a DVD set that I own” could replace the phrase, “I saw it on a rerun.”[/li][li]Huey Lewis got a good gig out of the movie when he was at the height of his popularity. Who would be best suited to fill the same role with today’s music and artists? [/li][li]Would having Marty try to prevent the disaster of 9/11 somehow work in the movie, or at least warning people in Boston not to travel by air that day?[/li][li]What kind of music could Marty play at the high school dance that would make everyone stop dancing? The band in 1975 would not have the instruments or equipment needed for rap music, and while guitar playing in the style that Marty used was not unheard of by then, most heavy metal, death metal, thrash metal musical styles were still yet to come, so perhaps Marty could play something along these lines.[/li][li]What scenarios would be shown in 1905? How different would it be from 1885? By that time the “old west” as its shown in 1885 in BTTF3 was pretty much a bygone era. Radio, telephone and automobiles were new or emerging technologies, as was flight (perhaps Doc brown embraces the design of the Wright Brothers’ plane to build a time machine).[/li][li]Are there any elements in the 1885/1955/1985/2015 timelines that do not have any analogous equivalents in a 1905/1970/2005/2035 timeline? I can’t think of anything analogous to a “colored mayor”, for example, since I’m sure by 1975 a black mayor was not unheard of, as it seemed to be in 1955 (at least as portrayed in the movie).[/li][li]The teen culture of the 1975 era would be centered around disco and the band Kiss, which were both on the verge of becoming popular (perhaps waiting a couple years and have the movie follow a 1977/2007 timeline would offer more options, as this would allow for the original “Star Wars” hype to also be portrayed). “Jaws” would be all the rage in that era. What other sorts of pop culture would be portrayed in 1975?[/li][li]What would a “Cafe 2000” have shown in it (in the year 2035)? What music would best typify the era?[/li][li]What type of car would Doc likely use for time travel, starting in 2005?[/li][/ul]
So have at it. Please share your thoughts and ideas.