Blast from the Past

Blast from the Past store logo

The display window of the store, with various items from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The Grays Sports Almanac can be seen between the 'antique computer' and the Magnavox.

Marty handles the almanac.

The futuristic-looking receipt that Marty received with the almanac.

"There was an antique shop on this side of the street, a place called BLAST FROM THE PAST. The front window of the place was full of thing Marty remembered from 1985 or before, all carefully labeled, stuff like a Betamax VCR, a Super-8 movie projector, a lava lamp, a Macintosh computer, and a whole bunch of Perrier bottles. In fact, the only thing Marty didn't recognize in the window was a small, silver book with the bold, red title: Gray's Sports Almanac 1950-2000. "

—From Back to the Future Part II by Craig Shaw Gardner (quote, page 26)

Blast from the Past was an antique/memorabilia store in 21st century Hill Valley, which bought and sold items from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

History

On August 8, 2015, Dr. Emmett Brown visited the shop to determine the value of the items he owned in 1985, but left without selling or purchasing anything.

On October 21, 2015, Marty McFly became a customer when he sold his pocket change and dollar bills as antique currency and purchased the Grays Sports Almanac. The saleswoman pointed out the almanac's dust jacket as part of her sales pitch, and also recommended to Marty a DustBuster hand vacuum in case he was particularly interested in dust, before putting the book into a silver-colored plastic bag, along with a receipt.

The display window contained many items, including (in no particular order):

• Grays Sports Almanac
• a Betamax VCR
• a JVC television set
• a frisbee
• a bust of John F. Kennedy
• a JVC camcorder from 1988
• a Jaws NES game, published by LJN
• a BurgerTime NES game
• a VHS copy of National Lampoon's Animal House
• a VHS copy of Dragnet
• a Black & Decker DustBuster from 1988
• a Black & Decker clothes iron
• a record player
• a Ronald Reagan picture disc record, titled The President's Album
• a VHS copy of Stand-up Reagan
• a large bottle of Pepsi-Cola (with the drink still inside)
• a Magnavox Weekender AM-62 transistor radio
• a Super-8 movie projector
• a lava lamp from circa 1967
• a Macintosh computer from 1984 with keyboard
• a giant peanut
• a white and blue soup tureen
• a The Cardinal of the Kremlin  book by Tom Clancy
• a Pac-Man lunchbox
• a Berenstain Bears lunchbox
• a Who Framed Roger Rabbit plush doll
• "very rare" smiley faces from 1972
• a Barbie Cool Times doll
• a Barbie Ken California doll
• a bunch of vintage 1982 Perrier water bottles (with the water still inside them)
• a Guess two-tone blue denim jacket, complete with "Art in Revolution" button
• a Sanyo Orange RPT 1200 Phonosphere (1970s)
• a VHS copy of Jaws 2 (1978)
• an R.C. Pro-Am NES game (1988)
• a white Panasonic Toot-a-Loop radio [1]

A "Jimmy Carter for President" poster was also available for sale, being displayed on the wall inside the store.

Inside the store were many more items available for sale, such as:

• a Macintosh computer with keyboard, mouse, and floppy drive
• an Atari 2600
• a cell phone
• a VCR
• a television set
• a Reagan/Bush 1984 Presidential campaign poster
• a Michael Jackson's Thriller poster
• a He-Man action figure
• a Teddy Ruxpin
• a Nirvana poster

On September 7, 1893, Doc traveled in the second DeLorean time machine to October 27, 2017 to find an eighth wedding anniversary gift for his wife Clara. He visited the store and bought a copy of Lighthouse at the End of the World by Clara's favorite author, Jules Verne.

Behind the scenes

• The unnamed saleswoman is played by Judy Ovitz.
• Roger Rabbit was a Robert Zemeckis film that also starred Christopher Lloyd. The title character was voiced by Charles Fleischer, who was Terry in Part II. As the old man who tells Marty that he wishes he could go back in time to bet money on the Chicago Cubs winning the 2015 World Series, Terry inspires Marty to return to the Blast from the Past store to buy the almanac. It is also interesting to note that the original Jaws is a Steven Spielberg film and a sequel appears for it in Back to the Future Part II.
• The window display also includes (behind the DustBuster and the computer monitor), on a mannequin, a Guess two-tone blue denim jacket with an "Art in Revolution" button. This is the same outfit that Marty had been wearing in 1985, and was included as an in-joke.

Appearances

• Back to the Future Part II
• Back to the Future Part II novelization
• Back to the Future: The Card Game (Mentioned only)
• Back to the Future (IDW Publishing)
  • Back to the Future: Untold Tales and Alternate Timelines
    • Issue 3: "Jurassic Biff" (Biff steals the Blast from the Past bag with the almanac inside.)
    • Issue 4: "Emmett Brown Visits the Future
    • Back to the Future: Hard Time
    • Back to the Future 18: Stowaway to the Future (Doc produces a Blast from the Past bag containing Lighthouse at the End of the World)