Changes: Forward to the Past

Revision as of 17:34, 22 April 2008

"Forward to the Past" is the third episode of the first season of Back to the Future: The Animated Series. It first aired on September 28, 1991. The title is a play on the title Back to the Future.

Back to the Future 2 is an adaptation of this episode.

Brief synopsis

Traveling back in time to the Cretaceous Period with Jules and Verne, Doc Brown tests his latest invention - a device which effectively disintegrates objects - on a meteor headed for the Earth. Returning to the future, they find themselves in 1991A, where humans don't exist and dinosaurs have developed a human-like civilization. Before they can be erased from existence, the Browns return to the prehistoric era and Doc reintegrates the meteor, restoring the correct timeline.

Plot

To test a new invention called the Sonic Garbage Molecular Redistributor, Doc and the boys head back to prehistoric times so that they won't 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, Verne befriends a little bird that resembles Donny.

Factual errors

This episode claims that the Cretaceous Period was in 3,000,000 BC. The period actually lasted from 145 to 65 million years ago, so it would have been long over by that date.
In the episode, lemon trees are growing in Hill Valley during the Cretaceous Period. Lemons were first introduced to the Americas in 1493.

Dramatis personae

New continuity

New individuals

Donnie

New dates

1961
October 10, 3000000 BC (as specified)
1991A

New technology

Doc Brown Blackboard
Electroglide boots
Lemon battery
Proprietary Ultrasonic Subatomic Molecular Redistributor
Universal Linguistic Translator

New objects

New slang and phrases

Galloping Galileo!
I'll be a simian's uncle
Okey monokey
Out of the beaker into the bunsen burner
Ring my Alexander Graham Bell
What in the constantly expanding and shrinking universe

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 ==Plot==
+To test a new invention called the [[Sonic Garbage Molecular Redistributor]], Doc and the boys head back to prehistoric times so that they won't 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 [[lemon]]s 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]], Verne befriends a little bird that resembles Donny.
 ==Factual errors==