Great Scott! These 106 Back to the Future questions cover Marty McFly, Doc Brown, the DeLorean, all three films, the clock tower, alternate timelines, the Old West, and the making of the trilogy.
Marty, Doc, DeLorean & 1955
Q: Who plays Marty McFly in Back to the Future?
A: Michael J. Fox. Source
Q: Who plays Doc Brown in Back to the Future?
A: Christopher Lloyd. Source
Q: What is Doc Brown's first name in Back to the Future?
A: Emmett.
Q: What car does Doc Brown turn into a time machine?
A: DeLorean DMC-12.
Q: Why does Doc Brown say he chose a DeLorean for his time machine?
A: For style; he jokes that a car time machine should be built “with some style.”
Q: At what speed does Doc Brown's DeLorean travel through time?
A: 88 miles per hour.
Q: What device makes time travel possible in Doc Brown's DeLorean?
A: Flux capacitor.
Q: On what date does Doc Brown first test the DeLorean time machine?
A: October 26, 1985.
Q: At which shopping mall does Doc Brown first test the DeLorean?
A: Twin Pines Mall.
Q: What is Doc Brown's dog's name?
A: Einstein.
Q: Who is the first passenger to travel through time in the DeLorean?
A: Einstein the dog.
Q: What fuel does Doc Brown's time machine initially require?
A: Plutonium.
Q: From whom does Doc Brown obtain plutonium in the first film?
A: Libyan terrorists.
Q: What does Doc Brown promise the Libyans in exchange for plutonium?
A: A bomb.
Q: What does Doc Brown give the Libyans instead of a working bomb?
A: A fake bomb casing filled with used pinball-machine parts.
Q: What happens to Doc Brown at Twin Pines Mall during the time-machine test?
A: Libyan gunmen shoot Doc, and Marty escapes in the DeLorean.
Q: To what year does Marty McFly first travel?
A: 1955.
Q: Why had Doc Brown entered 1955 into the DeLorean's time circuits?
A: Doc had entered the date he invented the flux capacitor.
Q: What accident inspires Doc Brown's idea for the flux capacitor?
A: Doc slipped while hanging a clock and hit his head on the sink.
Q: What building does Marty crash into when he reaches 1955?
A: A barn.
Q: What do the Peabody family think Marty is when he appears in 1955?
A: An alien.
Q: Which brand name on Marty's underwear leads Lorraine to call him by the wrong name?
A: Calvin Klein.
Q: What name does Lorraine give Marty after seeing his underwear?
A: Calvin.
Q: How is Lorraine related to Marty McFly?
A: Marty's mother.
Q: How is George McFly related to Marty?
A: Marty's father.
Q: What problem does Lorraine's attraction to Marty create in 1955?
A: Lorraine becomes attracted to Marty instead of George.
Q: What happens to Marty's siblings in the family photograph?
A: His siblings start disappearing.
Q: What does the fading family photo mean for Marty?
A: Marty risks erasing his own existence.
George, Lorraine, Biff & the Clock Tower
Q: Who bullies George McFly in 1955?
A: Biff Tannen.
Q: Who plays Biff Tannen in the trilogy?
A: Thomas F. Wilson.
Q: What insult does Biff Tannen repeatedly use?
A: Calls people buttheads.
Q: What schoolwork does Biff demand George McFly complete for him?
A: His homework.
Q: What repeated question does Biff use to mock George?
A: “Hello? Hello? Anybody home?”
Q: What rescue plan do Marty and George devise for the Enchantment Under the Sea dance?
A: George will “rescue” Lorraine from Marty's fake unwanted advances.
Q: Who attacks Lorraine and upends Marty and George's staged rescue plan?
A: Biff appears and genuinely attacks Lorraine.
Q: How does George McFly stop Biff from attacking Lorraine?
A: Finds courage and punches Biff.
Q: What is the name of George and Lorraine's school dance?
A: Enchantment Under the Sea.
Q: What interrupts George and Lorraine's first kiss at the dance?
A: Another boy cuts in and Marty's existence continues fading.
Q: What does George do to restore his moment with Lorraine?
A: Pushes the boy away and kisses Lorraine.
Q: What happens to Marty's fading family photograph after his parents kiss?
A: His family reappears.
Q: Which band plays at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance?
A: Marvin Berry and the Starlighters.
Q: Which Chuck Berry song does Marty play at the dance?
A: “Johnny B. Goode.”
Q: Which musician originally recorded “Johnny B. Goode”?
A: Chuck Berry.
Q: Whom does Marvin Berry call during Marty's “Johnny B. Goode” performance?
A: Marvin Berry calls his cousin Chuck to let him hear the new sound.
Q: What is the time-travel joke in Marvin Berry's phone call to Chuck?
A: It humorously implies Marty influenced the song that inspired him.
Q: What does Marty tell the baffled 1955 dance audience after his guitar solo?
A: Their kids are going to love it.
Q: What event provides the DeLorean's power for Marty's return to 1985?
A: Lightning striking the Hill Valley clock tower.
Q: At what time does lightning strike the Hill Valley clock tower?
A: 10:04 p.m.
Q: On what date does lightning strike the Hill Valley clock tower?
A: November 12, 1955.
Q: How much electrical power does Doc Brown say the DeLorean needs?
A: 1.21 gigawatts.
Q: What number does Doc Brown exclaim when he learns the DeLorean's power requirement?
A: “1.21 gigawatts!”
Q: How does the DeLorean receive lightning power from the clock tower?
A: Cable connects the clock-tower lightning to a hook on the DeLorean.
Q: How has Marty's family changed when he returns to 1985?
A: George is confident and successful, Lorraine happier, siblings thriving, and Biff subordinate.
Q: What new name does Twin Pines Mall have after Marty changes 1955?
A: It is now Lone Pine Mall.
Q: What did Marty do in 1955 to make Twin Pines Mall become Lone Pine Mall?
A: Marty knocked down one of Peabody's two pine trees in 1955.
2015, Alternate 1985 & the Old West
Q: Why does Doc Brown return to fetch Marty at the end of the first film?
A: To help Marty and Jennifer with their future children.
Q: To what year does Doc take Marty at the start of Back to the Future Part II?
A: 2015.
Q: On what date do Marty and Doc arrive in 2015 in Part II?
A: October 21, 2015. Source
Q: What flying toy does Marty ride in Back to the Future Part II?
A: Hoverboard.
Q: Does the pink Mattel-branded movie hoverboard really fly unaided?
A: No. The film hoverboard was a special effect. Source
Q: What self-lacing footwear does Marty wear in Part II's 2015 scenes?
A: Nike self-lacing shoes.
Q: What feature does Marty's 2015 jacket have in Part II?
A: It adjusts its size and dries itself.
Q: What future sports result does Marty find in Part II?
A: Future World Series result.
Q: Which book does Marty buy to bet on future sports results?
A: Sports almanac.
Q: Who steals Marty's idea of using a future sports almanac?
A: Old Biff.
Q: To whom does old Biff give the sports almanac?
A: Gives the almanac to his younger 1955 self.
Q: What alternate version of 1985 does Biff create with the almanac?
A: Dark alternate 1985 where Biff is wealthy and powerful.
Q: What does Biff build around Hill Valley's courthouse in alternate 1985?
A: Biff Tannen’s Pleasure Paradise casino.
Q: What happened to George McFly in the alternate 1985?
A: Biff murdered him.
Q: Whom did Lorraine marry in alternate 1985?
A: Lorraine.
Q: What must Marty and Doc destroy to undo Biff's alternate 1985?
A: Return to 1955 and destroy the almanac.
Q: Which 1955 events do Marty and Doc revisit in Part II?
A: Enchantment Under the Sea and the clock-tower night.
Q: To which year is Doc sent when lightning strikes the DeLorean at the end of Part II?
A: Lightning sends Doc to 1885.
Q: How does Marty learn where Doc was sent at the end of Part II?
A: Western Union messenger delivers a letter Doc wrote in 1885.
Q: In what year is most of Back to the Future Part III set?
A: 1885.
Q: What trade does Doc Brown practice in 1885?
A: Working as blacksmith.
Q: Who is Doc Brown's love interest in Part III?
A: Clara Clayton.
Q: Who plays Clara Clayton in Back to the Future Part III?
A: Mary Steenburgen.
Q: Which ravine bears Clara Clayton's name in Marty's original history?
A: Clayton Ravine.
Q: Why was the ravine named after Clara Clayton in the original timeline?
A: Clara was supposed to fall into it before Doc saved her.
Q: Which outlaw threatens Doc Brown in Part III?
A: Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen.
Q: Who plays Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen in Part III?
A: Thomas F. Wilson.
Q: What pushes the DeLorean to 88 mph in Part III when gasoline is unavailable?
A: A steam locomotive pushes it.
Q: What destroys the DeLorean after Marty returns from 1885?
A: A train destroys it.
Q: How does Doc Brown return to Marty after the DeLorean is destroyed?
A: He arrives in a time-traveling steam locomotive.
Casting, Effects, Music & Hard Back to the Future Trivia
Q: Who directed all three Back to the Future films?
A: Robert Zemeckis. Source
Q: Who co-wrote Back to the Future with Robert Zemeckis?
A: Bob Gale. Source
Q: Which actor was cast as Marty McFly before Michael J. Fox?
A: Eric Stoltz. Source
Q: Why did the filmmakers replace Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly?
A: Zemeckis said Stoltz’s performance did not match his vision for Marty. Source
Q: How much Back to the Future footage was shot with Eric Stoltz?
A: Five weeks. Source
Q: Which television show initially limited Michael J. Fox's availability for Back to the Future?
A: Family Ties television schedule.
Q: How did Michael J. Fox juggle Family Ties and Back to the Future filming?
A: Filmed Family Ties by day and Back to the Future nights/weekends. Source
Q: Who composed the Back to the Future score?
A: Alan Silvestri.
Q: Which band recorded “The Power of Love” for Back to the Future?
A: Huey Lewis and the News.
Q: Does Huey Lewis make a cameo in Back to the Future?
A: Yes; he plays a battle-of-the-bands judge.
Q: What does Huey Lewis's character say about Marty's band audition?
A: They are “just too darn loud.”
Q: What is Marty's school band called?
A: The Pinheads.
Q: Which company built the production DeLorean DMC-12 car?
A: DeLorean Motor Company.
Q: Who founded the DeLorean Motor Company?
A: John DeLorean.
Q: Which metal was used for the DeLorean DMC-12's exterior panels?
A: Stainless steel.
Q: What distinctive door design does the DeLorean DMC-12 use?
A: Gull-wing doors.
Q: Which toy company name appears on Marty's hoverboard in Part II?
A: Mattel.
Q: Did director Robert Zemeckis once jokingly say that movie hoverboards were real?
A: Yes, but he was joking. Source
Q: What kind of time-travel paradox does Marvin Berry's call to Chuck suggest?
A: A bootstrap paradox.
Q: According to Doc Brown, is the future fixed?
A: No. People’s choices shape it.
Q: What does Doc tell Marty to do with the future at the end of Part III?
A: “Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one.”
How Did You Score?
If Twin Pines becoming Lone Pine, 10:04 p.m., Bill Martin belongs to Billy Joel but Bill Martin should stay there, Eric Stoltz, Huey Lewis's cameo, the almanac, Clayton Ravine, and the bootstrap paradox all came easily, great Scott.
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