#1 - the future hasn't been written...

When a tag was added to the original Back to the Future, of Doc taking Marty and Jennifer off to do "something about your kids," there were no plans for a sequel. This final scene was added at the proverbial last minute. It doesn't even appear in the novelisation. Even the 'To Be Continued…' insert was not on the original theatrical release - that was added to the 1986 video release, when Universal asked Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale to plan a follow-up film. (The upcoming DVDs will recreate the original theatrical experience.)

The next film in the Back to the Future series didn't appear until 1989 - four years later. Production began in February of 1989. Back to the Future, Part II premiered on November 22 of that same year.

When Universal's publicity machine went to work, they focused heavily on the fact that Marty McFly was headed for the future. The audience was geared up to see flying cars and holographic Jaws. What we didn't know was how much Hill Valley and the world had changed in the thirty years since Marty left 1985; from obvious alterations to the famous Court House, to the minutiae of everyday life in the small Californian town.

Let's look at what has happened in the intertim, over a decade since co-creators Zemeckis and Gale prognosticated about the early twenty-first century. How much is their vision a reality and what is the likelihood of the real 2015 looking like Back to the Future, Part II?

"Come back with me…"

The first hint of the future is the "Mr Fusion," which has been added to the DeLorean, superseding the plutonium chamber - needed to fuel the flux-capacitor. Many advances in technology during the 1990s have been geared toward concern for the environment. Using waste to fuel machinery is not a reality, though the idea has been integrated into concept cars and homes, constructed to assess the feasibility of new technologies.

While not waste as such, there is a product now called biodiesel, which is basically a substitute for diesel fuel made from vegetable oil. Go to www.vegievan.org for more information about this product. There is also a book for sale at the site called "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank: The Complete Guide to Using Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel". This is one example of the environment dictating the need for new sources of energy

Next, we see another addition to the DeLorean time machine - a hover-conversion. And as soon as Marty, Doc and Jennifer arrive in the future, it becomes apparent that this is a standard addition to any and all cars in 2015. (Note: A holo-billboard advertisement in the Courthouse Square implies that some people still drive earth-bound vehicles. These can be hover-converted for the low price of $39,999.95).

There is a suggestion in the film that not everyone is happy with the advancement in this area. One of the news items listed in the October 22, 2015 edition of "USA Today - Hill Valley Edition" is 'Car Owners Revolt.' Is it possible not everyone can afford the hover-conversion and this disadvantages them?

Or maybe they can't afford the gas prices. Gas prices listed at Texaco range from $6.95 to $8.99 a gallon! Regular unleaded is $8.37. This is a 500% mark-up on fuel prices from the lat 90s.

Today, hover-cars are still at the concept stage, although there has been worldwide news coverage of a hover-vehicle being constructed and flown. Still, there is a long way to go before the family station wagon is replaced with a hovering Ford or Cadillac.

"Where we're going, we don't need roads!" 

Flying cars and Skyways replacing highways have not added anything to the age-old problem of traffic congestion, however. Marty and Doc are delayed in their chase after Jennifer by a jammed Skyway, even though the cops they are pursuing do not suffer the same problem. Maybe emergency vehicles have their own Skyways. Now that's an impressive future advancement!

Doc Brown's sleep-inducing alpha-rhythm generator is pure science fiction (in its compact form, see footnote) - though imagine having one when trying to nurse a crying baby back to sleep! The possibilities for those who suffer sleep disorders are endless.

Fashion seems to have taken two steps forward and one step back. While the Nike shoes that Doc provides Marty have power laces and the jacket automatically adjusts to an individual wearer, teenagers in the twenty-teens are known for wearing their pants inside out! Neither of these items will be available from The Gap or J.C. Penney in the near future, especially the jacket with automatic drying mode, but everyone could start wearing their pants backward from today!

Marty's encounter with holographic Jaws in the Courthouse Square might be a filmgoer's dream. But that is all it is, just a dream. Imagine going down on the Titanic this way or joining Anakin Skywalker in the pod race during Star Wars: Episode One… I guess if the power-players of Hollywood aren't working on this technology, maybe Steven Spielberg's son, Max, might try his hand at it in the future. He is, after all, credited with directing Jaws 19. "This time it's really, really personal!"

But apart from the fact that we're not likely to see another 15 films in the Jaws series by October 2015, it would probably take holographic technology to entice an audience to see the nineteenth film in a series that was truly dead after number 2! (Note: there is even a negative review in the newspaper. It is simply titled: 'Jaws without Bite.')

"Welcome to the Café 80s…"

Personal attention to customers is something that seems to be lacking in the BTTF future. There is no one serving at the Café 80s. No one tends the pumps at the Texaco Service Station. (Of course, no one tends petrol pumps much these days, either!) There is no one on hand to take the front-page photograph for the following day's paper; "USA Today" just sends out their floating camera drone!

At least there's someone behind the shopfront at 'Blast From the Past' - though maybe that's just the point; service is as out-dated as the toys, games and clothes in the window.

When Marty is in the Café 80s showing his proficiency with the Wild Gunman arcade game, one of the kids watching observes that if you have to use your hands, then it's a baby's toy. The 2015 equivalent of the Playstation or Nintendo 64 must be voice-controlled! Certainly not outside the bounds of possibility given voice activation continues to make inroads into our lives.

"Short circuits in his bionic implants."

In the environment which Zemeckis and Gale have created, however, it is not out of the question that bionic limbs have been developed or that the three-minute mile has been run. According to the next day's paper, a pitcher is suspended for using a bionic arm and that someone called Marshall has run a mile in three minutes.

In reality, the current record for running a mile is 3 minutes, 43.13 seconds; Moroccan runner Hicham El Guerrouj ran it on July 7 of 1999. That means, in the forty years since the four-minute barrier was broken, only 17 seconds has been taken off the record in our time. Seems impossible for the next 43 seconds to go in less than half that time again.

Bionic limbs and implants are even mentioned in dialogue. Doc Brown warns Marty to be careful of Griff because he has short-circuits in his implants. What this means specifically isn't fully explained. How advanced are these implants?

Artificial limbs have come a long way in the past decade. They now afford the user more realistic movement and a better chance to live a 'normal life.' Most of these prosthetics do not involve bionics of any kind and there is yet to be any actual integration between these limbs and a person's mind.

One thing Part II does get wrong is a report in that same paper about the upcoming visit to Washington, D.C. by Queen Diana. Unfortunately, Diana - Princess of Wales and future Queen of England was killed in an automobile accident in a Paris tunnel in August of 1997.

Of course, the paper also alludes to the fact that the President of the United States is a woman! And, how likely is that? Not one female candidate in 2000.

"Thumb a hundred bucks…"

As Marty wanders around the Courthouse Square, the old man who is looking for a donation to help save the clock tower asks for a hundred bucks. I've heard of inflation, but this is ridiculous! We're meant to believe that this is reasonable? Remember back in the good old 1985 when the woman who was trying to save the clock tower was happy with twenty-five cents? (At least, I think it's a quarter Marty drops into the can.)

But with service personnel on the decline and no one to handle money by 2015, everything is credited to or debited from an account accessed by a person's thumbprint. From paying for things to opening your own front door, a person's unique print is a convenient and safe method of identification. It also saves you from having to carry a wallet or keys and it saves you the embarrassment and inconvenience of losing them.

Thumbprint signatures are now a reality in highly secured facilities (banks, jails and military bases). This technology is incredibly advanced and expensive, so it's not likely to become a part of day-to-day applications used by the general public. Maybe in the next fifteen years, we'll encounter this kind of thing more often, but as a form of ID for payment, it would be unlikely. Credit cards will probably serve this purpose well enough for a long time to come. Just don't lose it or forget your PIN.

"Lord of the manor. King of the castle."

Voice activation, or voice recognition technology, is also integrated into the BTTF society of sixteen years hence. From turning lights on, to choosing TV and window channels to activating the family hydrator… the human voice was seen as the way of the future for machines in the home. And this is one thing that has come to fruition!

While most of you probably don't turn on your lights with your voice (some may just clap their hands), many people use voice recognition software to communicate with their computer or to dictate long passages of text.

One thing Zemeckis and Gale could be considered to have gotten wrong is the role the fax machine will play in the future. It will probably be considered out-of-date by twenty-fifteen, if it isn't already. This has mainly come about because of the role that e-mail already plays in our personal and business lives. People are not likely to revert to using a machine that eats paper when they are already on-line and the paperless office is becoming more and more of a reality.

Back to the Future, Part II is credited for a couple of sly predictions, though. Marty is surprised to learn that the Chicago Cubs had won the World Series against Miami - not because he didn't ever expect to see the Cubs win, but because back in 1985, Miami didn't even have a team. The amazing thing is, Miami did not even have a team in 1989 when the film was made - but they do now! In reality, the team was formed in 1991 and is called the Florida Marlins (not the Miami Gators, as in the film).

The second prediction is discovered from clues left in the background of one scene. When Jennifer is taken out of the time machine in the alleyway, Doc and Marty lie her on top of a pile of discarded Laser Discs. It has been suggested the discs have been left there because a newer format, DVD, has taken over the market. (Note: On closer inspection, however, we can see smaller discs included in this pile - which could be CDs, CD-ROMs or DVDs!)

"I've got a Pit-Bull now."

While flying cars and voice recognition tech do exist and sleep-inducing alpha-rhythm generators don't, the one piece of technology talked about the most since Back to the Future, Part II's premiere back in 1989 is the hoverboard. The very existence of them is still debated on message boards and chat rooms, because some people believe they do exist - courtesy of a lie first perpetrated by Robert Zemeckis in 1989. This interview is archived for posterity on the DVD release of Part II.

Hoverboards as they exist in the Back to the Future universe are a very long way off indeed, though one enterprising company on the Internet (www.futurehorizons.net) have for sale a product they call a hoverboard. They are even using the BTTF connection to boost sales. Their hoverboard seems to be a miniature version of hovercraft technology, which uses air and an expanding foil to glide across land and water. The site does not give any specifics of how their product actually works, though it does have an in-built engine, steering and is advertised at the low, low price of $950!

"They've abolished all lawyers."

Many of the advancements made by man in the thirty years from 1985 to 2015 are presented in an off-the-cuff fashion or very subtly. This kind of stuff begins when Doc Brown mentions his all-natural overhaul to Marty. He claims thirty or forty years have been added to his life because of it! If Doc is in his sixties by 1985, now he's expecting to live until he's 100 or more. That would be a monumental break-through in science.

The rejuvenation clinic took out some wrinkles and did a hair repair, which are pretty common cosmetic surgeries these days - through face-lifts, collagen implants and hair plugs. But they also changed Doc's blood and replaced his spleen and colon. With what? Are we talking harvesting from dying people, like they do now with hearts and lungs, or have they perfected organ cloning? Back in 1989, the thought of cloning anything or growing bodily was another science fiction, but now it is much closer to fact than ever before.

In other news, the weather service is so accurate by 2015 that they can predict changes down to the second. Now that's surely more like a fantasy than science fiction?

Something else that's more like a fantasy - by the early twenty-first century, all lawyers have been abolished. Crimes like theft and attempted prison breakouts (where the culprits are caught in the act) are handled quickly and can be dispensed with in less than two hours. Is this a giant step forward or another one of those one-step forward, two-steps back problem?

Even the sentencing itself can be harsh. Marty Junior got fifteen years for theft. What could he have possibly stolen to warrant fifteen years jail? Marlene McFly was sentenced to twenty years for an attempted prison breakout. Twenty years for the attempt?

"Where are we? When are we?"

Ten years after Part II's release, it is fun to look back at how our perceptions of these future predictions have changed. Some science fiction has become science fact. Other stuff was far-fetched to begin with - but that's the fun of these kinds of films. It's always interesting to see how the future is presented on screen. So often, though, it's presented in a time far from now or in a galaxy far, far away. With Back to the Future, Part II we had a glimpse into a future that we could imagine being part of - even if we never get to ride a hoverboard, play a game using our voices or run a mile in three minutes.

I guess the next best time to look back at 1989's view of 2015 will be in 2015 itself!

Getting Back was only the Beginning...

A lot has happened in Hollywood in decade after Back to the Future, Part II. Let's look at the biggest impact Part II (and Part III) made on the industry that spawned them.

Sequels, trilogies and movie franchises have been a part of movie making since there has been feature films. Charlie Chaplin had a recurring character called The Tramp back in the 1920s and 30s. Ma and Pa Kettle spawned a series of films in the late forties.

These days, with Hollywood pursuing higher and higher grosses from their films, feature franchises seem to be the way to go. And what better way to extend one film into a series than by making multiple sequels together. That trend was begun with Part II and Part III being made back-to-back in 1989.

Well, to be fair, the first two Superman films were shot together, but this wasn't a particularly harmonious experience, with director Richard Donner being replaced by Richard Lester on the second film. Let's say that BTTF perfected the practice.

Zemeckis and Gale's first crack at writing a follow-up was titled 'Paradox.' It was so long, Universal demanded they cut it back. In an effort to keep the whole story, Zemeckis and Gale lobbied to have two sequels made. These days, the reason most sequels or series are currently being packaged together is simply a financial one. It also goes to creating a greater interest in the project and that's good for everyone - fans and studios alike.

Other films to follow this lead: the second and third Matrix films due to be released within six months of each other in 2003 and the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy which will release its third chapter in December 2003.

Back to the Future is a classic comedy film, but - in certain ways, Part II is far more innovative. From special-effects, to the layering of detail, to the interaction with moments from the original, Part II stands out after ten years as solid second feature in an industry where seconds can often be served up cold or as stale imitations of their predecessors.

One of the commercial products using this technology is called the AlphaStim, which is used for relaxation for anxiety and mild pain relief, this is an offshoot of the TENS machine, a medical device used for both pain control and forced muscle relaxation. The TENS can be used by physical therapists for patients whose muscles have tensed (or are spasming) uncontrollably - the electrical impulses from the device relax the muscles, allowing the muscles to repair themselves if they have been torn etc.There are
other versions which can induce sleep - or forcibly keep a person awake. The device depicted in Part II is far beyond what's currently available though, but the technology does exist in a more basic form now.

THE FUTURE HASN'T BEEN WRITTEN was originally written for BTTF.com and first published on November 22, 1999 - the tenth anniversary of Part II's release. Revised in September 2002. Footnote added November 2002.

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