Expedition: BACK TO THE FUTURE

[BluBonnet]

I'm not at all familiar with the "Expedition" series or its host, but I did quite enjoy this 4-episode BTTF-themed special, which is built into the search for the mythical 7 screen-used DeLoreans from the original films, and the construction of a brand-new time-travel decor DeLorean from scratch.

It features quite a few cameos and appearances of many of the actors from the trilogy (

[Show spoiler]though, sadly, not Elisabeth Shue or Tom Wilson

) and we also get quite a good look at the real-life stores where the Hollywood specialists get the parts they need to build functioning vehicles for the movies.

Now that it's included in Max, it may reach a wider audience than when it was only available on Discovery.

Highly recommended to all BTTF fans!!

[CouncilSpectre]

A shame about Tom Wilson.

Most of the publicity always features the two (Michael and Chris) or three (+Lea), but I always saw it as a four. Tom was the A1 antagonist that ran through the entire series of films and he was great.

[BluGalaxy]

Originally Posted by CouncilSpectre

A shame about Tom Wilson.

Most of the publicity always features the two (Michael and Chris) or three (+Lea), but I always saw it as a four. Tom was the A1 antagonist that ran through the entire series of films and he was great.

I think Tom has had his fill of BTTF:

Tom Wilson (Biff Tannen) - The Question Song - YouTube

[Michael24]

Tom still appears regularly at various conventions, which I doubt he'd do if he was tired of BTTF. That was just a comical song he wrote, as no doubt he gets asked the same questions a lot of the time.

As for the series it sounds interesting, but unfortunately I don't have Max right now.

[BillieCassin]

Thank you - hadn't heard about this - will definitely check it out.

[Show spoiler]I think Shue doesn't really do these things because she honestly doesn't even really remember doing them and doesn't feel like she has anything to add. One of her brothers died in a freak outdoor accident right around the time of filming, and that's what she said when she spoke about it a few years ago, if I recall correctly. And when you think about it, it does make sense - between the two films she is in, she probably did what, a week of filming, total? It was just a difficult time for her, which I can totally understand.

.

[HomerThompson]

Tom Wilson swore off BTTF conventions and such for a while because people would mistake him as if he were actually Biff.

https://themusic.com.au/features/tho...0cHx4/15-06-17

"Guys would want to put me in a headlock, or push me around a bit, or get into a little tussle with 'that tough guy from Back To The Future, because he’s not that tough after all'. Well, I’m not that tough after all."

But he’s since come back around to it this year making a few appearances with the main cast;



https://people.com/movies/back-to-th...eunion-selfie/

[Moviefan2k4]

I haven't met Michael or Tom yet, but I did get to meet Chris and Lea, plus Claudia Wells and James Tolkan. They were all very sweet people.

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

I haven't met Michael or Tom yet, but I did get to meet Chris and Lea, plus Claudia Wells and James Tolkan. They were all very sweet people.

I always preferred Claudia Wells in the Jennifer role. Ordinarily I like Elisabeth Shue but in BTTF everything always seemed so exaggerated, especially compared to how Wells played the character so naturally in the first film. A real shame, but understandable that she couldn't remain in the role for the subsequent films.

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by CouncilSpectre

I always preferred Claudia Wells in the Jennifer role. Ordinarily I like Elisabeth Shue but in BTTF everything always seemed so exaggerated, especially compared to how Wells played the character so naturally in the first film. A real shame, but understandable that she couldn't remain in the role for the subsequent films.

If memory serves, her mother was also her manager in those days, and for whatever reason she didn't want Claudia to continue with the role of Jennifer. So rather than cause any friction with her family, Claudia dropped out of the sequels. She did come back though, as the voice of Jennifer for the Telltale video game. Here's the 8x10 she signed for me.



As for Christopher Lloyd, he's a very quiet man, not at all what most would expect given his filmography. I met him in 2010, when the Blu-Rays were first coming out, and he did a convention appearance in Plano, Texas. He signed this 8x10, and just smiled when I thanked him for his role as Doc. I later found out he was supposed to leave the convention early, but stayed later so everyone with a desire to meet him could have a chance. Here's the 8x10 I got from him.



Then comes my story of how I met Lea Thompson. She appeared at an Irving convention in 2013, so I went...and her line was almost ridiculously long, but it was also moving pretty quick. My only request was that she sign her name legibly, so I could actually read it, and she was kind enough to oblige.



Finally, there's James Tolkan. He was at the same show as Lea Thompson, but there was hardly anyone at his table. So I attempted to chat him up for a few minutes, but it didn't seem to be going well. He didn't have any photos from Back to the Future to be signed, so instead I got one from Top Gun. I even quoted one of his scenes back to him, and he partly smiled (I must've come off as such a dork.)

[CouncilSpectre]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

Finally, there's James Tolkan. He was at the same show as Lea Thompson, but there was hardly anyone at his table. So I attempted to chat him up for a few minutes, but it didn't seem to be going well. He didn't have any photos from Back to the Future to be signed, so instead I got one from Top Gun. I even quoted one of his scenes back to him, and he partly smiled (I must've come off as such a dork.)

He probably had you pegged as a slacker......

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by CouncilSpectre

He probably had you pegged as a slacker......

[bongozoid]

Originally Posted by CouncilSpectre

I always preferred Claudia Wells in the Jennifer role. Ordinarily I like Elisabeth Shue but in BTTF everything always seemed so exaggerated, especially compared to how Wells played the character so naturally in the first film. A real shame, but understandable that she couldn't remain in the role for the subsequent films.

I actually just watched the trilogy again this past weekend - first time in probably a decade or two - and wholeheartedly agree with your assessment.

[BluBonnet]

Personally I think Elisabeth Shue was way better as Jennifer, she brought a little of that manic energy that the sequels (especially part 2) may have had just a teeny bitty more of than the first movie.

Also, she's way hotter

[Ruemorgue10]

I don't think you can really blame Shue for her performance in the sequels because it's by design. Part II has a weirdly comical tone in the first act, which is where most of her scenes are. It's not just Shue playing it big in those future scenes either, the whole cast is in on it. Zemeckis and Gale were going for something specifically over the top and cartoonish in those future scenes.

[BluBonnet]

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by Ruemorgue10

I don't think you can really blame Shue for her performance in the sequels because it's by design. Part II has a weirdly comical tone in the first act, which is where most of her scenes are. It's not just Shue playing it big in those future scenes either, the whole cast is in on it. Zemeckis and Gale were going for something specifically over the top and cartoonish in those future scenes.

Well, Robert Zemeckis admitted that when they made the original film, the ending was intended as a joke. He said he had no intention of making sequels, or else he'd never have put Jennifer in the car with Marty and Doc. But the heads at Universal came to him and Bob Gale, with the attitude of "We're doing this, with or without you", so they jumped on board to keep the execs from screwing it up. Zemeckis and Gale's involvement is also what brought most of the first film's cast together again, as well.

[BluGalaxy]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Personally I think Elisabeth Shue was way better as Jennifer, she brought a little of that manic energy that the sequels (especially part 2) may have had just a teeny bitty more of than the first movie.

Also, she's way hotter

Completely disagree, Claudia Wells was way way hotter. But Elisabeth Shue was more suited for the expanded role in the next two movies and was the better actress for it

[Bigdog]

I miss these kinds of movies, maybe it's just nostalgia or something but i find today's hollywood just doesn't have the creative minds to pull these kind of movies off anymore.

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by BluGalaxy

Completely disagree, Claudia Wells was way way hotter. But Elisabeth Shue was more suited for the expanded role in the next two movies and was the better actress for it

Let’s be honest here: both are entirely spankable. Whichever y’all choose, I’ll happily climb onto the other.

Originally Posted by Bigdog

I miss these kinds of movies, maybe it's just nostalgia or something but i find today's hollywood just doesn't have the creative minds to pull these kind of movies off anymore.

I don’t think it’s nostalgia at all. Why? Because the idiots running studios keep trying to ruin those old franchises with remakes, prequels, sequels and whatever else that suck like 99% of the time( yes a few actually end up good/decent but most don’t). Clearly, these older franchises ARE awesome since they are still being milked even 40+ years later.

As for BTTF, it’s terrific although the first film is the gem here, IMO. Just glad that Zemeckis has blocked the hipster studios from ruining his franchise with some modern remake or sequel. Sadly, once he passes, this ban might be lifted and then we’ll get a remake. You know they are just chomping at the bit to do it.

[CouncilSpectre]

Creatively, the 80s was just a golden boon for cinema.

Taking a random year, 1987:

[Show spoiler]The Kindred
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
Radio Days
Black Widow
Light of Day
Over the Top
Amerika
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
Some Kind of Wonderful
Angel Heart
Lethal Weapon
Evil Dead 2
Raising Arizona
Blind Date
Withnail and I
Police Academy 4
The Secret of My Success
Project X
GI Joe: The Movie
Extreme Prejudice
American Ninja 2
Creepshow 2
Gardens of Stone
River's Edge
The Gate
Beverly Hills Cop 2
Harry and the Hendersons
The Untouchables
Predator
The Witches of Eastwick
Roxanne
Dragnet
Spaceballs
Adventures in Babysitting
Innerspace
Full Metal Jacket
Robocop
La Bamba
Wish You Were Here
The Living Daylights
The Lost Boys
Stakeout
Masters of the Universe
Who's That Girl
The Monster Squad
No Way Out
Dirty Dancing
Hamburger Hill
House 2
Matewan
Fatal Attraction
Hellraiser
Near Dark
The Princess Bride
Someone to Watch Over Me
Barfly
Hope and Glory
The Whales of August
The Glass Menagerie
Prince of Darkness
The Sicilian
Suspect
The Hidden
Cry Freedom
Death Wish 4
Less than Zero
Steel Dawn
The Running Man
The Last Emperor
Teen Wolf Too
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Three Men and a Baby
Wall Street
*batteries not included
Moonstruck
Overboard
Broadcast News
Empire of the Sun
Good Morning, Vietnam
Bad Taste
A Better Tomorrow 2
City on Fire
Daughter of the Nile
Eastern Condors
Housekeeping
Opera
Pelle the Conqueror
Stage Fright
Wings of Desire

And that doesn't include turkeys like

[Show spoiler]Jaws: The Revenge, Ishtar, Superman IV

.

It's ridiculous how creative and fun the 80s was for movies. BTTF in many ways is the ULTIMATE representation of the films of that era.