Culturebox: Don't Be So Gullible, McFly

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culturebox Don't Be So Gullible, McFly Have we really solved one of Back to the Future's most enduring mysteries? By Will Carlough Posted Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011, at 5:19 PM ET Hard-core fans of Back to the Future got a bit of a raw deal. Where the Star Wars nerds and Trekkies each had at least half a dozen films to go with countless book spinoffs, TV series, and comics, we had only the original BttF trilogy, a few video games, and a better-left-forgotten cartoon series. (Yes, I know there are also three novelizations--they hold a proud spot on my bookshelf.) With such a paucity of content to pore over, there's little discord within the fan community and relatively few mysteries to argue about. But there are a few: Is the bum named Red in 1985 the same person as Mayor Red Thomas from 1955? (He's not.) Why does Marty's paternal great-great-grandmother from Part III look so much like his mother? (Is there a history of incest in the McFly family?) And, most vexing of all, why would a crazy old scientist be friends with a teenager? It was apparently a slow news day on Wednesday, because one of the stories making the rounds was that there was finally an explanation for the friendship between Doc Brown and Marty McFly. After the question was posed on Mental Floss, a commenter claiming to be Bob Gale, co-writer and producer of the trilogy, gave the somewhat mundane explanation that a young Marty had heard Doc was dangerous, so "being a red-blooded American teenage boy," he sneaked into his lab, and they somehow became friends as a result. To continue reading, click here. Will Carlough complains about bad movies and other things at diogenesclub.net. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Hitchens: It's OK, Britons Have Been Violent and Cruel for Generations Shafer: Will the Wall Street Journal Investigate Les Hinton's Role in the Phone-Hacking Scandal? Senna: A Documentary About Formula One Racing That's as Emotionally Rich as a Shakespeare Play	Advertisement
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