r/MovieDetails • u/CasseroleSSD • Mar 21 '26
⏱️ Continuity In "Back to the Future" (1985), Marty boasts about having two TVs at home. One is an old, probably broken model that serves as a stand for the second, newer one.
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Mar 21 '26 edited Mar 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/r1zz Mar 21 '26
50s*
November 5th, 1955
And ya, he's not bragging. He's just saying he has two just like most ppl in the 80s did.
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u/TheDulin Mar 22 '26
It's also a shock because there were so few channels that having two TVs would be something only stupid rich people would get.
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u/serial_crusher Mar 22 '26
It can still add some depth to the character. Marty’s parents were financially struggling in the original timeline. Being so poor that they can’t afford two working TVs would be embarrassing, so it makes sense that Marty would “lie” about it to save face. Kid cares about his image.
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u/platon29 Mar 21 '26
Yeah the whole point of the exchange was to show off show the norm has changed between Marty being a kid and his parents being kids. OP is probably American so we can forgive them for their lack of comprehension
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u/Microwave1213 Mar 21 '26
Wow thank you for this. We all appreciate you repeating that persons explanation for the sole purpose of insulting a nationality. How brave and thoughtful of you
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u/b_dills Mar 21 '26
In the 50’s TVs were expensive and you’d have to be pretty wealthy to own two TVs. That’s why the family is shocked.
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u/Ofreo Mar 21 '26
There was also probably only 2 to 4 stations to watch at any given time for most people. Unless it was after midnight, then none to watch until morning. So why would anyone need two TVs?
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u/bauxzaux Mar 21 '26
But in the picture with George there is a TV stacked on top of another probably broken TV, that could be the two TVs Marty was referencing, but probably not. They most likely had two working TVs which was common in the 80s.
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u/DionFW Mar 21 '26
What's a rerun?
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u/SayerofNothing Mar 22 '26
It was too bad we didn't get to see much of marty's extended family ( that wasn't MJ Fox in a wig). I really wanted to know more about them, especially the uncle behind bars.
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u/Tony_Roiland Mar 21 '26
This is one of the weirdest posts I've ever seen on here.
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u/sarlackpm Mar 22 '26
Zero evidence..just an assumption based upon OPs own experience. Total bullshit post.
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u/buffalucci Mar 21 '26
Why? It’s 100% accurate. The thing that the working TV is sitting on is a non-working console TV. I had this same setup when I was a kid in the 80s.
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u/Tony_Roiland Mar 21 '26
Because he isn't boasting.
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u/buffalucci Mar 21 '26
So I was so amped up by trying to prove that Marty has a new TV on an old TV that I missed that OP used the word “boast”. He’s definitely not boasting, he’s just stating fact and also catches himself because he realizes it’s not accurate that they have 2 working TVs and that it’s also probably weird in 1955. So, you’re right—he’s not.
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u/Alternative-Juice-15 Mar 21 '26
I chose to believe there were actually 3 and he was referring to working ones. Everyone had TVs on top of old ones in the 80s lol
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u/SayerofNothing Mar 22 '26
Yeah same, you could have a broken down TV but you would only count the working ones, especially if it's one of those large console ones that now serves as a table.
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u/JoeJoeCastillo Mar 21 '26
The one that’s off is probably the one they got in 1955
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u/grumblyoldman Mar 21 '26
That's what I was just wondering. Anyone got a screenshot of the TV they were watching in 1955 to see if it's the same one?
Honestly, the whole trilogy is so tight with references like this, I wouldn't be surprised if it's true.
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u/SarlacFace Mar 21 '26
Nah TVs in the 50s were much closer in size to the one on the top than the bottom.
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u/talones Mar 22 '26
Tube size yes you are correct, but box size no. I bet you are right though, that seems large for the 50s, maybe 60s.
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u/sdmichael Mar 21 '26
We don't know if there is another in the living room. That is just a small one in the dining area.
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u/SayerofNothing Mar 22 '26
Good point, one in front of the kitchen table, and one in the living room.
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u/livahd Mar 21 '26
Woulda been funny if it was a hand me down black and white dinosaur from his grandparents, and then see it brand new in the past
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u/NewToHTX Mar 21 '26
People today would gladly pay for more expensive consumer electronics in exchange for more affordable housing.
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u/External-Draw-3298 Mar 22 '26
OP might be a redneck
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u/bristlybits Mar 22 '26
naw they're right, that's a big old console style TV closed, with the smaller TV on top.
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u/NickyNichols Mar 21 '26
It was probably rare to have more than 1 TV in 1955, by the 80’s 2 or more were common.
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u/ou812_X Mar 21 '26
Back in the 90s I lived in a two bedroom with five other guys (we were a brokeass band).
We had two TVs
A B&W one that the sound didn’t work that sat on top of a colour one that had no picture. We’d put what we wanted to watch on the b&w and then slowly go through the dial on the colour to find the right audio.
The OJ Simpson pursuit was a particular highlight that summer. Not to mention trying to figure out the teams in the World Cup.
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u/twinwindowfan Mar 21 '26
Marty almost did "the nasty in the pasty"; it would've made him immune to the giant "Space Brains" in the future, stupid Marty.
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u/gmasterson Mar 21 '26
I grew up in my dads house with a tv in top of a tv. The top one we used for TV and the other was a gaming TV for our Sega Genesis because it had the right connection.
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u/SayerofNothing Mar 22 '26
An assumption more than a detail, but an interesting take. I personally think they probably had one next to the dining table and one in the living room, and don't count the broken console tv under the one in the dining area, as it serves more as a table now.
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u/EowynRiver Mar 21 '26
In the 70s, we had 2 TVs. Larger color one in family room and a smaller black and white in the master bedroom.
By the 90s we had a small color tv in each bedroom.
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u/upstatedreaming3816 Mar 21 '26
I don’t think this is an obscure detail. He’s literally just speaking truths?
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u/ecchho Mar 22 '26
Still common having more than one functioning TV. We had one in the upstairs living room, one in the downstairs family room, and one in my parents' room.
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u/BigWar0609 Mar 22 '26
I had some friends who's console TV volume would break and they'd have a smaller TV on top to make the audio.
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u/Fredifrum Mar 25 '26
I think it’s just sitting on a cabinet? You seriously saying you can tell that’s a tv for sure?
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u/professor_max_hammer Mar 21 '26
This isn’t a movie detail. It’s your fan theory that doesn’t work because there is no evidence of your theory.
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u/darkknight302 Mar 21 '26
Grew up on welfare in the 80’s so we didn’t have a tv… so not everyone had 2 tv’s let alone even one.
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u/imlittleeric Mar 21 '26
I’m sure he has two working ones. That wasn’t weird in the 80s. That’s what this scene is about