Back to the Future

Back to the Future was a popular film about time travel released in 1985. It was mentioned by the the Doctor in order to explain the mechanics of time travel to companion Martha Jones.

Martha didn't see any threat from the Carrionites because she knew that the world didn't end in 1599. However the Doctor referenced this movie when he told her about how Michael J. Fox, after he travelled back in time, and did something that almost erased him from existence in the present. (DW: The Shakespeare Code)

Behind the Scenes

• Michael J. Fox, of course, played Marty McFly in the Back to the Future film trilogy. The scene the Doctor referred to happens in the first film.

• Christopher Lloyd, who played time traveler Dr. "Doc" Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future tilogy was almost cast as the Master in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie. However, Universal (the studio which financed both the television movie and the trilogy) baulked at the pay he was asking for.

• The trilogy provided the name for the band McFly, which had a cameo in The Sound of Drums.