The title logo appears on a black background. The scene opens in Doc Brown's (
Christopher Lloyd) garage home-cum-laboratory and we pan over a large collection of clocks. A robotic tin can opener opens a tin of dog food and empties the contents into an already-filled dog food bowl marked "Einstein". The television set and radio turn on.
On the TV, we see the ending of an advertisement, followed by a woman newscaster announcing the recent theft of a case of plutonium.
The front door of the garage opens, and we see the feet of Marty McFly (
Michael J. Fox). Marty calls out, then reaches down to partly lift up the doormat. He places a set of keys under the doormat, then drops it back down. Marty enters the garage, calling out for Doc and whistling for Einstein. He comments on the mess the place is in.
Marty puts down his skateboard and it rolls along the floor to hit a box under the table. The box is marked 'Plutonium'. Marty is unaware of this. He turns on Doc's amplifier system, turning all the settings to maximum. A hum grows louder in the background. Marty plugs his electric guitar into the amplifier, pauses, and then plucks a string.
The amplifier blows up, the impact throwing Marty back against a bookshelf, which falls, causing the books and papers on it to fall off and land on his head. Marty lifts up his sunglasses and we finally get to see his whole face.
"Whoa... rock and roll," he says, when a loud ringing fills the garage. It sounds like a fire alarm, but then turns out to be just the telephone. Marty scrambles off the ground and answers it.
The caller is Doc. He asks Marty to meet him that night at the Twin Pines Mall at 1:15 a.m.. Marty asks him where he's been all week. Doc says that he has been working. Marty tells him that his equipment had been left on all week.
Remembering, Doc tells Marty not to hook up to the amplifier. "There's a slight possibility of overload," he says. Marty glances at the destroyed amplifier, and says that he'll keep that in mind.
Doc repeats the time and venue of their nighttime meeting. The clocks all go off, chiming loudly, and Doc asks about them. Marty tells him that it's eight o'clock. Doc is elated at the information, as it means that his experiment worked and all his clocks are 25 minutes slow.
Marty is shocked at the news. It means that it's really 8:25, and he's late for school. He exclaims this news into the telephone, slams down the receiver, retrieves his skateboard and rushes out of the garage.
The Power of Love starts playing. Marty gets on his skateboard and skates down the streets, grabbing hold of a passing tow-truck. He passes Lou's Aerobics Studios and the Courthouse.
Marty arrives outside his school. He hops off his skateboard and flips it up into his hand. His girlfriend Jennifer (
Claudia Wells) is waiting for him. She warns him that the principal, Mr. Strickland, is looking out for him. Marty tells her that his latecoming is not his fault, because Doc set his clocks slow.
Mr. Strickland suddenly appears at the sound of Doc's name. He demands to know if Marty is still hanging around with Doc, and hands him and Jennifer a tardy slip each; it is Marty's fourth in a row.
Strickland tells Marty that Doc is a dangerous nucase, and if he continues hanging out with him, he'll get in trouble. Strickland tells Marty that he is a slacker, just like his father.
"No McFly ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley," he says, bringing his face closer to Marty's until their noses almost touch.
"Yeah, well," Marty says, "history is gonna change."
Cut to the school auditorium, where a band has just finished playing. Four judges sit on chairs before the stage and request the next band. Marty and his band get up on stage and he introduces them as The Pinheads before launching into the opening bars of The Power of Love. One of the judges cuts them off and tells them that they are too loud.
After school, Marty and Jennifer are walking through the Courthouse Square. A van drives past, a recording from it saying to re-elect Mayor Goldie Wilson. Marty tells Jennifer about how his band got kicked off the stage, and how he doubts he'll ever get anywhere with his music. Jennifer tries to reassure him with her opinion that he's really good, and encourages him to send in his audition tape to the record company.
"It's like Doc's always saying," Jennifer starts.
"Yeah I know, If you put your mind to it you could accomplish anything," Marty continues. His head turns, temporarily distracted by two girls walking past. Jennifer turns his head back towards her.
"That's good advice, Marty," she says.
They sit down on a bench together. Marty expresses his fear of rejection if he sends in the audition tape. He looks up as a new 4x4 Toyota is delivered at the car dealership, and admires it, saying how great it would be to have that truck to take up to the lake the next day. Jennifer asks if Marty's mother knows about their plans for the next night. Marty tells her that his mother thinks he's going camping with the guys, and that she would freak out if she knew the truth. Marty says how his mother was probably born a nun. Jennifer says that she's just trying to keep him respectable. Marty says that she's not doing a very good job. Their lips come closer, but just as they are about to touch, a tin can is shoved in their faces.
"Save the clock tower!" a woman exclaims enthusiastically, jangling the can. She tells them of how the clock tower was struck by lightning thirty years ago and hasn't run since. The mayor would like the clock to be replaced, but they at the Hill Valley Preservation Society thinks that it is important part of their heritage and should be left alone. Marty gives her a quarter to go away. She thanks him and hands him a flyer, before going off to target more unsuspecting passersby.
"Where were we?" Marty asks.
"Right about here," Jennifer replies, and their lips get closer once more. Just as they are about to kiss, a car pulls upand horns loudly. Jennifer's father calls for her. She has to leave. Marty says he'll call her tonight; she says she'll be at her grandmother's, and scribbles the number on the back of the clock tower flyer with "Love You!!!" next to that. She gets into the car. Marty looks at the back of the flyer. He smiles, and The Power of Love starts playing again.
Marty gets back on his skateboard and grabs a police car to tail behind. Cut to a road leading through a stone wall, framed by a stone lion statue on each side and 'Lyons Estates' cut into the wall. Marty lets go of a car and skims down this opening towards his house.
Outside his house he passes a wrecked car being towed up the driveway. Inside, Marty sees his father, George (
Crispin Glover) and his father's supervisor, Biff Tannen (
Thomas F. Wilson). Biff expresses his disbelief that George loaned him his car without telling him that it had a blind spot, and how he could have been killed. George claims that he never knew the car had a blind spot. He sees Marty and gives him a weak greeting.
Biff demands to know who is going to pay for his cleaning bill, seeing as how he spilled beer all over his coat when the other car smashed into his. He asks George where his reports are. George says that he's not done with them, as he figured they weren't due yet.
Biff raps George on the head. "Hello, hello, anybody home?" George laughs nervously. Biff asks him to think; he needs time to retype the reports, or he'd get fired if he handed them in in George's handwriting.
"You wouldn't want that to happen would you?" Biff asks. "Would you?" he repeats, grabbing George by the collar when he doesn't respond. George assures him that he wouldn't, and promises to finish the reports by the next morning. Biff tells him that his shoes are untied. George looks down.
Biff tells him not to be so gullible, and heads off to the fridge. He expresses despair that all they've got is lite beer.
Biff notices Marty. "What are you looking at, butthead?" he asks. Marty doesn't reply. "Say hi to your mom for me," Biff says, then leaves the house. The door closes.
"I know what you're gonna say, son," George says, "and you're right, you're right, But Biff just happens to be my supervisor, and I'm afraid I'm not very good at confrontations."
Marty asks about the car, which he had been planning to drive up to the lack with Jennifer. George apologises.
Cut to the dinner table. Present around it or near it is the whole of the McFly family - George, his wife Lorraine (
Lea Thompson), and their children Marty, Dave (
Marc McClure) and Linda (
Wendie Jo Sperber). Lorraine slides a thin cake onto the table. It says 'Welcome Home, Joey', next to a picture of a bird fliying out of jail. Uncle 'Jailbird' Joey didn't make parole again. Linda says that he's an embarrassment to the family. Lorraine reminds her that everyone makes mistakes in life.
~TO BE CONTINUED~ when I have the time. Meanwhile, others are free to contribute.
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