Creating a Parallel Universe with Back to the Future II

GREAT SCOTT! It’s almost October 21, 2015. No, we do not have hoverboards (at least not by the movie’s standards), flying cars, dust-repellent paper, and automated Pepsi bottle dispensers at diners. What we do have, however, are a bunch of Back to the Future Part II enthusiasts who are huddling together waiting for this day to arrive—one that is 30 years in the making. Millions of devoted BTTF fans globally will be watching as Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), and Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue) travel back to 10/21/2015, to save the McFly children (offspring yet to be born in Back to the Future‘s year of 1985). As the movie realm and reality universe zealously collide, fans anxiously await to not only watch this American sci-fi classic directed by Robert Zemeckis, but to watch it in real time.

Set your watches or you will be outatime as you will never again get the chance to take the adventure with McFly and Doc Brown at the very same hour the time travel takes place on film. So grab your flying DeLorean time machine steering wheel, buckle up, and take the journey down to the exact second—it’s going to be a bumpy ride back in time!

For the die-hard fans and believers in parallel universes, the ultimate goal is to begin watching the movie so that your clock syncs up perfectly to the clock in the movie. Because reality time is stable and continuous while movie time isn’t (i.e. one minute in our time can equal 10 minutes of movie magic time), it’s impossible to stream the movie with both clocks always matching up at the same time. Unfortunately, both clocks can only perfectly coincide once in the entire movie, so pick your favorite time traveling scene and let’s get busy!

Need some help? Of course you do…here are some suggested times to set your watches for the ultimate time-space continuum experience.

Present time: October 21, 1985
Destination: Hill Valley, CA.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
4:29 p.m. PST

Start watching the movie: October 21 at 4:24:15 p.m. PST (the scene happens 4 min., 45 sec. into the movie)

Other Time Zones
Start at:
MST – 5:24:15 p.m. / CST – 6:24:15 p.m. / EST – 7:24:15 p.m.

It’s important to note that streaming the movie at the exact time listed above will be the only instance throughout the entire film where the movie’s exact time and your exact local time will overlap perfectly. The exact year, month, day, hour, minute, and second will be seamlessly matched up to one another—October 21, 2015 at 4:29 p.m. It’s like watching the film from a parallel universe! At that very moment, you can join Marty McFly, Doc Brown, and a tranquilized Jennifer as they dodge flying taxi cabs in a crowded skyway. Fans can also relish at the fact that they’ve just witnessed Marty accidentally ruin the lives of everyone he knows, both past and future, no biggie.

Present time: October 21, 2015
Destination: Hill Valley, CA.
Wednesday, October 21, 1985
7:28 p.m. PST

Start watching the movie: October 21 at 6:49:42 p.m. PST (the scene happens 38 min., 18 sec. into the movie)

Other Time Zones
Start at:
MST – 7:49:42 p.m. / CST – 8:49:42 p.m. / EST – 9:49:42 p.m.

If you’re not a real stickler for precision, then starting the movie at 6:49:42 p.m. will match up both worlds in accordance to the second time travel with the exception of having both years match up. If you start the film at 6:49:42 p.m. PST, you can join the gang as they travel back to their present realities in 1985. This is the perfect time to tune in if you’re one to enjoy watching people live through the consequences of their actions. Marty will need all the support he can get as he navigates through his town that is looking much different than how he left it. What’s worse than seeing your town vandalized, run down, and filled with poverty? Or realizing Biff is reaping the benefits of your time traveling and that he’s now your stepdad! Marty and Doc are living an alternate reality and now you can live it with them.

Present time: October 21, 1985
Destination: Hill Valley, CA.
November 12, 1955
6:00 a.m. PST

Start watching the movie: November 12 at 4:58:11 a.m. PST (scene happens 1 hr. 1 min., 49 sec. into the movie)

Other Time Zones
Start at:
MST – 5:58:11 p.m. / CST – 6:58:11 p.m. / EST – 7:58:11 p.m.

Only the truly dedicated will play the movie at 4:58:11 a.m. on November 12. It’s kind of necessary when you realize what’s at stake! Marty and Doc are on an extensive mission to get that future sports almanac away from the teenage Biff! This event caused a wrinkle in time and threw the whole timeline out of whack. It’s important that you start streaming the movie at this exact time to help them restore the realities that everyone is supposed to have.

Being a dedicated Back to the Future Part II fan might be tedious and require precise attention to detail, but all well worth the efforts. While the current 2015 isn’t as technologically advanced as Back to the Future portrayed it, we can all appreciate the message that this cult classic encompasses—the smallest things in life end up making the biggest impact.

October 21, 2015 has been 30 years in the making. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned while watching. Perhaps your future self is coming back today to ensure you watch the movie tomorrow with reasons to be determined in the year 2045. If there is one thing we’ve learned from the prolific travels of Marty and Doc, life is a series of chain reactions. So grab a $20 bottle of Pepsi Perfect (there are only 6,500 limited-edition bottles floating around out there) and celebrate Back to the Future Day.

One finale note…how about those Cubs? In a few short weeks, Zemeckis might just be coined the next Nostradamus.

#BackToTheFutureDay #BTTFII

WAYS TO WATCH:

Check your local movie theater listings. Universal is relaunching the film for one-night only—lucky for you if you live in NYC, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Austin, or Seattle.
A host of local theaters are also hosting BTTF2 screenings and events
Watch the TV marathon on AMC.
Buy the 30th anniversary Blu-ray edition.
Stream the movie via Amazon Prime Video, or rent the film from Amazon, Apple, Vudu and/or via the PlayStation Store. Select cable companies and services will be offering the movies on demand.