jimc@haddock.UUCP (08/23/85)
I always appreciate strict attention to detail in any film production.
In particular, one aspect of the movie _Back_to_the_Future_ has me
intrigued. Our hero, Marty McFly, went back in time to the date
November 5, 1955. One of the first things he did when he arrived was
read the date on a newspaper to ascertain that the time machine had worked.
I cannot remember if the viewer was shown the day of the week in that
newspaper, but, as the story unfolded, it seemed definitely to be
set on a Saturday. Note when Biff told George to get his assignment
ready by "tomorrow," but "not too early" because he "sleeps in on Sundays."
Well, just do a good ol' "cal 11 1955" on a UNIX machine, and it's evident
that that detail was correct:
November 1955
S M Tu W Th F S
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30
I have another question, however. That evening, when Marty
finally recovered from his accident and the members of Lorraine's
family were seated about the dinner table watching
_The_Honeymooners_, the episode was, coincidentally, the same one
which his father was watching at dinner in October 1985, before
Marty took his trip to the past. This episode featured Norton
wearing a spaceman's outfit in Ralph's apartment. Marty
recognized the episode, and claimed that he had seen it before,
but a child at the table contradicted him and said that he
couldn't have since that was the first time the episode had been
shown.
Question: did _The_Honeymooners_ really run on Saturday nights,
and, if so, did that episode really air for the first time on
November 5, 1955? My wife pointed out that it would seem likely,
given that Halloween had just passed and this episode featured a
costume.
I have placed this posting in both net.tv and net.movies, and I will
make sure that both newsgroups receive an answer, should I get one.
Jim Campbell
..!{allegra,ihnp4,harvard,bbncca}!ima!haddock!jimcleeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (09/04/85)
>I always appreciate strict attention to detail in any film >production. In particular, one aspect of the movie >_Back_to_the_Future_ has me intrigued. Our hero, Marty >McFly, went back in time to the date November 5, 1955. One >of the first things he did when he arrived was read the date >on a newspaper to ascertain that the time machine had >worked. I cannot remember if the viewer was shown the day >of the week in that newspaper, Yes, and it was Saturday. >but, as the story unfolded, >it seemed definitely to be set on a Saturday. Note when >Biff told George to get his assignment ready by "tomorrow," >but "not too early" because he "sleeps in on Sundays." Back when I was in Junior High I memorized the perpetual calendar formula in the dictionary and modified it so I could do it in my head so I always check during the movie. TIME AFTER TIME and BACK TO THE FUTURE get it right, TERMINATOR gets it wrong. This is perfectly in keeping my opinion of the quality of each of the three films. >Question: did _The_Honeymooners_ really run on Saturday >nights, Sure did. I was 5 years old at the time, but I remember the Jackie Gleason show on Saturday nights, June Taylor dancers, and I vaguely remember that there were comedy skits besides the Honeymooners. Of course in the 60's they resurrected the program in color. >and, if so, did that episode really air for the >first time on November 5, 1955? Can't help you there. Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper