Michael J. Fox and Crispin Glover appeared together before Back to the Future

Before Back to the futurethere was the sitcom Family tiesin which Michael J. Fox played conservative teenager Alex P. Keaton. Fox rose to fame playing Marty McFly, the time-traveling counterpart to Alex, sparking debate as to which role was more iconic. In Back to the futureFox stars alongside Christopher Lloyd and Crispin Glover, the latter playing George McFly, before Glover's recast in Back to the Future 2.

However, Back to the future wasn't Fox and Glover's introduction to each other. A year before he starred in the time travel film Back to the futureThey appeared together in a major TV show episode. Your roles from before Back to the future are completely different from those in the film, their characters have a different relationship to each other. The previous collaboration between the two main actors is of great importance Back to the future in a different light, with a bizarre effect.

Crispin Glover appeared in a 1984 episode of Family Ties with Michael J. Fox

Fox & Glover starred in family relationships before Back to the Future

In 1984 Glover appeared as a guest star in Season 2, Episode 11, “Birthday Boy” by Family ties next to Fox. In this episode, Fox's Alex turns 18 and wants to legally drink with his friends, Neil and Glover's character Doug. Doug is one of the friends who encourages Alex to disobey his mother by mocking him while he celebrates his birthday with them. This doesn't end well when Alex's mother drags him home, which is an ironic role reversal for Glover Back to the future.

A fundamental similarity between Fox and Glover's roles in Family ties And Back to the future is their friendship. However, the friendship between Marty and George is in Back to the future is drastically different when it is also a parent-child relationship, namely an unconventional relationship caused by the time travel scenario. Doug is a lousy friend to Alex because he pushes him to defy his mother, while Marty almost becomes his father's protector when he helps him defend himself against tyrants in one of them “Back to the Future”s timelines.

It feels strange that Glover and Fox played friends in Family Ties, then father and son in BTTF

It's hard to distinguish their roles in family ties from Back to the Future

Although Glover has had to be younger to play George in the past, it's strange that Glover and Fox played friends in this Family tiesthen father and son in Back to the future. This is because when re-watching Family tiesGlover is still associated with his role as Marty's father Back to the futureas his role in the film is more memorable. Therefore, It's more natural to see George instead of Doug Family ties, which makes the casting choice difficult to understand.

Related

“Back to the Future” has an easy-to-miss sitcom cameo in the opening minutes

The opening sequence of Back to the Future features an uncredited cameo from a well-known '80s sitcom star. Here's what we know about the role.

Because of Glover and Fox's ages, it is actually more accurate (but still incorrect) that they portray friends rather than father and son. In real life, Fox is three years older than Glover, but the age of her characters In Back to the future And Family ties are the same. Unlike Marty and George's natural age difference, Fox and Glover's real-life ages challenge how they are viewed in their roles, and they probably wouldn't be cast in that way Back to the future if the film didn't depend on a younger version of George.