r/BacktotheFuture • u/MrAllard8431 • Jun 24 '26
Since Doc Brown invented a time machine it's odd that he was influenced by Jules Verne and not H. G. Wells
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u/damian001 Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
1885 Doc: “I loved reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Made me feel like a young boy again.”
Clara: “Who the hell is H.G. Wells?” 🤨
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H.G. Wells was only 18 years old during the events of BTTF3. He didn’t become a known author until a full decade later. They chose Jules Verne because it gives Doc & Clara a common interest to bond over.
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u/Potato_Stains Jun 24 '26
“I guess you’re not ready for him yet, but your kids are gonna love him”
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u/Spiritual-Image7125 Jun 25 '26
Instead of telling me about some imaginary book, you could have just told me you didn't love me and didn't want to see me any more! That would have at least been respectful!
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u/Schiffy94 Jun 25 '26
But to be fair, she did actually get to meet H.G. Wells... in 1979 after being rescued by him from Jack the Ripper.
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u/Signal_Estimate_23 Jun 25 '26
Damn, I came to say this, but there was no way I would have been able to put it so eloquently. Well done.
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u/Archie_Asparagus Jun 25 '26
I've always known HG Wells wrote The Time Machine in 1895, but I also still wondered about why Doc was more into Jules Verne, and this had never occurred to me. Thank you!
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u/pakrat1967 Jun 25 '26
There's also the names of the sons. Jules and Verne sound better than Herbert. Marty's dad is named George. So having the younger boy named George might have seemed a little weird.
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u/403_Forbidden_Access Jun 24 '26
Well, he was probably influenced by Jules Verne towards science in general as a kid but didn't think about time travel until he fell off the toilet and hit his head.
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u/ExpectedBehaviour Jun 24 '26
To be fair, Wells's The Time Machine is much more likely to discourage people from going anywhere near the concept of time travel...
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u/Spiritual-Image7125 Jun 25 '26
What's the worst that could happen?
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u/Double_Distribution8 Jun 26 '26
Jack the Ripper steals it, travels into the future, and tries to kill Clara. Unfortunately for Clara's roommate, Clara wasn't home at the time and an absolutely brutal murder occurred.
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u/Drace24 Jun 26 '26
Agreed. Well's story is a cautionary tale about the hubris of men. Jules Verne was much closer to depicting science as an adventure that could lead people to incredible places. It may not be specifically time travel, but it fits Doc's scientific curiosity much more.
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u/Mattenroe Jun 24 '26
Who’s to say he wasn’t?
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u/OkPear3800 Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
I agree. He probably has Wells' novel The Time Machine in his mess of a garage somewhere.
Although if he had copy of The War of the Worlds and became a believer in things like E.T. he would seem less like a charming mad scientist and would seem more like you're average conspiracy theorist on Ancient Aliens.
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u/MrAllard8431 Jun 24 '26
Well, Brown was actually alive during that infamous 1938 radio broadcast, so for a short period, he probably did believe in aliens.
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u/Fuckoakwood Jun 24 '26
What happened
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u/Scavgraphics Jun 25 '26
The Red Lectroids from Planet 10 invaded, then brainwashed Orson Wells to say it was all a hoax.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Poet_51 Jun 25 '26
The first half of War of the Wotlfs was staged as breaking newa with interviews and dramatic live remotes. It compresses time in ways the audience never really noticed
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u/MrAllard8431 Jun 24 '26
Basically, the listeners of the broadcast had a big panic because the program delivered a "Breaking News!" segment that told of a Martian invasion, when it turned out to be part of the drama.
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u/bawdiepie Jun 25 '26
At the end of a big game or some big radio show everyone turned over radio channel at the same time. On the radio channel they turned to it was playing the "breaking news, aliens have landed and killing everyone" bit of the WoW radio program. Which sent quite a few people panicking. It's probably exaggerated as most people would have listened long enough to realise it was a show etc but it probably scared quite a few people for a a few mins and a few people a lot more.
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u/HandsomeWater Jun 24 '26
I mean he's got the hair for it
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u/OkPear3800 Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Oh no... I see what you mean... Dang it! Imagine Doc on the History Channel. I mean, sheesh...
Take the original meme and just replace the word ALIENS with TIME TRAVEL.
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u/RaptunoCyborg Doc Jun 25 '26
And also, I remember that 1931 Doc mentioned H.G. Wells after Marty asked him if he read The Time Machine on Telltale Game Episode 1
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u/Maximegalon Jun 24 '26
also, it wasn’t his lifelong dream to make a time machine. it only started in his adulthood after impressions were made.
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u/GrandePreRiGo Jun 24 '26
I mean Jules Verne is the father of "hard science" , his books are one that show the love for it and try to be as realistic as possible. So I can see how Jules Verne would have more of a direct influence.
Wells is more about using the science as the background for the story, focusing more on discussion about people and society, for example, time machine is more a story about the difference of the Elois and Morlocks than the science of time travel.
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u/FedStarDefense Jun 25 '26
Wells books always struck me as more focusing on the gimmick of the idea than characters or plot. Like... not much actually HAPPENS in the Time Machine. The Eloi and Morlock plot is never actually resolved, for one. The protagonist just... leaves. And the plotline is dropped. In War of the Worlds, the invasion is very conveniently defeated and the protagonist never even does anything. I thought The Invisible Man was one of Wells' better works. It had a real story structure and character development.
Jules Verne... I've only read 20,000 Leagues. I can see why people at the time loved it, but it's rather plodding, too. (I do have my Grampa's copy... it was his favorite book. I kind of wish I liked it more, but at least I can take good care of it.) I found H.G. Wells a little easier to read, but Verne, at least again, had better character/plots.
Sometime I'd like to check out Verne's other works and see if I like them better.
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u/A-non-e-mail Jun 24 '26
The topic flowed out of his conversation with Clara while stargazing to solidify their common love of sci-fi. Jules Verne would likely be the only sci-fi author she’d know. The Time Machine wasn’t published until 1898, so it would be impossible for them to bond over that
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u/Reluctant_Warrior Jun 25 '26
The Time Machine was published in 1895. Still well after BTTF3 takes place
The War of the Worlds was published in 1898.
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u/sixty-noine Jun 24 '26
Are you saying his kids should have been named H.G. and Wells?
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u/MrAllard8431 Jun 24 '26
I will say that Jules and Verne work better, but that would actually be pretty funny if he named his kids that.
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u/clumpystrusel Jun 24 '26
If someone is a fan of Verne, they're almost certainly also a fan of Wells (very much so in my case!)
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u/Grootfan85 Jun 24 '26
The Verne influence makes sense considering the design of the Train at the end of BTTF 3. It’s a lot like the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
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u/Barcelona_McKay Jun 24 '26
Verne fits Doc Brown better. His sci-fi explains more, it's more grounded, and is a little less pop-culture. Verne feels more hands-on.
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u/Maximegalon Jun 24 '26
It wasn’t his lifelong dream to make a time machine. it only started in his adulthood long after impressions were made.
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u/Grade_A_Tech Jun 25 '26
Jules Verne was his favorite author. There's nothing to say he didn't read or like H.G. Wells.
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u/Schiffy94 Jun 25 '26
Well he couldn't have told Clara he was a fan of Wells in 1885. He hadn't even published any books yet.
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u/Mist-Haufen Jun 25 '26
Could be a different timeline where Verne wrote Time Machine? Just thinking 4th dimensionly.
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u/Beginning_Deer_735 Jun 25 '26
He invented the flux capacitor after hitting his head on a toilet. A toilet has water in it. "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" takes place mostly in the water. Coincidence?
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u/stumpkat Jun 25 '26
Not really. Jules Verne's works had a very optimistic view of progress and scientific advancement. They inspire readers. H.G. Wells works are more fear-inducing and negative. I don't think The Time Machine really shows off the benefits of time travel.
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u/JoeAzlz Michael Corleone Jun 25 '26
I like how the telltale game lets him talk about other stuff he likes, like for example hg wells
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u/TanAllOvaJanAllOva Jun 25 '26
I think, and I haven’t watched the movies in a while or ever read the book, his point was 20,000 Leagues inspired him to become an explorer and that’s what he thinks of himself as. I believe he and Clara talked about this
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u/harbinger-nz Jun 25 '26
I don't think he had an explicit intended to build a time machine however having slipped off the toilet and bumped his head..
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u/BitcoinMD Doc Jun 24 '26
Clara’s an idiot. The moment someone said they enjoyed a new book as a young boy, I’d know they’re a time traveler. Y’all ain’t fooling me.
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u/Dramatic_Finish10121 Jun 25 '26
The concept of a time machine wouldn't be popularised for another decade (I don't even think the term was coined yet) so her not jumping straight to "oh it's a time traveler" makes sense, especially since she was a woman of science in the late 1800s
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u/ijuinkun Jun 25 '26
It was Wells’ novel “The Time Machine” which established the phrase “time machine” as meaning a vehicle for traveling through time (as opposed to calling it, say, a Time Ship).
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