I think in both timelines, Dave, Linda, and Marty all picked on each other.

In Twin Pines universe, the McFly's did not seem like a close-knit family. Marty probably got along better with his dad than his mom. The most time the family ever seemed to spend together was at the dinner table. I assume that they all eat breakfast at different times, and as for lunch, they all ate in different places, such as Marty at school and George at work.

In the Lone Pine Universe, Marty was definitely closer to his parents. Marty was very surprised to see his brother and sister eat breakfast together, which brought me into the theory that his family originally all ate breakfast at different times.

I'm sure that Dave, Linda, and Marty didn't get along all the time - but I'm sure that, deep down inside, they all loved each other. Also, Linda seemed to be pretty happy for Marty, that he was going to the lake with Jennifer. I would guess that Marty was a little closer to Linda, then he was to Dave - who did seem a little grumpy. Then again, we can't judge everything by that one event. I think Lorraine was far more permissive in the improved timeline, even though George was probably pretty permissive in both timelines - but he was probably more likely to set limits for the kids in the improved timeline.

What about Marty's relationship with his family in 2015 from Part II? What was your impression about it?

I think both Marty and Jennifer got along with their kids, but hardly ever spent time with them. I think the kids got along pretty well for the most part.

Marty did seem pretty grumpy in the year 2015, even though Marty Jr seemed to respect him somewhat, when he told Griff he may "have to discuss it" with his father. The kids did both seem pretty unhappy.

In the final timeline - which we don't see in the trilogy - the family is probably a lot going. For some reason, I see Jennifer as being more of the disciplinarian - and Marty being the more laid-back buddy-type of father. Marlene might sometimes feel jealous of her brother, and believe her to be the favoured child - but I would that, for the most part, they do love each other.

Maybe Marlene feels that Marty Jr was the favored one because he's more willing to talk to his parents about his problems and never rebels against them.

Yeah, that's pretty much what the situation was in Family Feud. Some of her rebellious ways are also addressed in Marlene's Christmas Carol. A Very Colourful Chrismas also features the relationship between Marty and Linda, as well as Alex and Mallory.

Marty Jr does seem like the type of kid most parents want. He tells his parents about his problems and he almost always did what they asked without question.

Maybe Marlene's just afraid that her parents wouldn't listen like they do to Marty Jr when he talks to them.

You should read Family Feud, when you get a chance. I had a little tough time thinking of what Marlene's personality would be like, but then I figured she'd be a little like Linda (and maybe even Lorraine). After all, Lorraine was not as innocent as everyone thought she was. That's why I can see her wearing that somewhat immodest dress to the dance, even after her parents forbade her to. It may seem a little contradictory that, as a little girl, she liked Led Zeppelin - while, as a teenager, she prefers pop music. It's not that uncommon for teenagers to rebel, though - and maybe even deny liking the things they did as a kid.

Speaking of rebellion, I was thinking about how Alex P Keaton is pretty much rebellious in a different sort of way. He says that he doesn't like rock music, but he seems to like at least The Doors and Steppenwolf in that one episode, though. Maybe he only listened to them because his friend did, though.

Wasn't Steppenwolf the band that sang "Magic Carpet Ride"?

Yeah, and they also sang Born to be Wild. I know this is slightly off topic, but what do you think Alex P Keaton's overall relationship with his family was like? I think he did love his parents, and he was supportive most of the time. He did pick on his sisters quite a bit - but, in all fairness, his sisters also picked on him (as well as each other) quite a bit. It seemed like Andy was lucky enough to be free of all this sibling rivalry - probably because Alex and his sisters were older and more mature, by the time he was born. I think Alex really did love his sisters a lot, and he did come through from them many times. The Keatons seemed like your pretty stable family. I think, all in all, Alex was pretty much your caring older brother who looked after his three younger siblings.

Alex and Mallory did seem to fight a lot in the show. Andrew really seemed to look up to Alex. Jennifer once commented that Andrew wore a tie to bed.

I don't think Alex was ever really mean. Mallory could be pretty mean at times, though - especially to Skippy. I think that, all things considered, Alex and Mallory did love each other.

BTW, I just edited that one section in Family Feud regarding how Doc found out about the 24-hour ripple effect. OIbviously, I wrote that story long before I wrote Ripple to the Future, so...

Even though Alex does seem to be a nice, caring guy, he is a bit pompous at times. He likes to think that he's his mother's favorite child.

Another point that backs up my theory on how Marty's family's relationship was in TP was that Marty told Doc that his parents don't do anything together.

I guess it's this whole friendship with Skippy that Alex has that leads to believe that, even if he can come off as a bit pompous at times, he really is a caring person. I mean, Skippy probably doesn't have that many friends - so, to me, it really does say a lot that Alex doesn't consider himself to be too cool to associate with Skippy.

Some people sadly believe that, had Marty been native to 1955, he may not have even given George a notice. However, I believe that Marty is a very nice person - and I don't think he would've ever been meen to George. They may not have been as close, but I'm still Marty still would've been nice to him.

It seems to be a common belief that George didn't really have any friends - but I'm sure there were some kids in Hill Valley who were nice to him. I can't imagine that every single student in school besides George would have a mean streak, and that nobody would be nice to George. Goldie, for one, was nice to him. I guess the term "friend" can have various meanings - but when you say that someone "doesn't have any friends", it seems to imply that nobody has a kind word to say of someone.

Do you think Alex's friendship with Skippy is somewhat comparable to Marty's friendship with George - or even Doc?

Yeah, somewhat.

What would you say are the similarities and differences? Also, what are your views about the whole friendship between Alex and Skippy? For the reasons I've mentioned before, that is a major part of why I believe Alex really does have a big heart. Especially when you consider that most of Skippy's peers may not even give him the time of day.

Well, Alex and Skippy are both outcasts in their own way. Skippy is a typical outcast, while Alex is mainly just a political outcast among his family and peers.

Marty is more of a regular guy who hangs out with outcasts i.e. George or Doc.

I would say that in TP, Marty got along better with George than he did Lorraine.

What about Lorraine and her siblings? Who do you think was the closest with whom?

I would say that Sally was closest with Toby.
Joey was closest with Ellen.
Lorraine wasn't as close to the same age as her siblings as they were, and she was older than Milton by five years, who in turn was older than Sally by five years.

I always wondered why Milton wasn't even mentioned in the Number Two script, where Marty and Doc go back to 1967 instead of 1955. In Psychedelic Psummer, I said that he was serving in Viet Nam - while Toby was the one who disagreed with the war.

I assumed that Milton was no longer living in Hill Valley. Toby originally wanted to kick Commie butt, but then Marty sort of gave him a change of heart.

Yeah, I guess there is the possibility of no longer living in Hill Valley. It's just one town that's so easy to all in love with, though. One might wonder if any of Marty's and Jennifer's descendants may end up leaving Hill Valley.

For some reason, I always saw Milton being quite liberal. I had him be a doctor.

Well, I always thought it was strange that Milton didn't show up or was even mentioned in the Number Two script - so I figured that he would be in Veit Nam. Now that I think of it, this would mean Milton meets Sally (his wife) in Veit Nam. A pregnant Sally gets back home, as pregnant women can't be in the military. So maybe Milton returns home later that year, and the two of them tie the knot. So Brent would technically be an illegitimate child, but his parents did eventually end up being married.

So was Milton an army doctor?

My reason for Milton not being in the number two script was because he was at Stanford Medical School.

I didn't really think of it, but that's a good idea! I didn't really catch that part in the script. I'll have to check that, again. Anyway, the wife's name is Susan - not Sally. I got that part mixed up. Might as well stick with Susan, as it'd be less confusing.

I think what happened was, I did recheck the story where Calvin overdosed on grasshoppers on refresh myself on the name of Milton's wife - but then, for some reason, I guess I had Sally on my brain.

They never actually mentioned why Milton wasn't in the script.

Oh, okay! You meant in your ficverse! Sorry, I misread you! :)