The Sci-Fi 25: The Genre's Best Since 1982

Image credit: Ralph Nelson

12. BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)
Directed by Robert Zemeckis

The space-time continuum is a delicate concept, especially when Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travels back to 1955 and saves his Peeping Tom father (Crispin Glover) from getting hit by a car. As a result, Marty's randy mother-to-be (Lea Thompson) develops the hots for him, threatening his entire future existence. Twenty-two years later, this timeless sci-fi comedy offers twice the nostalgia: 1985 is nearly as foreign as 1955. (DeLoreans? Jokes about Tab?) Sci-fi has never been as user-friendly as it is here, but not once does the clever script betray the rigid cause/effect tenets of time-travel fiction. (Yes, by ''inventing'' rock & roll, Marty ensures that his parents fall in love.)

POP CULTURE LEGACY With Future, Fox became more than just Family Ties' cute Republican — he was a legitimate movie star. Plus, the movie enshrined the phrases ''flux capacitor'' and ''1.21 jigawatts'' in the zeitgeist.

THE BEST BIT Glover steals every scene as the bullied dweeb, and sci-fi fans everywhere can relate to his sincere horror at the prospect of having ''Darth Vader'' (of the planet Vulcan) melt his brain. —Jeff Labrecque