The Back to the Future series is a comedic science-fiction adventure film series written by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis, directed by Zemeckis, produced by Amblin Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The main plot follows the adventures of a high school student Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) as they use a modified DeLorean car to time travel to different periods of the history of Hill Valley, California.
A "Flux Capacitor" is a key component of Stewie Griffin's time machine in "Mind Over Murder".
His newer model's return pad runs on uranium in a cylinder similar to the plutonium from the film in "Road to Germany". Also in the episode, while being chased by Nazis, Stewie "borrows" the bottom of a vegetable vendor's wooden cart and uses it as a skateboard, much as Marty did in the first. Parodying the almost identical scene in the first film, which uses the same music, when the Nazis' car catches up to Stewie's scooter, placing him in imminent jeopardy, Stewie lets the skateboard travel under the car while he runs over the top of the Nazis' heads to retrieve the skateboard at the back end, causing the Nazis to turn around to watch and then crash into the back of a truck filled with manure, which as a result of the impact dislodges and covers them. And when Brian and Stewie first arrive in Poland, they leave twin fire tracks just like the DeLorean.
A cutaway in "If I'm Dyin', I'm Lyin'" features Peter's cousin Rufus Griffin, who starred in the blaxploitation film Black to the Future.
In "The Courtship of Stewie's Father", Stewie sets up a cutaway parodying Doc Brown at the end of the first film telling Marty and Jennifer that they have to come to the future to fix their kids' situation. However, Doc goes further, telling them their daughter marries a black man. This news does little to offend Marty, although Doc's racist attitude alienates Marty and Jennifer.
Peter drives the DeLorean time machine in "The Perfect Castaway".
The entire plot of "Meet the Quagmires" is a parody of the first two films. Peter travels from 2007 back to 1984, and alters the future, creating an "2007A". When Brian Griffin tries to explain this alternative 2007 to Peter Griffin, it is exactly the same way Doc explained it to Marty in Part II. Later on, there is a long, continuous parody of the "Enchantment Under the Sea Dance" scenes from the second film, with Brian parodying Marty and Peter parodying George. The performance of "Never Gonna Give You Up" parodies Marty's performance of "Johnny B. Goode". There is even a direct parody of the picture Marty had of he and his two siblings that had them "fade from existence", except with a picture of Peter's kids as he knows them. In a deleted scene, Peter also writes a letter to Phil Hartman to warn him of his future but neglects to tell him of his demise, parodying Marty's letter to Doc.
In "Baby Not On Board", a Marty-dressed Peter is shown skateboarding to school with Huey Lewis and the News' "The Power of Love" in the background in a parody of the movie's opening.
In "The Man with Two Brians", Peter is seen wearing the helmet that Doc wore in the first film after confusing Brian by speaking in cool kids lingo mumbo jumbo. Brian asks what it is supposed to mean, to which Peter uses Doc's quote from the film that it doesn't work at all.
Marty is seen shouting at Stewie during a storm in "The Juice Is Loose". Marty wants to warn Stewie about his future, Stewie tells Fox about his Parkinsons' disease-infected future.
In "Business Guy", one of Carter's death or incapacitated care instruction videos references to the third film.
Something, Something, Something, Dark Side ends with a parody of the ending to the second film, with a Western Union delivery man delivering Luke Skywalker, played by Chris Griffin, who wasn't content with the ending of The Empire Strikes Back, a letter from Doc Brown stating that he's alive and currently in 1885. Joe Flaherty reprised his role as the Western Union worker. This was followed by a "To Be Concluded" card done in the style of the Back to the Future logo. This gag is repeated in "The Big Bang Theory" when a priest delivers word from Stewie to Brian.
In "Internal Affairs", a parody of the third film is used in which Peter and Ernie the Giant Chicken go back in time during their brawl and end up in 1885. They end up on the train pushing Marty McFly and the DeLorean and go back to the present day.
In a cutaway in "Finders Keepers", George McFly gets mad at his wife, Lorraine McFly and believes she had an affair with Marty from high school and that their son is actually Marty's son. A young Marty then comes in and tells him he lit the living room on fire. George takes off his belt to get further answers.
As Joe slides by on the wires from his wheel chair in "#JOLO", the girl announcing that he is a dream is parodying a scene from the film when Marty shows off his skateboarding skills.
In an alternate ending to Back to the Future in "Peter's Sister", Marty decides to go ahead and have sex with his mother before he vanishes, resulting in a deformed son that takes his place in the family photograph.
Peter's response to Vladimir Putin's calling him a chicken in "Petey IV" mimics that of Marty McFly in Back to the Future, Parts II & III.
When Brian's robot double notes that he can't do anything that Brian himself hasn't done in "Bri, Robot", Brian refers to the situation as Bark to the Future.
Peter's comment to the Cats moment in "Absolutely Babulous" how about the kids not getting it but the parents hating it is a play on Marty McFly's comment on "Johnny B. Goode" in the original film.
Peter becomes upset in the same manner as Marty McFly in Back to the Future, Parts II & III when he thinks he's been called a chicken in "Shanksgiving.
Brian tries to make a connection out of 'Doctor Martin Luther King' and 'Doc' and 'Marty' in "The Movement".
Peter acquires Marty McFly's supersized amplifier from the opening scene of Back to the Future in "The Birthday Bootlegger".