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Why Needles?

markeresmarkeres
edited December 2010 in Back to the Future
Something I've always wondered: Why did they make Needles Marty's bully, instead of Biff's kid? Especially because we see Griff, so Biff had to have a kid somewhere along the line. Is this explained in one of the DVD commentaries, or anywhere? Did they just really want to get Flea in the movie, or something? He's such a random character, and it's always seemed like a strange choice to me. :confused:

Comments

  • PrivateJokerPrivateJoker
    edited December 2010
    They liked skipping generations with the Biffs in the movies, I think to make his presence somewhat enigmatic.
  • JenniferJennifer Moderator
    edited December 2010
    Biff's kid didn't have to be Marty's age and the ages would still match up. He could have been a young child during the events of the first movie. If Biff had a kid in 1979, for instance, that kid could have had a kid when he was 19, and that would make Griff 17 in 2015, which would match up.
  • LuigiHannLuigiHann
    edited December 2010
    In 2015, we already see Old Biff and Griff, so having a third Biff-like character with a significant role in that era would be a bit much. I think it makes sense to add a different minor villain to play off of Marty's specific weaknesses.
  • Sausy GibbonSausy Gibbon
    edited December 2010
    Who says Biff's kid had to be a boy?
  • VainamoinenVainamoinen Moderator
    edited December 2010
    Because they did not want to exaggerate the redundancy too much. Also, Needles is quite a different kind of character. He's of course not Marty's "friend", but he's definitly not his "bully" either. Needles can drag Marty into quite a lot of s*** because he knows his weakness - not because he can beat him.
  • The HighwayThe Highway
    edited December 2010
    Sausy Gibbon wrote: »
    Who says Biff's kid had to be a boy?

    because then it would be very roundabout explaining why Griff was called Griff Tannen
  • Sausy GibbonSausy Gibbon
    edited December 2010
    Is he referred to as Griff Tannen in the film? I haven't seen it in a while.
  • markeresmarkeres
    edited December 2010
    Sausy Gibbon wrote: »
    Who says Biff's kid had to be a boy?
    Nobody, that's why I said "kid" and not "son". :p
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