Back to the Present

"Back to the Present" is the fifth episode of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law season two, and the fourteenth overall. It aired on May 9, 2004 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. It was written by co-creator, Michael Ouweleen, produced by Evan W. Adler, and directed by Richard Ferguson-Hull. The Hanna-Barbera series ridiculed in this episode is The Jetsons.

In a confusing time travel plot, 2002 sees the end of Earth when it falls to global warming, prompting the Jetsons to travel back (yes, back) to 2004 and sue civilization.

Memorable quotes
Potamus: Hey, Birdman! Get that thing I sent ya?

Characters

 * style="background-color:#clear"| George Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Wally Wingert
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Rosie
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jane Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Diane Michelle
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Drowning man
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Thomas Allen
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Cosmo Spacely
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Henry Orbit
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Peanut
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Thomas Allen
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Harvey Birdman
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Gary Cole
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Elroy Jetson
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Tom Kenny
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Astro
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Wally Wingert
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Judy Jetson
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Peter Potamus
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Chris Edgerly
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Orbitty
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Diane Michelle
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Phil Ken Sebben
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Stephen Colbert
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Cafeteria lady
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Stan Freezoid
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Maurice LaMarche
 * style="background-color:#clear"| X, the Eliminator
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Judge Mentok
 * style="background-color:#clear"| John Michael Higgins
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Bailiff
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Boo Boo Bear
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Tom Kenny
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Myron Reducto
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Stephen Colbert
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Announcer (voice only)
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Gary Cole
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Industrial Lathe Man
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| President George W. Bush
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Apache Chief
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| O.J. Simpson
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| The Bear
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Dr. Emmett Brown
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jabberjaw
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Boo Boo Bear
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Tom Kenny
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Myron Reducto
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Stephen Colbert
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Announcer (voice only)
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Gary Cole
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Industrial Lathe Man
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| President George W. Bush
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Apache Chief
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| O.J. Simpson
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| The Bear
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Dr. Emmett Brown
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jabberjaw
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| The Bear
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Dr. Emmett Brown
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jabberjaw
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jabberjaw
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable

Organizations

 * Sebben & Sebben
 * Freezoid, Zarog, & Skon

Locations

 * Orbit City
 * Skypad Apartments
 * Jetson apartment
 * Washington, D.C.
 * Sebben & Sebben offices
 * Courthouse
 * Ling Ling Burger
 * Florida

Objects

 * Jury-Vac
 * Vibro Luxe

Vehicles

 * George's space car
 * DeLorean time machine

Music
The music was composed by Michael Kohler.

Release
Dates are in order of release:


 * United States: May 9, 2004 on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)

Behind the scenes

 * The episode title is a riff on the film Back to the Future. The Jetsons also use the DeLorean, with its time-traveling capabilities to get back to their time, with Doc Brown popping up, with a reaction sounding similar to Christopher Lloyd who played him in the film.
 * This is the first episode not to feature Avenger.
 * The recurring joke is that the Jetsons actually live in a dated society as some technology has far progressed what could possibly be imagined by the crew who made The Jetsons in the 1960s or 80s.
 * This is Orbitty's first appearance since the Jetsons episode "Two Many Georges" in 1987.
 * Mentok beams into the courtroom like the people from Star Trek would beam off and on the starship Enterprise.
 * Mentok's unfinished line of "O.J. is guilty" is a reference to O.J. Simpson's highly publicized murder trial in 1992, when the judge found him innocent of the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend.
 * George is somehow the descendant grandson of Harvey.

Everlasting influence

 * Even though the Jetsons weren't sentenced to prison, they are released from prison in "Juror in Court," with the case reopened in "The Death of Harvey."

Home availability

 * In the United States, it was first released onto DVD as part of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume Two on October 10, 2006, by Warner Home Video.
 * In the UK, Revolver Entertainment released the same DVD set on December 7, 2009, and also on the same day, the episode was collected together with the rest of the series in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Seasons 1,2 & 3.
 * In Australia, Madman Entertainment released the same set on December 12, 2007, then re-released the episode as part of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: The Complete Cases on November 28, 2012.