Back to the Present

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Back to the Present
See, when Hanna-Barbera didn't want to use Judy, they'd just not write her in the episode at all.
Network	Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)
Premiere date	May 9, 2004
Run time	11:10
Starring	Gary Cole Stephen Colbert Thomas Allen Chris Edgerly Wally Wingert Diane Michelle Tom Kenny Maurice LaMarche
Music composed by	Michael Kohler
Writer(s)	Michael Ouweleen
Director(s)	Richard Ferguson-Hull
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"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

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
George Jetson	Wally Wingert
Rosie	N/A
Jane Jetson	Diane Michelle
Drowning man	Thomas Allen
Cosmo Spacely	Unavailable
Henry Orbit	Unavailable
Peanut	Thomas Allen
Harvey Birdman	Gary Cole
Elroy Jetson	Tom Kenny
Astro	Wally Wingert
Judy Jetson	N/A
Peter Potamus	Chris Edgerly
Orbitty	Diane Michelle
Phil Ken Sebben	Stephen Colbert
Cafeteria lady	N/A
Stan Freezoid	Maurice LaMarche
X, the Eliminator	N/A
Judge Mentok	John Michael Higgins
Bailiff	N/A
Boo Boo Bear	Tom Kenny
Myron Reducto	Stephen Colbert
Announcer (voice only)	Gary Cole
Industrial Lathe Man
President George W. Bush	N/A
Apache Chief	N/A
O.J. Simpson
The Bear	N/A
Doctor Emmett Brown	N/A
Jabberjaw	Unavailable

Organizations

• Sebben & Sebben
• Freezoid, Zarog, & Skon

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • 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 from 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.

Legacy

• 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:
  • October 10, 2006: Warner Home Video releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume Two on DVD.
• In Australia:
  • December 12, 2007: Madman Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume Two on DVD.
  • November 28, 2012: Madman Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: The Complete Cases on DVD.
• In the United Kingdom and Ireland:
  • December 7, 2009: Revolver Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume Two on DVD.
  • December 7, 2009: Revolver Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Seasons 1,2 & 3 on DVD.