Einstein
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Einstein (often known as "Einie") was Doc Brown's pet sheepdog in 1985, and later pet to the Brown family. His age in 1985 was unknown, although he was fully grown and most likely "middle aged" for a dog. He was the latest of many Doc's pet dogs named after famous scientists, in this case Albert Einstein. It was, therefore, quite fitting that he became the world's first time traveler.
Einstein was Doc's constant companion, and despite being using the dog in many of his experiments, Doc did care about his pet deeply (since apart from Marty and Jennifer, Einstein appears to have been Doc's only friend), and he would not compromise his friend's safety. Doc built an automatic dog food feeder to make both his life, and Einstein, easier. Einstein was also "friends" with Marty and was usually a cheerful, friendly dog. He only liked canned dog food, and was usually walked twice a day.
His exact breed is under debate by fans; common theories suggest Cairn terrier, mongrel or bearded collie.
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[edit] Biography
Einstein was present at the Twin Pines Mall parking lot, where Doc Brown conducted his first time travel experiment. With Doc controlling the DeLorean time machine via remote, Einstein sitting inside it and Marty filming, Einstein successfully blasted forward in time by one minute, leaving at 1:20am and arriving at 1:21am on October 26, 1985. Einstein, being a dog, was "completely unaware that anything happened" and happily went back into Doc's truck, unharmed.
Minutes later, Einstein (whom Doc had put in a specially-designed radiation suit) barked from the truck to warn Doc that the Libyan terrorists (whom he obtained plutonium to power the time machine from) had arrived at the Mall. After the terrorists murdered Doc and chased Marty around the parking lot (until he disappeared back to 1955), Einstein stayed in the truck, probably scared of the gunfire.
When in the past, Marty was able to warn the younger Doc in 1955 of his fate in 1985. When 1985 rolled around again, Doc wore a bulletproof vest and survived the terrorists. After dropping Marty back home, Doc took Einstein with him into the future. What happened while they were there is partly unknown, but Einstein was left in a suspended animation kennel when Doc headed back to 1985 to pick up Marty (and Jennifer, who happened to be there) to bring them to 2015.
Doc retrieved Einstein from the kennel.[1] Einstein stayed with Doc and Marty for the remainder of their time in 2015, and tracked down Jennifer, who had been taken to her future home by the police. Doc still had Jennifer's purse, which Einstein used to get her scent.[2].
Mission accomplished, the four headed back to 1985, only to find out it was in fact 1985A - an alternate reality where Biff Tannen was rich, powerful and Marty's stepfather. This was due to Biff's 2015 self stealing the time machine and giving his 1955 self a sports almanac with the race results inside it. In this reality Doc-A was sent to a mental institution in 1983A, and it is unknown what happened to the alternate Einstein. His basket still existed in the remains of Doc-A's lab, so it was proven that an alternative Einstein did exist at some point in this reality.
Einstein (from the unaltered timeline), like Jennifer, was left behind when Doc and Marty head back to 1955 to correct history. When the timeline was reverted back to normal, it changed around Einstein, although he would probably be unaware of this.
Doc ended up in 1885, trapped. In a letter to Marty, in 1955 (also trapped), he asked his friend to give Einstein a good home once he returned to 1985. Marty headed back to 1885 to save Doc from a certain death instead of going back to 1985.
After Marty left Doc behind in 1885, Doc (who had spent 10 years of his life in the late 19th Century) returned to 1985 with his wife Clara and sons Jules and Verne. They picked up Einstein from Doc's lab, and the dog became the family pet. Although it had been 10 years since Doc saw Einstein, it had only been about 10 hours since Einstein last saw Doc. Einstein was with the family right at the end when they departed in the time machine for times unknown.
[edit] Behind the scenes
In Back to the Future, Einstein was portrayed by a dog trained by animal trainer Richard Calkins. Twenty-eight dog years later, when Parts II and III of the trilogy were being filmed, animal trainer Matilda de Cagny provided another canine actor, "Freddie", to portray Einstein. "Freddie", like Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson, and Darlene Vogel, also appeared in the film for Back to the Future: The Ride. [3]
[edit] Back to the Future: The Animated Series
Einstein was a main character in the animated series. He underwent a bit of a transformation, with the cartoon version not looking that much the film version. As with many cartoon show dogs, Einstein was also more intelligent and would help Doc with his inventions, due to him being slightly anthropomorphic. The opening credits to Season One show that Einstein can drive the steam train time machine by himself.
He usually wore a stopwatch around his neck, as he did in the first film.
[edit] Appearances
[edit] Notes and references
| Individuals | ||
| The McFly Family Marty McFly | George McFly | Lorraine Baines McFly | Jennifer Parker | Seamus McFly | Maggie McFly | Dave McFly | Linda McFly | Martin McFly Jr. | Marlene McFly | ||
| The Brown Family Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown | Clara Clayton Brown | Jules Brown | Verne Brown | Einstein | ||
| The Tannen Family Biff Tannen | Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen | Griff Tannen | ||
| Other Individuals Mr. Strickland | Marshall James Strickland | Match, Skinhead & 3-D | Goldie Wilson | Douglas J. Needles |
