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Phil of the Future

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Phil of the Future
GenreSitcom
Science fiction
Fantasy
Adventure
Created byTim Maile
Douglas Tuber
StarringRicky Ullman
Aly Michalka
Amy Bruckner
Craig Anton
Lise Simms
Theme music composerJohn Adair
Steve Hampton
Opening theme"Phil of the Future (main theme)", performed by Loren Ellis and the Drew Davis Band
Ending theme"Phil of the Future (instrumental)"
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes43 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersTim Maile
Douglas Tuber
Tom Burkhard
Matt Dearborn
Tim O'Donnell
(all; season 1)
Michael Curtis
Roger S.H. Schulman
(both; season 2)
Production locationsIt's a Laugh Productions
Hollywood, California (2004-05)
Occidental Studios
Hollywood, California (2005-06)
Camera setupFilm; Single-camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companies2121 Productions
Disney Channel Original Productions
Original release
NetworkDisney Channel
ReleaseJune 18, 2004 (2004-06-18) –
August 19, 2006 (2006-08-19)

Phil of the Future is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 18, 2004, to August 19, 2006, for two seasons. The series was created by Tim Maile and Douglas Tuber and produced by 2121 Productions, a part of Brookwell McNamara Entertainment. It follows a family from the future that gets stranded in the 21st century when their time machine breaks down. The series began airing again (as reruns) as part of Disney Replay. It also aired in select countries such as Canada (Family Channel).

Characters

Main characters

Phil Diffy (born 2107) is the main character in the series. He is a freshman in season 1 and sophomore in season 2, at H.G. Wells Junior/Senior High School. He seems to be the most "in tune" with how things work in this century. Phil frequently has to make up excuses to hide the fact that he is from the future. He is the best friend and later boyfriend of Keely Teslow. Phil is two years older than Pim.
Keely Teslow (born March 1990) is Phil's best friend and later girlfriend. She is the only person who knows Phil and his family are from the future. Keely is an energetic and bubbly girl who aspires to be a news reporter. She starts to harbor romantic feelings for Phil during season 2. She sometimes uses Phil's gadgets as a shortcut for schoolwork. She is notable on the show for her numerous hairstyles and colorful clothes. In the later episodes of the series, she hosts her own daily news program on the school's closed-circuit television broadcasting system. In the episode "The Giggle", she gets to look ahead at her own future and learns that she does, in fact, become a successful news reporter. It is also noted that she is wearing a wedding ring, but turns down the chance to see who her husband is. In the final episode, Phil and she finally reveal their feelings for each other and start dating after being voted "Cutest Couple" by their school. However, shortly after they begin dating, Pim helps Lloyd finally repair the time machine. Keely asks Phil to wait for her in the future, which he agrees to. It is implied that Phil and his family soon come back, however.
Pim Diffy (born 2109) is Phil's younger sister by two years. She is a 7th (season 1) / 8th (season 2) grader at H.G. Wells Junior/Senior High. Pim is a mischievous girl who is constantly up to no good and is even prone to megalomania. Pim is especially known for liking to pull pranks on people, mainly on Phil, Debbie Berwick, and Vice Principal Hackett. In the second season, she hangs out with a young boy "Li'l Danny" Dawkins. She also tries to avoid Debbie Berwick and Candida. Repeatedly in the show, she looks for ways to dominate the world and universe. Though Pim often causes trouble for Phil and has a tough attitude, she cares about her brother, but keeps it hidden most of the time.
Lloyd Diffy (born 2074) is Phil and Pim's goofy dad, who is working on repairing the time machine. He was an engineer in 2121, and loves "older music". He is paranoid about the government (and Vice Principal Hackett) figuring out that his family and he are from the future. During the Diffys' stay, Lloyd and Curtis get jobs at the Mantis hardware store. Lloyd is two years older than Barb.
Barbara Diffy (née Speckle; born 2076) is Phil and Pim's mom. She is very interested in how things work in this century. Unlike other mothers, though, Barbara seems to let her kids figure things out on their own. She loves to cook the old fashioned way; however, her food usually ends up with something being wrong, because in 2121 they spray food out of a can. Before the show premiered, it was said that she had an artificial body, but none of the episodes ever proved this. She forces Pim to be friends with Debbie, though Pim hates Debbie. Her maiden name is revealed in the episode "Not So Great-Great-Grandpa".

Recurring characters

Curtis (born around 30,000 BC) is a caveman (Cro-Magnon, as mentioned in the episode "Dinner Time") who stowed away in the Diffy's time machine when they went back to visit the Stone Age. The Diffys struggle to make Curtis seem like a normal person, and often pretend he is Phil's uncle. Throughout the episodes, he learns more English.
  • Vice Principal Neil Hackett (J.P. Manoux)
Vice Principal Hackett (born 1969) is the Vice Principal at Phil, Keely, and Pim's school, H.G. Wells Junior/Senior High School. In the school, he is Phil's teacher in science and Pim's teacher in history. He is often found snooping around the Diffys' house as he tries to figure out where they are really from, though he believes they are aliens. He is the main antagonist of the series.
A second-grade teacher in season 1 (in whose writing class Phil had to attend in episode "Tanner"), and Pim's teacher in season 2.

Season 1

  • Bradley Benjamin Farmer (Rory Thost)
Pim's rival in season 1. He is made fun of his short height (constantly being called a munchkin by Pim). He dated Debbie but Pim broke them up and he became infatuated with Pim.
Debbie (born 1990) is the complete opposite of Pim and she has a very happy attitude towards life. She hardly ever gets mad and is very nice. Debbie also considers Pim to be her best friend. Because of this Pim likes to take advantage of Debbie's good-natured personality. She doesn't like raisins or chihuahuas or naughty nibblers. She lives with her grandma and her curfew is 6:00 pm. Debbie also teaches a yoga class. Her other friends are Neckbrace Lana and Silent Judy. Debbie used to date Bradley until Pim broke them up by changing Debbie's personality but Debbie went back to normal. Debbie enjoys singing and is in the school band. It was revealed that she can hold a note for a very long time when Pim tried to sabotage her as revenge for removing her in the band. Her plan backfired because Debbie instead got a standing ovation.
She is written out of the show in season 2. It was revealed in the Halloween special that she was a "happy" cyborg made by a cyborg-making company. She was intended to only do good and be always happy, until finally having a malfunction and turning evil and attempting to "nicely" enslave the world (starting from her schoolmates) into baking cupcakes for charity. At the episode's conclusion, Phil was forced to melt her.
  • Neckbrace Lana (Carlie Westerman)
Lana is a girl who did the school news and was in Pim's grade. She and Pim hated each other. She always wears a neckbrace, as having pinched a nerve at some time in the past, although it is never shown happening.
Seth is the nerdy friend of Phil, Keely and Tia. Replaced by Owen in season 2.
A crush of Keely's in the episode "Your Cheatin' Heart" and was in the show most of the season. Phil seems to dislikes him and sometimes cracks jokes about him.
Keely's best friend. She is popular and friendly. She also seems to be rich. Though she can be spoiled and snobby sometimes, she is friendly and described as the girl next door by Phil. Replaced by Via in season 2, due to Brenda Song leaving the show to star in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.

Season 2

The "mean" girl that excludes Pim and insults her by frequently referring to her as "Pim-ple". She is referred to as one of the "fashion zombies" by Pim.
He has a crush on Pim and always gets involved with her antics. Pim does not seem to show affection for him, with the exception of when they danced at the dance in the episode "Get Ready To Go-Go".
Phil and Keeley's teacher who has the certain pleasure for giving extremely difficult assignments for most students to actually fail. He has a sister named Bettina (also played by Brooks) and a nephew, Nathan (Josh Flitter) who both shockingly carry the same family trait of having a mustache. He reveals in the episode "The Giggle" that his parents were acrobats.
  • Olivia ("Via") (Juliet Holland-Rose)
Via is a girl from England, transferred because her father's in the military. She became friends with Keely after Tia moved. In the episode "Get Ready To Go-Go", Phil went to a Sadie Hawkins dance with her, after a near-miss in returning to the future ruined his plans to go with Keely.
  • Owen (Michael Mitchell)
Phil's friend who replaced Seth. He is not that smart and is laid-back, also constantly trying to hit on girls (though he never succeeds).

Production

Phil of the Future's working title was The Out of Timers.[citation needed] The title theme song for Phil of the Future was written by John Adair and Steve Hampton. It was sung by Loren Ellis and The Drew Davis Band, who also sang the theme song of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.

Awards and nominations

2007 - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs - Fred Savage for episode "Not So Great Great Great Grandpa" (Nominated)
2007 - Children's Episodic & Specials - David Steven Cohen for episode "Broadcast Blues" (Nominated)
2006 - Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama): Leading Young Actress - Amy Bruckner (Nominated)
2005 - Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama): Leading Young Actress - Alyson Michalka (Nominated)
2005 - Best Performance in a Television Series: Recurring Young Actor - Rory Thost (Nominated)
2005 - Best Performance in a Television Series: Recurring Young Actress - Kay Panabaker (Nominated)

Other media

A DVD of the show, titled Gadgets & Gizmos, was released on August 16, 2005.[1]

A video game based on Phil of the Future was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2006. In the game, Pim uses her cloning machine to create clones of a pet from the future called "Blahs" and it is up to Phil to stop them.[2]

References

  1. ^ Phil of the Future - Gadgets & Gizmos, Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney, 2005-08-16, retrieved 2016-04-05
  2. ^ "Phil of the Future for Game Boy Advance - GameFAQs". www.gamefaqs.com. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
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