Line #148 Series/PhilOfTheFuture


1	[[quoteright:269:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Diffy_family.jpg]]
2
3	->''"He's a 22nd century man!"''
4
5	''Phil of the Future'' is a Creator/DisneyChannel KidCom which aired from 2004 to 2006. It followed the Diffy family -- Barbara, Lloyd, Phil, and Pim -- who are your average 22nd century family. Which is a lot like your normal NuclearFamily, except with aliens. During their vacation through time, their time machine breaks down in the present day. The family must rough it out in the 21st century while trying to get back home -- all the while not telling anyone that they're from the future. (Well, anyone [[SecretKeeper except]] Keely Teslow, Phil's 21st century love interest.)
6
7	Kickstarted the career of Creator/AlysonMichalka (who played Keely), who eventually formed Music/AlyAndAJ with her younger sister A.J. This was the last Disney Channel Original Series that ''wasn't'' produced by It's a Laugh Productions and thus being filmed in a single-camera format and lacking a LaughTrack until ''Series/StuckInTheMiddle'' premiered in 2016, which almost certainly explains why it was cancelled after a mere 43 episodes, in favor of all the other shows that were.
8	----
9	!!This series provides examples of:
10	%%* AchievementTestOfDestiny: The Omicron-Gambit in "The Giggle."
11	* ActorAllusion: In "Doggie Day-Care," Creator/RodneyDangerfield (in one of his final roles) guest-stars as [[WesternAnimation/RoverDangerfield the voice of a dog]].
12	%%* AllWomenLoveShoes: This is how Keely and Via become friends.
13	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Pim finds her soul mate in a classmate who shares her penchant for pranks and loses all interest when he saves her from a humiliating scene instead of making fun of her.
14	* AlphaBitch: Candida.
15	* AppealToObscurity: Lloyd says this in "Christmas Break".
16	-->'''Lloyd:''' If Phil didn't mess up the controls, we would have been stuck in a massive time storm!!! Like what happened to the Jabensons on ''their'' last time travel trip!!!\
17	'''Phil:''' Who are the Jabensons?\
18	'''Lloyd:''' Exactly
19	* TheAlternet: Phil introduces Keely to the Giggle, "the thing, that replaced the thing, that replaced the thing that killed the Internet in a pay-per-view battle royal" in the future Phil hails from. It's a helmet with a screen on it that contains all of mankind's knowledge up to 2121 and constantly updates itself when information changes.
20	%%* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Pim.
21	* ArtisticLicensePhysics: In "Good Phil Hunting", Pim can (apparently without the use of any gadgets) build up enough of a static charge to go all [[Franchise/StarWars Emperor Palpatine]] on anyone who touches her. Pim being Pim, she ends up using it to get revenge on Candida.
22	%%* BadassTeacher: Mr. Joel Messerschmit.
23	* BecauseDestinySaysSo: Keely implies in "Christmas Break" that maybe the reason the Diffy's time machine broke down is because it was meant to be.
24	* BittersweetEnding: Series ends on cliffhanger of the Diffys going back to the present again after realizing they forgot to take Kurt back to the Prehistoric era, but otherwise it's clear they're not gonna see anyone from the present again after their little detour.
25	** To add to that, Doug Tuber (one of the creators) confirms that he and his writing partner Tim Maile (The other creator) were hired by Disney to write the Phil of the Future finale movie. Doug says it was a very detailed and funny and romantic outline. Disney decided not to produce it, and thus the series ends with the Diffy's going back to present to their small errand, and supposedly returning to the future for good after that.
26	%%* BigManOnCampus: Phil in “It’s a Wonder-Phil Life”.
27	* CasualTimeTravel: The Diffy's went on vacation... through time. In a ''used'' time machine that looks like an RV.
28	%%* ChristmasEpisode: "Christmas Break".
29	* ClassClown: Owen. He put a can of snakes into the class time capsule to "keep the future smiling."
30	* ComedicSociopathy: Pim displays this. A ''lot'' of this:
31	--> '''Pim (trying to sell the Diffys' house)''': Notice the staircase, which doubles as a toddler-friendly double black diamond toboggan run.
32	* ContemporaryCaveman: Curtis
33	* CrushFilter: Phil sees Keely this way after they get together in "Back to the Future." He waves a hand around to make sure that it's just him and that the whole world isn't moving in slow-motion. Nope, just CrushFilter.
34	* DanceOfRomance: Once in "Neander-Phil" and again in "Get Ready to Go-Go." Both for Phil and Keely.
35	* DeadpanSnarker: Pim. Occasionally Phil.
36	* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: A conversation in which Keely calls herself Phil's girlfriend, and Phil says he wants to be her boyfriend.
37	* DisappearedDad: Keely's father
38	* DoggedNiceGuy: Lil Danny Dawkins. He's not always nice though.
39	* EggSitting: Pim gets paired up with her enemy to take care of a sack of flour. They figure it's an easy A (because a sack of flour doesn't do much) until Barb insists they treat it like a real child. HilarityEnsues as she and her partner start arguing over their fake relationship issues and how to raise their "child." They eventually end up in a tug-of-war over the flour sack and burst it all over the school hallway... just as the teacher walks by.
40	* EmbarrassingFirstName: In the episode "Christmas Break" Pim asks Phil "What kind of name is Keely" and Phil responds [[HypocriticalHumor "Asks Pim"]].
41	* EndOfSeriesAwareness: In the series finale called "''Film/BackToTheFuture1'' (Not the Movie)" , [[spoiler: Lloyd finally fixes the time machine just as Phil and Keely are about to become a couple and a law in the future called "Thanks to the Diffy's" is approved to apply restrictions on time travel that reflect on the series cancellation.]]
42	* EverybodyHatesMathematics: Keely in the episode "Good Phil Hunting". At least at the beginning of the episode.
43	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Phil and Keely. The catalyst for their RelationshipUpgrade is being named "Cutest Couple" in the yearbook. Which was voted on by the ''entire school.''
44	%% * EvilLaugh:
45	%%** Pim
46	%%** Debbie does this in "Halloween"
47	* ExpositoryThemeTune: "Meet a boy named Phil and his family, on vacation from the 22nd century...". [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a30TDr3wgHs Here it is.]]
48	* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Lloyd [[spoiler:purposefully procrastinated/sabotaged the systems because the family enjoyed the 21st century so much. He really could've just fixed it at any time.]]
49	* FateDrivesUsTogether: Implied with Phil and Keely at several points, including Keely placing her childhood music box into the school's time capsule that is later found by Phil's mother and used when he was a baby.
50	* FirstKiss: Phil Diffy is Keely's first kiss.
51	* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Keely doesn't remember meeting Phil in "Christmas Break."
52	* FreakyFridayFlip: One of the Wizard's powers;
53	** One ep, it switches Curtis and Phil's personalities when it malfunctions.
54	** Lloyd makes Phil and Pim switch bodies to give them a "Versa Day".
55	* FreudianSlip: Keely in the episode “Dinner Time” when she said “See you at lunch, Sweetie Pie” to Phil.
56	** Also the "I want to be your boyfriend/girlfriend" conversation from "Tia, Via, or Me..uh"
57	%%* GetBackToTheFuture: The premise of the entire show.
58	%%* GirlNextDoor: Keely.
59	* TheGlomp: Phil and Keely share many hug's of this variety during the series. Sometimes even two in one episode "Good Phil Hunting".
60	* GrandRomanticGesture: Phil creates a picnic of things that remind him of Keely in "Happy Nird-Day".
61	%%* GreenEyedMonster: Used a few times
62	%%* GreenRocks: Diffy's gadgets.
63	* HappyDance: Phil and Keely each do one of these after they make plans to go to the dance together in "Get Ready To Go Go".
64	* HappilyEverAfter: Phil and Keely get together in the finale episode "Back To The Future (Not The Movie)". WordOfGod also makes this such.
65	%%* HappilyMarried: Barb and Lloyd.
66	%%* HalloweenEpisode: "Halloween"
67	%%* HellBentForLeather: Phil in "Dinner Time".
68	* HighSchool: Most of the scenes take place at school. Unusual in the fact that it's a junior/senior high school; Phil and Pim attend the same school despite Pim starting off the series in 7th grade and Phil in 9th.
69	%%* HighSchoolDance: "Get Ready To Go Go", "Raging Bull", and "Halloween".
70	%%* HighSchoolSweethearts: Phil Diffy and Keely.
71	* HilariousOuttakes: At the end of the episode “Halloween” and “Broadcast Blues”.
72	* HoldingHands: Phil and Keely in the finale episode "Back To The Future (Not The Movie)". After they decide they want a RelationshipUpgrade, they try holding hands. Except they can't get the logistics right and it's awkward.
73	* IdolSinger: Aly & AJ (Now known as 78violet), one half of which is the show's female lead, Alyson Michalka.
74	* ItRunsOnNonsenseoleum: Milk engines were invented in 2075 after oil ran out. This causes issues when Phil enters one in a science fair in 2004, well before it was invented and Phil has no proof that he'd designed it. It's alluded to in a ContinuityNod when Lloyd remarks in a flashback that a ringing landline phone sounds like a robot is out of cheese.
75	** No alloy in existence can jam a Wizard's signal, except for pudding. They're defenseless against pudding.
76	%% * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Owen
77	* JustFriends: Phil and Keely until the season 2 finale (which ended up being series finale).
78	* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Debbie,]] although she appeared in later episodes, meaning the "death" was probably non-canon.
79	** [[spoiler: Of course, afterwards it's implied she's somehow lurking within Pim, but nothing ever comes out of it.]]
80	* TheLadysFavour: The salt and pepper shakers from "Back to the Future (Not the Movie)"
81	* LaughTrack: Notably averted.
82	* LargeHam: The guy who plays Messerschmitt quite obviously has way too much fun with every single line he says, especially in "The Giggle" when discussing the Omicron Gambit, his legendarily hard... make-up test. It's all PlayedForLaughs, of course.
83	%%* LeftHanging: So. Many. Things.
84	* LastMinuteHookup: Phil and Keely get together in "Back To The Future (Not The Movie)".
85	%%* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Phil and Keely in "Christmas Break"
86	%%* {{Masquerade}}
87	* MarriedInTheFuture: Heavy implied for Phil and Keely in "The Giggle."
88	* TheMatchmaker: Keely in "Stuck in the Meddle with You." She's not very good at it.
89	* MayDecemberRomance: Accidentally and PlayedForLaughs in "Age Before Beauty." When Keely ages herself with a future device and catches the romantic attention of Vice Principal Hackett, Phil must step in and pretend to be her boyfriend to deter him. Unfortunately, he accidentally ages himself to about 80, to Keely's 20-something.
90	* MeetCute: Phil and Keely, though Keely didn't know. The entire episode "Christmas Break" is devoted to how they met. Keely was the Pickford Yuletide Star Princess in charge of the town's yule star (obviously) to be used in a tree lighting ceremony. Pim breaks the glass Yule star, and Phil, feeling badly about it, goes back in time to fix it. Through a series of unfortunate events, he ends up going back in time several times to save the star, eventually succeeding. Keely finds this sweet, Pim...not so much:
91	--> '''Keely (about the Christmas tree star)''': Ooh, that's my favorite part.\
92	'''Phil''': I know, you were the Pickford Yuletide Star Princess, after all.\
93	'''Keely''': That's right! Wait... we didn't even know each other then. How did you know about that?\
94	'''Phil''': Well... you see... I actually met you before you met me.\
95	'''Pim''': Met her? You followed her around like a pathetic puppy.\
96	'''Keely''': Really?\
97	'''Pim''': He was like 'Oh, we have to help the pretty crying girl!'
98	%%* MilitaryBrat: Via
99	%%* MuggleBestFriend: Keely to Phil
100	* NamesakeInstitution: Befitting a show about time-travelers, the teens attend Creator/HGWells High, Science Fiction author of several books, mainly ''Literature/TheTimeMachine''.
101	* NewJobEpisode: Lloyd and Curtis both get jobs at the local hardware store in the episode "Versa Day".
102	%%* NewTransferStudent: Via.
103	* NoodleIncident: The last time Keely tried to "assist" (read: matchmake) a couple, with the former couple still crying about it whenever they appear.
104	-->'''Phil:''' No real harm done? The guy ''still'' can't carry his own lunch tray!
105	%%* NosyNeighbor: Vice Principal Neil Hackett.
106	%%* NowOrNeverKiss: Phil and Keely's first kiss in "Back to the Future (Not the Movie)".
107	%%* OfficialCouple: Phil and Keely, by the SeriesFinale, which sadly was undercut by Phil finally being able to return to the future in the same episode.
108	* OldFashionedFruitStomping: One episode has Phil's class going on a field trip to stomp grapes, which worries Phil because he, like everyone else from the future, has only four toes on each foot. To avoid being found out, he wears fake prosthetic toes on the trip, but they fall off while he's squishing, and HilarityEnsues.
109	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: The greenmia disease in "Ill of the Future" changes the personalities of those infected to the opposite: Phil and Lloyd become chronic liars, Pim a perfect and perky daughter, and Barb a slovenly shrew. Based on Phil and Pim's reactions, they're fully aware of the changes but can't help themselves. Their skin also turns green (hence the name), which actually lasts longer than the personality changes.
110	%%* OurTimeMachineIsDifferent: It's an RV, though the inside is much snazzier than your standard motor home.
111	%%* PluckyGirl: Keely.
112	%%* PlotSensitiveItems: Diffy's gadgets about once every 1 1/2 episodes
113	%%* ThePowerOfFriendship: Phil and Keely In ''Almost. Every. Single. Episode.''
114	* ThePowerOfLove: Phil and Keely. From two different centuries. Yet they end up together. That's ThePowerOfLove.
115	* PuppyDogEyes: Keely gives these to Phil in episode “Age Before Beauty”, "The Giggle" and "Dinner Time." Phil is aware he's being manipulated, but can't resist them.
116	* PutOnABus: Tia, Bradley Benjamin Farmer, Debbie, and Seth Wassmer stop appearing as much in later episodes.
117	* QuoteMine: The episode "Pim-Cipal" had [[ItMakesSenseInContext Principal]] Pim create a video for the students to justify firing [[ItMakesSenseInContext Vice-]]Principal Hackett. The editing was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPFRjGkOz78 very obvious]].
118	-->'''Pim:''' ...Get a load of this.\
119	'''Hackett (video):''' The students here — are all losers. — So [[StealingFromTheTill I've — taken every cent of the school budget and spent it on — spa treatments — for myself.]] — Ha! — Suckers! Hahaha!\
120	'''Danny (video):''' I'm Neil Hackett.\
121	'''Hackett (video):''' [[IApprovedThisMessage and I approve — of this message.]]\
122	'''Phil:''' [[TemptingFate And who's going to believe that.]]\
123	<shocked outrage from nearby students>
124	* RaceForYourLove: Phil ''and'' Keely end up doing this in the final episode, though with far different results. Keely suddenly changes her mind about seeing Phil and his family back to the future and runs to catch their time machine before it leaves. She's unsuccessful. The second time is Phil, who has his father return their time machine to about five minutes before Keely does ''her'' race and he catches her at school to say goodbye (cue TheBigDamnKiss)
125	* RedStringOfFate: Played with with Phil and Keely. In "Time Release Capsule", Keely puts her own childhood music box in the school's time capsule; Phil's mom finds it a century later and plays it for him as a baby. It's revealed in "Christmas Break" that Phil was the one who broke the time machine, but that if he hadn't stopped to help Keely, the family would have been caught in a massive time-storm and gotten lost forever.
126	* ReedRichardsIsUseless / PlotTechnology: Justified, since they have to maintain the masquerade and minimize their impact on the outcome of history, they can only use the future tech to solve the day's problems.
127	* RelationshipUpgrade: Phil and Keely in the season 2 finale which ended up being the series finale "Back To the Future (Not The Movie)".
128	* TheRival: Bradley Benjamin Farmer and Candida are rivals of Pim.
129	%%* ScienceFair: Phil and Keely in the episode “Milkin’ It."
130	* SchoolClubsAreSeriousBusiness: H.G. Well's budget for extracurriculars is astronomical and the level of seriousness given is hilarious. Pim hosts a tele-a-thon in one episode to "find a cure" for the science club's pet rat. Keely goes undercover in another episode to write a story on dirty mop water for the school news station.
131	* SignatureHeadgear: Keely loves wearing flowers in her hair, as the viewer can see and as Phil mentions in "Happy Nirday".
132	* ReplacedTheThemeTune: After Season 2 started airing, reruns of all Season 1 episodes featured the Season 2 version of the theme song for undisclosed reasons.
133	* SchoolNewspaperNewsHound: It's a news show rather than a newspaper, but Keely definitely fits the bill.
134	* ScoobyDoobyDoors: In the Halloween episode, Debbie chases Phil and Keely through a school hallway. They go in and out of doors trying to dodge her.
135	%% * SecretChaser: Vice Principal Neil Hackett
136	* SecretKeeper: Keely's the only one (other than the Diffys themselves, of course) who knows the truth about where they come from.
137	%% * ShipperOnDeck: Pretty much everyone for Phil and Keely.
138	* ShipTease: ''In. Every. Single. Episode.'' Culminating in Phil and Keely getting together in the finale.
139	* SickEpisode: The Diffy's in "Ill of the Future". Vice Principal Neil Hackett in "Mummy's Boy".
140	%%* SiblingYinYang: Phil and Pim, who are polar opposites.
141	* ShowWithinAShow: "Who Wants To Marry A Dentist?" in the episode "Future Jock". "The Lost and the Lonely" in the episode "Double Trouble".
142	* ShoutOut: Quite a few.
143	** Phil's present-day High School is named after Creator/HGWells. That is, the author of ''Literature/TheTimeMachine''.
144	** There are also various examples in episode titles, like "[[Film/GoodWillHunting Good Phil Hunting]]" and "[[Film/ItsAWonderfulLife It's a Wonder-Phil Life]]".
145	** As well, in "Good Phil Hunting", Hackett is briefly shown writing equations on a clear, glassy surface, mimicking similar memorable moments from ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' and ''Film/GoodWillHunting''.
146	*** In the same episode, Hackett asks Phil what the first rule of AV club is. Naturally, it's [[Film/FightClub "Don't talk about AV club."]] There's also a reference to Fermat's Last Theorem; apparently a problem known as Foucalt's Last Conundrum is highly difficult in the present day, but is basic material in 2121's third grade.
147	*** When Mr. Hackett wakes up from the shock of Keeley "solving" said Conundrum:
148	--->'''Mr. Hackett:''' I had such a... ''strange'' dream... [[ButYouWereThereAndYouAndYou You were there, you were there, you, and you...]] ''(to [[Film/TheWizardOfOz scarecrow]])'' you I don't recognise.
149	** In "Dinner Time", Barb's trying to prepare a typical American dinner party. Her research leads her to believe that it should be 50's style, right down to the clothes. Phil ends up looking like [[Series/HappyDays Fonzie]], right down to flashing the classic double thumbs up right after being zapped with the Wizard and immediately [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] it.
150	** "Dinner Time" also slips in a reference to ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', when a pair of prospective buyers for the Diffy house ask if it has suffered a twister of "Oz or greater magnitude".
151	** The SeriesFinale is called ''Film/BackToTheFuture1 (Not The Movie)'' as a reference both to the movie, the fact that the Diffys are able to return home, and that this finale is the length of a normal episode instead of BigDamnMovie.
152	* SickeninglySweethearts: Phil and Keely in the final episode. Given that they were pretty darn cute to begin with, the RelationshipUpgrade jacks it up to eleven.
153	* SleepCute: Phil and Keely fall asleep next to each other on the sofa while studying in the episode "The Giggle"
154	* {{Squee}}: When Phil and Keely kiss in "Back To The Future (Not The Movie)".
155	* StalkerWithACrush: Lil Danny Dawkins has one on Pim.
156	** Hackett's behavior toward Veronica veered into stalker territory when he camped out on her front lawn and was awoken by the sprinklers.
157	* SweetieGraffiti: "Phil + Keely" written on the tree in "Time Release Capsule."
158	%%* SwissArmySuperpower: The Wizard.
159	%%* TakeOverTheWorld: Pim.
160	* TemporalSickness: The reason Pim couldn't help Phil in "Christmas Break" after a few jumps through the past.
161	* TheBigDamnKiss: Phil and Keely's kiss in "Back to the Future." Since it happened during Keely's daily newscast, the kiss is broadcast on the school's CCTV and get a standing ovation from the entire student body.
162	%%* TheMatchmaker: Keely in "Stuck in the Meddle with You".
163	%%* ThisLoserIsYou: Phil. A lot.
164	%% * TimeTravel: Duh.
165	%%* TimeTravelRomance: Phil and Keely.
166	* TimeyWimeyBall: They play with the concept of TemporalMutability a lot, most notably in "Time Release Capsule" and "My Not-So-Great Great-Great-Grampa".
167	* TitleDrop: During "Maybe-Sitting" after Phil's mind has been regressed to a five-year-old. While playing, he dons a makeshift superhero outfit.
168	-->'''Phil:''' I'm Phil of the Future!
169	* TitleSequenceReplacement: After Season 2 started airing, reruns of all Season 1 episodes had the Season 2 opening retroactively in place of the first.
170	%%* TokenEvilTeammate: Pim is this for the Diffy family.
171	%%* TrappedInThePast: The Diffy's.
172	* TrainingMontage: Phil and Keely have one in "The Giggle", to prepare for the Omicron Gambit, Messerschmitt's painfully difficult make-up test.
173	* TwiceShy: Why it takes Phil and Keely the entire length of the show to get together, despite both being ''painfully'' obvious about their feelings.
174	* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Pim, in the aptly-named "Pim-cipal" episode.
175	* UncannyValleyGirl: Debbie Berwick. A non-canon episode shows [[spoiler: she's actually an evil robot bent on world domination via cupcakes.]]
176	* UndercoverAsLovers: At one point, Phil and Keely use the Wizard to masquerade as his parents to fool their snooping neighbor, Mr. Hackett.
177	%%* {{Unobtainium}}:
178	%%* WhatNowEnding: Diffys went back for Curtis.....then?
179	%%* [[WeWillNotHaveAppendixesInTheFuture We Will Not Have Pinky Toes In The Future]]: In the episode "You Say Toe-Mato"
180	* WorthlessYellowRocks: Diamonds are a waste product in the future, but aluminum foil is apparently invaluable.
181	** [[JustifiedTrope Very much justified.]] Aluminum is valuable even today (which is the motive behind pop tab collections), while diamonds are easily manufactured from common carbon.
182	*** While it makes sense for diamonds to be dirt cheap in the future, it does not make sense for them to be a waste product. Diamonds are useful cutting tools due to their unparalleled hardness. The only way they would become garbage is if someone invented a synthetic mineral that was even harder than diamond and at least as cheap.
183	* WrongGenreSavvy: Principal Hackett thinks the Diffy's are aliens.
184	* XtremeKoolLetterz: In "Broadcast Blues", Keely's news segment as designed by Pim is called "Keely's Korner".
185	%%* YouAreGrounded: Phil at the end of "Maybe Sitting".
186	* YouAreTheNewTrend: In the episode "Broadcast Blues" everything Keely wears on her news reports becomes a new trend.
187	%%* YouNoTakeCandle: Curtis
188	* YoungFutureFamousPeople: Though the youthful famous person is fictional, Phil runs into the inventor of the Wizard in his high school during a career placement test.

Context Series / PhilOfTheFuture