Phil of the Future

Image
Genre	Comedy Science fiction
Runtime	22 minutes
Camera	Film; Single-camera
Creator	Douglas Tuber Tim Maile
Starring	Ricky Ullman Amy Bruckner Craig Anton Lise Simms Alyson Michalka
Executive Producer	Douglas Tuber Tim Maile (both; entire run) Tom Burkhard Matt Dearborn Tim O'Donnell (all; Season 1) Michael Curtis Roger S.H. Schulman (both; Season 2)
Company	2121 Productions Brookwell McNamara Entertainment
Theme Music Composer	John Adair Steve Hampton
Open Theme	"Phil of the Future", performed by Drew Davis Band
End Theme	"Phil of the Future (instrumental)"
Composer	Christopher Brady (Season 1) Kenneth Burgomaster (Season 2)
Country	United States
Language	English
Location	Occidental Studios Los Angeles, California
Network	Disney Channel
First Aired	2004-6-18
Last Aired	2006-8-19
Num Seasons	2
Num Episodes	43

Phil of the Future is an American science fiction comedy television series that originally aired on Disney Channel for two seasons from June 18, 2004, to August 19, 2006. Created by Douglas Tuber and Tim Maile, the series was produced by 2121 Productions, a division of Brookwell McNamara Entertainment. The series follows a family from the year 2121 who become stranded in the present day when their rented time machine breaks down during a vacation. It was filmed in single-camera format at Occidental Studios in Los Angeles.

The series received nominations from the Directors Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America, and the Young Artist Awards during its run. It has been available to stream on Disney+ since the platform's launch on November 12, 2019.

Premise

While on a time-travel vacation, teenager Phil Diffy and his family from the year 2121 become stranded in the fictional town of Pickford, California, in the present day when their rented time machine malfunctions. Phil's father Lloyd, an engineer, works to repair the machine while the family attempts to blend in as an ordinary suburban household. Phil and his younger sister Pim enroll at H.G. Wells Junior/Senior High School, where Phil befriends and later falls for his neighbor Keely Teslow, the only person outside the family to learn their secret. The family also harbors Curtis, a Cro-Magnon caveman who stowed away in the time machine during a visit to the Stone Age. Much of the show's humor derives from the family's reliance on futuristic gadgets—such as the "Wizard" (a multipurpose handheld device), the "Skyak" (a flying vehicle), and spray-can food—which frequently cause complications in their efforts to remain inconspicuous.

Cast and characters

Main

Ricky Ullman as Philip "Phil" Diffy, a teenager from the year 2121 who adjusts to life as a high school freshman (Season 1) and sophomore (Season 2) in the present day. He becomes best friends and eventually romantic partners with Keely.
Amy Bruckner as Pimilla "Pim" Diffy, Phil's mischievous younger sister, a middle school student with a tendency toward scheming and megalomania.
Craig Anton as Lloyd Diffy, the family patriarch and an engineer from 2121 who spends the series attempting to repair the time machine.
Lise Simms as Barbara "Barb" Diffy, Phil and Pim's mother, who enthusiastically but awkwardly adapts to 21st-century domestic life.
Alyson Michalka as Keely Teslow, Phil's next-door neighbor, best friend, and eventual girlfriend, an aspiring news reporter who is the only outsider to know the Diffys' secret.

Recurring

J. P. Manoux as Curtis, a Cro-Magnon caveman who stowed away in the Diffys' time machine, and as Vice Principal Neil Hackett, the series' primary antagonist, who suspects the Diffys are hiding something.
Kay Panabaker as Debbie Berwick (Season 1), Pim's relentlessly cheerful classmate who considers Pim her best friend.
Brenda Song as Tia Fedichelli (Season 1), Keely's popular best friend, who departed when Song joined the cast of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
Evan Peters as Seth Wosmer (Season 1), Phil and Keely's nerdy friend.
Spencer Locke as Candida Scobel (Season 2), a popular girl who antagonizes Pim.
Brandon Smith as Li'l Danny Dawkins (Season 2), a younger student with a persistent crush on Pim.
Juliet Holland-Rose as Olivia "Via" (Season 2), an English transfer student who replaces Tia as Keely's close friend.
Michael Mitchell as Owen (Season 2), Phil's laid-back friend who replaces Seth.
Joel Brooks as Mr. Messerschmitt (Season 2), Phil and Keely's demanding teacher.

Episodes

List of Phil of the Future episodes

Season 1 (2004–05)

Season 2 (2005–06)

Production

Development

Creators Douglas Tuber and Tim Maile, who had previously worked as writers on Lizzie McGuire, developed the series under the working title The Out-of-Timers, inspired by the Elvis Costello song "Man Out of Time." Tuber conceived the time-travel premise while browsing a record store that sold Costello's album, thinking, "What about if it's a kid out of time?" The year 2121 was settled on as the family's home era after a Disney Channel executive felt that the creators' initial idea of setting it in the year 2525—a reference to Zager and Evans' 1969 song "In the Year 2525"—was too far in the future.

The series was produced by 2121 Productions, a division of Brookwell McNamara Entertainment, the company behind other Disney Channel series including Even Stevens and That's So Raven. Tuber and Maile served as executive producers throughout the series' run, with additional executive producers including Tom Burkhard, Matt Dearborn, and Tim O'Donnell in Season 1, and Michael Curtis and Roger S.H. Schulman in Season 2.

Filming and format

The series was filmed at Occidental Studios in Los Angeles, California, using a single-camera setup without a laugh track. This distinguished it from the multi-camera, audience-filmed format that Disney Channel increasingly adopted through its partnership with It's a Laugh Productions during the same period, as seen in contemporaries like The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana.

Casting and character changes

Lead actor Raviv Ullman, who was credited as "Ricky Ullman" during the series, was a high school student in Fairfield, Connecticut, when he was cast. He booked the role and filmed the Disney Channel Original Movie Pixel Perfect before beginning production on the first season. Aly Michalka, credited as "Alyson Michalka," was 13 at the start of filming and later formed the musical duo Aly & AJ with her sister Amanda.

Several character changes occurred between seasons. The character of Barbara Diffy was originally conceived as having a detachable head and artificial body. Creator Tim Maile explained that "in the pilot, mom had an artificial body. So her head was real," and actress Lise Simms wore chokers and turtlenecks throughout the first season to conceal where the head was supposed to detach. In a 2019 interview, Ullman recalled that scenes were filmed with the concept but it did not work as intended: "I think we had shot the entire first season that way... Then for the second season, we actually had to end up going back and reshooting a bunch of things." Between seasons, Brenda Song departed to star in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and her character Tia was replaced by Via (Juliet Holland-Rose). Similarly, Evan Peters' character Seth was replaced by Owen (Michael Mitchell), and Kay Panabaker's character Debbie was written out after Season 1.

Theme song

The theme song, also titled "Phil of the Future," was written and composed by John Adair and Steve Hampton, and performed by Loren Ellis with the Drew Davis Band, who also performed the theme song of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.

Reception

Phil of the Future aired for a total of 43 episodes across two seasons on Disney Channel from June 2004 to August 2006.

Critical reception was mixed. Common Sense Media gave the series a rating of 2 out of 5 stars, describing it as "harmless but unpleasant" and criticizing the "hackneyed situations and endless cheesy sound effects," while noting that Pim's antagonistic behavior was "so nasty, rude, and antagonistic that it makes the show nearly unwatchable." On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has limited critical coverage, with only one professional review aggregated for its first season.

Awards and nominations

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

Related media

Home video

A DVD of the series titled Gadgets & Gizmos was released on August 16, 2005, containing four episodes: "Double Trouble," "Age Before Beauty," "My Way," and the then-unaired "Team Diffy." The episode "Christmas Break" was released as a bonus feature on the Disney Channel Holiday DVD compilation on November 1, 2005. The complete series became available to stream on Disney+ in the United States when the platform launched on November 12, 2019.