First aired: 12/1/90
Written by: Paul Dini
Regular characters: Bill, Ted, Rufus, Deacon, The Three Most Important People
Historical figures (& those they're based on): Thomas Edison, Leonardo
da Vinci (a la Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown), Joseph Priestly, A Most
Excellent Chemist Dude (a la Ed Wynn), Christopher Columbus, Queen
Isabella & King Ferdinand
Time periods:
Plot:
Bill & Ted give a free Wyld Stallyns concert in the park,
only to be totally walked out on. This depresses them to the point
they decide not to continue trying to be musicians. In the future
San Dimas, the Three Most Important People summon Rufus and explain
what has happened, saying that their future is on shaky ground. If
Bill & Ted do not continue to try to create their music, life as
they know it will cease to happen and time has started running
backwards. They tell Rufus that he must not tell them about what
is happening to the future, he must instead show them that they
need to keep trying. Rufus drops in on the dudes, slightly younger
and his hair longer. He realizes that he will continue to get
younger until Bill & Ted decide to go back to music, and so he asks
them to help him with an unspecific problem, giving them an
itinerary they are supposed to follow. Their first stop is at
Thomas Edison's laboratory. They find Edison trying to perfect his
phonograph, but having no luck. Bill & Ted encourage Edison not to
give up, and Ted accidentally knocks one of the inventor's stale
pancakes (he hadn't felt like eating in a while), which inspires
Edison to pound his cylinder flat and make a record instead. Returning to the booth, they find Rufus has turned into a geeky
teenager. They continue to follow the itinerary Rufus gave them
and end up in the workshop of Leonardo DaVinci, who is working on
his spiny-winged-up-and-down-flying-thingy without much success. Rufus turns nine years old and starts running amok in the
inventor's workplace. Young Rufus insists he can build Leonardo's
flying thingy and proceeds to make one out of the phone booth. It
succeeds in flying, for a little bit, but it inspires Leonardo to
keep trying. Not sure they're reading their next destination
correctly, they take a chance and end up in the lab of Joseph
Priestley, who had just discovered how to carbonate water. Rufus
becomes an even younger kid and starts mixing chemicals together,
managing to mix some cherry jam in with the soda, making the first
soft drink. Joseph Priestley is inspired to start working right
away on diet soft drinks. Their next stop takes them to the docks
of Spain where Christopher Columbus is trying to convince people to
invest in his voyage to the new world. At this point Rufus turns
into a mere infant. Bill & Ted convince Columbus to try getting a
loan from the Queen (if he doesn't discover America, there will be
no Columbus Day, one less school holiday). The Queen and King
Ferdinand give him the money just to get rid of him. Returning to
San Dimas, Bill & Ted realize they have found the inspiration from
the historical figures they have met to continue trying to make it
as Wyld Stallyns, which restores Rufus to his former self and puts
the future right again.
Bloopers:
