Bob Gale, co-writer of Back to the Future, lifts the lid on the much pondered back story of the friendship between Marty McFly and Doc Brown.

For years, Marty was told that Doc Brown was dangerous, a crackpot, a lunatic. So, being a red-blooded American teenage boy, age 13 or 14, he decided to find out just why this guy was so dangerous. Marty snuck into Doc’s lab, and was fascinated by all the cool stuff that was there. When Doc found him there, he was delighted to find that Marty thought he was cool and accepted him for what he was.

Now that Harry Potter and friends have dispatched with dark lord Voldemort what happens next? Hogwarts needs to be rebuilt, and corruption within the Ministry of Magic weeded out, among many other things. But where to begin a reconciliation and reform process that could take decades to see through?

Surviving Death Eaters will have to be brought to justice or reintegrated into magical society. Long-standing rifts among magical communities that the war widened must be healed. Most of all, we must ensure that the values that triumphed in the final battle – tolerance, pluralism, and respect for the dignity of all magical and non-magical creatures alike – are reflected in the institutions and arrangements that emerge from the conflict. What ultimately matters is not just whether something evil was defeated, but whether something good is built in its place.

Could such a situation provide material for an Expanded Universe series of stories, as we’ve seen with the likes of “Star Trek” and “Star Wars”?

Sady Doyle re-imagines the Harry Potter saga with Hermione Granger as the central character rather than Harry.

In Hermione, Joanne Rowling undermines all of the cliches that we have come to expect in our mythic heroes. It’s easy to imagine Hermione’s origin story as some warmed-over Star Wars claptrap, with tragically missing parents and unsatisfying parental substitutes and a realization that she belongs to a hidden order, with wondrous (and unsettlingly genetic) gifts. But, no: Hermione’s normal parents are her normal parents. She just so happens to be gifted. Being special, Rowling tells us, isn’t about where you come from; it’s about what you can do, if you put your mind to it. And what Hermione can do, when she puts her mind to it, is magic.

What made Sherlock Holmes, the fictional creation of Scottish author Arthur Conan Doyle, so effective compared to police detectives? Holmes essentially pioneered forensic science, something that did not exist in the late nineteenth century, that could have otherwise aided police investigators.

What Holmes was very good at was looking at small, almost insignificant bits of evidence and using them to draw conclusions. Where a policeman might just see a worn piece of carpet in a hall, Holmes might see a place where a hidden door had been opened. Where another private detective (if there was such a thing) might see a half-eaten apple, thrown in the grass, Holmes might see in the bite marks an impression of the criminal’s teeth – an impression that might help identify the criminal.

J.K. Rowling, creator of the popular series of books about the boy wizard and his friends, last week unveiled Pottermore, an online domain where she will continue to flesh out the Potter characters… though, sadly for hard core fans, won’t be adding any new books to the saga.

Might Batman make better use of his desire to combat crime in Gotham City, plus the quantities of money he has to develop his crime-fighting paraphernalia, by becoming mayor of the troubled city?

How much money per year are you spending on grappling hooks, Batmobiles, Batbikes, Batboats, the Batwing, plus a gigantic underground cave complex filled with state-of-the-art computers? Millions? Tens of millions? Because it seems like this would cost quite a lot of money. This seems like an inefficient use of your resources. Have you considered, instead, running for mayor of “Gotham City”?

A formula for writing “generic” science fiction novels, by British author of the genre, Paul McAuley.

Have your characters tell each other about their situation instead. Bars are good places to do this. Bars are also great places to meet people. Unlike airport bars, spaceport bars are packed with colourful characters who all know each other. Aliens can usually be found in the corners of spaceport bars, or in a mysterious rundown quarter of the city attached to the spaceport. They’re basically cats. Or turtles. Or some other pet animal.

Fiction writer Stephen King’s new novel, “11/22/63”, which will be published this November, is about a US teacher, Jake Epping, who having discovered a way of travelling back in time, realises he may be able to prevent the 1963 assassination of US president John F Kennedy.

Epping’s era-hopping habit begins when he learns that his friend, Al, who runs the local diner, is harbouring a portal to the year 1958 in his storeroom. Al enlists Jake on a mission to try to prevent the assassination of the 35th president of the United States by returning to the days of Elvis, James Dean, big cars and root beer. Jake duly makes the journey, and finds himself meeting not only troubled loner Lee Harvey Oswald, but also a beautiful school librarian, Sadie Dunhill, set to become the love of his life. But will Jake succeed in his attempt to change history? And if so, what will happen next?

Keira Knightley and Anne Hathaway are among actors being considered for the two lead female roles in the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman film trilogy, “Dark Knight Rises”.

Dark Knight Rises needs to fill two big female roles, a villain and a love interest. Sources say one character is Talia, the daughter of villain Ra’s Al Ghul, who was portrayed by Liam Neeson in Nolan’s first Gotham-set crime pic Batman Begins. In the comic books, Talia is both Batman’s lover and antagonist, ultimately siring his alter ego Bruce Wayne’s son.

I’m not sure about Hathaway, but Knightley could definitely work in either role. Gemma Arterton, of The Disappearance of Alice Creed and most recently Tamara Drewe (a review thereof will be up in an hour or two) was being considered, but may be too busy to take part.

Emily Blunt is not interested, and/or not available, then?

The ever changing design of Batman’s car from 1941 through to today.

Bruce Wayne, by the way, is back after being killed off a year or two ago. In reality he was sent back in time to the stone age, but has managed to return to the present day.

Wayne has now effectively franchised the Batman operation, and is in the process of training Batmans all over the world. I expect therefore we’ll be seeing a lot more Batmobiles from now on.