I was thinking the other day about how much I love the movie Ghostbusters, and then for some reason I thought about how much I also love the movie Back to the Future. The movies have a few things in common, in that they both capture a particular era and particular celebrities in a state we'd like to remember them. They're both big-budget comedies with a sci-fi bent: a style I feel like you don't see that often anymore. If some TV network played them back to back, including their sequels, on some Saturday I'd probably cancel my plans and stay in and watch them.

This made me start wondering which I love more, a real Sophie's choice of a situation (for the record, I prefer Back to the Future and Ghostbusters to Sophie's Choice. By far.) So I started asking people, starting with my husband, "If you had to live in a world where only Ghostbusters or Back to the Future existed, which would you pick?" (For this challenge, you can include or not include sequels as you see fit. I personally do not.)

I was surprised that after about a half-second, Steve answered "Back to the Future." Really? "Without question," he said. "It's infinitely better." I don't necessarily disagree with him, but I didn't expect him to have such a ready answer, especially since I figured Ghostbusters was the cooler of the two movies (To wit: I think if you pitted SNL vs. Family Ties people would say SNL was cooler. Not necessarily better, but hipper.)

Then I started posing the question around to other people, figuring Steve was an anomaly and that everyone else would find the question really challenging. But I was surprised once again that by far, more people answered Back to the Future over Ghostbusters, and with some vehemence as well. I'm not totally sure the overall rationale. Maybe people favor the Huey Lewis-soundtracked movie since Ray Parker, Jr stole "I Want a New Drug" for the Ghostbusters theme? If anyone can argue why Back to the Future deserves to exist more than Ghostbusters, and in plain, clear terms, please share your answers with me.

It's probably not worth noting, although I'll do it anyway, that everyone's allegiances shifted when I threw Raiders of the Lost Ark into the mix.