Emmett's work appears to be highly regarded, enough for him to win an award for his work. However, he is shown as absent-minded at times, and various statements by other characters inhabiting Hill Valley indicate that he is generally regarded as strange, eccentric, or insane due to him conducting dangerous experiments and crafting devices believed impossible to construct in reality. Being very loud and sprightly, he often speaks with wide-eyed expressions and broad gestures (" Great Scott! " being one of his well-known catchphrases) and tends to be overly verbose in his delivery, referring in one case to a school dance as a "rhythmic ceremonial ritual".