I love these movies!
In a previous article on Back to the Future II, I asked why it was necessary for Marty to get the almanac back so fast, didn’t he have all the time in the world? One commenter pointed out, not really. Yeah true the longer Biff had it the bigger the damage. Fair enough. A movie like this is so much fun because of nitpicking apart the little plot holes and inconsistencies. It’s even better because of how tight the writing is. I have my own theories to these plot holes, and thought it would be fun to share them. Course I am just a fan and this is all 100% opinion. There are others smarter and wiser that can breakdown these nits, and others, much more thoroughly than I. This is all in fun.
For this to work, no alternate time lime nonsense since that’s getting convoluted. It’s also an easy answer, and what fun is that? Let’s assume everything happens on the same linear time line. And I did a rant already on why Clara from BTTF III not dying in the ravine would have been a huge screw up to the tine line, so I will spare you that one. I am simply taking ten common BTTF arguments and giving my two sense.
Why Doesn’t Doc Know He Will End up in the Old West?
It’s clear in these movies that the changes don’t happen in the time line until someone makes the change. Like how Marty was never in the old west until he actually went there. Or how George and Lorraine were changed after Marty went to 1955. One question that often comes up is, how do you explain 1955 Doc learning about his fate in the old west, but 1985 Doc doesn’t see it coming?. I always had a theory that he did know what it was going to happen and had to let it play out. The last we see of Doc in BBTF II is him struggling to get the time machine under control. A car he could have landed right away but didn’t. Then it took him seven months to write the letter and get it to Western Union. Why? Because he knew Marty was going to get it and the date of the letter because he read it himself. I think he knew what was going to happen and let history run its course. We know this Doc was altered by the events in the first movie because he wore the bullet proof vest. That means his 1955 counterpart did read Marty’s letter, the same counterpart who would read Doc’s letter from the past. Some say Doc taught himself how to build the time machine, and that seems logical to some degree. The one thing that hurts this argument is when in 1885 Doc has no idea why Marty is wearing the silly cowboy outfit 1955 Doc had him in. But we can chalk that up to him simply forgetting.
Why Doesn’t George and Lorraine not Recognize Marty?
Ok this is a huge one that everyone comments on. Why doesn’t Marty’s parents not realize that he was the same Calvin Klein who helped them out in 1955? Well, I think it’s reasonable that they don’t recognize him. Let’s figure Marty was born in 1967. Twelve years later. And of course it would take some time for Marty to look like, well, Marty. The excuse people give is that Marty made such an impact on George and Lorraine there is no way they wouldn’t recognize him. Really? Are you sure? All they have are there recollections from a few days in 1955, not much to go on. And the few lines at the end of the first movie makes it sound as if George and Lorraine give Biff all the credit, not “Calvin”. And even if one day the thought crossed one of their minds, it’s easy for me to believe they would have just say “Nahh”! Though you do have to wonder if they paused for a second when they heard of Calvin Klein, and “Johnny B Goode”. Any why did they wait til there third child to name him Marty, was Dave the name of one of their parents or something? Oh wait Marty had an ancestor named Martin! Whew. That clears that up.
Why Does Marty and Jennifer Exist in 2015? and Shouldn’t Marty be Expecting Doc?
There are rules of time travel in some media which says that when Marty left 1985 with Jennifer, then they didn’t exist in that time anymore and should not have been in the future the three arrive to. And yeah according to some movies and TV that is how it would work. But in the BTTF movies it clearly doesn’t work that way. If it did the Rolls Royce accident would have been changed before Marty got back..not after, but instead he had to come back and make the change. I think the future the visit was an extension of the past we saw at the end of BTTF, where Marty got the truck and he and Jennifer went off the lake. Doc came in and changed that (more on that below) so Marty could make another choice which subsequently made that whole future null and void. As for why wasn’t Marty expecting Doc,if my theory were correct he had no idea what date Doc went to. Another question is, what happens when Marty’s memories of his family are different from his changed families? I gotta pull a “Flashpoint” on this one and say that Marty’s memories would change as the new time line became “permanent” and he would be in sync, so to speak. Yes I’m borrowing from The Flash, so what?
How Do Doc and Marty Still Exist in 1985-A?
This one isn’t said out loud but it’s obvious to me. I’ll explain why. This is about how Doc and Marty still exist in 1985-A when they should have disappeared. We know the ripple effect is slow (all three movies show this). We also have no idea exactly how long it took for the changes to start resonating through history. Plus Doc and Marty were experiencing temporal displacement at the time that ripple effect was finally catching up to Biff (in a deleted scene). So I maintain the temporal displacement, somehow, protects the car and whatever or whoever is in it from the alterations in the time line. How do I guess this? Doc finds the bag for the sports almanac in the car, and the top of Biff’s cane. A Biff that no longer existed thanks to his tampering. They should have been been gone! Plus the hover board! And Doc assures Marty that Jennifer and Einstein will not remember the alternate time line once it changes back, because they are not in the car and therefore will be susceptible to the changes. Where Marty does still remember it at the end of BTTF 3.
How Did Biff Figure the Time Machine Out?
We know how he stole the time machine, but how did Biff figure out how to make it work exactly? I suppose entering the date is a no brainer, and you can argue that he figured out the speed by accident (By the way the time machine is labeled). But still, he managed to land it successfully and refuel it for the ride home. But in that movie if you look at the display before Doc and Marty go back to 1985, it says that last time the Delorean was in was November 12th, 1955 around 6:00pm. We know he gave his younger self the almanac in the morning, so what took him all day to get back? Maybe it took him that long to finally figure out the time machine and since he came back the same time he left all was good. By the way as to why Old Biff and Young Biff could meet without the world blowing up, it’s because Old Biff didn’t tell Young Biff who he was. He knew his young self was dimwitted (I love when Old Biff yells at himself about misspeaking expressions) so it was a safe bet he’d never put two and two together. Remember, the two Doc’s met and as long as the other is clueless all is good.
Why Didn’t Doc Get Gas From the OTHER Delorean
I think the writers honestly forgot that there was a second Delorean, with a full tank of gas, just waiting in a cave. But that being said, would that solution have really worked? First of all, they couldn’t use or move the other car just forget that one. And getting the gas out wouldn’t be easy. You can’t just pour it out you have to siphon it. How could they do that in 1885 when the tools that do that didn’t exist? People like to say Doc would have invented a way. Well, maybe but remember they had a deadline! And they also blew the fuel injection on the thing with the whiskey. So even if the idea had occurred to them I don’t see how it would have worked. Yeah a line of dialogue mentioning it would have been nice but as I said I think the writers forgot. Also people wonder why they didn’t go to change the letter at Western Union, but that would be a huge paradox no way Doc would have even considered that!
How Did Doc know The Lightning Would strike at 10:04 EXACTLY?
Yeah this one is for Les, who pointed this one out once. I had never even considered it. How did Doc know down to the second when the lightning would strike? It is stated that the tower was struck by lightning at PRECISELY 10:04, but there’s still a sixty second margin for error. And no second hand on the clock. So my answer? I think there was time for the lightning to hit. Remember the bolt had time to strike the clock, travel down a wire, and then hit the car. And the car was a little late because it wouldn’t start. Maybe there was a margin of error Doc counted on, and they got lucky.
And don’t get me started on how the the time machine distinguishes time zones!
Why did George Hire Biff, who tried to rape his wife, in 1985?
I once asked why in the start of the first movie George would ever work for Biff, but even weirder is at the end when we see Biff working on George’s car. Despite the incident in 1955. Yeah this a fair question and I guess I get it. Of course there a few things to remember. One, Biff was drunk in 1955. Right there that can be excused. Two, there’s thirty years between events so it’s possible that George and Biff patched things up. Not so much that George doesn’t mind lording it over Biff a little. We never do see Biff interact with Lorraine (or get that “say hi to your mom for me” line) at the end of the first movie so maybe he keeps his distance from her and is working at the house that day because it’s a job. Even in the third movie no one acknowledged Biff aside from Marty. And remember that this Biff didn’t just get punched by George, he had the whole tunnel thing with Marty which led to his car crashing in manure again. It probably took some time to come to terms with that he could have been seriously humbled by it.
Where was the chicken thing in the first movie?
Here is an idea I had. It’s often pointed out in the first movie that there was no sign of Marty getting upset at someone calling him chicken. We see it first in BTTF 2. Of course, this thing with him getting upset at that would eventually lead to him getting into a car accident over it. What if Marty was changed when he returned to 1985 in the first film (and he had to have been integrated into the time line or his other self would have still been there) and this phobia was a new character trait that was part of his new past? Suppose Doc in his travels found out why Marty was fired (that’d have happened either way) and THAT was the reason he went back to get him and Jennifer at the end of BTTF? I said before how crazy it was how and when Doc appears at the very end of the first movie, maybe it was all part of a calculated move? If it was really about their kids he could have just told Marty about it and left. Yeah I am giving Doc a lot of credit, almost saying he was like Willy Wonka and just knew everything that would happen. Ok he didn’t know Biff would steal the time machine but Doc knows about Marty’s car accident in BTTF 3, somehow, so I wonder if maybe he wasn’t trying to send Marty a little message about his doomed future. But the mission diddn’t quite go as planned.
Why does Maggie look like Lorraine?
Yeah in BTTF 3 of course it’s impossible that Maggie could resemble Lorraine, they aren’t of the same blood line. But they needed to get Lea Thompson in the movie so, maybe they just share a resemblance. Marty doesn’t even finish saying “mother” in that scene when he first sees her, as if he realizes he looks like her but certainly isn’t. Sometimes you need to have a willing suspension of disbelief, sort of like how we’re supposed to believe the new movie Star Trek characters look like they did in the original movies. So not really an explanation, more of a hand waving.
Lots more. What happened after Biff saw the time machine at the very start of BTTF II, did he forget he saw it? How in the world did Doc know where Marty and Jennifer would be standing when he returned BTTF III? You got me on that one. And to this day I have no idea how Marty got the truck he coveted at the end of the first movie.
Whew, what a headache! And yes there are more but I don’t want to be here all day. I am aware that there are comic books out there which have attempted to fill in a lot of these gaps, comics I really need to read one day. But damn I love this movie and the silly discussions they create. Comment below and share your theories.
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