Some Back to the Future gripes/questions.

I love Back to the Future, but these questions bother me…


1, why is Marty ok with the alternative reality at the end of part one [where his dad is a published author and Biff is a loser], but freaks out in part two’s change? Surely the psychological ramifications would be severe in both instances?

2, concerning the lighting strike to power up the flux capacitor [1.21 gigawatts!] with the DeLorean time machine. If they knew when and where the lightening would strike, why not simply have the car running on one spot on jacks to get to 88 MPH? Like in Ferris Bueller’s day off?

3, why was Biff a bumbling imbecile at the end of part one, but had the smarts to not only travel back and forth in time with the DeLorean time machine but also the foresight to give the almanac to his younger self and not for his dotage? After all, there would be many sports results from 85-2000.

4, thanks to Marty’s letter, why would the Doc bother making a time machine and working with terrorists, if he knew they would shoot him with a machine gun? I wouldn’t have. Would you?

5, at the beginning of part one, has the Doc already met Marty in 1955? Is this why he cultivates friendship with the teen because he has advanced knowledge of what is to become? [Sort of like Ben Kenobi and Luke].

6, in part 2 in the future, Marty is not doing so well in his life. Why didn’t he simply ask the Doc to help him out with some time travel? Perhaps see the lotto numbers for next week, or travel back and sort things?

the only question that bothers me is how did the get away with using the same set of the town from gremlins for the town set in 1955 in back to the future?

reply to post by mandroids

Originally posted by mandroids

2, concerning the lighting strike to power up the flux capacitor [1.21 gigawatts!] with the DeLorean time machine. If they knew when and where the lightening would strike, why not simply have the car running on one spot on jacks to get to 88 MPH? Like in Ferris Bueller’s day off?

Have you forgotten how that scene ended for Cameron? Obviously, human error was the main contributing factor, but is still a risky maneuver anyways. Also, that would have been a much riskier plan, since that would arouse more suspicions from anyone who saw that car.

Well, and it is a movie lol.
Which is more exciting;

A stationary car up on jack-stands.
or

A car travelling 80mph & headed directly towards a building.

3. why was Biff a bumbling imbecile at the end of part one, but had the smarts to not only travel back and forth in time with the DeLorean time machine but also the foresight to give the almanac to his younger self and not for his dotage? After all, there would be many sports results from 85-2000.

After making many ignorant mistakes throughout his earlier years, maybe he started to put a lil more thought into things, as opposed to thoughtless immediate reactions.

4, thanks to Marty’s letter, why would the Doc bother making a time machine and working with terrorists, if he knew they would shoot him with a machine gun? I wouldn’t have. Would you?

Movie. Suspense.

6, in part 2 in the future, Marty is not doing so well in his life. Why didn’t he simply ask the Doc to help him out with some time travel? Perhaps see the lotto numbers for next week, or travel back and sort things?

That would be cheating.

The worst hole is in part 2 when Biff steals the Delorean.

How was Biff able to return the Delorean to an unaware Marty/Doc in 2000. After he gave 1955 Biff the book, 1 of 2 things would have occured: 1) He either would have created a paradox because his actions would cause the Delorean to never be invented, or 2) The 2000 future he would have returned to would have been the one where he was rich and the city trashed NOT the one Marty and Doc were in.

Poor ole Cameron.


Yes, the instant Biff got back to the year 2000, it would have been a mess. There are too many holes for us smart 21st century quantum savvy folk.

reply to post by mandroids

1, why is Marty ok with the alternative reality at the end of part one [where his dad is a published author and Biff is a loser], but freaks out in part two’s change? Surely the psychological ramifications would be severe in both instances?

In the first one, it was a GOOD shock. In the second, his whole world crumbled.

2, concerning the lighting strike to power up the flux capacitor [1.21 gigawatts!] with the DeLorean time machine. If they knew when and where the lightening would strike, why not simply have the car running on one spot on jacks to get to 88 MPH? Like in Ferris Bueller’s day off?

If on jacks, the speed would be exactly 0 MPH. Had nothing to do with RPMs, but actual speed. Note that in the third one, the car wouldn't even start, but it was PUSHED to 88 MPH by the train.

3, why was Biff a bumbling imbecile at the end of part one, but had the smarts to not only travel back and forth in time with the DeLorean time machine but also the foresight to give the almanac to his younger self and not for his dotage? After all, there would be many sports results from 85-2000.

I don't think he was dumb, he was simply nervous around Marty's dad, as he beat him up back in the day, or at least, that's how I took it. Also, when an older man, he had obviously wizened some, and seeing the DeLorean again, brought it all into focus.

4, thanks to Marty’s letter, why would the Doc bother making a time machine and working with terrorists, if he knew they would shoot him with a machine gun? I wouldn’t have. Would you?

The time machine was his lifelong dream. The letter simply allowed him to prepare for it. Besides, he probably felt that since it had "already been done" he had better do it to have a chance at correcting.

5, at the beginning of part one, has the Doc already met Marty in 1955? Is this why he cultivates friendship with the teen because he has advanced knowledge of what is to become? [Sort of like Ben Kenobi and Luke].

Probably, but the film didn't cover it. Would have been neat though. This series was generally pretty good about including such nuances.

6, in part 2 in the future, Marty is not doing so well in his life. Why didn’t he simply ask the Doc to help him out with some time travel? Perhaps see the lotto numbers for next week, or travel back and sort things?

There's no info that the Doc did anything more than just observe Marty in the future, vs. contact him. Besides, we know Doc's views on this, so he wouldn't have helped with that anyhow. (He didn't want him keeping the Almanac, for example).

Originally posted by mandroids
I love Back to the Future, but these questions bother me…


1, why is Marty ok with the alternative reality at the end of part one [where his dad is a published author and Biff is a loser], but freaks out in part two’s change? Surely the psychological ramifications would be severe in both instances?

Because his situation was (seemingly) improved in part 1. Not so much in part 2

2, concerning the lighting strike to power up the flux capacitor [1.21 gigawatts!] with the DeLorean time machine. If they knew when and where the lightening would strike, why not simply have the car running on one spot on jacks to get to 88 MPH? Like in Ferris Bueller’s day off?

I've wondered this exact same thing....even referencing the Ferris Bueller method...

3, why was Biff a bumbling imbecile at the end of part one, but had the smarts to not only travel back and forth in time with the DeLorean time machine but also the foresight to give the almanac to his younger self and not for his dotage? After all, there would be many sports results from 85-2000.

I wouldn't necessarily call Biff a bumbling idiot at the end of part one; rather, he was scared of George McFly...remember, Biff got his clock cleaned at the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance. Why the older biff had the foresight? Probably because he saw the almanac in the trash, then saw the flying Delorian...he put 2 and 2 together and bam.

4, thanks to Marty’s letter, why would the Doc bother making a time machine and working with terrorists, if he knew they would shoot him with a machine gun? I wouldn’t have. Would you?

He could have chose not to build the time machine, but instead decided a bullet-proof vest would be sufficient. By the Doc's logic, he had to build the time machine anyway...something about messing up the space time continuum...it was his destiny to build the time machine.

5, at the beginning of part one, has the Doc already met Marty in 1955? Is this why he cultivates friendship with the teen because he has advanced knowledge of what is to become? [Sort of like Ben Kenobi and Luke].

Perhaps. There is really no way to know.

6, in part 2 in the future, Marty is not doing so well in his life. Why didn’t he simply ask the Doc to help him out with some time travel? Perhaps see the lotto numbers for next week, or travel back and sort things?

Good question. I Have wondered why Doc didn't simply have the older, future Marty handle his son's situation...like ground him to prevent him from getting caught up in Griff's scheme.

Fun thread!



S&F

EDIT to add a question of my own.

In Part 3, they had to put the Delorian on the railroad tracks because the tires were shot with arrows and ruined and the tank was out of gas. Why did they not go to the place that Doc hid the Delorian he arrived in, siphon the gas and pull the tires off that one and use those materials on the Delorian that Marty arrived in?

Some real effort there, Gazrok.

Point one. “A GOOD shock”. That’s an understatement. Imagine the psychological consequences of suddenly meeting a vast change in your reality. Even something less obvious than his neighbourhood going all clockwork orange, would be a mind bender.

Point two. Hmm. I would like some proof on this. Visual proof. surely someone creating time travel could hook some wires up to wheels and jacks!

Point three. He certainly was conniving, but smart to the tune of time travel and being magnanimous to his younger self? Hmm, that’s a stretch!

Point four. Life long dream or not, Doc had almost 30 years to get plutonium from another source…and he did know that lightning would do the trick!

Point five. Yes, some mention of this would have been witty.

Point six. Some friend he turns out to be. Id like at least ‘oh, and Marty, don’t drag race with those morons because you crash and mess your guitar hand up’. Wouldn’t you? And...Ahem, some lottery numbers.

6, in part 2 in the future, Marty is not doing so well in his life. Why didn’t he simply ask the Doc to help him out with some time travel? Perhaps see the lotto numbers for next week, or travel back and sort things?





1 - As has already been pointed out, the alternate dimension in the first movie was good for Marty, and it also did not appear to have any broad universal changes, at least from what was shown. In part to, the alternate dimension was really bad for Marty, and Doc. It also completely changed Hill Valley.

2 - Also already pointed out, it was a matter of the speed of the car, not the work of the engine.

3 - Once again, already pointed out but, Biff wasn't stupid, he had just become a coward. As far as giving the book to his younger self, why not give it to himself in his youth, so that he can have more time to enjoy the money.

4 - Doc never had the letter at the beginning of the first movie. Therefore, Marty would have been back in time. If the Doc from the alternate dimension (after Marty tampered with the past) did not make the time machine, it may have caused a paradox. How could Marty go back and change the past if he didn't make the time machine? As far as the argument for finding another source plutonium, it's not like it is easy to come by. Maybe if Doc already had the time machine, he could go back in time to a known spot and mine it himself, but he needed the plutonium to get the time machine working in the first place. Marty told him a source to get the plutonium he needed, and that was from his original source, the terrorists. So, Doc took precautions.

5 - Doc did not know Marty from the past at the beginning of the movie, because Marty had not gone to the past in his timeline? When Marty went back in time, he created an alternate universe, due to the changes that he made to the past.

6 - Doc mentiosn many times that he did not create the time machine for personal gain. He invented it to use as a tool to study history, up close and personal.

reply to post by jacinto34


Good points on 4, 5, and 6... Doc stated his outlook pretty well in each of the movies.

In Part 3, they had to put the Delorian on the railroad tracks because the tires were shot with arrows and ruined and the tank was out of gas. Why did they not go to the place that Doc hid the Delorian he arrived in, siphon the gas and pull the tires off that one and use those materials on the Delorian that Marty arrived in?

It's a good question...and one I asked too. Of course, then again, why use gas when you have a nuclear reactor onboard, but you know...?

The other thing though is, where the heck (other than salt flats) are you going to find terrain that would even allow a car to get up to 88mph anyhow? At some point, you just have to make allowances for the story.

Originally posted by Gazrok


Of course, then again, why use gas when you have a nuclear reactor onboard, but you know...?

I could be wrong, but didn't that Mr. Fusion device get fried when lightening struck the Delorean at the end of part 2?

The other thing though is, where the heck (other than salt flats) are you going to find terrain that would even allow a car to get up to 88mph anyhow? At some point, you just have to make allowances for the story.

They would have needed to look around. Certainly, they could have found a nice stretch of flat desert pavement and cleared some brush, but it could have been possible.

Speaking of desert...I wonder where "Hill Valley" was suppose to be geographically located? I mean, right there where the shopping mall was built (part 1), Marty went back in time and crashed into Old Man Peabody's barn on his pine tree farm. Then in part 3, Marty uses the drive-in theater to go back to the 1800s and arrives in the middle of the desert...not a pine tree in sight. To me, this is definitely one of those instances where you have to suspend disbelief.

We need to send this thread to Speilberg.

I could be wrong, but didn't that Mr. Fusion device get fried when lightening struck the Delorean at the end of part 2?

Without Mr. Fusion supplying the 1.21 gigawatts, just going 88mph isn't going to do anything by itself, so this had to be working, or the car would be at the bottom of the ravine.

It may have been that the hover part was damaged, so that's why they had to get it rolling at 88. This would make sense, as why would the Doc bother routing power to the mechanical engine, if instead, at that point, the hover conversion was used for mobility?

Still though, you'd think he'd be able to reroute power from the hover unit to the car's engine in some way

what i want to know is,
is it really true that they are remaking the movies with justin beiber as marty mcfly?
i heared this from a friend and am not sure of his reliability but this sounds aweful.
screw nibiru, this will end the world.

reply to post by listerofsmeg


Good god, I hope not. I shudder at that thought!

Originally posted by mandroids
I love Back to the Future, but these questions bother me…


1, why is Marty ok with the alternative reality at the end of part one [where his dad is a published author and Biff is a loser], but freaks out in part two’s change? Surely the psychological ramifications would be severe in both instances?

I think he was kind of a freaked out at the end of the first one,and also the end of the first film,everything is better,the second part's changes are seriously screwed up IMO.

2, concerning the lighting strike to power up the flux capacitor [1.21 gigawatts!] with the DeLorean time machine. If they knew when and where the lightening would strike, why not simply have the car running on one spot on jacks to get to 88 MPH? Like in Ferris Bueller’s day off?

I'm not sure.

3, why was Biff a bumbling imbecile at the end of part one, but had the smarts to not only travel back and forth in time with the DeLorean time machine but also the foresight to give the almanac to his younger self and not for his dotage? After all, there would be many sports results from 85-2000.

I wouldn't say he was an idiot,just nervous around George because he knew he wasn't a nerd anymore and I think when he became older in the future,he became smarter

4, thanks to Marty’s letter, why would the Doc bother making a time machine and working with terrorists, if he knew they would shoot him with a machine gun? I wouldn’t have. Would you?

Maybe he wanted to create a time machine anyway

5, at the beginning of part one, has the Doc already met Marty in 1955? Is this why he cultivates friendship with the teen because he has advanced knowledge of what is to become? [Sort of like Ben Kenobi and Luke].

I don't think he has already met him because I don't think Marty would of already gone back to 55? but i'm not sure.

6, in part 2 in the future, Marty is not doing so well in his life. Why didn’t he simply ask the Doc to help him out with some time travel? Perhaps see the lotto numbers for next week, or travel back and sort things?

Because Doc doesn't agree with using the time machine for your own gain.

edit on 1-2-2012 by mandroids because: title change

edit on 1-2-2012 by mandroids because: question edit

edit on 1-2-2012 by mandroids because: (no reason given)

reply to post by listerofsmeg


There not remaking the films with Bieber because Zemeckis and Gale said that in there contract it forbids anyone remaking the movies without there permission.
Apparently they don't wan't to remake them because they said there happy with the way there are.
I am happy about that, A remake of BTTF would be god awful because you couldn't recreate the magic or good actors of the originals

I like this version.

There has been good answers to most of the questions already, but I am willing to give it a go anyway.

1, why is Marty ok with the alternative reality at the end of part one [where his dad is a published author and Biff is a loser], but freaks out in part two’s change? Surely the psychological ramifications would be severe in both instances?

That's like asking why isn't a Lotto winner as shocked as someone who loses all of his fortune and becomes homeless. It's pretty obvious that the psychological 'ramifications' were completely uplifting and "happiness"-increasing in the first case, and a hellish nightmare in the second case. Why would you think that things going exactly as you would have wished would be as shocking as having to live in a violent, nightmarish world owned by a man you hate the most in the world?

I don't really consider the second or third movies part of the story anyway - they are "post-planned" moneymakers more than originally envisioned, important parts of the whole (of the storyline).

2, concerning the lighting strike to power up the flux capacitor [1.21 gigawatts!] with the DeLorean time machine. If they knew when and where the lightening would strike, why not simply have the car running on one spot on jacks to get to 88 MPH? Like in Ferris Bueller’s day off?

Someone answered this already - it's not about the revolutions of the tires, it's about the actual SPEED - it doesn't matter if the car is hovering, or the engine is stopped, or whatnot - it only matters that the actual speed of the metallic frame of the time machine is moving at 88 Mph (not MPH). That's what makes it so difficult, and dramatic.

3, why was Biff a bumbling imbecile at the end of part one, but had the smarts to not only travel back and forth in time with the DeLorean time machine but also the foresight to give the almanac to his younger self and not for his dotage? After all, there would be many sports results from 85-2000.

This was also answered - Biff was never the smartest man in the world, but he was not a bumbling imbecile. In the first timeline, he had actually achieved moderate success (becoming the boss of Marty's father). A bumbling imbecile couldn't do that. His behaviour simply reflects his fear - he tries to con George with the car wax stuff, but fails. That shows that he still has the conniving streak in him, but he is afraid to use it with George.

Though why one punch would make such a 'tough guy' so scared is beyond me, but that's movies for ya. What do you mean by "not for his dotage" btw? The meaning of the last sentence is also unclear. Many sports results? So?

4, thanks to Marty’s letter, why would the Doc bother making a time machine and working with terrorists, if he knew they would shoot him with a machine gun? I wouldn’t have. Would you?

This is actually a good point. Some have simply stated that it was his "destiny" (Darth Vader's favorite vocabulary) to build the time machine. But they are not thinking fourth-dimensionally..

There are many ways to think about this. First is that if the Doc doesn't build the time machine after reading the letter, Marty can never go back to write the letter. But that's the SECOND timeline, not the first one. Does it matter if there is no time machine in the second timeline? The only real reason for there having to be a time machine in the second timeline, as far as I can see right now, is that the 'other Marty' (the original second-timeline-Marty) had to disappear so that the first-timeline-Marty could take his place. Strictly speaking, he is stealing someone else's life, but that's supposed to be ok, because the other Marty will then steal the third-timeline-Marty's life as well, and so on. But if there's no time machine, there will be two Martys roaming around.. that would be quite troublesome.

The first timeline, as far as I get it, gets destroyed completely by Marty's actions - so it never happens. But Marty still has memories of it? Hmm.. how can he have memories of something that never happened? When you really get down to it, this movie screams TIME PARADOX all over the place, and would necessitate an infinite loop with infinite timelines, being destroyed and created endlessly..

In any case, if _I_ was the doc (you did ask, "would you", so I am answering now)... and if someone told me that's my destiny, I would deliberately defy my destiny and see what happens. Lifelong dream or not, seeing how much trouble and danger it would bring, I would probably find a different dream. And just see what would happen.. that's the problem with the Terminator-type pre-destiny 'solution' to the time travel problems; it assumes that everyone MUST be compliant to the idea of 'destiny'. "Oh, it's my destiny? Then I MUST do it of course".

Fyck that - I would TEST whether it's my destiny or not, I would deliberately defy it and say "bring it on, future!"...(charlimit)

It's so annoying that we still have such limitations as the character limitations in posting and commenting (youtube, blogs, forums - every darn place) in 2012. I mean, is this supposed to be advanced technology, if it can't even handle a small amount of TEXT? Sheesh.

(text doesn't consume much memory, you know - you could fit the whole bible on a CD, and still have some free space - one 720 kB diskette would hold a book of over 700 pages! A CD has about approximately 650-800 MB of space, so it would take at least a 650 000 pages of text to fill it up, at minimum - and I can't write a couple of measly pages before hitting the char limit, and in youtube and some blogs, not even that! Pathetic, somehow..)

This rant is caused by my previous post being interrupted by the char limit - which is a bit bigger here than in many other places, but still not nearly big enough (how about "unlimited" as the limit?) for my usual writing habits.

So as I couldn't fully answer this question, I am going to continue answering it now.

4, thanks to Marty’s letter, why would the Doc bother making a time machine and working with terrorists, if he knew they would shoot him with a machine gun? I wouldn’t have. Would you?

Yes, I have pondered this question as well - how does the Doc know that the terrorists won't shoot in the face or general head area, legs, arms, et cetera (especially et cetera! ouch!)..?

How does he know a vest will be enough? Did he test the vest? What a crazy idea! But then, we are supposed to believe that the doc is a little bit crazy anyway.. still, I wouldn't trust my life with such a vest and a plan.

And as others pointed out, he had 30 years of thinking of an alternative fuel source / getting plutonium or electrical energy elsewhere (like researching Nikola Tesla could have given him some answers). He didn't have that luxury in the first timeline.

But the whole timeline-business is quite confusing ... what would have happened, if the second-timeline doc would not have created the time machine? There would be two Martys running around, but otherwise everything would be just fine and dandy. Because it's not HIS DeLorean that Marty used anyway. It's the DeLorean from the -other- timeline, that was then destroyed. A relic from another timeline with amazing events.. could it have remained stable that way?

5, at the beginning of part one, has the Doc already met Marty in 1955? Is this why he cultivates friendship with the teen because he has advanced knowledge of what is to become? [Sort of like Ben Kenobi and Luke].

Well, there is no "part one", as the story does not consist of three parts. There are two completely different stories, one of which is "Back to the Future", as intented and filmed, and then a half-ass "sequel", intended to cash in on the success of "Back to the Future", conceived much later, just to make money. Not originally part of the story. As far as I am concerned, the first movie IS the only story - the rest is just much later fabricated filler-material that does not expand the first movie's story, but instead just USES it to manufacture a soulless and chaotic mess that doesn't deserve to use the name "Back fo the Future" by any means.

But no. Doc has not met Marty in 1955, because he isn't wearing a vest, has NO idea that the terrorists would come back (why not take better precautions in making sure they can't FIND him, why use the same parking lot, for example, etc..why not perhaps make sure he knows where the terrorists are at all times, or some kind of radar/alarm system, whatever - he could certainly have prepared a whole lot better for it, than simply getting a vest and letting that be that), or otherwise he would at least had made sure the gun still works and has bullets in it, and so on.

He wouldn't have had to ask "What is it, Einie?".. he would simply have known exactly what it is. And I would warned Marty of these terrorists if I was him...

The first timeline happens just 'normally' and 'naturally'. It's when Marty messes with things that the second timeline is created, where Marty is then transported to. Goodbye to the first timeline forever after that point..

But the thing is, time travel is such a concept that unless you really think things through multiple times and then ponder all possibilities and eventualities, which cause other eventualities, and so on, there's always going to be this sort of problems in time travel stories. And Back to the Future is no exception.