re: Questions about Back to the Future...

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They can't go back to the regular timeline because Old Biff changed it when he gave young Biff the Almanac in 1955. So when they (Marty and Doc) went back to 1985 after helping out Marty Jr. they end up in alt. 1985.

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Correct, but they are wondering why old Biff was able to return to the future after giving young Biff the almanac and the future was still the same as he left it... By giving young Biff the almanac, one would think that would completely change the future and when old Biff returned to the future everything would change into an alternate future (as it did for Marty and Doc when they returned to the alternate 1985).


Completely seperate issue, but how did old Biff know that the Delorean needed to get up to 88mph???

Here's my question:
In Back to the Future III, 1885 Doc hides the car in a mine for Marty and 1955 Doc to repair so Marty can get back to 1985. So whenever Marty travels back to 1885 to save Doc from being shot, there should be two DeLoreans in 1885 Hill Valley (correct me if I'm wrong). When Marty rips the fuel line and loses all of the fuel, why couldn't he and Doc just repair the fuel line, get the gas from the other DeLorean, and travel back to 1985?

Oops, misunderstood. It starts to get into "is time travel possible" when they get to alt. 1985. Technically there would be 2 sets of Doc and Marty's when they get to alt. 1985.

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Completely seperate issue, but how did old Biff know that the Delorean needed to get up to 88mph???

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I just assume he figured it out after flying around for a bit.

Smart people don't always have common sense.

That would have been quite the plot though... go use the parts from the other car, fix it, and go back to the future with no issues.

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When Marty rips the fuel line and loses all of the fuel, why couldn't he and Doc just repair the fuel line, get the gas from the other DeLorean, and travel back to 1985?

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Knowing Doc, he probably emptied out the gas tank before burying the car.

Someone smarter than me might be able to answer that.

I'll just assume they didn't use the second DeLorean because it didn't have gas and any part they could have gotten off of it was pointless or destroyed by lightning.

how'd we get three to 3 pages of back to the future questions and no one mentions the fact that george mcfly still employs his wife's attempted car rapist from back in high school to wax his family's vehicles?????????

ah old Biff, just don't get in the front seat with him while he waxes your pickup, marty.

found some others searching the web...

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Would Marty and Jennifer exist in 2015?

At the point that Marty and Jennifer step into the Delorean at the end of the first film and head off to 2015 to do something about their kids, how can there still be kids there to find? Because, as far as the strict laws of the timelines go, if Marty and Jennifer disappear, even temporarily from 1985, then events in the future would change until they return. As such, the future Marty and Jennifer shouldn't be there, and nor should their Michael J Fox-alike offspring.

The counter-argument is that it's assumed they'll come back to 1985 with everything sorted, and thus if events take their course, all would be the same. After all, pictures from photographs in the movie take time to disappear. And Marty's hand only starts to disappear in the first film when events are going very badly wrong.

However, think back to the first film. Einstein gets sent one minute into the future. For that minute? He doesn't exist in 1985, until he returns. Thus, the rule is established there, and if it's followed, then the McFly brood would not exist in 2015

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Why does Jennifer look shocked when she meets herself in 2015?

Again, it's picky, but there's a point in Back To The Future Part II when older Jennifer meets younger Jennifer. Yet, surely older Jennifer would know that younger Jennifer was in the house? And surely, therefore, she would be expecting her to be?

Take the argument further, and older Marty would know what was coming, too.

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Why Steal The Almanac Back In 1955?

The tight time constraints that Marty and the Doc put themselves under sometimes do make mockery of the fact that they have a time machine at their disposal. Why, then, do they try and get the almanac at the point where it's given to Biff? Given that he doesn't place any bets, nor presumably appreciate its value for several years afterwards, why not go back in 1956 or 1957, perhaps when he's at school/work/shouting at people in the street, and take it then?

There is a solid counter-argument here. The point in 1955 they go back to is the only one where the Doc and Marty know exactly where the book will be, namely, at the point old Biff gives it to new Biff.

Also, Biff is specifically told to put it in a safe somewhere, and assuming - let's give him the benefit of the doubt here - that he does so, that's going to make it tricky to get. Although for the Doc, you'd suspect, not impossible...

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Could The Doc Leave A Longer Note?

Once the Doc discovered that the time machine Marty brought back to 1885 was damaged, couldn't he have changed the note that he left with Western Union to simply request that Marty brought a bit of fuel and a few parts with him?

Because even accepting that the Doc didn't want Marty to come back to 1885, by the time he's there, then - and granted, we're at risk of another paradox here - couldn't he just have left a message somewhere to be discovered in 1955 that could have fixed things in a jiffy?

There is precedent for this. Marty writes Doc a letter in the first Back To The Future film, which ultimately saves his life when he's gunned down by the Libyans. Thus, it's a strategy that would also, surely, work if a letter was sent from 1885?

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JPLSU1981

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You're giving me a headache.

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Why Steal The Almanac Back In 1955?

The tight time constraints that Marty and the Doc put themselves under sometimes do make mockery of the fact that they have a time machine at their disposal. Why, then, do they try and get the almanac at the point where it's given to Biff? Given that he doesn't place any bets, nor presumably appreciate its value for several years afterwards, why not go back in 1956 or 1957, perhaps when he's at school/work/shouting at people in the street, and take it then?

There is a solid counter-argument here. The point in 1955 they go back to is the only one where the Doc and Marty know exactly where the book will be, namely, at the point old Biff gives it to new Biff.

Also, Biff is specifically told to put it in a safe somewhere, and assuming - let's give him the benefit of the doubt here - that he does so, that's going to make it tricky to get. Although for the Doc, you'd suspect, not impossible...

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this one is super easy.

Doc goes back to Marty. At the beginning of that mission. it can be done via doc or via note. "Hey marty. you're going to think about buying a sports almanac from a vintage store to get rich. in doing so, you fricked the entire future. don't buy it. good luck with rest of the mission" signed Future Doc

you don't have to know where biff is at all.