Back to the Future 2 observation

[Feyrhausen]

So my wife and I were watching this tonight and I had an observation. When they were trying to get the almanac from young Biff they had to be careful to not run into their past selves (1955 Doc and 1st movie Marty). Marty almost messed up his past selfs plan to get back to 1985. I said to my wife why didnt they just wait until another day to get it back, they had no real time limit so to speak. They just had to get it before Biff started making bets.

But then I thought maybe they had to get it back before 1st movie Marty went back to 1985 or he would have ended up in the changed 1985 and have no idea what was going on. But then there would have been no time machine and no way for the almanac to end up in the past and oh no I've gone crosseyed.

[Spider2024]

Sept 19, 2020 19:33:01 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

and oh no I've gone crosseyed.

...which makes you Spongebob!

I was pondering that too. Especially considering in the beginning of that very movie, Doc says he hopped around points in time to find out when Marty Jr. did the thing that screwed up Marty's entire family. But then it's "find the exact place Biff gave Biff the almanac!" It's not like they couldn't hop around again, the Delorean was working fine still at that point.

[Feyrhausen]

So really the question is if 1st movie Marty would have tried going back to 1985 while Biff had the almanac would he have ended up in the alternate 1985 or his original changed future from the end of the first movie? As we saw changes can take time to take effect. He wasn't immediately wiped from existence when he first stopped his parents from falling in love, and old Biff was able to get back to his 2015 before it changed.

[Citizen Snips]

They establish that Biff makes his first legit bets on horse racing 3 years after getting the almanac when he turns 21, but there's no way they'd trust a lowlife like Biff not to be making illegal bets or splitting the winnings with older people in that 3 year interval. For all they knew, he was going to start using the almanac in some form the day after he got it (the Biffs listen to a college football game on the radio, which means there would be NFL games the next day).

[Ryback on a Pole!]

Sept 19, 2020 20:20:06 GMT -5 Citizen Snips said:

They establish that Biff makes his first legit bets on horse racing 3 years after getting the almanac when he turns 21, but there's no way they'd trust a lowlife like Biff not to be making illegal bets or splitting the winnings with older people in that 3 year interval. For all they knew, he was going to start using the almanac in some form the day after he got it (the Biffs listen to a college football game on the radio, which means there would be NFL games the next day).

I'm guessing tge wait was to become legal age?

Plus in those 3 years, he'd have memorized a bunch, so even if they took the Almanac, he'd still remember some of the major results

[Blindkarevik]

The non-fun idea is obviously, it allowed for a unique, alternate look at the events of the first movie.

Movie Kayfabe Idea: If they went back in time to that specific day, both Marty and Doc knew the events of that day, where Biff would be and would give them the most opportunities in a day to get the alamanac back. Also, since Marty (Calvin Klein) was there and became an established part of that timeline, that was also the last day before he could just "disappear" and nobody would ever see him again.

[XIII]

When contemplating time travel it’s best to smoke a fat joint beforehand.

[BlackoutCreature]

All Biff needed to do was thumb through the book and memorize a couple of Super Bowl and World Series wins and still made enough money betting on them to throw the timeline out of whack. Putting enough money down on the Jets over the Colts at Super Bowl III could've easily set him up for life. It probably wouldn't have led to a full Hell Valley situation, but a sociopathic bully with money to throw around is still a dangerous adversary.

[dirtyoldman]

I always wondered when Marty arrived in the bad 1985, was there another Marty there in Switzerland, or did he become that Marty?

[Zombie Mod]

Sept 20, 2020 2:56:33 GMT -5 dirtyoldman said:

I always wondered when Marty arrived in the bad 1985, was there another Marty there in Switzerland, or did he become that Marty?

i think biff had that marty killed which is why he was surprised to see him until marty mentioned the almanac.

i just wonder which bit of time travel screwed up the time line enough for doc and marty to become rick and morty

[Shark]

Sept 19, 2020 21:24:33 GMT -5 Blindkarevik said:

The non-fun idea is obviously, it allowed for a unique, alternate look at the events of the first movie.

Movie Kayfabe Idea: If they went back in time to that specific day, both Marty and Doc knew the events of that day, where Biff would be and would give them the most opportunities in a day to get the alamanac back. Also, since Marty (Calvin Klein) was there and became an established part of that timeline, that was also the last day before he could just "disappear" and nobody would ever see him again.

Piggy backing off that, I think Doc and Marty feel that the more time Biff has the Almanac in his possession, the more danger the time stream could be in. The sooner they get it away from him, the less potential damage it can cause.

[Mike Strike]

Sept 19, 2020 19:33:01 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

So my wife and I were watching this tonight and I had an observation. When they were trying to get the almanac from young Biff they had to be careful to not run into their past selves (1955 Doc and 1st movie Marty). Marty almost messed up his past selfs plan to get back to 1985. I said to my wife why didnt they just wait until another day to get it back, they had no real time limit so to speak. They just had to get it before Biff started making bets.

But then I thought maybe they had to get it back before 1st movie Marty went back to 1985 or he would have ended up in the changed 1985 and have no idea what was going on. But then there would have been no time machine and no way for the almanac to end up in the past and oh no I've gone crosseyed.

Here's some more food for thought for ya: why was 1985 altered but Old Biff returned to the same 2015?

Or here's another: At the end of the same movie Marty returns to '85 just in time to see himself going back in time, creating a stable timeloop. Except it's not because it's not the same '85 as from the start of the film, meaning it's an alt timeline Marty that the main Marty saw. There's another Marty travelling through time that the sequels never acknowledged.

[Feyrhausen]

Sept 20, 2020 16:32:51 GMT -5 Mike Strike said:

Sept 19, 2020 19:33:01 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

So my wife and I were watching this tonight and I had an observation. When they were trying to get the almanac from young Biff they had to be careful to not run into their past selves (1955 Doc and 1st movie Marty). Marty almost messed up his past selfs plan to get back to 1985. I said to my wife why didnt they just wait until another day to get it back, they had no real time limit so to speak. They just had to get it before Biff started making bets.

But then I thought maybe they had to get it back before 1st movie Marty went back to 1985 or he would have ended up in the changed 1985 and have no idea what was going on. But then there would have been no time machine and no way for the almanac to end up in the past and oh no I've gone crosseyed.

Here's some more food for thought for ya: why was 1985 altered but Old Biff returned to the same 2015?

Or here's another: At the end of the same movie Marty returns to '85 just in time to see himself going back in time, creating a stable timeloop. Except it's not because it's not the same '85 as from the start of the film, meaning it's an alt timeline Marty that the main Marty saw. There's another Marty travelling through time that the sequels never acknowledged.

Biff got back to 2015 because time does not change instantly. Thats why Marty didnt blink out of existence the minute he stopped George from getting hit by the car in 1. Marty and Doc had time to leave 2015 before it changed around them. Thats also why Old Biff was taking time to die instead of just blinking away.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Still seems like a really poor choice to employ your wife’s attempted rapist.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Sept 20, 2020 17:20:25 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

Still seems like a really poor choice to employ your wife’s attempted rapist.

"Boys will be boys."

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Sept 20, 2020 18:31:56 GMT -5 Mighty Attack Tribble said:

Sept 20, 2020 17:20:25 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

Still seems like a really poor choice to employ your wife’s attempted rapist.

"Boys will be boys."

No one is dismissing rape with “boys will be boys” are they?

[Vampiro138]

Sept 20, 2020 16:32:51 GMT -5 Mike Strike said:

Sept 19, 2020 19:33:01 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

So my wife and I were watching this tonight and I had an observation. When they were trying to get the almanac from young Biff they had to be careful to not run into their past selves (1955 Doc and 1st movie Marty). Marty almost messed up his past selfs plan to get back to 1985. I said to my wife why didnt they just wait until another day to get it back, they had no real time limit so to speak. They just had to get it before Biff started making bets.

But then I thought maybe they had to get it back before 1st movie Marty went back to 1985 or he would have ended up in the changed 1985 and have no idea what was going on. But then there would have been no time machine and no way for the almanac to end up in the past and oh no I've gone crosseyed.

Here's some more food for thought for ya: why was 1985 altered but Old Biff returned to the same 2015?

Or here's another: At the end of the same movie Marty returns to '85 just in time to see himself going back in time, creating a stable timeloop. Except it's not because it's not the same '85 as from the start of the film, meaning it's an alt timeline Marty that the main Marty saw. There's another Marty travelling through time that the sequels never acknowledged.

I believe theres a deleted scene where you see old Biff once Doc and Marty get back to the Delorean and you see the time machine leave and Biff comes up from behind the trash cans and he looks and his hands are vanishing. They really should have kept that scene in the film.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Sept 20, 2020 19:43:34 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

Sept 20, 2020 18:31:56 GMT -5 Mighty Attack Tribble said:

"Boys will be boys."

No one is dismissing rape with “boys will be boys” are they?

Brock Turner sexually assaulting an unconscious girl was dismissed as "boys will be boys" by a ton of people, and formed part of his defence in court. It's also been used in recent years to excuse the historical actions of a couple of high profile currently active in politics, which we shall obviously not go into further, as well as the behaviour of college-age men who don't take no for an answer.

[thegatewaydrug]

Sept 20, 2020 20:08:54 GMT -5 Vampiro138 said:

Sept 20, 2020 16:32:51 GMT -5 Mike Strike said:

Here's some more food for thought for ya: why was 1985 altered but Old Biff returned to the same 2015?

Or here's another: At the end of the same movie Marty returns to '85 just in time to see himself going back in time, creating a stable timeloop. Except it's not because it's not the same '85 as from the start of the film, meaning it's an alt timeline Marty that the main Marty saw. There's another Marty travelling through time that the sequels never acknowledged.

I believe theres a deleted scene where you see old Biff once Doc and Marty get back to the Delorean and you see the time machine leave and Biff comes up from behind the trash cans and he looks and his hands are vanishing. They really should have kept that scene in the film.

Writer Bob Gale mentioned in the deleted scene commentary that test audiences didn't fully understand what was happening to old man Biff when he returned to 2015.

Gale also mentioned it's safe to assume Lorraine shot and killed Trump-Biff sometime in the 1990s-A timeline hence him fading away first before the full ripple changed everything else in 2015.

[thegatewaydrug]

Sept 19, 2020 21:24:33 GMT -5 Blindkarevik said:

The non-fun idea is obviously, it allowed for a unique, alternate look at the events of the first movie.

Movie Kayfabe Idea: If they went back in time to that specific day, both Marty and Doc knew the events of that day, where Biff would be and would give them the most opportunities in a day to get the alamanac back. Also, since Marty (Calvin Klein) was there and became an established part of that timeline, that was also the last day before he could just "disappear" and nobody would ever see him again.

Assuming the hazy memories of "Calvin Klein" in 1955 faded quickly, Marty was sure lucky no yearbook photographer caught him playing "Johnny B. Goode" on-stage during the dance. That would have been wild if the McFly family took a trip down memory lane anything after 1984 and a saw a deadringer doppelganger for their son!

Also, did anyone even question if "Calvin" was actually a student or just a high school-aged drifter passing through town who couldn't pass up a date?