All the Plot Holes in BTTF (1 Viewer)

[DeathStar1]

They talk about it, I beleive, in the Q and A session, but here is one that always bugged me.
When Marty gets back to what I like to call 1985 A at the end of the movie, he sees himself going back in time. THAT Marty is a buy product of 1985 A, not the regular 1985 our Marty came from.
So, when that Marty comes back, we'll he have changed his universe again?
It all gets too confusing when ya think about it .

 

[Patrick McCart]

I think most people will agree that this post will become a resident of Movies.

 

[Adam_WM]

To try and figure out the plot consistancies of BTTF would be useless. Even though they are some of my favorite movies, let's be honest, they are FULL OF HOLES.

 

[TonyD]

i think i'll agree that neil v's posts are sometimes confusing.

 

[Cees Alons]

In fact, that's one of the many reasons why time-travel is impossible.
But in my opinion the one you mentioned is not a plot-hole: it's one of the "difficulties" of time-travel. Just imagine that all the changes Marty effected in the past didn't affect his departure from his time the way he did originally. It changed the lifes of his parents, of Biff, and it changed the fate of Doc Brown, but not his in that respect.
So, in a way, it's really himself he sees departing (because he returned too early on purpose). Of course "that" Marty knew the parents and Biff of the new 1985, but that's a change in the same league as the (possible) fading away of Marty and his brother+sister earlier in the story. That photograph he had showed some "impossible" physical behaviour, only possible when time-travel is in full operation.
Cees

 

[Dan Hinson]

In fact, that's one of the many reasons why time-travel is impossible.

I wouldn’t say that time travel is “impossible,” but it probably is “linear” and unalterable, as presented in movies such as The Final Countdown, The Philadelphia Experiment, and Time Rider.

The BTTF Trilogy has so many time paradoxes it’s ridiculous. It’s a fun movie and a great adventure, but it simply is not a good “time travel” movie.

 

[StevenJ]

I know this will take time so let me list the ones I can think of now:

When Marty and Doc go to 2015 and Jennifer sees herself and Marty older, why would they be there? If they went into the future in 1985 then they shouldn't even exist in 2015.

When Old Biff goes back to 1955 and gives himself the book then comes back to 2015 why didn't the entire universe collapse? It should have because when he returned to 2015 it should have been the 2015 from when he gave himself the book.

When Marty goes back to 1885 and Doc asks him who dressed him like that, shouldn't Doc have remembered? Wouldn't he have known that Marty was coming, because it did take place in his past.

Marty encountered his parents for an entire week. When Marty is born and grows up wouldn't his parents realize that thier Marty looks a lot like the Marty that helped them out?

When Lorraine says "Marty, what a nice name." If she thought it was a nice name wouldn't she have named her first son Marty then?

These are the plot holes I can think of. If you have others go right ahead and list them.

 

[Matt Pelham]

To steal a quote I read somewhere: "To try and analyze the logistics of BTTF's time travel scenarios is an exercise in futility"

You can not think about it, you just have to enjoy the movie(s).

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Neil,

STARLOG magazine published an essay several years ago that made the case that BTTF's time travel was totally consistent (within the first film only). To answer your question, when Marty "A" went back in time he did NOT interfere and as a result got stuck with Marty "prime"'s boring parents.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

UPDATE:

The articles was called THE OTHER MARTY MCFLY, was written by Bruce Gordon, and appeared in Starlog 108. Apparently he wrote sequels to the article that attempted to explain the film sequels but I haven't read those. I didn't care for 2 & 3 myself.

 

[James Bergeron]

Well you could pick it apart like crazy BUT some things you didn't think of here.
Remember, Doc explains the 2 1985's Well that's how you explain all of this, they are different years although I agree about the Biff one going back and coming back, although he was dying when he got out of the car!

When Marty goes back to 1885 and Doc asks him who dressed him like that, shouldn't Doc have remembered? Wouldn't he have known that Marty was coming, because it did take place in his past.

No Doc wouldn't know, because the Doc in 1885 is the doc from 1985! The Doc that dressed him was the Doc from 1955. BUT the Doc from 1985 that is in 1885 went to 1885 BEFORE the changes in 1955 were made. If that makes any sense
The changes don't take place in 1985 from 1955 until Doc would return, but he doesn't.

 

[Rob Lutter]

When Marty and Doc go to 2015 and Jennifer sees herself and Marty older, why would they be there? If they went into the future in 1985 then they shouldn't even exist in 2015.

They eventually went back to the past (therefore they would be there in the future).
Think of it in terms of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, in the ending... they just think of something they need and poof, it is there... because they are going to go back in time and put it there before the battle takes place... uh, get it?
Time travel isn't possible anyways because don't you think if we ever invented time machines we would see pricks from the future walking around already?

 

[Matt Pelham]

You should check out the FAQ on the DVD (disc 3) which covers a lot of the plot holes you mention.
For example:
This is true, but I read an article in the Orlando Sentinel (or maybe it was the Daytona News Journal) about time machine and a professor who has a theoretical model for time travel. Anyways apparantly his wife died several years back and he's devoted his life to try and develop time travel. The interesting thing about the article was that if (this particular model) time machine was ever invented the earliest you would be able to travel back is the exact moment the time machine was first turned on. So even if he managed to build a successful one he would never be able to go back and save his wife. It was kind of sad, actually :frowning:

 

[Chris_Morris]

Are these essays available to read online anywhere?


Chris

 

[Joseph Howard]

aHEM...I beg to differ.

TIME TRAVEL IS POSSIBLE. In fact, I'm time traveling
right now - 1 second at a time INTO THE FUTURE.

"Jumping" time is the tough part.

Dr. Joe

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Chris,

I've looked everywhere but apparently the answer is NO. I might still have a copy of Starlog 108 lying around somewhere, though.

Off topic,

On my way to see THE TWO TOWERS again. Then vacation in California for a week. Merry Christmas everybody!

-Rob

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I love this topic, I used to talk about this a lot with my freind back in the day when we saw BTTF II. I have read the sequel article entitled The Return of the Other Marty McFly in Starlog, I missed the original article though. Great read, I must have read it at least 10 times or more, mind bending stuff!
Here's another point about old Jennifer and old Marty in 2015, they should have known that their younger selves from 1985 were there on that particular date and time since it was they who did the time traveling 30 years ago in the first place. Running into her younger self shouldn't have been so shocking to Jennifer as it was. Doc wouldn't even have to worry about running into his older self as he, sadly, was probably dead of old age by that time anyeway.
I also like to stick to my "time loop" theory regarding what happened at the end of part one: Marty returns to 1985 10 minuets early to stop the terrorists from shooting Doc and sees himself jump into the DeLorean and travel back to 1955, well if we follow the adventures of THAT Marty, the one that Marty 1 watched jump into the time machine, he'll go through the same exact adventure all over again and then THAT Marty will return 10 min early, run to the Lone Pine Mall and watch yet another Marty jump into the time machine...
It would never end, even though Marty does continue with his life by running down to see if Doc's alright and goes home, in some small way, that one instant in time will keep repeating over and over and over and...
I also shake my head at the enormous lengths Marty and Doc go through in part III to escape 1885 when all they had to do is remove the gasoline from the OTHER DeLorean, the one that Doc arrived in and put inside the mine for Marty to find in 1955, by 1955 the gas would have evaporated anyway so they wouldn't have disturbed anything crucial. Even though Marty blew out the fuel injection manifold, they could have taken that as well from the other time machine, however Doc would then have to make a change to his letter stating that the FIM needs to be replaced.
To those that are wondering why old Biff in BTTF II was doubling over in pain after returning the DeLorean to 2015, I can't really remember what the article said, but it went into some detail that he got shot somehow in the past, I think it was on the roof of his Pleasure Palace in evil 1985 after Marty and Doc flew off to go back and get the alminac from young Biff, and the past was catching up to him. Indeed, in a deleted scene from BTTF II we actually see old Biff disappear into thin air behind that dumpster. The article also explains how old Biff ended up back on his original timeline and was able to return to the same 2015 that he left and not evil 2015, but I can't remember what it said.
Oh yes, it was Lorrain who shoots Biff! I remember now, in evil 1985 after Marty and Doc fly off, Biff comes to after being hit on the head by the door of the DeLorean, standing their on the roof in disbelief about what he just saw, Lorrain, angry about what just happened downstairs between he and Marty, comes up behind him and picks up his gun that flew out of his hand when he got hit and confronts him about the way he treats her and her kids and ultimatly ends up shooting him. As he lays their dying, old Biff starts to feel it and when he gets to 2015 he staggers behind the dumpster and dies from a gunshot wound that he sustained 30 years ealier!
Doc's theory about there being two dfferent timelines running simultaniously together must be true or else Marty and Doc would have just vanished from evil 1985 because the circumstances of them becoming freinds didn't transpire in evil 1985. Marty of evil 1985 was in some boarding school in Switzerland and Doc has been committed to the puzzle factory. In fact, no time traveling was done on the timeline that evil 1985 occupies because Doc and Marty never met on that timeline and Doc never invented the time machine.
As if this post wasn't long enough , consider what would have happened if Marty had returned to 1985 from 1885 just a few seconds later! If the DeLorean and the train that destroyed it were occupying the same space on the track after the DeLorean exited the temporal time slipstream, the molecular structure of the DeLorean and the train would have become fused together into a twisted freak of nature!
My head hurts!
I could talk about this all day! It may not make sense but it sure is fun to speculate about isn't it!? I really wish I still had that article now though. :frowning:

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

This is answered in the FAQ on the BTTF3 disc. When a vehicle is going to be stored for long periods, it is best to drain all fluids from it. Also Doc would not want to accidentally change anything in the mine that could prevent Marty in 1955 from properly recovering the Delorean.
Neil

 

[Jussi Tarvainen]

Marty is a buy product of 1985 A

Ha! Your attempt at subliminally encouraging us to buy inferior consumer goods from 1985 has failed! You are no match for my raging intellect!

 

[Brenton]

Think of it in terms of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, in the ending... they just think of something they need and poof, it is there... because they are going to go back in time and put it there before the battle takes place... uh, get it?

That WAS pretty funny, wasn't it? Probably my favorite plot point from that film.