Damn! It just hit me!

[ThankQ]

Okay, like I'm sure this is has been noticed and mocked by cinema continuity buffs, but I was sitting around daydreaming and out of nowhere it hit me:

When Old Biff left 1955 to return to 2015 after giving Young Biff the sports almanac, how is it that he manages to return to the same 2015 he left? Shouldn't he have been returning to the altered 2015, the one that would have continued from what we saw from the "Biff is King" version of 1985? As soon as Doc and Marty leave 2015, that's the 1985 they go to, because Biff got the book in 1955. That's where Old Biff should have wound up when he left 1955 from the now-altered timeline.


I can't see how I'm not right about this, I'm guessing this is a BTTF nerd-fight issue like we have with Trek.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It wasn't really clear in the final cut but Old Biff was starting to fade out once he got back to the future. Changes to the timeline are not instantaneous in the BTTF universe--while 1985 had already changed by the time Doc and Marty headed back, 2015 hadn't. Presumably, if they had stuck around in 2015 it would have changed to reflect the new reality (and Old Biff would be gone, either dead or replaced by a different Old Biff.)

 

[Gaith]

No offense, but...

1) BttF threads generally go in SF/F.
2) Your exact question was asked and extensively discussed a few months back.

 

[Trekker4747]

The "idea" seems to be that all time periods are physical places that exist but how they exist depends on the nature of the time-line. So there's only one 2015 for Biff to travel back to but his changes made it different. Just not different enough for anyone outside the Hilldale housing development to notice.

 

[UssGlenn]

As I understand it Biff did return to the altered 2015. You'll notice that Marty and Doc don't interact with any other characters after Biff returns. Also it was a run down area on the edge of town so there very well could be very little physical difference. Old Biff was supposed to fade out (hence his pain exiting the Delorian) but it ended up a deleted scene. The director and producer stated they think Lorraine shot Biff in 1995.

 

[Trekker4747]

One thing that bugs me is how much Marty "shifts" the DeLorean when he's fleeing the Libyans and driving towards the Clock Tower.

Most notably he tells the Libyans "let's see if you bastards can do 90!" and then he slams the shifter into a higher gear which suddenly gives the DeLorean a burst of speed causing it accelerate away from the Libyan Microbus.

Morbo?

MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS DONOT WORK THAT WAY!!!

Thank you, Morbo.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Most things in movies do not happen because they make logical sense or reflect reality. Rather, it's just because it looks cool.

 

[Australis]

If you've travelled through time, it takes longer for changed events to catch up with you. That works for me.

The one that surprises me is how often people don't get the Twin Pines/Lone Pine Shopping Mall thing.

 

[Nardpuncher]

No offense, but...

1) BttF threads generally go in SF/F.
2) Your exact question was asked and extensively discussed a few months back.

Thank God you remembered that because I thought I was going nuts!

 

[Australis]

^ It's time travel, events change, y'know?

 

[Lookingglassman]

Maybe young Biff got ran over by an ice cream truck?