The DeLorean explanation (merged threads)

[Guy..]

Originally Posted by Shadowknight1

There's also the fact that the car would need to be in the exact condition it was in when Doc put it in the mine in the first place. That means intentionally shorting out the time circuits with lightning.

Why is the given explanation so hard to swallow? If you listen to the letter, Doc refers to a "gigawatt overload" that was what activated the flux capacitor. If you think about it, the raw lightning probably sent way more than 1.21 gigawatts into the car, and might even have hit double that. That, I think, would be enough to make the flux capacitor double the DeLorean. And since it was sent 70 years forward and back through time, there's a nice symmetry. And Doc was probably glad to find the second DeLorean, the train can't be a great way to time travel. It's not exactly quiet.

It wouldn't have to have been in the "exact" condition at all really. All it needed to be was in the cave for Marty to pick up. The important part is Marty using it to get to 1885. The repairing of the time vehicle didn't have a major effect on the lives of any of the characters. As long as it wasn't able to fly, it wouldn't matter if it was fixed or if Doc just tore the a few wires out for 1955 Doc and Marty to fix. Marty still would've gone back to 1885 and tore a fuel line either way. So as long as the car is there for Marty, I don't believe his need to fix it is an issue (and is still one that could be explained by having Doc remove the circuits that needed replacing in 1885 anyways, so they could still replace them if he's THAT picky about it).

The idea of a second car just appearing somewhere in time just doesn't physically make sense in the context of these movies. The car is a singular object that skips over periods of time. It just makes no sense for a system built to travel through time, to suddenly become an apt cloning device. Plus the one in a billion odds that Doc would ever come across the second car in his journeys through infinite time periods. It's just a single line of dialogue that makes a sudden mess of the established rules of the saga.

Again, with them having so many options to go from about how Doc got a new time machine, they chose the one that is the most unimaginative and still most convoluted and non-sensical. I feel that's a shame when they could've stuck the rules of the universe, the way the have with the rest of the game and not had that black mark on the story.

Originally Posted by Farlander

Or it could've been
Marty - "Doc, where'd the car come from?"
Doc - "Marty, it's not important at the moment!"
Or something like that.
And everybody would've been happy.

That is, if duplication is not used for some kind of a plot device. Because if it's not, I would've been quite happy with actually no real explanation.

This is exactly it, I mean everyone's going on about it perhaps coming into play with Citizen Brown later on in the game. But the more I look at that episode's description, the more I feel it's to do with changing the time-line of the teenage Doc in 1931 and how that affects his ego into the future (1986). I don't think we're going to find a duplicate super-Doc later in the game. Which really does make this a throwaway line that could've been a bit more fitting with the movies established canon.

[Anya_Leone]

The whole explanation went way over my head, which is a good thing. It means it's brilliant enough to make sense in this universe! I approve. Besides, all dem big words make mah head hurt sumtum fierce.

[Irishmile]

I thought for sure it was because Doc got it wet... at least he didn't feed it after midnight..

I suppose the enigmatic pseudoscience explanation will have to do.

[Shadowknight1]

I do not see how it "breaks the rules" of the BTTF universe. For probably the billionth(and for me, last time, I'm tired of having to explain this), when the lightning hit the DeLorean, it wasn't channeled through an insulated cable and the pole like it was at the clocktower. There was no protection, so the lightning caused a gigawatt overload that supercharged the flux capacitor. It's entirely plausible that the overload was enough to cause the flux capacitor to have a short out, creating a second time machine. And Doc probably realized what happened later if there was any damage to the space/time continuum. He probably would have backtracked it, found the DeLorean, and prevented Griff from using it. It really isn't that farfetched, and quite frankly, it's a lot more interesting than just building a new one. As for everyone saying "He could have taken one from another time" as soon as he passed 1955 with it, Doc would have died. He would've passed the point that Marty would've taken the time machine out of the mine, it wouldn't have been there, and Doc would've died in 1885, therefore he would've faded. The space/time continuum doesn't anticipate "I intend to put this back". Especially since if something went wrong, Doc probably wouldn't have been able to get the time machine back in time. There are far too many problems with using a time machine other than the duplication theory.

[Falanca]

Originally Posted by Shadowknight1

I do not see how it "breaks the rules" of the BTTF universe. For probably the billionth(and for me, last time, I'm tired of having to explain this), when the lightning hit the DeLorean, it wasn't channeled through an insulated cable and the pole like it was at the clocktower. There was no protection, so the lightning caused a gigawatt overload that supercharged the flux capacitor. It's entirely plausible that the overload was enough to cause the flux capacitor to have a short out, creating a second time machine.

Oooh, this reminds me of a Darkwing Duck episode! Man, Darkwing Duck owned! Otherwise no. Flux capacitor only lets DeLorean to skip timelines.

Except... That skip Doc mentions about (70 years later into the future) is ALSO in the timeline it has to go through before being demolished by the train in the finale of the third movie. But would THAT explain the tweaks Doc made on it are seemingly not just THERE in the third movie? Well, in the third movie DeLorean can't even accelerate itself therefore they weren't even addressed, so it makes sense.

So I believe Doc DID use his time travelling train to steal a DeLorean in a timeline and put it in another time just to use it later on, for putting it back a second later in that previous timeline so that the lifetime of the DeLorean won't be disturbed.

[farchondo]

You can´t be sooo picky with this kind of scientific explanation. If we deal with BTTF that way we would not even buy the first movie also, which I think everyone believes its great writing!

We could also say that Marty couldn´t change the Mcfly´s family destiny in BTTF 1 been the one who participate in his parents first date because the moment her mother gave birth to her third son, and by the time she sees the astonishing resemblance with that Calvin Klein boy with whom she fall in love with... well, massive paradox right there. But who cares! we are happy with it because it is a fantasy, a really great one.

Two exact Delorean machines by a struck of lighting! Ok! We just have another BTTF experience!

[prizna]

The DeLorean explanation must make sense, Bob Gale was working with them so im sure he had some input into how it was back, and he knows how time travel works in the BttF universe.

[Larn_Connor]

Originally Posted by Shadowknight1

The space/time continuum doesn't anticipate "I intend to put this back". Especially since if something went wrong, Doc probably wouldn't have been able to get the time machine back in time. There are far too many problems with using a time machine other than the duplication theory.

Your opinion, not a fact. The duplication theory is just made-up hooey.

[Shadowknight1]

Originally Posted by Larn_Connor

Your opinion, not a fact. The duplication theory is just made-up hooey.

And time travel isn't?

[markeres]

Originally Posted by prizna

The DeLorean explanation must make sense, Bob Gale was working with them so im sure he had some input into how it was back, and he knows how time travel works in the BttF universe.

This is pretty much what it boils down to. The reason for the appearance of a new DeLorean is such a major piece of information that Telltale had to have passed it by Bob Gale, and he obviously signed off on it (heck, he may have even suggested it himself, who knows?). Bob Gale is the utmost authority on the BTTF universe and how time travel works in that universe (since he, ya know, created it and all) so I'm certainly willing to play by whatever rules he sets for the BTTF universe.

Originally Posted by Larn_Connor

Your opinion, not a fact. The duplication theory is just made-up hooey.

Originally Posted by Shadowknight1

And time travel isn't?

Heh. That too.

[Shadowknight1]

It's like what I've seen in someone's sig on a Star Trek forum. "Canon is what people argue exists on ships that don't exist."

[Mino_Dan]

Its a downright shame that Gale approved it. Its an even bigger cop out than the "Its not important right now" scenario.

The car should not been there for the majority of the series. And they should've developed a paradox scenario resulting from the prologue.

[Shadowknight1]

Originally Posted by Mino_Dan

Its a downright shame that Gale approved it. Its an even bigger cop out than the "Its not important right now" scenario.

The car should not been there for the majority of the series. And they should've developed a paradox scenario resulting from the prologue.

The car should not have been there?! Then how do you expect Marty to time travel, put a flux capacitor on his skateboard?

And IMO, you can't call it a cop out if hardly anybody thought of it.

[Mino_Dan]

Doc still has that train. Okay, its difficult to hide something that big but he could've built the time machine into another vehicle.

A cop out means "An excuse made in order to avoid performing a task or duty."

Pretending that a lightning strike through the time circuits would cause the Delorean to multiply does definatly fall under that category!
Building a new Delorean Time machine would've made a lot more sense.

[EvilRabbit2]

It's probably gonna be explained in the next games.
But the way I see it, it's probably a timeline stuff.

[SuperEgz]

It makes sense to me. Im just curious if their is going to be a duplicate Doc or not.

[markeres]

Originally Posted by Mino_Dan

A cop out means "An excuse made in order to avoid performing a task or duty."

Pretending that a lightning strike through the time circuits would cause the Delorean to multiply does definatly fall under that category!

Huh? Don't these two sentences contradict each other, since they did think up a reason and didn't "avoid performing a task or duty"? And what do you mean by "pretending"?

[Mino_Dan]

Erm No?! People wanted a logical explaination and they didn't provide any. They made up some inane nonsense.

[SuperEgz]

how is it insane nonsense? that kind of stuff happens all the time in time travel stories.

[prizna]

What do you want them to do? Come up with another solution then re-record the dialogue?