Movie plotholes/ The only thing that doesn't add up

[Dangeresque]

This is the greatest trilogy ever made (i dont consider the godfather a trilogy cause 3 sucked). everything in this movie was well thought out, all the events and the going back and forth were perfect (especially if you watch them around 15 times each and pick up all the small details )

the only thing that think didnt add up in this movie was the fact that Marty's parents doent remember him. i mean sure its 30 years later (speaking of the 1st movie) but even if for only a week he was still a huge influence in both their lives right? when he started getting older wouldnt they start saying, hey wait a minute, this guy looks really familiar.

Worse yet wouldn't george suspect loraine of cheating on her with marty? i mean calvin marty in the late 60s?

just a stupid point. it might make no sence but its something that popped to my head and figure i'd share it. of course dont mean no offence to the trilogy

[thesporkman]

The biggest plot hole in the series is in the second movie. Old Biff from 2015 steals the Delorean, travels back in time to the '50s to give himself the sports almanac, and then travels back to the future to the exact same version of 2015 from which he left. Then the Doc and Marty of this original version of 2015 get in the Delorean and travel back to alternate version of 1985 that Old Biff created. When Marty suggests going back to the future to stop Old Biff from getting the almanac, Doc explains that it wouldn't work because they'd arrive in an alternate version of 2015.

See the problem? Why and how did Old Biff return to the original version of 2015 after changing the past? He should have come back to the alternate 2015 that he created. Doc and Marty should have been stranded in the original timeline or overwritten and erased from existence or however it's supposed to work.

[Flyingman356]

It takes a minute to change

[Molokov]

Recite the MST3K mantra....

[Avistew]

The only thing that always weirded me out as a kid was that is dad's female ancestor looks like his mom.

[thesporkman]

Right. I forgot about that. Lots of inbreeding going on in the McFly family. :P

[LuigiHann]

Worse yet wouldn't george suspect loraine of cheating on her with marty? i mean calvin marty in the late 60s?

Their memory of "Calvin" would fade over time, especially his appearance. It would be very vague in their memories, even if they thought they remembered what he looked like, it'd be pretty unclear. They might have recognized him if he showed up one day looking exactly like he did in 1955, but seeing Marty grow up gradually, I think the association would be kind of... overwritten.

Calvin would have been out of their lives completely for over ten years before Marty was born, so they'd be likely to write that resemblance off as a total coincidence even if they noticed it.

Of course, if this new series does see Marty visiting the 1970s, these issues could definitely come into play.

See the problem? Why and how did Old Biff return to the original version of 2015 after changing the past? He should have come back to the alternate 2015 that he created. Doc and Marty should have been stranded in the original timeline or overwritten and erased from existence or however it's supposed to work.

How it's "supposed to work" is that as Old Biff got back to 2015, the world was already changing around them. Because the timeline shift occurred in 1955, it took a longer time for the "time ripple effect" to catch up to that point, so the effects of the change weren't immediately visible, but it's likely that by the time Doc and Marty left 2015, the McFly family no longer lived in the house that they had just visited.

Also, in a deleted scene, it was shown that Old Biff seemed to collapse and then vanish after getting out of the time machine, because his changed past resulted in his death sometime before 2015, so his old self was erased from existence... but the scene was removed because it was confusing.

Originally Posted by Avistew

The only thing that always weirded me out as a kid was that is dad's female ancestor looks like his mom.

I think they rationalized that in some commentary by the logic that men are subconsciously drawn to women who remind them of their mothers. So the characters aren't related, but it's not a coincidence that they look alike.

[Lena_P]

Originally Posted by LuigiHann

Also, in a deleted scene, it was shown that Old Biff seemed to collapse and then vanish after getting out of the time machine, because his changed past resulted in his death sometime before 2015, so his old self was erased from existence... but the scene was removed because it was confusing.

Really? I remember a scene like that, though ... guess I just heard someone mention it a long time ago, and I'm conflating the two memories?

Originally Posted by LuigiHann

I think they rationalized that in some commentary by the logic that men are subconsciously drawn to women who remind them of their mothers. So the characters aren't related, but it's not a coincidence that they look alike.

Except it's his great grandma. I thought it was even weirder that Marty looked exactly like his great-great grandpa yet looked nothing like his dad. Then I saw ZZ Top, and I forgave them.

[LuigiHann]

Really? I remember a scene like that, though ... guess I just heard someone mention it a long time ago, and I'm conflating the two memories?

I think he still collapses in the film, but he only vanishes in the deleted scene. The deleted scene was included on the DVD so you might have seen it there.

Originally Posted by Lena_P

Except it's his great grandma.

Yeah but the point is that his grampa married somebody who looked like his mother, and his dad married somebody who looked like his mother, so the resemblance was passed down non-genetically

But the real Out-of-canon reason was that they just wanted to cast the same actress so they could maintain the "Mom? Mom is that you?" gag

[Vainamoinen]

Oh dear. Now I wrote two answers, then seing that LuigiHan actually got and spilled the goods way earlier.
*erases everything*
Got one or two things to add, though (fan rambling "on"):

Originally Posted by Avistew

The only thing that always weirded me out as a kid was that is dad's female ancestor looks like his mom.

Bob Gale addressed that issue not only with the "Men are attracted to women looking like their mothers"-rationale. The main reason that Maggie looks like Lorraine is... well, that they didn't want to make a BTTF without Lea Thomson.

Originally Posted by LuigiHann

Their memory of "Calvin" would fade over time, especially his appearance. It would be very vague in their memories, even if they thought they remembered what he looked like, it'd be pretty unclear.

That could work well within 30 years' time. But in fact, Bob Gale didn't seem to care much for that logic. In a first draft for Back to the Future II, Marty was supposed to go back to 1967, just 12 years after his first visit... and Lorraine doesn't recognize him as Calvin at all (but this draft would have been a terrible movie anyways ). So in this case, you'd just have to go with the flow.

[MusicallyInspired]

The BTTF trilogy DVD release explained all of the "plot holes" fans have brought up about the movies. Specifically regarding old Biff returning to the future, the future WAS changed around Marty and Doc while they were there.. You'll notice that Biff came back to the future JUST AFTER Doc managed to grab Jennifer and asked Marty to help him. So between that time the timeline could have changed and there would be somebody completely different living in that house and neither of them would have noticed the difference.

It makes sense, even if it is reaching...

[Friar]

Originally Posted by Dangeresque

This is the greatest trilogy ever made (i dont consider the godfather a trilogy cause 3 sucked). everything in this movie was well thought out, all the events and the going back and forth were perfect (especially if you watch them around 15 times each and pick up all the small details )

the only thing that think didnt add up in this movie was the fact that Marty's parents doent remember him. i mean sure its 30 years later (speaking of the 1st movie) but even if for only a week he was still a huge influence in both their lives right? when he started getting older wouldnt they start saying, hey wait a minute, this guy looks really familiar.

Worse yet wouldn't george suspect loraine of cheating on her with marty? i mean calvin marty in the late 60s?

just a stupid point. it might make no sence but its something that popped to my head and figure i'd share it. of course dont mean no offence to the trilogy

Well, they'd only known Calvin Klein for a few days, and given no photo's were taken, it's understandable that they'd forgotten what he looked like. Plus, when you see someone everyday, it's hard to see them changing until you look at old photos.

[Secret Fawful]

OP is wrong. That's not the only thing that doesn't add up. For one thing 2 plus 2 doesn't make 5 and you can't get 11,111 by adding five ones.

[Javi-Wan Kenobi]

Wait, wait... Are you saying that, in the original version of BttF, Marty McFly is mis-called Calvin Klein?
I have to watch the movies without the Spanish dubbing, then. I suppose that, in the 80's, the Calvin Klein brand wasn't as well known in Spain as it is now, and the translators thought that the Spanish people won't get the joke, so they changed the name. In Spain, he's mis-called "Levi Strauss".

[grayjo]

That's exactly why it was changed. I think he may have been called something else in another country as well, but I can't remember.

[MusicallyInspired]

For that matter, wouldn't they have thought of Marty once Calvin Klein clothes actually came out and were popular and well-known?

[Laserschwert]

I'm pretty sure I've found a plot-hole in part 3, but I can't quite remember exactly what it was... I think it had something to do with the Shonash Ravine being called Clayton Ravine back in 1955, although - with 1985-Doc already back in 1885 - Clara didn't fall into the Ravine, because Doc picked her up from the train station (so that the Ravine wasn't named after her), and 1955-Doc would've never known it as the Clayton Ravine (and still he calls it that).

Of course, we never know if Clara didn't fall into the Ravine AFTER Doc's death in 1885, so it might just as well not be a plot-hole at all.

[LuigiHann]

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

I'm pretty sure I've found a plot-hole in part 3, but I can't quite remember exactly what it was... I think it had something to do with the Shonash Ravine being called Clayton Ravine back in 1955, although - with 1985-Doc already back in 1885 - Clara didn't fall into the Ravine, because Doc picked her up from the train station (so that the Ravine wasn't named after her), and 1955-Doc would've never known it as the Clayton Ravine (and still he calls it that).

Of course, we never know if Clara didn't fall into the Ravine AFTER Doc's death in 1885, so it might just as well not be a plot-hole at all.

I haven't watched it in a while, but I think Doc is only inspired to actually go pick her up (and subsequently save her) after having a conversation with Marty. In the pre-Marty timeline he may have been too late.

A more consistent (but sillier) plot hole has to do with the photo of the gravestone. The gravestone in the photo fades and disappears, but logically, the photo itself should vanish as well, since why would anybody take a picture of an empty space?

[Laserschwert]

Originally Posted by LuigiHann

I haven't watched it in a while, but I think Doc is only inspired to actually go pick her up (and subsequently save her) after having a conversation with Marty. In the pre-Marty timeline he may have been too late.

Yeah, it's been a while here too, but I'm pretty sure that he did pick her up before Marty travels back to 1885, because the tombstone says "Beloved Clara". Once Marty goes back and tells him about his death, Doc decides to not pick up Clara from the train station, to avoid meeting her. Unfortunately they do encounter her on her out-of-control carriage (since nobody picked her up from the train station, she had to get to the town on her own) while they're checking out the Delorean (if I remember correctly), and of course save her.

[Sinaz20]

Originally Posted by Laserschwert

I'm pretty sure I've found a plot-hole in part 3, but I can't quite remember exactly what it was... I think it had something to do with the Shonash Ravine being called Clayton Ravine back in 1955, although - with 1985-Doc already back in 1885 - Clara didn't fall into the Ravine, because Doc picked her up from the train station (so that the Ravine wasn't named after her), and 1955-Doc would've never known it as the Clayton Ravine (and still he calls it that).

Of course, we never know if Clara didn't fall into the Ravine AFTER Doc's death in 1885, so it might just as well not be a plot-hole at all.

Your 1955 Doc there is in a different timeline in which it is Clayton Ravine.

When Marty finally returns to 1985 from 1885, he is in a new timeline in which it is called Eastwood Ravine. And if he had decided to return to 1985 a day before the original time travel from the first movie, he would have encountered a 1985 Doc Brown who knew the ravine as Eastwood Ravine.

Though there are plotholes-- especially with the Biff returning to 2010 bit... a lot of the confusion about what to expect boils down to understanding the notion of each trip to the past creating a new divergent timeline.

http://bttf.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline