Can Someone Help Me With The Plot? (Potential Spoilers Episode #2/3)

edited July 2011 in Back to the Future
I took a lot of time off between #2 and #3 and I think I've just forgotten the details....

In #2 Marty was helping 'Old Doc' get out of jail and used 'Young Doc' to do it. That affected 'Young Docs' timeline. In #3 we see the affects of our actions in the past.

But - where is 'Old Doc'?

Comments

  • edited July 2011
    He's just Citizen Brown now. It's never explained why he's changed and Marty hasn't in the game.
  • edited July 2011
    yeah thinking this question over, going by BTTF time travel laws, why DID Doc disappear at the end of episode 2?
    In BTTF part 2, when Doc and Marty entered 1985-A, our marty and Doc didn't disappear. For instance, Doc didn't disappear with another doc in an insane asylum.
    They stuck to that continuity with Marty in the game, not disappearing, yet Doc does.
  • trekker26 wrote: »
    yeah thinking this question over, going by BTTF time travel laws, why DID Doc disappear at the end of episode 2?
    In BTTF part 2, when Doc and Marty entered 1985-A, our marty and Doc didn't disappear. For instance, Doc didn't disappear with another doc in an insane asylum.
    They stuck to that continuity with Marty in the game, not disappearing, yet Doc does.

    Here's the difference;

    Doc has spent decades time traveling in the normal timeline. In the FCB timeline he doesn't time travel (at least not til episode 4) so the doc which disappears is significantly older than doc should be in 1986 (around 72) and presumably dies before he reaches the age he is (remember he went to the rejuvenation clinic in 2015)
  • edited July 2011
    Here's the difference;

    Doc has spent decades time traveling in the normal timeline. In the FCB timeline he doesn't time travel (at least not til episode 4) so the doc which disappears is significantly older than doc should be in 1986 (around 72) and presumably dies before he reaches the age he is (remember he went to the rejuvenation clinic in 2015)

    The only problem I have with that explanation is...would the timeline just 'assume' that FCB Doc's lifespan is X years, and erase 'our' Doc on the basis of that.

    Now, in BTTF2, when Old Biff returned to 2015, the timeline 'knew' that he was supposed to have died way back in 1996 and couldn't possibly exist at his present age, so he is erased.

    In this case however, Doc is returning to a time when he very much is still alive. The future, from 1986 FCB Doc's POV, is not written, so there's nothing, theoretically to limit the number of years he has to live. So I don't see why the timeline should automatically assume a limit to Doc's age in this timeline, and erase 'normal' Doc on the basis of it.
  • sn939 wrote: »
    The only problem I have with that explanation is...would the timeline just 'assume' that FCB Doc's lifespan is X years, and erase 'our' Doc on the basis of that.

    Now, in BTTF2, when Old Biff returned to 2015, the timeline 'knew' that he was supposed to have died way back in 1996 and couldn't possibly exist at his present age, so he is erased.

    In this case however, Doc is returning to a time when he very much is still alive. The future, from 1986 FCB Doc's POV, is not written, so there's nothing, theoretically to limit the number of years he has to live. So I don't see why the timeline should automatically assume a limit to Doc's age in this timeline, and erase 'normal' Doc on the basis of it.

    It seems the future is written but the future of time travel is not; when they travel to 2015. that future is basically dependent on whom is dead or alive and it does accurately predict Marty will be challenged to a drag race and hit a rolls royce (if not for him learning his lesson in 1885, that still would have happened).

    So let's say for arguments sake, that Doc has spent 20 years of his life away from his natural timeline (thus meaning old doc is 20 years older than FCB), if FCB dies before 2006, that would explain old doc disappearing. You could also argue that old doc ends up in whatever year he would be the age he currently is (so if it is 20 years he's been away, he'd go to 2006).

    The ripple effect definitely can go forwards and backwards. The events which set the timelines in motion were set from the future (2015). Had biff not stolen the time machine, doc would have destroyed it and Docs children never born. And of course it is implied in the FCB timeline that clara dies in the ravine in 1885.
  • edited July 2011
    well the only timeline that was changed was Doc's in 1931... Marty is still like himself because his timeline was the one altered
  • edited July 2011
    i still don't think doc should of disappeared like that. If you followed the game's time travel "logic," then Doc should of disappeared when they went to 1985-A in BTTF part 2. And always been in an insane asylum.
  • trekker26 wrote: »
    i still don't think doc should of disappeared like that. If you followed the game's time travel "logic," then Doc should of disappeared when they went to 1985-A in BTTF part 2. And always been in an insane asylum.

    No because it's different. At that time doc may have only spent a few days away from his timeline (we dont know how long he was gone after dropping marty off near the end of part I) whereas by episode 2 he has spent decades away from his timeline.
  • edited July 2011
    The way I remember it, Marty traveled back to 1985 alone... but I can't think why he would have done that, doesn't really make sense... so I'm guessing I just forgot something out of convenience.
  • edited July 2011
    well the only timeline that was changed was Doc's in 1931... Marty is still like himself because his timeline was the one altered

    hes not like himself in this timeline. in the citzen brown timeline marty was a nerd who as his mom said the perfect son and him bein a nerd is why jennifer broke up with him
  • edited July 2011
    from what we can gather from ep 5 and ep 4 i think that marty was goin to be erased too because like the time machine in ep 5 it dissappers because it was not in the timeline so thats why the time machine started breaking down and in ep 5 it finally dissappered because it should have kept gettin worst as we seen in ep 5 when its all broken down in the burned down hill valley edna's house and it finally dissappers when marty hooks up the time things on edna's time machine so since old doc was out of the timeline for so long i would think the same thing happened to him until he dissappered too or he could have just dissappered because his timeline was messed up so he dissappered but marty still had time to fix everything because his timeline was not that messed up so he had time to fix everything but remember im not sure if this is right but i just think it could be right
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