Back to the Future Part II

Corrected entry: When Marty gets the Western Union letter from 1885 Doc it is raining but if this is at the same moment we get the recap of the 1955 Doc from the first film on the clock tower it wouldn't be raining, just thunder and lightning.

jbrbbt

Correction: A great observation, but rain can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours so a rain shower at this time is not impossible.

Correction: Also, different areas. It can be pouring rain in 1 spot, while sunny just a few feet away.

lartaker1975

Corrected entry: When Marty was standing outside the giant TV and the announcement was made about the Chicago Cubs winning over Miami, Marty said he put his money on Miami. He had only been in 2015 for a short time, and before that he was in 1985. There is no way he could have bet on anything in 2015.

Correction: Marty says "I just meant Miami." He never says anything about putting money on Miami. Marty was surprised that Miami had a baseball team and the old man thought Marty was surprised Cubs won. (Point of trivia, Miami didn't have an MLB team in 1985).

Bishop73

The Cubs are from Chicago, not Cincinnati.

Further extension of same joke. A) The Cubs have moved and B) they can now win games.

dizzyd

There's no indication the Cubs moved to Cincinnati in the film, so it's not part of any joke. I didn't bother mentioning the wrong name in the correction since the mistake was about Marty putting money on Miami.

Bishop73

Correction: You misheard. Marty's lines on seeing the sports flash are "Wait-a-minit... Cubs win world series." (then disbelieving) "Against Miami?" The other guy comments on it and plants the idea of betting in the past. Marty, continuing his original thought, starts to explain "But I just meant, Miami..." and abruptly stops, considering what the guy said and asks "What did you just say?"

Corrected entry: When Marty's son walks by young Jennifer in the hallway of his home, he thinks is the older Jennifer and says "Hi mom, nice pants". Later at dinner, Marty Sr. and Lorraine are talking about how Jennifer is late coming home. Marty Jr. is sitting right there and doesn't even mention how he just saw his mom in the hallway.

calidude

Correction: He is occupied with the retractable fruit plate and glasses phone.

Correction: He's a teenage boy. Not always the most observant or helpful.

shortdanzr

Corrected entry: A rather obvious one: when Marty is paddling furiously on his hoverboard to escape Biff's gang, the paddling leg changes repeatedly between right and left.

Correction: No it doesn't, I just watched this scene and Marty is using his right foot in every shot.

Corrected entry: When Marty first uses his talkie talkie he is holding it backwards. Microphone slats are at the back not front, and the antenna is on the left not right. In later scenes he is holding it correctly.

Correction: It's a running gag in the BTTF movies that Marty is comically ignorant of operating both past and future technology; he futilely attempts to twist the cap off a pop bottle in 1955, for one example, and he has no idea how "one size fits all" clothing works in 2015. His mishandling of the walkie-talkie may also be attributed to this ignorance; however, his walkie-talkie should function properly no matter how he holds it, as long as he pushes the transmit button with the microphone a few inches from his mouth.

Charles Austin Miller

Corrected entry: When Marty first enters the Cafe 80's you can see behind him the two kids playing the working video game. The next scene that shows them the kids are still playing the game. However the third time you see the game it is now off with no kids in front of it. The next time it is shown the kids proclaim "they got it working" and walk from behind the machine and start playing.

Correction: The screen of the video game is off all the time and the kids are playing around with the guns to understand how the game would work.

Corrected entry: In the McFly house in 2015, there is an invention where a thumbprint is needed to get in or out of the house (instead of a doorknob). Although a great invention for the outside so no criminals or such get into the house, but it makes no sense to have it inside to get out, That would not be a factor for safety if any unwanted people were already inside, any different from a simple doorknob to leave.

Correction: You're over thinking the technology. If there's no doorknob, there has to be some way to open the door. Using your thumb isn't about security, it's just a way to leave.

Bishop73

Corrected entry: When Marty kicks the amplifier over when onstage at the dance in the first BTTF film the amp was sitting on an upside down Pepsi Cola crate. In BTTF 2 there is no crate then the amp is on the floor.

Correction: At no point in the first movie is the amplifier on a crate.

lionhead

Corrected entry: When Marty goes to the new 1985 and goes into the house he thinks is his, a Dirty Dancing poster can be seen on the girl's bedroom wall. Dirty Dancing was not released until 1987.

Correction: Just watched this scene looking for the Dirty Dancing poster. I see about 4 different Michael Jackson posters, but no Dirty Dancing poster.

jshy7979

Correction: This is a very altered version of 1985, so it doesn't have to conform to the original timestream. For instance, Biff may now be responsible for providing the funding that gets the movie made earlier.

JC Fernandez

Plot hole: When Old Biff goes back to 1955 to give himself the almanac, he comes back in the Delorean to the version of 2015 that he left, not the other, skewed version in which he is rich. Everything in 1955 should have changed around the Doc and Marty, as the Doc tells Marty everything will change around Jennifer and Einstein later on in 1985, when Marty and the Doc go back to restore normalcy. George is alive in this future, so we know the skewed version hasn't taken hold.

calgarry

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Suggested correction: It is established in the movies that the effects of the timeline being changed are not immediate. For example, in the first movie, in the photo of Marty and his siblings, it takes some time for them to vanish from it. When Doc tells Marty everything will change around Jennifer and Einstein when the timeline is restored, I don't think he meant the future will be restored to normalcy right that second, but more after an ample amount of time has passed for everything to be right. After Old Biff gave the almanac to young Biff, there was ample time for him to return to the original 2015 before it changed into the alternate 2015.

Casual Person

That would mean when they restored the timelines it would have taken time for it to adjust again, but it didn't. The new timeline was created but the old one remained because Marty and Doc were still in the original future. However, even though they are not in their original timeline it doesn't make sense for them to still be there, the timeline should have been erased or else old Biff wouldn't be erased either. Again though, a copy of another plot hole, which one is the oldest and original?

lionhead

Biff wasn't erased, he just had a heart-attack.

Goekhan

He was erased. It was cut from the movie, but the writers have said that it's still canon when asked in interviews why Biff was groaning (and the recent spin-off comics confirm it as well).

Corrected entry: In the scene where Marty is watching his other self talking to his parents (his other self just played Johnny B. Goode), he is watching through the door, when suddenly Biff turns up and they argue. When they are about three feet away from each other (just enough space for a door to be opened) you see Marty blinking his eye, because he expects the door to be slammed open, and the Marty from the first film rushes out.

Correction: 1. Michael J Fox was not "really" going to be hit by the door, there would not really be a reason for him to blink or twitch knowing it was coming. 2. The scene shifts perspective and there was a split screen effect in play to make the dual Marty effect, so its not a continuous shot. 3. Marty is triggered by the chicken word currently, and would not be thinking enough to realise it was coming. Ultimately, I think its just a twitch caused by being triggered by the word Chicken.

oldbaldyone

Correction: There is no mistake here. Marty is expecting the door to be slammed open because he remembers how he left the building. The timing might seem funny, but he could have remembered just at that second.

Plot hole: If Old Biff changed his past and went back to 2015, he goes back to HIS future, not the bad future, but Doc later tells Marty that if he were to go to the future to stop Biff from taking the almanac, he'd go to the bad future, so Old Biff technically shouldn't have been able to return to "his" future at all.

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Suggested correction: The effects of the past being altered may not have happened immediately. It is possible that it took time for the timelines to adjust to the changes of events, meaning enough time would have passed to change 1985 when they return, but not enough time could have passed to change 2015. By the time Doc says if they went back to 2015 they would be going to an alternate future, some time has passed, so the effects of the past being altered and taking ahold in 2015 and altering it are more likely to have occurred by then.

Casual Person

Here is what you say: "perhaps it took time for the time lines to adjust." What kind of time would timelines take? Time is time, it doesn't take time to change the timeline. That doesn't make any sense. Some people claim it was the DeLorean itself that came back to its own original timeline and only then reset itself in the new one, but then the new timelines being erased later on wouldn't have happened either. So its a genuine plot hole.

lionhead

It's established in the first film that it takes time for the changes to take effect. Marty and his siblings slowly disappear from the photo, rather than instantly. Although the scene in BTTF2 was deleted, it was filmed showing Biff dying and slowly fading away after his return to his present.

Yet they were restored instantly without any outside influence at the end of the movie. There are a lot of things wrong with this movie and the first one. Old Biff disappearing should mean that Marty and Doc should slowely disappear as well, even the DeLorean. But they didn't, that doesn't make any sense. The point is there is a plot hole, somewhere. To know where all you can do is look at it logically and then you automatically come up with Old Biff going back to the future but not the alternate future. If he did there wouldn't have been a movie, but that's the plot hole.

lionhead

The timeline didn't change until he made his first bet which was some years I think after receiving it. He immediately travelled forward after giving the act, meaning he will still jump forward to the original future.

The timelines would instantly change, and Old Biff couldn't possibly have returned to "normal" 2015. It's just a poorly-thought-out time travel plot hole (or a deliberate error to expedite the storyline).

Charles Austin Miller

Suggested correction: In context, Doc was saying that they couldn't return to 2015 to stop Biff from stealing the time machine, because Biff didn't steal the time machine in the alternate 2015, he only stole it in the original 2015. Marty and Doc didn't stay long enough in 2015 after Biff returned, and that's why they didn't see any differences. Also, though they were unaware of it, Biff was dead in the alternate 2015, so the disasters he caused might have reverted back after his death.

Plot hole: After Biff steals the DeLorean and travels back to 1955 with the Sports Almanac the movie states that he creates an alternate timeline. Doc Brown does a good job of illustrating this on a chalkboard. So if, as Doc Brown states, Biff created an alternate timeline, then when he travels back to 2015 it would be the alternate 2015. Even if the original timeline stays intact with Doc and Marty in it, they'd be trapped there because Biff took the Delorean and returned it to the new timeline, not the one they're in.

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Suggested correction: When Doc explains to Marty the events that changed the timeline from 1955 onwards, several hours have passed since they returned from the (original) 2015. Old Biff likely returned to the original 2015 not long after after giving young Biff the almanac, so it is entirely plausible that not enough time had passed for the alternate version of 2015 to take ahold. When Doc tells Marty if they were to go back to the future they would be going to an alternate future, enough time had passed for the future to turn into the alternate future.

Casual Person

Corrected entry: When the "old Biff" steals the time machine in 2015, as Doc and Marty attempt to retrieve Jennifer, it shouldn't be possible for Biff to return to the world that exists around him, as he gets out of the car back in 2015. Doc, Marty, Jennifer, and the world around them ALL should no longer exist, while still trying to escape from 2015. An alternate time line should have been created the moment "old Biff" left 1955. (Thus, Doc's explanation to Marty via the chalkboard explaining an "Alternate Reality"). This all started in 1985, and one result of old Biff's ventures, we learn that Doc is committed to an institution and couldn't even invent, or at least complete, the time machine by October 26th, 1985, which is the starting date of the initial film.

BLuRD

Correction: It is pointed out in all 3 films that the time lines aren't altered immediately (e.g. In the first film, Marty and his siblings fade out of the photograph that he holds, rather than just simply disappear). Just because Doc didn't invent the time machine doesn't mean someone else didn't instead (it is possible Marty did it himself using Doc's notes).

Andy Benham 6979

Correction: The official comics reveal that Doc had been performing time travel experiments in order to correct the timeline (this is the reason he was committed in the first place). These experiments didn't use a DeLorean, but still nonetheless involved time travel. In addition, an explanation of temporary "protective bubbles" that weaken as chances of timeline correction fade is also present.

Corrected entry: When Marty buys the sports almanac, how does he get the money to do it? Considering a Pepsi costs 50 bucks, the almanac probably costs several hundred dollars. How many teens from the 1980's just happened to have that amount of money in their wallet at any given moment? He didn't get the money from Doc since Doc didn't even know he bought it until after the fact.

calidude

Correction: He used his thumb. We see Future Biff use his thumb to pay for the taxi.

People who use their thumbs have a recognised fingerprint with an account in which you add money onto. I use my own at school. Since Marty isn't from 2015, he doesn't have one.

But there is a Marty in 2015 with the same thumbprint that would be recognized by the reader, so yes, 1985 Marty could use it.

jimba

Correction: The Store also buys money, so he pays with money from his pocket the novel states this exact thing.

Kevin l Habershaw

Corrected entry: When Marty's daughter answers the door she lets in Grandma Lorraine and Grampa George. Lorraine says that she brought pizza for everyone. Marlene says "who's going to eat all of that" and Grampa George says "I will." Yet, when the pizza is hydrated, Grampa George is not in the kitchen at the table or in any of the following house scenes.

Correction: Any number of explanations. Grandpa George could have been in the bathroom, for all we know.

K.C. Sierra

Correction: He was to the side, off-camera. There's a deleted scene that shows this.

Corrected entry: In the year 2015, Marty's daughter Marlene is telling Lorraine that the reason the scenery channel isn't working is because the scene screen repairman called Marty a chicken and Marty threw him out of the house. Why would the repairman call Marty a chicken? Nothing at all makes sense about this, what could possibly provoke a repairman to call the owner of the home he was working in a chicken ? Even if Marty was rude to him, it would make more sense to just call him a jerk, not a chicken. Calling him a chicken likely means he was goading him into a fight and there is no logical reason for some repairman to want to pick a fight with someone he is servicing.

calidude

Correction: As we have no information regarding what happened, it is somewhat absurd to attempt to base a mistake on personal speculation regarding a trivial conversation that took place off-screen. It is unlikely, yes, that a repairman would call a client a chicken, however, as we are not made aware of any other details of the incident, it certainly cannot be said that it could not have happened.

Tailkinker

Correction: It is a play on Marty's peculiar personality trait of being easily provoked to take unreasonable action when being called a chicken. A habit he cannot kick and probably has become known for ever since breaking his wrist in 1985. We even see Needles push his buttons with it. Apparently, the repair man tried the same.

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Suggested correction: According to The IMDB website, Charles Fleischer who played Terry the Tow Truck Driver and the old man taking donations in 2015, provided the voice of Gertrude Tannen.

And other sites list Wilson as the voice of Gertrude. Neither men are credited for the role and I have yet to see any site list a source for the information.

Bishop73

Https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0281486/otherworks.

IMDB is not considered a good source. Plus, on that site the information is given as trivia without a source, any crackpot could have claimed that.

lionhead

Well until you can show me a confirmed source stating it was anyone else, my correction stands.

But IMDB isn't a confirmed source. Here's a site that lists Wilson as the voice actor, so by your logic the trivia entry stands. https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Gertrude_Tannen.

Bishop73

On the audio commentary it is stated that the voice of Grandma Tannen is Fleischer. This is stated right after we hear "her" voice when the outside of her house is being shown.

Correction: Doc's clearly done a lot of research into Marty's family, knowing what happens to them, who his kids are, etc. Knowing where he lives would be part of that.

Correction: He'd been there once before taking Marty to the future. When hearing about Marty McFly. Jr, he could have done a background search on him, including age, phone number, and address.

Corrected entry: We see that George McFly died in 1973 when Marty checks the newspaper; the article on the front page says he was murdered, with a sub headline that reads "Local Author Dies." However as we saw in the original Back to the Future, George didn't get his first book until 1985 when Marty came back from 1955. Therefore George was not an author in 1973 when he was murdered. Even if in the alternate future George wrote earlier, when Doc and Marty fixed the future the newspaper should not say "Local Author Honored" because in the non-alternate future he was not an author until 1985.

Correction: His first novel was published in 1985. That doesn't mean other writings of his weren't published prior to 1985.

Correction: The timelines started to diverge in 1955 - no reason to assume changes that were made didn't lead to George publishing his first novel earlier.

But the 'first novel' timeline is in the divergent path. George hadn't published ANYTHING in the original timeline.

Brian Katcher

Biff also wasn't a Billionaire, gambling was illegal in California and Biff was George's Supervisor in the original timeline. By having the Almanac, Biff altered the future. Therefore, anything in the original timeline is out the window once Biff alters the future.

Back to the Future Part II mistake picture

Revealing mistake: In the scene where Doc Brown is following Biff into the tunnel, as Marty starts to pass between the cars on his hoverboard, one of the wheels on the rig supporting the hovering DeLorean is visible. (01:30:30)

More mistakes in Back to the Future Part II

Biff: Look, Lorraine, you walk out that door and I won't only cut off you, I'll cut off your kids.
Lorraine: You wouldn't!?
Biff: Oh, wouldn't I? First your daughter, Linda. I'll cancel all her credit cards. She can settle her debts with the bank all by herself. Your idiot son, Dave. I'll get his probation revoked. And as for Marty. Well, maybe you liked to have all three of your kids behind bars just like your brother Joey. One big happy jailbird family.

More quotes from Back to the Future Part II

Trivia: In an interview, the director stated that hoverboards were real, but they weren't on the market because parents didn't like the idea of floating children. He said this as a joke, but this didn't stop mass hysteria as thousands of kids went from store to store looking for hoverboards.

moviedude345

More trivia for Back to the Future Part II

Question: What song does Marty play on his guitar in 2015 after he gets fired?

Answer: He is attempting to play the song "The Power Of Love" by Huey Lewis and The News. He was first seen playing it very well in the first Back To The Future movie when he was trying out for the school dance. Jennifer recognizes the song and is shocked that Marty who was so good at guitar was suddenly able to hardly play it.

More questions & answers from Back to the Future Part II

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