Question: What was so wrong with Marty and Doc returning to the future and stopping Old Biff from stealing the DeLorean? If they stopped Old Biff from stealing it, he wouldn't be able to go back in time to give his younger self the almanac.
Cubs Fan
16th Aug 2023
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Answer: To use Doc's example in the film, think of time as a linear straight line. Beginning at the point where the past was changed (i.e. Old Biff giving the almanac to his younger self in 1955), time would then continue linearly; therefore, traveling to the future from 1985-A would result in visiting the future of 1985-A. That's why Doc and Marty had to go back to 1955 to get the almanac back; once the anomaly was corrected (i.e. the almanac removed from where it didn't belong), the 1985-A timeline would vanish and time would resume its course the way it should in the original 1985 timeline.
20th Aug 2008
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Question: One thing I never got is why Marty is so shocked that the Cubs won the World Series in 2015. He was then going to say something like "It's just that Miami..." but stops and asks another question. Was it ever said anywhere what he was going to say about Miami? That always perplexed me.
Chosen answer: The Cubs aren't exactly known as World Series contenders. Put it down to bad luck, but over 100 years, they only have one World Series championship. The last time they won the Series was in 1908, and the last time they were even IN the Series was in 1945. Being a Cubs fan myself, Marty's reaction isn't that much of a stretch. The Miami reference is because they didn't have a baseball team in 1985, which is all Marty knows of course. Since the movie was made, however, Miami has acquired an MLB team called the Miami Marlins (formerly the Florida Marlins).
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Answer: As Doc explained, they'd be traveling to an alternate future. A future where old Biff already has the almanac, and thus, the alternate old Biff wouldn't have a need to steal the DeLorean to give his younger self the almanac. (I believe there've been discussions on here about why did old Biff then return to the same future Doc and Marty were in instead of the alternate future, and it's implied he basically fades out of existence.)
Bishop73