Is Doc a Hypocrite ?
This is something that's been bugging me for a while now. It started way back in BttF part 1. Doc read the note Marty wrote even though he told Marty that it could destroy the universe. I know that one's trivial, as it was life and death. Secondly, even though he refused to tell Marty about his future in part 2, he allowed himself to get knowledge of future events (part 3) by having Marty enlist his 1955 self to rebuilt the DeLorean.
Of course, he throws everything he ever said out the window in part 3. First of all by saving Clara (it was his one of his favorite eras of history, you think he would have studied major events that around the date he would go to) he clearly altered history for his own gain. He then was emphatic that Marty destroy the time machine... ONLY TO REBUILD IT!!!
Episode 1 continued this trend even more. He told Marty the time travel must NEVER be used for personal gain, however he saw fit to use it for such trivial personal gain as getting first edition books for birthday presents! Wouldn't any artifact removed from it proper place in time cause a distortion?
Sorry to rant, but this keeps going through my mind. It's hard to believe Marty would stay friends with Doc with how often goes against the very things he has told Marty to do!
Of course, he throws everything he ever said out the window in part 3. First of all by saving Clara (it was his one of his favorite eras of history, you think he would have studied major events that around the date he would go to) he clearly altered history for his own gain. He then was emphatic that Marty destroy the time machine... ONLY TO REBUILD IT!!!
Episode 1 continued this trend even more. He told Marty the time travel must NEVER be used for personal gain, however he saw fit to use it for such trivial personal gain as getting first edition books for birthday presents! Wouldn't any artifact removed from it proper place in time cause a distortion?
Sorry to rant, but this keeps going through my mind. It's hard to believe Marty would stay friends with Doc with how often goes against the very things he has told Marty to do!
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Up until Part III, Doc was a scientist with a one track mind. That all changed when he fell in love with Clara. Also, his giving knowledge of the future to his 1955 counterpart was done in order to get Marty back to his proper time. In fact, Doc specifically states that Marty should not travel back in time to recover him.
And as for saving Clara for his own gain, the fact was he didn't know and it's made clear that he didn't know that Clara Clayton was the same Clayton that fell down the ravine. In the timeline before Marty showed up in 1885, Doc didn't save Clara. He volunteered to pick her up at the train station and the two fell in love at first sight.
He comes back to help Marty help his kids...basically stop being "assholes" as Marty first guessed.
Concocted a crazy scheme where he'd knock out Marty's son and have him take his place, like such a thing fit perfectly with his normal philosophy, and was somehow as/more important than the life or death situation in Part 1.
Instead of anything less drastic to the timeline. Like maybe better parenting.
It was also a spur of the moment thing to save her life. I don't think he would just let her fall down he cliff. I think in life and death moments, Doc will chose life. He also would not let Marty stay in 1955. Also, the book thing isn't that big a deal. Marty tried to be a millionaire. I think Doc meant don't get greedy.
Also if marty kept the almanac and greatly altered his future, that could cause a paradox. Marty Jr. probably wouldnt have robbed a courthouse if he were rich.
And as mentioned part 3 is a character arc for doc. That is the first time he follows his heart instead of his head. I mean at one point he considers staying in 1885 to be with clara and messing up the timeline which is clearly out of character for him.
I truly love his reasoning in part I for taping up the letter: I just figured what the hell?
Simple really, say someone from Hill Valley was to grow up to be a star player, and because of the altered timeline was never able to achieve that status. That could easily swing the outcome on a game, especially since high stakes sports betting is not based on betting on winners or losers, but correctly guessing the point spread.
Of course, there's the possibility that it is another one of those items that conveniently changes. Mainly photos in the BttF universe have this quality, which is another point worth getting to. Wouldn't the photo itself disappear before the subject in it would?
I can't help going on, I love talking about this stuff.
Also if biff was his father in "hell" valley and the school was burn't down, how could he and Jenifer have met if he was sent away, and how could of he went back to past.
IF he did keep the almanac he wouldn't change what he did in the past/future cause it already happened. We can assume that what doc said in part 3 meant that they are always created a different timeline.
part 2 story was based off of what doc said in part 1, in which he said he could figure out who wins the next world series, he probably did go sight seeing and thought of bringing it back himself, but changed his mind due to the fact of what happened in 1985, and what he said is true, he mainly wanted to help mindkind, not for himself, being sent in 1885 was just a plus for him kinda lost his head there so
..Maybe he just ENJOYS screwing up the timeline now.
Well, okay, but again, what are the odds that Biff is betting on multiple games that all happen to have a star player from Hill Valley? Not to mention we don't know if anyone from Hill Valley is a sports star anywhere, anyway... and if there is, we don't know if the changes prevented them from being discovered, either. I'm just saying that with an almanac of every single sporting event... the odds of there being that many that were altered by Hill Valley changing in 30 years has to be slim to none.
well he is going with the whole "your future is what you make of it" maybe he went a little too far with it
its the fact that he trusts marty, he knows that marty would not do anything to mess up his timeline, he is more knowledgeable then he was in the movies, or maybe he thought that there was nothing huge in his life that would affect him, and as long as marty made another alias he would be fan as it seems that the timeline doesn't allow people to remember faces well
exactly, its the fact that biff had not interacted with them directly, thereforth even know he was making money, the future of sports would be the same since he didn't impacted them at all
its like Jennifer, even though marty did go back to the past, it didn't conflict with him going out with jen, since it had nothing to do with her
I think the almanac would update itself just like the photos and newspapers did.
Did you say it for the Jules Verne complete works that we can see at the beginning, during the credits, that Marty's father said to be a first edition Jules Verne?
Then, I don't think Doc got those books from the past with the time machine.
Think about it: In Episode I, last time we saw Doc was at the end of the third movie, with the time travelling train. After that, he never returned to Hill Valley. On the movies, he only went back to his house for a few minutes on BttF 2, and it wasn't even "his" house, it was alternate 1985 Biff's "Hell" Valley.
So, when did he get the books and bring them home in that timeline?
No, I think he got those books during his "normal" life. Note that they are "Complete Works", so they probably were printed anytime after Jules Verne died. Doc's always been a Jules Verne fan, since chilhood. Maybe he bought them somewhen, searching for first editions on used/old books stores, and kept them since then.
Concerning the almanac, I think Spengler56 hit the nail!
all we can do is assume, but yea in episode 1 he asks 1930 doc about what he has read, so alot of books inspired him, marty asks about if he read "the time machine" and he says not yet, he might of been inspired to make a time machine cause of that:)
You missed the forest for the tress there buddy. I wasn't talking about the books at the beginning. When Doc is in jail and you ask him why he was in the 30's, he states that he was getting some rare books for Clara as a birthday present.
Not really for the same reason that the delorean doesn't disappear at the end of part 2 but the time circuits malfunction and it loses its flying capability. That polaroid would still be produced somewhere, it's not like they prevented the film from ever being made. You could argue the picture should change to whatever that particular picture ended up being (which would be funny).
But yeah anyhow the almanac should change with the timeline so any sporting events which get changed in the new timeline would have the new scores updated. Basically as long as Biff never changes the timeline between him placing the bet and the outcome, he should be good.
I didn't think about that:p but yea, your right, as long as he didn't interfer with the guy who made it, it would still be there.
and the fact that biff dies in the late 90s, it would change hill valley big to the normal hill valley, cause more or less noone would be there to claim his empire( and the fact he is not smart enough to make a will) it will just be torn down and return back to normal, since he wouldn't have control of the police.
the only real problem is if biff already bet on the game, and somehow messed it up by being there, there forth the scores would change, but he could not take it back since it was in the past.
The future isn't set, and without a time machine, he wouldn't be able to fix what he did
Also, I wouldn't say that Biff dying in the 90's would put everything back in place, it certainly wouldn't bring back George McFly. It wouldn't get rid of the toxic waste and refineries in Hill valley. If anything, things would probably get worse AFTER he died because of the inevitable power struggle this would cause.
Yeah i was going to mention the george thing. And obviuosly biff becomes powerful enough that the US constitution gets changed; Nixon gets a fifth term, maybe he doesnt get caught for watergate?