How many losing bets would conceal use of the almanac? Roughly 70–75 percent success is suggested, while selective large bets might explain Biff's fortune.
A 1950s bettor has few legal venues, and repeated wins could attract murderous mob attention despite weaker surveillance than modern sportsbooks.
Marty could memorize one or a few profitable results before burning the almanac.
Why does time travel cause no jet lag or prolonged exhaustion? Marty's chicken trigger and almanac handling are recalled as already covered.
Doc's lack of age-peer friends and constant companionship with a teenager seem suspicious through a modern lens. A sexuality question is answered by his Part III romance with Clara.

Picking Nits

The almanac’s size and butterfly effect; inconsistent time-travel rules; Marty’s chicken trigger; Jennifer’s treatment.

In the discussion (24)

Approx. transcript time · 00:12:40Read transcript

Fifty years of results seem impossible to fit into the thin almanac; a larger book would not work as a pocket-sized plot object.
Fox and Elisabeth Shue look too old for teenage roles; advancing Marty to college or young adulthood would help.
Biff's precise memory of receiving the almanac and Marty's childhood knowledge of the manure crash seem implausible.
Marty's casual rooftop drop onto the hovering DeLorean requires extraordinary nerve and coordination.
Doc risks a close encounter with his earlier self despite his strict warnings about others meeting themselves.
Marty's newly central chicken sensitivity feels invented; loser or a short joke would be a more credible trigger.
Doc condemns knowing one's destiny despite surviving because he read Marty's letter and wore a bulletproof vest.
A local robbery should not lead USA Today's front page, even if its real-time updating is appealing.
Marty could identify himself by fingerprints as Jennifer's husband and retrieve her rather than breaking into the house.
Western Union preserving and delivering the letter after seventy years is implausibly reliable.
Biff's growing power should change sporting outcomes and invalidate the almanac, perhaps after his first win.
Biff's national celebrity sits oddly with building his casino only in his hometown.
The second manure humiliation might make young Biff violently retaliate rather than leave a repaired timeline.
Old Biff returns to the same future after changing the past, conflicting with alternate-timeline rules; the fact that young Biff has not yet bet is offered as a possible defense.
The World Series is implausibly finished by October 20.
Doc and Marty could address present problems directly, or use their extraordinary invention to prevent major historical tragedies rather than fix their own family.
Jennifer is unnecessarily brought along, sedated and abandoned; an early exit from the malfunctioning car could remove her more cleanly.
Doc leaves the time-machine keys in the car.
Leaving Einstein in suspended animation seems cruel and wastes a potential canine contribution; returning him home would be simple.
The Libyans from the first movie disappear from the story.
Biff foolishly exposes the almanac in his winning-race photograph.
Biff's casino residence is too dark and ordinary for his enormous wealth.
Why would Griff need clumsy Marty Jr. for the robbery? Using him as the fall guy resolves the objection.
Marty absorbs punishing blows from Biff while hanging beside the car without being incapacitated.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Alternate story concepts, visual effects, Glover’s lawsuit and the film’s props.

In the discussion (9)

Approx. transcript time · 00:26:53Read transcript

An early sequel concept used 1967 and protesters, rejected partly because George and Lorraine were too old for the hippie roles.
Bob Gale reportedly based the wealthy 1985 Biff on Donald Trump.
ILM's compositing let Michael J. Fox appear as three characters within a scene more easily than older techniques.
A $40 million budget and $332 million gross are cited, ranking third for 1989.
Glover's lawsuit led to likeness provisions in the Screen Actors Guild agreement.
The Cafe 80s Wild Gunman game was made for the film; the Oh LàLà cover used a 1955 Swank photograph of Venetia Stevenson.
Lea Thompson kept the breast prosthetic; the rejuvenation-clinic explanation spared Lloyd heavier old-age makeup.
The film is described as MCA Universal Home Video's first videocassette release, followed by recollection of expensive early tapes.
Antique-store objects include Jaws 2 and Animal House tapes, Roger Rabbit, Perrier, a Bee Gees album, Pac-Man lunchbox, Carter peanut bank, radio and video-game packaging.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 00:32:51Read transcript

Ebert awarded three stars.
Ebert found the timeline explanations baffling but the film fun for its sheer goofiness.

Casting What-Ifs

Crispin Glover’s disputed negotiations; Claudia Wells replaced by Elisabeth Shue.

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:09:14Read transcript

Glover's claimed $125,000 offer is disputed and his objections shifted toward the story's philosophy.
Claudia Wells left to care for her mother during a cancer crisis; the hosts consider replacement Elisabeth Shue overqualified.

Recasting Couch

Jami Gertz, Jennifer Connelly or Mindy Cohn as Jennifer.

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:10:58Read transcript

Jami Gertz, Jennifer Connelly or Mindy Cohn as Jennifer, though the role still gives her little to do.

What Would Tony Romo’s Director’s Commentary for This Movie Sound Like?

Collinsworth-style praise of the hoverboard ride and Doc’s time-travel execution.

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:11:26Read transcript

Collinsworth-style riffs praise Marty's hoverboard riding and Doc's execution of the timelines.

Best Double Feature

Poster unavailable

Back to the Future Part III

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:36:35Read transcript

Back to the Future Part III, because the two sequels function as one story; the original is the alternative question.