I have a technical question about Back to The Future which contains many spoilers

[Hassled]

So - at the end of BTTF2, 1955, the DeLorean is caught in a lightning storm and goes to 1885. Marty (in 1955) finds where the Doc has left it (in 1885) and goes to rescue the Doc.

BUT that DeLorean is the DeLorean that features at the end of BTTF1, as in it has Mr Fusion power, you can use bananas/food waste to power it and it flies. The 1885 DeLorean is that one, not the original 1985 one.

So why then do they need to fanny around with a steam train to get it up to 88 miles an hour to get back to the future in 1885? Why don't they use waste food to power the flux capacitor?

Maybe they didn't have any bananas? I expect they were quite pricey in 1885. Steam trains were everywhere?

Disclaimer - I haven't seen it on about 20 years so I have no idea! Might have to watch it again now...

No sorry - bananas weren't essential to the flux capacitor. Could have been any foodstuff. This is going to keep me awake tonight, I can tell.

Because the flux capacitor won't work until the car gets to 88mph

I think the bananas/food thing cam from the future - does Doc not go off to 2015 and then come back (with news about Marty's kids). And it is in 2015 he has discovered green rather than nuclear energy??

I'm not 100% sure though......

Oh god ignore that I see you are taking about no2 which I've never seen.

If you start analysing Back To The Future for plot holes you'll never stop...

Aww I'm sad. You are right. It's one of my favourite film and it now makes no sense.

It's a looong time since I've seen any of them, but don't they try experimenting with different foodstuffs in Part 111, and end up blowing something up (some kind of Wild West whisky springs to mind, but I could be losing the plot ), meaning the flux capacitor no longer works and cannot be repaired at that point in time?

I believe back to the future wiki has a delorean timeline.

I think at one point there is something like 4 of them.

backtothefuture.wikia.com/wiki/Four_DeLoreans

I thought the food power thing meant you didn't need to get to 88 mph. Maybe you need both food power AND 88 mph. Maybe the food just replaces petrol? The end of BTTF1 is ambiguous - I'm so distracted by the "where we're going, we don't need roads" line that I don't know if they still have to acquire speed.

It's the 88mph thing in part III isn't it - not the need for fuel? The delorean is broken so they have to push it to 88mph

In part I the whole point is it needs plutonium, hence Doc stealing it from terrorists. Then they use the lightning bolt to give it thr equivalent, but it can get up to 88mph by itself.

It's possible I've watched this too many times

I think the time travel power (1.21 gigawatts?) is separate to the "moving at 88 mph" power.

Design flaw, really.

In 1 the flux capacitor is powered by plutonium. Hence the need for 1.21 gig of electricity to power the flux capacitor. One plutonium pellet, one trip.

In the future Doc gets a Mr Fusion fitted which powers the time circuits/flux capacitor. They still need to get to 88 before the flux capacitor will work.

Oh sweet lord that 4 DeLoreans link . My head will melt.

Ah so the food waste is the substitute Plutonium/lightning?

Yep, and since they've blown up the MrFusion, they can't get to 88.

So they hijack the train, of course.

I was being pretty damn thick here, really, wasn't I?

The doc says that Mr fusion powers the flux capacitor but they need gasoline to run the engine (when marty arrives in 1885 he's attacked by Indians who shoot the gas tank and it leaks all over the ground) and as there are no gas stations in1885 they fanny about with the steam train.

Oh god, my favourite films, and now you've got me at it. What made the Delorean fly? I might have to read wiki

I don't think we KNEW what made it fly, did we?

They're fannying about with the steam engine right now on ITV2.

The Doc had a hover conversion some time in the future

Do the real life so-called hoverboards really annoy anyone else?

They don't fucking hover!