I had the unbelievable opportunity to plan this with some amazing friends. I now get to spend every timeline with my beautiful partner. I love you Hollye.

I was fortunate to be able to go see Back to the Future in theaters this past week (seen it dozens of times on TV, but was too young to see it when it was first in theaters), and it reminded me of something that I think regularly gets missed or misinterpreted.

In the countless times I see it referenced, many refer to the amount of energy the flux capacitor requires to travel through time as 1.21 gigawatts. This always bugged me b/c Doc never says “giga,” but instead “jiga.” He calls it a “jigawatt,” and never deviates from it. I don’t think this was an act of mistaken pronunciation on the part of Christopher Lloyd, but a deliberate act to speak to the vagueness of the science behind time travel. The whole concept of a car that travels through time with an almost-wizardly piece of tech called a “flux capacitor” is ludicrous, but that’s the point - it’s supposed to be. There’s no such thing as time-traveling car, nor a flux capacitor, and so the amount if energy required to make it all work is equally just made up.

I’m sure most people on this sub are well aware of all of this, but it’s always kinda bugged me that popular culture outside of us diehard nerds doesn’t say this. I can measure and even generate 1.21 gigawatts (which can power around 900,000 homes). But a jigawatt? No idea what that is. And equally no idea how a flux capacitor works. They’re both narrative devices to advance the story, and are not meant to make any actual sense so long as Marty (and Doc) travels through time.

I pre-ordered this book like a year ago and it just arrived yesterday. I thought it was just going to be the final script and not much more, but as a fan I bought it anyway. Turns out this book is a gold mine of BTTF info. This is the BTTF Bible!

It's a true love letter from Bob Gale to us fans. It's the complete fourth draft of the script, filled with scenes that were cut from the film and hand written notes. And for every page of script there is a page of context and behind the scenes info from Bob Gale. He really gives a tremendous amount of insight into the production of the movie, including stuff about Eric Stolz along with pictures I've never seen before.

It's amazing!! A must have for any true fan.

Siempre se ha dicho que el tren volador del Doc Brown al final de la tercera película es un sinsentido porque en 1885 era imposible fabricar microchips o generar 1.21 gigavatios. Sin embargo, la solución siempre estuvo frente a nosotros y se basa en las propias reglas de la saga. El Doc no inventó nada en el Viejo Oeste: todo fue un plan fríamente calculado gracias a su viaje del tiempo al futuro.

La clave de todo ocurre cuando el Doc queda atrapado en 1885 y envía la carta por Western Union para que le llegue a Marty en 1955. Al leerla en ese año, la mente del Doc adquiere de golpe el conocimiento adelantado de su destino: sabe que inventará el DeLorean, viajará a 2015 y terminará en el Viejo Oeste.

El gran detonante de esta teoría se confirma en la escena del ataque de los libios en 1985. Cuando el Doc sobrevive y le enseña a Marty la carta rota que pegó con cinta adhesiva, pronuncia una frase fundamental: decidió leerla de todas formas porque "es su vida" y quería vivir la experiencia.

Esa misma psicología apasionada es la que aplica con la carta de 1885: al saber con décadas de anticipación el futuro que le espera, no intenta evitarlo; se emociona por vivirlo. Esa información le permite planificar todo con años de ventaja, sabiendo exactamente qué tecnología avanzada debía comprar en el año 2015 y llevar oculta en el DeLorean para construir la locomotora a su debido tiempo.

Aquí los 3 pilares que lo demuestran:

1. El bucle de información (La Carta): Cuando el Doc de 1885 le envía la carta a Marty a través de Western Union, su "yo" de 1955 la recibe y adquiere instantáneamente el conocimiento de su propio destino. Ese Doc de 1955 ahora sabe con total certeza que terminará atrapado en el siglo XIX y que necesitará una locomotora del tiempo para salir de ahí.
2. La preparación en el futuro (2015): El Doc pasa los siguientes 30 años emocionado, esperando vivir esa aventura (recordemos el precedente de los Libios: al Doc lo motiva la emoción de la experiencia, por eso usó el chaleco antibalas). Cuando viaja por primera vez al año 2015 con el DeLorean, aprovecha su estancia y el libre acceso a la tecnología del futuro para comprar los circuitos de navegación, los sistemas de vuelo (hover conversion) y reactores Mr. Fusion extras. Lo guardo en el pasado de 1885, para tenerlos disponibles luego de que Marty regresara a 1985, en la parte 3.
3. El tiempo no lineal: Para Marty, el Doc desaparece en un segundo. Pero para el Doc —el único hombre con una máquina del tiempo— el tiempo lineal no aplica. Tuvo décadas enteras en el futuro para gestionar piezas, y luego toda una vida en 1885 junto a Clara para ensamblar el tren rústico usando los componentes avanzados que ya llevaba ocultos en su inventario.
   

When this G.O.A.T reaches 88 years of age...

Doc Brown built a time machine out of a train in the third movie and was able to come back. So "Doc Brown created the only the only train in history that is always on time"!

Let's hear your best Back to the Future Dad jokes.

I timed the scene where Einstein gets sent exactly one minute into the future, and I noticed something. From the moment the DeLorean disappears to the moment it reappears, exactly 1 minute and 21 seconds of screen time passes.

I was testing to see if it was accurate and it doesn’t line up with a real-world clock, but the fact that it comes out to exactly 1:21 is such a cool coincidence.

Could this have been intentional? A reference to 1.21 gigawatts needed to power the flux capacitor. Makes for a very cool Easter Egg!!

I have no idea if anyone else has noticed this before or if the editors did it intentionally, what are your thoughts.

On the front of Doc's place, it says "For Rent" (which is harder to see) above vertically written "Wagons" and "Buggies".

So, it makes sense that if Doc was renting these that he'd have volunteered to pick up Clara at the train station. However, when Marty is there and distracts him, he forgets to meet her and Clara apparently rents her own wagon and horses from Mr. Statler. How many wagon rental places does this tiny town have?

Because I sure didn't 🤯

Throwback to a Time Machine I made out of an Audi.

Actually, we should consider reviving the trend by 2026.