Yesterday's Enterprise

Emerging from a dogfight 22 years earlier in a time rift is the previous Enterprise whose captain is Tricia O'Neill. Only problem is that the Enterprise then was destroyed and all hands lost.

Only the ancient and wise Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan knows there is something wrong. We know it too because former series regular Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar is on the bridge in her old job as security chief. And she gets a bit of romance from Christopher McDonald a junior officer on the previous Enterprise.

All the Star Trek franchise shows have a time paradox or three among their episodes, this is one of the best. McDonald and Crosby make a nice pair of ill fated lovers whose romance was never meant to be.

One of the better TNG episodes out there.

Star Trek is no stranger to time travel stories (and I have to confess to a certain weariness towards the gimmick, at this point), but with 'Yesterday's Enterprise', they really hit on something special. The technical side of it involves a temporal rift, a Galaxy-class starship from the past, and an alternate universe (not to mention a more battle-oriented Enterprise-D, for which the color blue is very flattering); but it's the human drama that lends this episode its real emotional weight. Should Picard send the travelers back to their own time (and certain death) or keep them alive and hope the war with the Klingons will finally go their way? Mixed up in all of this is Tasha Yar - and I have to say, her presence isn't just a plot device, but an organic way for the writers to make up for her senseless exit in the first season. It just works, and it's really something to see it pulled off so well.

This is classic TNG all the way; big ethical issues, well-drawn characters and powerful storytelling; even Shooter McGavin gets to play a pretty solid character. And for me, one of the series' greatest moments is Picard's utterance of this line:

"Let's make sure history never forgets... the name... Enterprise."

10/10

I never saw the first few seasons of TNG as I would have been 3yo in 1987, TNG was my first introduction to Star Trek. I remember watching sporadically latet season episodes. Now it is on Netflix I have been watching these early episodes for the first time. I didn't particularly like Tasha Yar, I never knew she existed till recently and am only a casual fan. Her death in series 1 didn't bother me. Just watched 'Yesterdays Enterprise'. Jesus it hit me right in the feels. Not ashamed to say I was on the verge of tears when Yar requested a transfer from Picard and for the rest of the episode. This episode was fantastic story telling. Highly recommended for any viewer not just Trekkies.

Top notch story, acting and battle scenes. Tasha Yar has the best performance in the series. High recommended.

TNG was always the best of the Star Trek franchise. Back when it was new, seasons 3, 4, and 5 were where they really hit their stride. It was must-see TV week in and week out. The scripts were ingenious and well written, they tackled loads of social and political issues of the day by cleverly placing them in the future and giving them a new twist. And by then we all loved the Enterprise-D crew and wanted to see what they'd encounter next: Picard of course, but also Data, Worf, Crusher, Troi, LaForge, Riker -- whoever your favorite was. Going on past season 5 things started inevitably falling off in intensity and quality, but the midstream of this series run was SO good at times.

"Yesterday's Enterprise" though still stands as my favorite. Watching it for the first time I remember exclaiming "hey, this is REAL science fiction!" -- a cut above the essential nature of Star Trek which is often just cowboys-in-space. War between empires. Time travel. Moral conundrums: dare they change the past or not? The whole plot of this episode has an inevitability to it that is carried off to a T. And it builds on the foundation of almost all the previous three years of the series, using all their characters but particularly Tasha and Guinan in surprising ways. It holds up well -- if you haven't seen it, butyou know the TNG characters, you've got a treat in store.