Yesterday's Enterprise

This is another one of the episodes in STTNG where it is strongly hinted that Guinan has enormous powers. Her intuition is so acute that it can detect a change in the timeline. The premise is that some form of rift forms in space/time and the Enterprise C passes through it. In the normal timeline, it was lost with all hands, in fact it was destroyed by the Romulans. The Romulans were attacking a Klingon outpost and the Enterprise C was responding to the distress call when it was destroyed. When the Enterprise C passed through the time rift, there was a dramatic change in how history unfolded. In the normal timeline, the Klingons were impressed by a Federation starship defending them to the death and a peace treaty was signed between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Absent the treaty in the new timeline, the Federation and the Klingon Empire have been at war for over two decades. Guinan somehow senses this and convinces Picard that all is not right, for the Enterprise D is now only a warship. Tasha Yar is alive in the new timeline and she plays a major role in the attempt to reset the timeline back to what it should be. This episode is a strong one, indicative of what should have been given more emphasis in the series, what Guinan really is. While she clearly does not have the powers of Q, there are aspects of her existence that should have been more thoroughly explored.

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.

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.

This is what Star Trek is meant to be. The interaction between Stewart and Goldberg is dynamic. It feels like a culmination on their relationship. It's also a pleasant welcome back for LT Yar. It presents a well-told story of mystery, friendship, loyalty and duty.

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