Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) Yesterday's Enterprise (1990) User Reviews

Darn Good Television

[kouch21 · 10/10 · 25 April 2006]

A tour de force of the best that a television series can offer: a well written script, solid ensemble acting (including the episode's guest actors), excellent direction, and an Emmy-nominated score to boot. Specific to Star Trek, there were solid special effects including a lengthy space battle (with the Klingons), the introduction of the Ambassador-class starship (Enterprise-C), and a full-fledged time displacement. Guinan's character was also fleshed out, while at the same time endowed with even more mystery, being the only one to sense the effects of the time displacement. The episode also set up a significant long-term plot line in the series, one that wouldn't be resolved until halfway through the fifth season. There were many memorable lines throughout, most striking being the transition from "Captain's Log, Stardate" to "Military Log, Combat Date". The only thing I would have changed would have been to have Worf leading the Klingon squadron in the alternate timeline... It would have been fun to hear him say: "Federation ship: Surrender, and prepare to be boarded." Regardless, one of the best in the series, and in my opinion, one of the best single episodes of any television series.

Excellent television

[Mr-Fusion · 10/10 · 7 January 2017]

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

For me, this is one of the best episodes

[dting2010 · 9/10 · 15 November 2018]

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.

One of the best episodes in the series

[alexgataric · 10/10 · 20 October 2019]

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

One of the best TNG episodes.

[russem31 · 18 April 2006]

ST:TNG:63 - "Yesterday's Enterprise" (Stardate: 43625.2) - this is the 15th episode of the 3rd season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Because of a temporal disturbance, the Enterprise-C emerges 22 years into the future, thereby altering time. In this time, which only Guinan (played by Whoopi Goldberg) can detect the changes, the Federation is at war with the Klingons because the Enterprise-C missed a key battle which led to peace with them. So now, instead of Worf, now Tasha Yar (played by Denise Crosby) is back. A very sentimental and emotional episode, this is definitely one of the best if not the best of the TNG episodes.

This episode will also have wide repercussions - with the emergence of Sela, Tasha's daughter in the episode "Redepemption".

Trivia note: Worf is introduced to prune juice, a "warrior's drink". Also, Dr. Selar is mentioned and we see the Original Series movie style uniforms for the Enterprise-C crew.

A Very Powerful and Well-Done TNG

[basschick · 10/10 · 11 May 2006]

While I enjoy the show, for me this is both the most powerful and well-realized episode of all. While science fiction is supposed to be speculative fiction, television sci fi so rarely is - and when it is, it is generally very formula.

Not so this episode, with its well-drawn characters and decisions that must be made despite the fact that there are no positive options. And while I didn't care for Tasha Yar originally, the author of this episode made perfect use of her so that I not only liked her but respected the character very much.

An excellent episode that goes beyond the usual formula TV boundaries.

Excellent Use of the Concept of Rips in Time

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 17 August 2014]

This is the ultimate decision for Picard. When another Enterprise shows up through some time fabric rip just as it is about to be destroyed by the Romulans, it becomes a problem because unless it is destroyed, it may change the circumstances of the universe. Of course, that means that an entire crew and starship needs to be given up in order to maintain a sense of order. What does one do morally? Is the loss of human life necessary? Are we to keep score when it comes to how many for how many? Casualties are often thrown out as negative statistics and people cheer. The people that die or are maimed do not cheer. Tasha Yar makes an appearance her, the first time after her death, and that death becomes a pivotal event in the decision making. Her relationship with a survivor and the captain of the Enterprise C are the link. This is true science fiction with some amazing ideas about time and the purpose of living beings as they explore the universe. Excellent in every way, though, the results may not be totally fulfilling.

Incredible

[gritfrombray-1 · 9/10 · 2 March 2007]

When I first watched this I was truly stunned at how brilliant the whole concept was. When the Enterprise C is bounced forward in time it alters the past dramatically and a war now rages in the present between Humanity and the Klingons. The story of 'what might have been' was excellent. Having Tasha in it was truly fascinating, and the angle of Guinan realizing she wasn't supposed to be there was brilliant writing. Whoopi is a great asset to the show and is in it only enough to enhance the show and never to steal any of the limelight! But in this particular episode, credit is due as she gave her best performance of the entire series. The sets and acting by Patrick, showing us a hardened by war Picard were fantastic. This show really picked up in this season and, after a writer's strike plagued second season, it was a welcome change. But I'm giving this a nine because of the final scene's blooper where Geordi wears the 'alternate' uniform in the ten forward scene with Guinan...

Right in the feels.

[dlaird8 · 10/10 · 22 February 2019]

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.

That will be the day

[snoozejonc · 10/10 · 20 June 2021]

Enterprise encounters a time rift from which another starship emerges.

This is a classic episode that packs a lot of entertainment into a clever 45 minutes.

Like most time travel stories it has questionable plot elements but it is a highly enjoyable concept that hits you with something cool in the opening act and carries you through to the end.

Time travel adventures have been done to death over the years but when this was written it was a relatively fresh concept for television, albeit with a few recycled themes from the original Star Trek series. For me the concept of the past ship affecting the timeline is a great central plot and a past character returning within the altered timeline is a quite brilliant way of redoing something that was done exceptionally badly in a previous episode.

It's this guest character arc and a number of other moments for other characters that provide the best parts of the episode. Picard is put in a dilemma where he must make a difficult decision and has a number of excellent scenes in command. Guinan's role, although a bit contrived to make the plot function, does give her an air of wisdom and makes her an important member of the Enterprise crew. Geordie is in the thick of the action during the most intense scenes. Data has one quite subtlety good scene in the turbo-lift which I found quite memorable.

Visually it is one of the best Star Trek episodes with some excellent cinematography, editing, production design and sound effects. The look of the Enterprise is superb and this is further distinguished by the lighting. There is a very suspenseful action sequence towards the end which is one of the highlights of the franchise.

All performances are strong with Patrick Stewart excellent as ever. Others who stand out are Caryn Johnson (as Guinan), Denise Crosby, Tricia O'Neil, Christopher McDonald and LeVar Burton.

For me it's a 9.5/10 but I round upwards.

Perhaps the best episode of any Star Trek series, pure brilliance

[bernlin2000 · 10/10 · 8 May 2021]

Can't say enough good things about this episode, all the things that made TNG so great, and the entire franchise magical. Required viewing for any Trekkie.

Worth the wait.

[tamarenne · 10/10 · 27 February 2017]

I will get this out first. I'm old enough that I have seen a few Star Trek TNG episodes on it's original run, but I am also a fan of Star Trek TOS and have always found TNG lacking.

The writer's fascination with Wesley Crusher kept me from becoming a fan originally. How a snot nosed kid could continually save the day just meant sloppy writing for me. But I digress.

I finally decided to watch the whole TNG saga. I noticed at the beginning in Series 3 things were looking up. Tonight, I finally watched episode 15, Yesterday's Enterprise. I had heard nothing about it and my expectations were middling. Imagine my surprise when I was greeted with stunning speculative Science Fiction of the first rank, seriously challenging anything in the Original Series.

From a sweet script and chilling drama to great ensemble acting, I was blown away. A previous iteration of the Enterprise suddenly appears 22 years after it was supposedly destroyed and instantly changes the Star Trek universe. How and why it was changed and the manner in which this all unfolded left me breathless. Superior television and drama worthy of the name Science Fiction. I think I will rewatch this right now.

I now look forward to more TNG; better late than never.

Pure fanservice

[ashleyannkennedy · 7/10 · 23 January 2021]

This episode was glaringly obvious about being written to give Lt. Yar a more dignified death. The plot is milquetoast, the outcome predictable, and I find it hard to invest in the characters. The ending pulled on the heartstrings, I'll admit that, but it seemed like an expensive piece of fanservice to reverse someone's decision to leave the show. Special effects were decent and Gainan finally gets a spotlight. Interesting, but not to a 9+ out of 10 level.

Just Weird

[zombiemockingbird · 3/10 · 2 April 2023]

Apparently, according to most of the reviews, this episode was only written to bring back Lt. Yar and give her a "fitting" send off. I guess I'm the only person in the world that didn't care when Yar died. I never liked her character; I found her stilted and uninteresting and I was actually glad she left. So this being an homage to her didn't interest me, and the story itself was just weird and confusing. None of it made sense, and Yar going back in time with the Enterprise C would have screwed something up in the future, wouldn't it? All of this was just because she died a "senseless death"? Sorry, this whole episode was senseless to me.

What might have been

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 29 March 2018]

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.

One of the best episodes in the series

[cashbacher · 10/10 · 23 February 2021]

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.

A Reply To toolkien

[Qanqor · 10/10 · 1 January 2015]

I am also one who counts this episode as the absolute best of the entire series. Others have sung its praises, and I do not feel the need to add to them. I only wanted to reply to toolkien's review, which cites an alleged plot hole. Rather than restate his argument, I'll let you go read his review (there aren't that many reviews for this episode, so it should be easy to find).

I assert that toolkien's argument holds no water. In fact, we *do* have canonical evidence that you *can't* just send a ship off into combat on autopilot. The *only* time that was ever successfully done was with the M-5 device, in TOS's "The Ultimate Computer", and we know that the M-5 experiment was ultimately a failure and no Federation ships since are equipped with one. Lacking one, it can't be done, and I shall prove it.

EXHIBIT A: I cite as evidence the third movie "The Search For Spock". In that movie, just to have the ship be controlled by a mere handful of people, Scotty has to create an automating device. This alone tells us you can't just go fly the ship somewhere on autopilot-- if you could, they wouldn't have needed Scotty's hack, they would have just set the Enterprise on autopilot and sat back and enjoyed the ride to Genesis. But what's more, Scotty's jury-rigging eventually *breaks down* when faced with the challenge of combat. This makes it extra-clear that combat is too hard to be auto-piloted.

EXHIBIT B: I cite the TOS episode "This Side Of Paradise". At one point in this episode, the entire crew has mutinied and abandoned the ship, choosing instead to beam down to a paradise-like planet. Kirk is left alone on the ship, everyone else is gone. And here is his *exact quote*, from his captain's log: "The ship... can be maintained in orbit for several months, but even with automatic controls, I cannot pilot her alone. In effect, I am marooned here." So where's your autopilot now?

In short, there is hard evidence that a starship cannot be auto-piloted, especially in combat, and I am aware of *no* evidence which suggests it can (again, except for the M-5). But even if we speculate that by Enterprise C's time, they had developed *some* ability to autopilot, there's every good reason to posit that it might not be very good, especially at combat. Keep in mind: the *whole point* is to convince the Klingons that the Federations acted honorably. If the ship went back with no crew, just on autopilot, it is reasonable to think that the Klingons would not have been impressed by the half-assed effort that the automation system might have been able to produce. Indeed, it might well have been Yar's tactical expertise *itself* which pushed them over the line enough to win the Klingons' respect. We don't really know for sure, but if the episode wants to lean in that direction, it's on sturdy enough ground that you can't label that a plot hole.

A beauty of a creative episode.

[thevacinstaller · 9/10 · 17 March 2021]

I love creativity in star trek storytelling.

This is a wonderfully crafted episode that brings back Tasha Yar and gives her a role of prominence in the episode and a 'potential' death of great importance.

This episode has everything ----- the mystery of what is going on with the changes to the enterprise D, the intrigue of Guinan's ESP, striking use of shadow and clever camera work/angles, a moral dilemma of whether to sacrifice the Enterprise C crew or not, a light dusting of a love story, Patrick Stewart in fine form as a weary war Captain and it's great to see an invigorated Denise Crosby.

There's even a message to get out of this one! One ship/person can indeed make a difference or change the course of history and we get to experience a 'what if' alternative future.

The only downside? I want more. Show me what life is like in the Enterprise D alternative timeline or an episode or two of the enterprise C dealing with the klingons and the promise of peace in the air lead up before this event happened. When an episode spurs my imagination to do some bad fan fiction ---- you know it's a great one.

Good story holds together well.

[smiledaydream · 8/10 · 20 February 2022]

Good story holds together well. The story is good. The acting's great. The characters are excellent and this episode and have a lot of clever dialogue. Worf discovering a new drink is an excellent scene. The environmental changes to adapt to the timeline are excellent and appropriately disturbing.

Best Star Trek

[rwfmade-152-50956 · 10/10 · 27 January 2020]

The best episode of Star Trek there ever was. It's no wonder Tarantino was inspired by it for his own Trei film, which probably won't happen.

The science fiction improves

[csunyabogar · 10/10 · 24 January 2021]

This episode is just amazing. The best episode so far. Besides of space travel and meeting some new cultures, we get some more science fiction in a totally different cool meaning. And this is not enough. This masterpiece just has its own greatness also in other ways. New kind of bridge, new unpredictable situations, and a completely different way of seeing the know Star Trek (Next Generation) universe. In this episode we can see how Tasha could've been a key character of the series. I regret that she was no longer a part of the Star Trek universe after only one season. That character had really great potentials. Besides Tasha, I also liked that Guinan got a key role in this episode.

The conclusion: 10/10 stars, and I hope for more episodes with this impression. Yes, I'm watching the series for the first time.

I knew I had been missing something

[mpbarry · 10/10 · 11 May 2021]

Starting Star Trek so late I knew I was probably missing something, but this episode has gone beyond all expectations

Even the previous episodes had exceeded expectation but this was something else. What a fascinating journey.

an interesting "what if"

[subego · 15 December 2008]

I have often thought that it would have been great had the writers of this episode added one simple detail: what if the Enterprise C or the Enterprise D had dropped a log recorder buoy as the rift were closing and before the time line was corrected? There have been precedents of this happening in past episodes, In the original series, "The Cage," the reason Capt Pike investigates a planet is because they find a ships recorder floating in space. In other episodes, Capt Kirk has copies of the ships log jettisoned when he felt they were soon to be destroyed.

In this scenario, since both Enterprises' know that the future in which they came to meet was not supposed to take place, either one of them could have left a record of their existence in THAT reality. This would have come in especially handy since in future episodes Capt pichard is confronted by someone who is a direct result of that momentary confluence of the two time periods from this episode.

This episode helps to establish the completely inexplicable return of Tasha Yar.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 16 November 2014]

At about the end of the first season, Denise Crosby requested she be written off the show, as her part was VERY limited. I would certainly agree, as her role consisted of saying "yes, Captain", being angry or talking about the rape gangs on her home planet. Otherwise, she was a non-entity. Now, for some odd reason, she's back. I have no idea whose idea it was, but following this return, she'd be back for future episodes as well--something which never worked for me.

The Enterprise inexplicably meets a previous version of the Enterprise in space. Somehow, the old version C was transported 22 years in the future. But this isn't the only change, as apparently this time shift also completely changed the timeline--resulting in Lt. Yar being alive and well on the Enterprise D as well as a long and super-bloody war between the Klingons. 40,000,000,000 lives have been lost in this horrific fight and it's lasted since about the time the Enterprise C disappeared. In fact, they eventually come to realize that if they can send that ship back, then the timeline will change and perhaps the war will never occur at all. Oddly, Guinan realizes that there is a problem and the old Enterprise must go back--but many of the other crew members want the ship to stay and help in the hopeless fight against the Klingons.

While the episode is a very interesting what if sort of show, it also re- introduces Yar. She's actually fine here--but her eventual return as a Romulan (?!) made no sense at all and seemed contrived as well as a low- point for the series. I just wish in hindsight that they'd given Ms. Crosby better material from the start, as this weird, abortive return just felt strange and a bit silly.

Simply going to say it as it is, this episode

[craig_vandertie · 2/10 · 17 November 2021]

Simply going to say it as it is, this episode made absolutely no sense.

No explanation as to why the El-Aurians can sense temporal fluctuations.

Federation getting losing almost every battle against the Klingons something that would have never been possible 50 years earlier, for crying over diced onions the PHASERSs set at maximum intensity couod not even penetrate the shields of a Bird of Prey or weaken them for that matter.

There simply was very little realism to the plot of this episode at all.