‘YESTERDAY’S ENTERPRISE‘ (TNG)

Please feel free to comment on my review.

Tim Bradley’s photo of Tasha Yar signed by Denise Crosby

Tim Bradley with Denise Crosby at the ‘MCM Birmingham Comic Con’ at the NEC in Birmingham, November 2017

This is one of the best and one of my favourite ‘Star Trek’ episodes from the ‘TNG’ series. It’s also one of the most complex episodes ever made. I had this task in trying to explain the plot to my Mum.

This episode is well-known for featuring the return of Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar. I’m happy to say I have actually met Denise Crosby in real-life at the ‘MCM Birmingham Comic Con’ in November 2017.

In this ‘TNG’ episode, the Enterprise comes across a wormhole in space. Whilst investigating this wormhole, a Federation starship passes through; history gets altered and Tasha Yar is on the bridge.

I was glad to see Tasha Yar back in the series, as I missed her following her tragic demise in ‘Skin of Evil’. I wondered how Tasha happened to be alive and well when that Federation starship appeared.

But of course when the Federation starship came through the wormhole, history changed. The Federation is now at war with the Klingon Empire and Tasha’s death in ‘Skin of Evil’ never happened.

Wesley is also an official Ensign with a red uniform aboard the Enterprise bridge. Worf’s not there and neither is Deanna Troi. The Enterprise has now become a ship of war instead of a ship of peace.

Nobody is aware that history has changed since the wormhole opened and the Federation starship entered through. Everyone seems to accept this as normal and they’ve been at war for a long time.

The only person who seems aware of the changes to the timeline is Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan. She visits Picard on the bridge; tells him history has been changed and that this is not meant to happen.

The Federation starship that appeared through the wormhole happens to be the Enterprise-C, the Enterprise-D’s predecessor. It was reported lost with no record on why it’d got lost in the first place.

It seems the Enterprise-C was attacked by Romulans when helping a Klingon outpost in distress. This occurred 22 years ago and was meant to ensure the peace between the Federation and the Klingons.

But the Enterprise-C’s entry into the wormhole prevented that and caused the war between the Federation and the Klingons. Hence why the timeline’s changed and why Tasha Yar was never killed.

The episode deals with the moral dilemma that Picard has to make with sending the Enterprise-C back through the wormhole. This could mean the Enterprise-C will get destroyed along with its crew.

But Guinan tells Picard to trust her intuition as sending the Enterprise-C back will restore history back to the way it was. It will also mean preventing the war that should never have happened at all.

This episode features Tricia O’Neil as Captain Rachel Garrett of the Enterprise-C. Garrett is quite a strong-willed woman and an equal to Picard. She copes well when Picard tells her what’s happened.

There’s also Christopher McDonald as Lt. Richard Castillo. For me, I’ve seen Christopher McDonald before in two kids’ films. They include ‘Monkey Trouble’ and ‘Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams’.

In this episode, Christopher McDonald plays Tasha Yar’s love interest. The two have a great chemistry before on-screen and off. They have a kissing scene when saying goodbye to each other.

Eventually, Tasha notices Guinan seeing something in her and asks her what happened to her in the restored timeline. Guinan reluctantly tells Tasha she was meant to be dead in the restored timeline.

Tasha soon requests a transfer to the Enterprise-C from Captain Picard, as she tells him what Guinan said. She wants to have a meaningful death compared to ‘Skin of Evil’ as well as to be with her lover.

Picard eventually grants Tasha’s request and soon joins Castillo aboard the Enterprise-C. The Enterprise-D gives covering fire to the Enterprise-C when three Klingon Birds of Prey come to attack.

The Enterprise-C goes back through the wormhole and history is restored to normal. Worf and Deanna are on the bridge and Guinan requests Geordi to tell her more about Tasha Yar Ten Forward.

‘Yesterday’s Enterprise’ is definitely one of the best episodes from the ‘TNG’ series. It is complex and quite a challenge to get your head around. But I was so pleased to see Tasha Yar return for this story.

‘Yesterday’s Enterprise’ rating – 9/10