Yesterday's Enterprise

DVD, TNG S3 (Yesterday's Enterprise)

There may be the introduction of the Enterprise-C, and it may feature a war-ravaged Enterprise-D crew in an alternate timeline in which the Klingons are the enemy, but we all know what this is really about. Denise Crosby didn't get a worthy death in Season 1, so they decided to right that by bringing her back and giving her the kind of send-off she deserved in the first place. And top marks for doing so! But I don't agree with popular opinion that this is an absolute classic and would even say in retrospect that it barely scrapes into that category at all. When you know what's going on and you watch it now it is far less impressive than when it was introduced. Usually the best Trek's are the ones that retain their power even on repeated viewings and while I still enjoy it, it isn't without problems or questions.

Why didn't Picard immediately recognise the 'C' or know who her captain would be? It seems like a sensible thing to know all about your predecessors when you take command of a ship as prestigious as the Enterprise. It can be argued that this is an alternate reality so Picard took command during a period of war and so didn't have the time or inclination to learn about such things. It's quite strange to think that there was a period of time in the real universe when there was no Enterprise out there. The 'C' went missing and the 'D' didn't appear until almost twenty years later, I think because it took so long to create and the designers wouldn't have been expecting to work on the next generation of ships when the 'C' was lost unexpectedly.

Another query would be about the status of Klingon/Federation relations. This was made before 'Star Trek VI' showed how peace came between the Federation and Klingon Empire and this episode suggests that that state was a relatively recent development. It's also been corroborated in some ways by other series' such as Curzon Dax being part of the peace talks according to 'DS9'. So what is the truth? Was there a rift between them at some time in the early 24th Century that was healed later or am I mixing up 'real' universe politics with the alternate timeline? These paradoxes, eh? Tsk.

Guinan's meeting of Tasha, and indeed, any scene with either of them in was gold, especially as she realises her fate was not to be on the 'D'. Maybe I saw a missed opportunity with the other characters - Data has shown great fondness for Yar, but only gets the one scene in the turbolift. The 'C' looks suitable as the previous design of ship and we get to see the old uniforms again, only this time there's evidence of the gap between them and Picard's lot, such as the old style badge on their uniform which acts as a combadge of the modern era. Archer IV is mentioned which is now assumed to be named for Captain Archer of 'Enterprise'.

What drags the episode down a few pegs now is that it's very talky without saying too much to excite beyond the Captain's rousing speech, and the battle scenes are woefully slow and lethargic after the incredible space battles of 'DS9'. That's the peril of reviewing old series' and the essence of the story still pushes and pulls us, mainly thanks to Tasha Yar's presence, and they do make the most of her. But just as important is Guinan's introducing of Worf to prune juice. After this they became inseparable (I mean Worf and prune juice, not Worf and Guinan).

The episode did pave the way for thinking differently about the Star Trek universe and so it deserves recognition for being fairly revolutionary, but maybe doesn't hold up quite as well as some others that are still rightly regarded as classics.

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