Star Trek: The Next Generation, or Star Trek TNG, was one of the coolest television series ever to grace the airwaves. As an impressionable young buck, it was the series that got me into science fiction. I loved everything about the show back then, and one of the coolest things about it is that it still holds up, for the most part. Looking back, what made TNG so cool? I think it was a lot of things. I think the crew of the Enterprise-D was amazing and they had such great chemistry. Somehow, you could tell that they really enjoyed working together. I think the ship itself was cool. They took everything that was cool about the original Enterprise, made it bigger and got rid of all the clunky buttons and replaced them with a touch interface. The new Enterprise was sleeker, more futuristic, just cooler. I know there are a lot fans of the original series out there who might disagree, but this is what I grew up with, and in my opinion, TNG was the greatest Star Trek of all time.
Now that all the Star Trek series are available on NetFlix (with the exception of the animated series), it is easier than ever to go back and watch the old TNG episodes, and maybe, if you’re brave, you can work your way through all 7 seasons to the end. If that feels like too much to bite off for you, then maybe I can help by occasionally selecting an episode to discuss here on the blog, and then you can go back and watch it. It will be fun for me to go back and revisit some of my favorite episodes.
The first episode I picked is “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” This episode premiered during the series’ 3rd season. In my opinion, the 3rd season was really where the crew was hitting their stride. The stories started getting more interesting, and the costumes began to look not so…’80’s. This was also the season that introduced us to the classic Star Trek cliffhanger season finale with one of the greatest TNG stories ever-“Best of Both Worlds.” The 3rd season was great, and other than the aforementioned season finale, “Yesterday’s Enterprise” was the best of the season.
If it has been a while since you have seen the episode, or if you have never seen the episode, let me give you a brief rundown of what the episode was about. The Enterprise encounters some kind of temporal anomaly, which occur all the time in the Star Trek universe. As they are checking it out, their scanners pick up another federation ship, and upon further inspection, they find out it is the Enterprise-C. In the original, “real” universe, the Enterprise-C had been destroyed relying to a distress signal from a Klingon outpost. This has led to the treaty between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Once they encounter this ship, though, everything changes in an instant. There is no more treaty. The Enterprise-C was recorded as missing, and the Klingons believed they had run away like cowards, leading to an ongoing war between the Klingons and Federation. The Enterprise-D is no longer a ship built for exploration, but a warship. You can tell, because no one turns all the lights on in war, because who needs a well-lit space when making battle plans:
Guinan realizes that something is wrong, especially when she interacts with Natasha Yar (not dead, convenient since there’s no Worf on the ship). She convinces Captain Picard that they need to send the Enterprise-C back to the past, and their doom, to make everything right. Picard must then convince the crew of the beaten up ship to go back, which, of course he does. Everything is going to work out, until a group of Klingon Birds of Prey show up to take out both ships. The Enterprise-D almost loses ship and crew to rescue the Enterprise-C long enough for them to go back and get blown up in the past. They hold them off just long enough, and everything returns to “normal.”
This episode really has quite a bit to get excited about. Number 1, it marked the first return of Denise Crosby to her role as Lt. Yar. She has been, and always will be a fan favorite. I personally never cared for her character, but I know she is beloved by TNG fans, and was even back when this episode aired. That alone would make this a favorite episode. Plus, she goes out in a very heroic way by joining the crew of the Enterprise-C, a much better ending than her original demise.
Another thing this episode has going for it is the appearance of the Enterprise-C. We had never seen it on film before, and it was pretty cool. For geeks like me who totally go gaga over different ships and made up history, it was really cool to see the Ambassador class ship show up next to the Galaxy class Enterprise-D. You could see how this ship was step in the evolution of the Enterprise, bearing a few similarities with its present day counterpart.
A third thing this story had going for it was time travel and parallel universes. Classic ingredients for a great SciFi story. And, of course, it leads to a huge moral dilemma. Do you put the universe back to how it is supposed to be, and save a bunch of lives in the process, or do you save the Enterprise-C and her crew? Picard has to make this choice. He doesn’t really know that sending the C back will change his universe and end the war before it begins, and the federation could always use another ship. All he has to go on is Guinan. Apparently, for Picard, that’s enough.
Finally, we get to see the Enterprise as a warship. As a kid, I thought this was really cool. If there was anything I felt like Star Trek was missing, it was battles and war. After watching the last few seasons of DS9, I found out how wrong that is, but as a kid I wanted more action. Seeing the Enterprise as a warship and an epic battle at the end of the episode, it was just cool. Plus, we see that no matter the circumstance, Picard is the greatest captain Star Fleet has ever had.
“Yesterday’s Enterprise” was one of the first episodes of the series that I remember really standing out to me. I enjoyed, and it was one that kind of succeed me in even more to the show. I think it is still just as popular as ever with the fans, and probably always will be. So, if you’re browsing through NetFlix, looking for something to watch, go check out “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” Whether you’ve never seen it, or you are watching it for the hundredth time, you won’t be disappointed.
