TNG: Yesterday's Enterprise

            Watching this episode I can't help but wonder what was happening late February of 1990, because I am fairly sure I have never seen this episode before. And what an episode to miss! An Enterprise from the past with a female captain, an alternate timeline where the Federation is losing a war to the Klingon Empire, and Tasha Yar sacrificing her life only this time for a good cause. This may not quite be The Best of Both Worlds, but especially after such episodes as Booby Trap season 3 has more and better action than the first two seasons put together.

            We open with Guinan introducing Worf to prune juice in Ten Forward when he looks out the window and sees a huge vortex in space of some sort and is immediately summoned to the bridge. On the bridge they watch as a ship emerge, and flash! Suddenly the ship is different. The ship the comes out of the vortex is the Enterprise-C and back on the D it is suddenly a war ship. Everyone is armed at all times, the light is much lower and they are at war with the Klingons. Sensors show the C has life signs still so Picard sends over medical teams. About half the crew is dead and the rest are badly hurt. Crusher tends to the wounded while Geordi get the engines going again and restores life support. Back on the D Guinan can tell something is wrong. She wanders onto the bridge and is shocked by the changes. She insists on talking to the captain and even though he is hesitant at first he trusts her. 

            After talking to the captain of the C in sickbay Picard learns she was in the middle of a fight with the Romulans while trying to defend a Klingon outpost. In the middle of the fight there was a flash and they found themselves in the future. Picard figures out that this may be why they have been at war with the Klingons for 20 years, there is no record of the C fighting to defend the Klingons. Meanwhile Tasha Yar is working with the acting commander of the C to try and get their weapon systems working so they can fight the Klingons in the current time period. She falls in love with him pretty quickly and is jarred by Guinan's reaction to her.

            Picard holds a briefing to the staff to explain his decision to send the C back through the time portal to try and stop the war they are fighting. Riker isn't pleased and Tasha is pretty upset. She talks to Guinan who admits to her that she is dead in the main timeline. The Klingons attack suddenly and do a bit more damage to the C before leaving. The captain of the C is killed leaving no one at tactical. Tasha requests a transfer to the C since she is most likely going to be erased from history if she stays and also she is in love with the new captain of the C. Picard hesitantly agrees and she heads over just as they prepare to depart. The Klingons attack again and are on the verge of destroying the D just as the C goes into the rift. And suddenly things are as they were and Guinan is talking to Geordi about Tasha in Ten Forward.

            Review: Star Trek is more known for its mirror universe, but this alternate timeline episode is a solid exception. Sure there is a causality loop in there, but whatever man, it is a solid episode. Lots of action and some solid character interactions to make it all work. Also the dramatic lighting on makes Patrick Stewart look more serious. Maybe this is why the bridge is always so dark in the TNG movies.

9 out of 10