Season 1
Episode 21: Tomorrow is Yesterday
Filmed: November/December 1966
Filmed: November/December 1966
First Air Date: January 26, 1967
Karen: Time travel! This would be the first extensive trip back through time for the Enterprise crew and it allowed the show to bring in a contemporary man to be a viewpoint character for the audience, seeing the Star Trek characters from a different angle. The show also played on the 60s interest in UFOs, as the Enterprise is mistaken for one. "Tomorrow is Yesterday" also exhibited a fair amount of humor, probably more than we were used to seeing on Trek to this point, thanks to both writer D.C. Fontana and producer Gene Coon.
Karen: Writer Dorothy (D.C.) Fontana actually got the idea for this episode from the ending of "The Naked Time," the only previous Star Trek foray into time travel. At the end of that episode, the Enterprise is thrown back a few days into the past. There had briefly been consideration of making "The Naked Time" a two-parter, with the second half delving into the Enterprise being stuck in the past, but it was nixed. Fontana, however, liked the idea of the Enterprise traveling into the past, and developed the idea into a full-fledged script. This script, much like "Arena" before it, was one of the few that was not substantially altered in the revision process, which is a credit to Fontana and her understanding of the characters and style of the show.
Karen: While not a favorite of mine, I find this episode to be enjoyable. It has action, some comedy, and nice character moments. Fontana excels in writing interplay between the characters. I always felt she really 'got' the main characters and wrote dialog for them that flowed naturally. The scene where Kirk, Spock, and McCoy explain to Captain Christopher why they must return him to Earth after all is a beauty:
Karen: Time travel! This would be the first extensive trip back through time for the Enterprise crew and it allowed the show to bring in a contemporary man to be a viewpoint character for the audience, seeing the Star Trek characters from a different angle. The show also played on the 60s interest in UFOs, as the Enterprise is mistaken for one. "Tomorrow is Yesterday" also exhibited a fair amount of humor, probably more than we were used to seeing on Trek to this point, thanks to both writer D.C. Fontana and producer Gene Coon.
Karen: Writer Dorothy (D.C.) Fontana actually got the idea for this episode from the ending of "The Naked Time," the only previous Star Trek foray into time travel. At the end of that episode, the Enterprise is thrown back a few days into the past. There had briefly been consideration of making "The Naked Time" a two-parter, with the second half delving into the Enterprise being stuck in the past, but it was nixed. Fontana, however, liked the idea of the Enterprise traveling into the past, and developed the idea into a full-fledged script. This script, much like "Arena" before it, was one of the few that was not substantially altered in the revision process, which is a credit to Fontana and her understanding of the characters and style of the show.
Karen: While not a favorite of mine, I find this episode to be enjoyable. It has action, some comedy, and nice character moments. Fontana excels in writing interplay between the characters. I always felt she really 'got' the main characters and wrote dialog for them that flowed naturally. The scene where Kirk, Spock, and McCoy explain to Captain Christopher why they must return him to Earth after all is a beauty:
Karen: Actor Roger Perry plays Captain Christopher and he does a capable job, creating a modern man who is likable enough and a sympathetic figure. This is our first episode with Lt. Kyle, the transporter chief, played by John Winston. Although typically only seen in the background, or perhaps given just a line or two, Winston made Kyle noticeable and actually played him 11 times on the series. I had no idea he appeared that many times; I thought perhaps 5 or 6 times. I think this sort of 'third tier' of crew members -much like Kevin O'Reilly, or Lt. DePaul, or Mr. Leslie, who always seemed to be loitering on the bridge - added an extra level of detail and a sense of reality to the show.
Karen: It was also in this episode that we were told that there were 11 starships just like the Enterprise in Starfleet, for a total of 12. We would see more of these in the second season, in episodes like "The Doomsday Machine" and "The Ultimate Computer." More and more, as the season went along, the foundations of the show were coming together. All of this information would be used not only for later episodes, but for the countless books and comics and fanzines to come.
Karen: The humor that is found throughout the episode was again, unusual at this point. There was the sexy computer voice that constantly vexed Kirk and Spock, Kirk's smart-ass exchanges with the military men on the base,and the reactions of not only Captain Christopher but more so the poor MP who is beamed up, and completely freaked out. This was a sign of both DC Fontana and Gene Coon pushing back against Roddenberry's more staid, straight-up approach. It certainly worked in this episode, although personally, I felt episodes like "I, Mudd" were a bit too far over on the farcical side.
Karen: So all in all, a very solid episode, even if some of the time travel stuff still doesn't make a lot of sense!
