Tomorrow Is Yesterday
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Trek: TOS episode | |
| "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" | |
 USAF Captain John Christopher, Tomorrow Is Yesterday. |
|
| Episode no. | 19 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 021 |
| Airdate | January 26, 1967 |
| Writer(s) | D.C. Fontana |
| Director | Michael O'Herlihy |
| Guest star(s) | Majel Barrett Roger Perry Ed Peck Hal Lynch |
| Year | 2267, 1969 |
| Stardate | 3113.2 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Arena" |
| Next | "Court Martial" |
- See also: Tomorrow's Yesterday
"Tomorrow Is Yesterday" is a first season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is episode #19, production #21, first broadcast on January 26, 1967, repeated July 13, 1967, and is being remastered for syndication broadcast on May 5, 2007. The screenplay was written by D.C. Fontana and directed by Michael O'Herlihy.
Overview: The crew of the Enterprise travels back to 1969 Earth and must correct damage they caused to the timeline.
[edit] Plot
On stardate 3113.2, the starship USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, is thrown back in time to Earth in 1969 by the effects of a high-gravity neutron star (referred to as a "black star"). The Enterprise ends up in a suborbital position in Earth's upper atmosphere, and the ship is picked up as a UFO on military radar.
Omaha Air Force Base scrambles an interceptor F-104 Starfighter jet fighter, piloted by Captain John Christopher, to identify the craft. The pilot cannot believe his eyes when he sees the bizarre spaceship floating above him. The pilot is ordered to stop the Enterprise from escaping before reinforcements arrive, and Kirk is forced to take defensive action. The ship emits a tractor beam toward the jet and the force accidentally tears the plane apart. Acting quickly, Kirk orders the pilot rescued from the doomed plane, and transports him aboard.
The man at first is confused with his new surroundings but is quickly amazed to learn all that the future has to offer. He learns such facts as the Enterprise is one of 12 such starships, and why the computer started calling Kirk "dear", having been overhauled on the woman-dominated planet Cygnet XIV (who thought the computer needed a personality).
The problem quickly arises that returning this 20th Century pilot to Earth, after having seen a glimpse of the future, could contaminate the timeline. Learning the fact that the pilot's own son, Sean Jeffrey Christopher, plays an important role in Earth's future (as chief pilot for the historical Earth-Saturn probe mission), adds to the severity of the situation. Kirk must somehow return Captain Christopher to Earth without any knowledge of the Enterprise.
Another problem is that Captain Christopher has taken photographs of the Enterprise, which could be recovered by the Air Force, and also alter history. The first step is to steal the images and reports of the Enterprise's appearance from the airbase logs. Kirk and Mr. Sulu beam down to the base to locate the report files. Upon their removing the sensitive data tapes, a security guard enters and draws a pistol. Kirk and Sulu surrender their weapons and communicators to the guard.
Meanwhile, back on board the Enterprise, Mr. Spock radios the Captain to check on his progress. When the guard "answers" the communicator, he accidentally activates an emergency recall to the ship, and is suddenly beamed aboard the Enterprise, frozen in a state of shock. The Captain points out to Spock, "we have another problem" with yet another abducted native to deal with; they decide to confine him to the transporter room to limit his exposure.
Kirk and Sulu continue searching for the remaining evidence of their time intrusion. Sulu successfully locates the rest of the files and returns to the ship while Kirk creates a diversion as more guards stumble upon them. Kirk is subsequently captured and taken to the security area for questioning.
Spock, with the help of Captain Christopher, beams down to the facility to rescue Captain Kirk. They subdue Kirk's guards and are ready to return to the ship, only to find that Captain Christopher has gotten a gun, demanding to remain behind. Fortunately, Spock had anticipated that he would make such an attempt, and sneaks behind him to subdue him with a Vulcan nerve pinch, and they all return to the ship.
Spock and Mr. Scott inform Kirk that they have an idea for returning to the 23rd Century, by slingshotting their way around the Sun. The theory is that time will reverse as the ship races toward the gravity of the star, then, as the ship breaks away, time will quickly advance forward. With precise navigation, the theory should work; however, braking is a problem, since a mistake could destroy the ship, or make them miss their preferred time period.
The Enterprise sets out to make the risky slingshot. As time moves backwards, Kirk has Captain Christopher beamed back to his fighter jet at the instant he sees the Enterprise for the first time. He now only catches a quick glimpse of the "UFO", and the sighting is written off as such for the rest of history. The security guard is returned to his own time as well, just moments before he first stumbles upon Kirk and Sulu. The Enterprise then completes the slingshot and successfully returns to the 23rd Century.
[edit] Trivia
- When Captain Christopher is aboard the Enterprise, he is given a Starfleet uniform to wear, with the rank of Lieutenant. This is not a continuity error, since an Air Force Captain is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the US Navy (and therefore Starfleet, which uses Navy ranks).
- The "slingshot-around-the-sun" time warp trick was reused in the fourth Star Trek motion picture, The Voyage Home.
- This was originally conceived as part two to an earlier episode, "The Naked Time". When the ending to that episode was revised, "Tomorrow is Yesterday" was reworked as a stand-alone story.
- Though produced nearly three years before the actual event, this episode accurately predicts that the first "manned moon shot" (Apollo 11) would be launched on a Wednesday. Thus fans place the present day adventures sometime just after Wednesday, July 16, 1969, and before the moon landing on July 20, 1969.
- In what must be noted as tragic irony and an odd twist of fate, this episode aired the night prior to the deadly fire during testing of Apollo One, which occurred on Friday, January 27, 1967.
- This episode is featured on the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Time Travel DVD set. It is the first of 14 episodes featured, on disc 1 of the four-disc set.
[edit] External links
- Tomorrow is Yesterday article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
| Last produced: "The Alternative Factor" |
Star Trek: TOS episodes Season 1 |
Next produced: "The Return of the Archons" |
| Last transmitted: "Arena" |
Next transmitted: "Court Martial" |
