Tomorrow Is Yesterday
- Episode aired Jan 26, 1967
- TV-PG
- 50m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
4.3K
YOUR RATING
The Enterprise is thrown back in time to 1960s Earth.The Enterprise is thrown back in time to 1960s Earth.The Enterprise is thrown back in time to 1960s Earth.
Majel Barrett
- Enterprise Computer
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Bill Blackburn
- Engineer
- (uncredited)
Frank da Vinci
- Brent
- (uncredited)
Eddie Paskey
- Lieutenant Leslie
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLater in 1967, physicist John Archibald Wheeler would popularize the term "black hole" to refer to the phenomenon Kirk describes as a black star, at the suggestion of a student. While several sources credit Wheeler for coining the phrase, it was used in science journals as early as 1963. The term is now credited to physicist Robert H. Dicke, comparing the phenomenon to a life prison dungeon in Calcutta known as the "Black Hole of Calcutta".
- GoofsIn Requiem for Methuselah (1969), Spock, during a mind meld, can order someone to "forget". It is unclear why he didn't meld with Captain Christopher for this purpose.
- Quotes
Capt. Kirk: All right, Colonel. The truth is, I'm a little green man from Alpha Centauri, a beautiful place. You ought to see it.
Lieutenant Colonel Fellini: I am going to lock you up for 200 years.
Capt. Kirk: That ought to be just about right.
- Alternate versionsSpecial Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Outside Man (1972)
- SoundtracksTheme From Star Trek
Written by and credited to Alexander Courage
Featured review
Back to the '60s
Tomorrow Is Yesterday introduces the most classic of Star Trek plot devices: time travel. After the original series, it was also used in the spin-offs (minus prequel show Enterprise) and three of the eleven - so far - Trek movies (The Voyage Home, First Contact and J.J. Abrams' reboot), always to great effect. This episode is no exception, especially as it gets more fun to watch as time goes by.
The travel itself is actually just an accident: when a mission goes wrong and hostilities ensue, the Enterprise flies towards the Sun and then away from it as quickly as possible. This, the so-called "slingshot effect", causes the ship to end up orbiting Earth - in the late 1960s! Unfortunately, a pilot working for NASA notices the ship and is taken the hostage by Kirk and Spock, who must now come up with a way to get back home without altering the course of history.
The usual elements of every good time travel story are all present: the discovery of a new age, the problems that derive from it and, of course, the discussions regarding possible paradoxes. What really makes the episode stand out, though, is its sense of fun and prescience: ordinary people's reaction to the sight of Kirk and Spock is always a joy to behold, and it's pretty funny to hear our heroes mention man's first landing on the Moon as taking place on a Wednesday at the end of the '60s: they got it right, weekday and all, a full two years before the whole thing happened. Ah, the pleasures of good sci-fi...
The travel itself is actually just an accident: when a mission goes wrong and hostilities ensue, the Enterprise flies towards the Sun and then away from it as quickly as possible. This, the so-called "slingshot effect", causes the ship to end up orbiting Earth - in the late 1960s! Unfortunately, a pilot working for NASA notices the ship and is taken the hostage by Kirk and Spock, who must now come up with a way to get back home without altering the course of history.
The usual elements of every good time travel story are all present: the discovery of a new age, the problems that derive from it and, of course, the discussions regarding possible paradoxes. What really makes the episode stand out, though, is its sense of fun and prescience: ordinary people's reaction to the sight of Kirk and Spock is always a joy to behold, and it's pretty funny to hear our heroes mention man's first landing on the Moon as taking place on a Wednesday at the end of the '60s: they got it right, weekday and all, a full two years before the whole thing happened. Ah, the pleasures of good sci-fi...
helpful•274
- MaxBorg89
- Jul 7, 2009
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