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Bogmeister Galactic Fleet Vice Admiral (site admin)
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 574
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2019 3:04 pm Post subject: Tomorrow is Yesterday - episode #21 |
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_______ Classic Star Trek: Tomorrow is Yesterday
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This was the first time travel episode on TOS — the first episode in which the Enterprise crew travel back to 20th-century Earth. The trip is accidental; the ship experiences what Kirk describes as a rubber band effect.
For whatever reason, the ship got too close to a black hole (or, a "black star" as described). Breaking away from the severe gravitational pull, the ship was snapped all the way back to the 1960's. Oh, and the Enterprise just happens to end up in orbit around mother Earth.
We never got to see Earth in the 23rd century during TOS (budget constraints, I would wager). So, the first time the crew visits Earth on the show, it's in the 20th century.
Typical.
Anyway, the next thing we know, the Enterprise is being chased by a typical Air Force pilot, aiming to snag himself a U.F.O. — or nuke it.
These scenes at the very start employ some nice stock footage at the air base. Kirk then orders the pilot be beamed aboard after the Enterprise's tractor beam wrecks the fragile jet.
The episode strikes an agreeable balance between comedy and sci-fi adventure. Some of this is among the handful of Trek episodes which were intentional comedies, throwing in such amusing concepts as the female-voiced computer which Kirk is saddled with.
There's further amusement in the pilot's introduction to Spock and Kirk's slapstick fight with three military officers. Oh, and Kirk's interrogation is a laugh riot. Ed Peck plays the lead interrogator and he's quite amusing. (See Star Trek IV:The Voyage Home-1986, when it's Chekov's turn).
____Best Kirk Fight Moves - The Human Projectile
__________
On the side of drama and adventure, we have the 20th-century pilot (guest star Roger Perry in a fine performance), a sixties military version of Kirk, being told that he can never go home again to his family due to what he knows of the future.
Well, we may well wonder if Kirk is so concerned about this, why did he give the pilot a guided tour of the ship?
There is a case to be made that Kirk was instantly fascinated by this (to him) archaic version of what will eventually be Starfleet in about 200 years. He just couldn't resist getting to know this representative of a historic, even mythical age. The pilot is what Kirk would have been if he'd grown up in the 20th century.
Likewise, the pilot is fascinated by this glimpse into the future, especially in meeting Spock. He's not repelled as we might expect, overcoming any phobia with the grace that great training and an open mind brings.
It's all a playful, colorful adventure — which completely falls apart in the final act when they start transporting/beaming people into themselves. This portion makes absolutely no sense at all and lowers the scoring of this episode a bit.
The Enterprise and crew followed up on this accidental adventure by purposely going back to 20th-century Earth in the 2nd season's Assignment: Earth.
Because of the scenes in outer space of the Enterprise whipping around the sun, there was a lot of revised footage in the remastered version with new computer FX.
Extra Trek Trivia: This episode was originally intended as the 2nd part to the 2-part episode which began as The Naked Time. At the end of that episode, the Enterprise & crew travel backwards in time, but just 3 days in the final version. When plans for a 2-parter were canceled, Tomorrow is Yesterday was reworked as a stand-alone episode.
BoG's Score:7 out of 10
BoG
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17104 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2019 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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________________________________
The late Andrew Bogdan had a higher opinion of this jokey episode than I did.
To me it was an excuse to clown around and use modern day sets and costumes to save money while telling a frivolous story which ignored all the serious consequences of time travel and playing lip service to it in minor ways.
I'm not saying the episode isn't fun to watch, but it obviously isn't intended to be taken the least bit seriously, and it abandons Star Trek's commitment to address serious issues in an intelligent manner. Even the worst TOS episodes were only guilty of failing to tackle tough subjects with effective stories.
This one employs a complex premise (time travel) and turns it into a comedy, the same way that silly series Lost in Space did with practically every episode it produced!
When you compare this episode to the way both Voyager and Enterprise addressed the consequences of time travel, it makes it hard for me to respect the producers of TOS for treating the subject so lightly. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Sep 03, 2023 4:40 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Krel Guest
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Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2019 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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Years ago we were discussing the phasers on a forum, and someone posted photos of the phasers from this episode. It made me realize that Wha Chang painted the phasers like camera equipment was finished in the 60s.
It brought back pleasant memories of my Dad getting his camera equipment ready, as he prepared to go on a business trip, or a family event.
David. |
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Pow Galactic Ambassador
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Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 3424 Location: New York
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2019 11:32 am Post subject: |
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Although this one is a fun episode, I was always disappointed in the opening scene on the Air Force base.
One officer and one radar man in a small room. Huh?
This should have taken place in a large military operating center with numerous staff, equipment, and so forth.
In the pilot for "Lost In Space'' a command center is shown that remains quite an impressive looking set to this day.
I would have envisioned such a set for this episode of Star Trek. |
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johnnybear Mission Specialist
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Joined: 15 Jun 2016 Posts: 441
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Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:23 am Post subject: |
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Interesting fact, Ed Peck also played a Kirk later on in Happy Days! He was the nasty Police Officer Kirk who was always out to get the Fonz!
JB |
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Pow Galactic Ambassador
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Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 3424 Location: New York
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 1:03 pm Post subject: |
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Another case where the remastered version greatly improved upon the original visual effects.
In the original episode we see the Enterprise leaving the Earth's atmosphere as it struggles to return to outer space.
Earth has not one cloud over its continents. Worse is we can see through at times part of the star ship's nacelles.
The trip around the sun greatly adds to this episode as a new effect. |
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Pow Galactic Ambassador
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Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 3424 Location: New York
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 1:22 pm Post subject: |
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Nitpicker's Guide
When first checking on relevant contributions by Captain Christopher, Mr. Spock forgets to check his descendants.
This is useful for the plot but completely inconsistent with the normally outstanding precision of Spock's work.
How come Captain Kirk & Sulu decide to sneak around the Air Force base in their Starfleet uniforms?
We know that the Enterprise's clothier can fabricate appropriate period outfits as needed. They did it for crew members on "The Return of the Archons," "Patterns of Force," "Assignment: Earth," "A Private Little War."
This transporter is a marvelous mechanism. It is able to grab onto a seated jet fighter pilot from his cockpit and rematerialize him standing up on the transporter alcove.
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)
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Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17104 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 6:27 pm Post subject: |
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Pow wrote: | This transporter is a marvelous mechanism. It is able to grab onto a seated jet fighter pilot from his cockpit and rematerialize him standing up on the transporter alcove. |
Yes, that's definitely departure from what we usually see in the way the transporter works.
I suspect the explanation is that they didn't want the fighter pilot to materialize in a squatting position — as if he'd just been snatched off a toilet.
Perfectly understandable, under the circumstances . . . ![Rolling Eyes](images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif) _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Sep 03, 2023 4:41 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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scotpens Starship Captain
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Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 874 Location: The Left Coast
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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Pow wrote: | One officer and one radar man in a small room. Huh?
This should have taken place in a large military operating center with numerous staff, equipment, and so forth.
In the pilot for "Lost In Space'' a command center is shown that remains quite an impressive looking set to this day.
I would have envisioned such a set for this episode of Star Trek. |
Irwin Allen was known for "front-loading" his TV projects. He would pour a lot of money into a slick, visually impressive pilot film to sell a series. Then, when the show went into production, budgets would be pared to the bone.
The Star Trek production people weren't going to build a big, elaborate command center set (or rent an existing studio set or location) and hire two dozen extras for a pre-credit teaser that runs less than two minutes. That's not how things work in the real world.
Bud Brewster wrote: | I suspect the explanation is that they didn't want the fighter pilot to materialize in a squatting position — as if he'd just been snatched off a toilet. ![Shocked](images/smiles/icon_eek.gif) |
If he had materialized in a seated position, he would have fallen flat on his ass! |
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Krel Guest
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:17 pm Post subject: |
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scotpens wrote: | Irwin Allen was known for "front-loading" his TV projects. He would pour a lot of money into a slick, visually impressive pilot film to sell a series. Then, when the show went into production, budgets would be pared to the bone.
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That's because Fox was willing to give him a budget for the pilot that they weren't willing to pony up for the series. He wanted to film the pilot in color, but Fox was only willing to pay to film the rocketbelt and Chariot scenes in color.
The Alpha Control set was not filmed on a soundstage, but in the garage where they built the Chariot. The garage doors were behind the giant screen on the set.
David. |
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Pow Galactic Ambassador
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Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 3424 Location: New York
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 9:42 am Post subject: |
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These Are The Voyages, TOS, Season One by Marc Cushman with Susan Osborn.
Assessment by Marc Cushman: As with many episodes of Star Trek, "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" is, at its core, a celebration of life.
The cleverness of D.C. Fontana's story is richly layered. It is the humor, and the interaction between guest players and regulars, which elevate this episode to classic status.
The concept of having a 1960s contemporary man receive a guided tour of the Enterprise, and for us to see the wonderment that is Star Trek through his eyes, struck a chord with fans.
The passing of time, however, has left its marks on "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," rendering it a flawed classic. There are a handful of questionable plot-points, mostly with regard to science.
The idea of our crew being able to beam two 20th Century men home, with split-second precision, while the Enterprise is hurtling through space and time and shaking apart at the seams is hard to fathom.
Not helping are the photographic effects. We are supposed to believe that the Enterprise is accelerating into a slingshot effect around the sun. What we see is the ship sitting in space, vibrating.
Sidebar: Yep, no awards were given out for the visual effects on this baby. Matte lines are seen around the Enterprise as it is flying through the clouds of Earth.
One scene has the Enterprise flying directly towards the camera, but you can see the engine nacelles blinking out!
Another case where the remastered effects splendidly and greatly improved the episode.
Jimmy Doohan, 30 years into the future, said, "The special effects seem primitive compared to what you see nowadays. But back then we were cutting edge and the viewership was willing to take a good deal on faith--as opposed to today's far more literal-minded fans, who scrutinize every effect and hold it up to the highest standard."
Sidebar: So true. The invention of slow-motion and the pause button really holds the special effects crew's feet to the fire.
Dorthy Fontana, 40 years into the future, said, "The effects weren't the best. I mean, they were as good as we could get at the time on the budget we had. We had to have it pretty fast. We had to have it reasonably cheap. So some of that suffered, no question about it. But I'm proud of the fact that the stories pretty-well hold up. The acting pretty-well holds up, as does the directing. The intent of the stories comes across and I think the relationships were always there."
Unlike a good wine, the technical aspects of "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" have not necessarily aged well. But even a bottle of cheap port can contribute to a good time, if one can appreciate the year it was corked. By 1966 standards, this is a delightful installment of Star Trek. Taken as that, it remains delightful, now and forever more.
Sidebar: These are all insightful observations regarding this episode. Doohan & Fontana, point out the challenges of creating the special effects. We must judge 'em based upon the reality of the production at that time.
Budget limitations and brutal shooting schedules impacted the level of how effective the visuals could be. In some cases the effects crew might well have been able to produce superior visuals for the time. They had a demanding schedule to meet, and an equally demanding budget to strictly adhere to. If they did not do either of these then the production would find someone else who could.
So to judge any SF television series or film from decades ago by today's effects standards is unfair and unrealistic.
Sure, it becomes easy and kinda fun to point out and mock the effects of the past as armchair critics. However, I think most of us get that the effects teams were doing their utmost best given the era, and its restrictions that existed then. No one attacks the, at times, substandard visual effects with intolerance or anger. We understand well the conditions the special effects people were faced with, and admire just what they accomplished in their time.
It is interesting to see though just how far we've come historically with the special effects from the early days of film and TV, to where we are now with the phenomenal tools and effects that are now available. |
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Pow Galactic Ambassador
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Joined: 27 Sep 2014 Posts: 3424 Location: New York
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2022 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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More from These Are The Voyages.
It was during this time that D.C. Fontana made the decision to go from full-time-secretary/part-time writer to full-time writer.
"I had done the teleplay for 'Charlie X' and I was in the middle of writing [Tomorrow Is Yesterday] . . . and I came to the conclusion that I just didn't want to be a secretary anymore. And I said to myself, "I think I'll give it a try. I've got some money in the bank, and even if I don't sell anything, I'll be okay, and at least I'll have tried."
Sidebar: Taking that first big step takes courage and belief in yourself. Dorthy had both, and the world greatly benefited from her marvelous writing talent.
With this story, story editor Gene Coon's presence is clear, supporting Fontana's inclination to add humor to a series that — just a short while before — had been played completely straight. With Fontana writing, and Coon's polishing, it was now comedy relief, roasted to perfection.
Sidebar: Dorthy & Coon were absolutely instrumental for the evolution of ST:TOS, as important as its creator Gene Roddenberry.
Roddenberry was never a fan of having his show do much comedy. He preferred it serious and straight.
Comedic moments in a serious show can be a tightrope to cross for the writers. Does the humor properly work within the show's premise? Or does it take away from the show and turn it into silliness that will alienate its fans?
Comedy, in many ways, is more difficult to script than drama. You can fall flat on your face attempting humor on a show, and nothing is so glaringly loud as comedy that flops.
I'm glad that some humor was added to the show. Sometimes shows that are very well written but unrelentingly grim and serious can become tiresome without some occasional levity. It is a tricky proposition because at the same time you do not want it to detract from the more sober aspects of the show.
Director Michael O'Herlihy was new to the series. Guest star Roger Perry, who played Captain John Christopher, USAF, thought that his role was interesting and the story was good.
According to Perry, O'Herlihy was an actors' director, meaning he would let you do what you felt was right.
On his first day on the bridge, Roger Perry said, "I thought the sets were terrific. I wasn't quite used to that in television. I'd never seen anything like that."
An Air Force radar room with one man sitting at a scope and an officer at a desk seems underwhelming and unbelievable, even for 1966.
Fontana had gone to a great deal of detail in her script to explain, with lighting, a small area could be presented and believed to be a part of something much larger. Sadly, no one else seemed to share the importance of her vision.
Sidebar: I wrote on an earlier post how this scene came off poorly due to the lack of any scope to it. I imagine the budget did not have the dollars to construct an elaborate and realistically large set filled with USAF personnel & equipment.
Fontana knew this and did try to convey that we weren't simply seeing two men in what appeared to be a small office.
By adding the sounds of voices and machinery in the background, this scene wouldn't have been perfect. However, it would have come off better than what we saw. Fontana knew the show's tight budget restrictions, but she also attempted to find a creative way around it for this important scene.
Bravo, D.C., bravo! |
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Pow Galactic Ambassador
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Posted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 7:31 pm Post subject: |
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Some wonderful moments from the James Blish Star Trek 2 book that adapted the original Star Trek TV episodes that were not in the television episode.
The exchange between Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Captain Christopher after Kirk has informed Christopher that they cannot return him to earth and the life he knew.
""I have a wife and two children," Christopher said quietly. "I suppose that makes no difference to you."
"It makes a lot of difference to me," Kirk said. "But I cannot let it sway me."
"In both your trades---the pilot and the warrior---there was always an unusually high risk that you would become a casualty," Spock said. "You knew it when you married; so did your wife. You bet against the future, with high odds against you. Unfortunately, we are the future and you have lost; you are, in effect, now a casualty."
And another terrific moment in the book but not the episode. This occurs when the crew of the Enterprise has figured out how to return Captain Christopher back in time to the moment just before he sighted the starship Enterprise from his Air Force interceptor jet. While Christopher is thrilled at this development, he is also somewhat bitter that everything he was so excited to learn about the future from his encounter with the crew of the Enterprise will now be gone from his memory.
Christopher staring down at his clenched fists said "And I've seen the future too. An immense gift. I...I'll be sorry to forget it."
"How old are you?" Dr. McCoy said abruptly.
"Eh, I'm thirty."
"Then Captain Christopher," McCoy said, "in perhaps sixty more years, or a few more, you will forget things many times more important to you that this---your wife, your children, and indeed the very fact that you ever existed at all. You will forget every single thing you ever loved, and what is worse, you will not even care."
"Is that, Christopher said angrily, "supposed to be consoling?" If that's a sample of the philosophy of the future, I can do without it."
"I am not counseling despair," McCoy said, very gently. "I am only trying to remind you that regardless of our achievements, we all at last go down into the dark. I am a doctor and I have seen a great deal of death. It doesn't discourage me. On the contrary, I'm trying to call to your attention the things that are much more valuable to you than the fact that you've seen men from the future and a bucketful of gadgetry. You will have those still, though you forget us. We are trying to give them back to you, those sixty-plus years you might otherwise have wasted in a future you could never understand. The fact that you will have to forget this encounter in the process seems to me to be a very small fee."
Christopher stared at McCoy as though he had never seen him before.
After a long pause, he said, "I was wrong. Even if I did remember, I would do nothing to destroy a future that...that has even one such man in it. And I see that underneath all your efficiency and gadgetry, you're all like that. I am proud to be one of your ancestors. Captain Kirk, I concur with everything you decide."
"Your bravery helped to make us whatever we are," Kirk said. "Posts, everybody."
Sidebar: I felt that these scenes were very poignant and profound. I'm not sure if such rich dialogue like this is cut from the script due to their not being enough time on the episode to include it?
It could be a decision by Gene Roddenberry and company, or the network, or both. It could be politics and egos.
Some of the powers-that-be may feel it is too downbeat and that the network mandate is to always leave the audience on a positive, even humorous at times, note.
It could also be the result of anti-intellectualism. The audience cannot handle such powerful moments such as this, or grasp it. Their approach can be to simply keep things moving at a brisk pace, plenty of action, the audience has a short attention span.
The Irwin Allen style of SF.
And that's a pity. Networks and studios don't always give the audience enough credit in that regard. Sure, some folks will find such dialogue and moments boring and a drag. You can't please everybody all the time.
However, others will find such scripting to be potent and meaningful. They will hate to see such moments sacrificed for physical action and, or, special effects.
We now live in an age where producers can have stunning visual effects and stunt choreography the likes have never been seen before done for movies and TV. I find that a marvelous development for film and TV.
But are we losing something important and vital to storytelling when effects and stunts supplant intelligent, thoughtful, meaningful scripts that have a great deal to say? Important things to convey?
Unfortunately the answer is yes, generally speaking. There remains some splendid movies and TV series that respect the audience and they create wonderous stories.
Sadly, we also have more than enough producers, studios, networks that only want to give the audiences a hair-rising roller coaster ride with dazzling special effects...and little more.
They want the audience kept in their seats and not overload them with too much to ponder. They want them only to see happy endings all the time.
So it's greatly rewarding to see those movies and TV shows that attempt to challenge us, to not trot out another tired, old SF cliche of a plot or character. I appreciate the creators and producers who are brave enough to go against the Hollywood norm of entertainment being nothing more than that.
Not all films or movies have to be deep and topical. I can enjoy a James Bond movie just as anyone else can which is pure entertainment and little more.
I just don't relish every SF movie or series taking that approach and giving us nothing but junk food as a steady diet. |
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Pow Galactic Ambassador
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2022 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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NBC December 28, 1966 press release:
A malfunction causes the USS Enterprise to be returned in time to the late 1960s and into an Earth orbit, where it is sighted as a UFO by a U.S. Air Force jet in "Tomorrow is Yesterday" on NBC Television Network colorcast of Star Trek....
Since their confrontation with the Air Force jet is due strictly to an accidental warping of time and space, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) agree that it is imperative to erase any recorded data on the sighting lest the normal course of the Earth's events be altered.
While the jet pilot, Captain Christopher (Roger Perry) is held incommunicado aboard the Enterprise, a landing party transports to Earth in an attempt to retrieve the records.
Sidebar: My only quibble with this press release synopsis for this episode is their writing that a "malfunction" is the reason that the Enterprise is inadvertently hurled back in time from their era to 20th century Earth.
Makes it sound as if the good ole' big E had a major mechanical glitch. Worse yet, it could infer that the accident was caused by human incompetence.
The fact is that the Enterprise was unable to detect a black hole with their scanning system. It is this phenomenally powerful object that caused the Enterprise to be violently thrown backwards in time. A black hole is a physical and stellar reality existing in outer space and not a "malfunction" at all.
Writing that the Enterprise collides with a mysterious black hole in the press release is not only more accurate, it gives it a much more sensational and epic sounding description of what happened to the starship. |
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mach7 Quantum Engineer
Joined: 23 Apr 2015 Posts: 345
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 7:22 pm Post subject: |
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I do love this episode.
Sure it has its faults, but the story is just so good, as is the acting.
The issues have all been raised.
Bud, remember that this is the 1st Star Trek that deals with
time travel. I can give them a pass.
I always thought a better way to deal with Captain Christopher and the SP Sgt would be to have them just
flicker away as there "time" came up. Showing them flicker with themselves when they "joined" the new/old timeline.
The timeline healing.
This is my tribute to this episode. The moment Capt Christopher it beamed out of his crippled F-104.
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