Yesterday's Enterprise as the plot for Generations? That's what Ronald Moore, one of the writers, would have liked but it did save The Next Generation

[Darknight]

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the episode, Ira Steven Behr and Ronald D. Moore gave an oral history of how the episode came to be. The whole article is worth reading, but here's a few highlights.

Thirty years ago, "Yesterday's Enterprise" came when morale was at a low point for the writing staff: "We were so backed up with shows, so it was just like putting out fires."

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"The original episode and pitch are very different from what we ended up writing," says Moore.

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That draft Moore inherited did not include the two key elements that Moore would add that ultimately helped get the episode greenlit: The war with the Klingons and the arrival of the Enterprise-C altering the timeline. "Everyone on [Picard's ship] in the original draft that I had, the crew, they all knew of the Enterprise-C and what happened to them, that they died in some incident," Moore says. "But no one on the other crew knows this, so Picard and his people, they're trying to get the C back to its timeline and keep all this a secret."

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The original script also featured a senior officer from the Enterprise-C spending most of the episode "with Data on the holodeck, having some sort of epic pirate movie-type adventure, singing songs and — it was crazy. It was just so expensive, too — you couldn't do it, budget-wise — so it was obvious we'd cut it."

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The episode's opening scene, between Guinan and Worf in the Enterprise-D's bar lounge, Ten Forward, originally featured a very non-Trek exchange between the two characters.

"Originally, I had Guinan talking to Worf about the stars. About how, when humans look at the stars, they often ask questions of them," Moore explains. In Moore's original version of that scene, Worf's reply was something to the affect of "when Klingons look to the stars, it's more 'what do the stars make us ask of ourselves'?" Executive producer Rick Berman ultimately cut that compelling exchange, but Behr made it known to the rookie writer how big a fan he was of that scene.

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Moore also volunteered to tackle the fifth and final act of the teleplay, where the Enterprise-D's crew goes out in a literal blaze of glory defending the Enterprise-C's trip back in time from attacking Klingon Birds of Prey. This act infamously features an explosion that horrifically kills alternate timeline Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Originally, the plan was for all of the bridge crew — Data (Brent Spiner) and Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) included — to go out in similar grizzly fashion.

"My memory is that Rick Berman [TNG executive producer] pushed back on that and didn't want to see everyone on the bridge die," Moore says. "So I pulled back on what my original intention was, but [writing it] was a ball." (Behr recalls that they actually did shoot those death scenes, which were spurred on in part by the frustrations the writers faced having to work over the holiday weekend. According to Behr, he believes those scenes were cut because "they were too violent and didn't really sell as well [the drama] in the final cut." And that Rick Berman wasn't a fan of them because they "could have felt too depressing for the fans" to end the episode on.)

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The end result ultimately reinvigorated both the show and the creative staff at the time. And while the episode deservedly has its fans, among them was not the man who gave it the go-ahead.

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"I wish we did this as the plot for Generations," Moore says, referencing the first Star Trek feature film featuring The Next Generation crew that he co-wrote with Brannon Braga. "If we hadn't have done that episode, then [the movie] would have been the Enterprise-A coming through that wormhole, and you'd have Spock and Kirk and everyone on that ship, we'd play the same story. They — the original crew — they had to go back to their deaths. And Guinan knew Kirk, and Guinan knew Picard, and that would have been an amazing movie."

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“This Doesn’t Look Terrible:” The ‘Star Trek’ Episode That Saved ‘Next Generation’

Fans have not let history forget 'Yesterday's Enterprise,' the classic episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' that saved the show.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Version 3.0]

Not sure how to vote, but interesting article. I wasn't aware the TNG was at a "low point", but when that show was live, I had a friend who was nuts about it, so it always seemed like the show was on maximum hype.

 

[Uzumaki Goku]

Would've been amazing to have the two crews meet.

 

[PersonAndStuff]

I miss Moore. I hope he frees himself from apple jail.

 

[Deleted member 2533]

"I wish we did this as the plot for Generations," Moore says, referencing the first Star Trek feature film]featuring The Next Generation crew that he co-wrote with Brannon Braga. "If we hadn't have done that episode, then [the movie] would have been the Enterprise-A coming through that wormhole, and you'd have Spock and Kirk and everyone on that ship, we'd play the same story. They — the original crew — they had to go back to their deaths. And Guinan knew Kirk, and Guinan knew Picard, and that would have been an amazing movie."

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How does that work when McCoy is literally in the first ep of TNG? And it would also rob us of Scotty hitting the galaxy's largest object in his shuttle.

 

[Darknight]

How does that work when McCoy is literally in the first ep of TNG? And it would also rob us of Scotty hitting the galaxy's largest object in his shuttle.

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I'd imagine they would somehow survive, just like Spock would have to. But you probably could kill off Checkov, Sulu, Kirk, and Uhura in the process.

 

[Deleted member 29660]

I always liked the design of the Enterprise C, it was a nice transition from Kirks Enterprise to Picards Enterprise. There is also a unused version that was more of a in between the Excelsior and Galaxy. In fact here's a pic:

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[Volimar]

I always liked the design of the Enterprise C, it was a nice transition from Kirks Enterprise to Picards Enterprise. There is also a unused version that was more of a in between the Excelsior and Galaxy. In fact here's a pic:

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Yep. The Ambassador class was a nice midpoint.

 

[TheXbox]

I rewatched it last night and it floored me all over again. If it had been shot at a theatrical aspect ratio it would pass for a feature. It's not only brilliantly written and acted, but it looks incredible. The rich, moody lighting and the dramatic composition in front of the camera are a cut above most Trek and most TV in general. Total triumph.

Don't forget the name.

 

[SweetBellic]

Yesterday's Enterprise is a great episode, but I don't buy the narrative that it saved TNG (season 3 was already pretty damn solid and ends with Best of Both Worlds ffs). All we can definitively say about the impact of Yesterday's Enterpise is that without it we never would've gotten Commander Sela (which would've been for the best lol). Meanwhile, we know Generations sucked and would've been much better with the plot of Yesterday's Enterprise.

Voting yes is the most logical course of action.

 

[Darknight]

Yesterday's Enterprise is a great episode, but I don't buy the narrative that it saved TNG (season 3 was already pretty damn solid and ends with Best of Both Worlds ffs). All we can definitively say about the impact of Yesterday's Enterpise is that without it we never would've gotten Commander Sela (which would've been for the best lol). Meanwhile, we know Generations sucked and would've been much better with the plot of Yesterday's Enterprise.

Voting yes is the most logical course of action.

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I think they're talking about behind the scenes it did which in turn reflected on the quality of the show moving forward. It sounded like people were getting burned out and this sort of relit their spirit.

 

[jb1234]

Would have been interesting. I always felt the episode was too short for its ambitions. And having a feature film budget would only have helped it.