Star Trek (TV Series) Tomorrow Is Yesterday (1967) User Reviews

TOS explores its unfamiliar present

[mstomaso · 7/10 · 29 March 2007]

This early D. C. Fontana episode bravely goes where TOS never went before - to the time of its own creation - the late 1960s. Another bold frontier for the series (previously explored, but less interestingly, in Squire of Gothos) was crossed as Tomorrow is Yesterday established the show's sense of humor by - characteristically - poking fun at its own historical context. The original series was never equaled in any of its worthy successors in making commentary - whether comedic or serious - on its own historical context. And though not terribly serious, Tomorrow is Yesterday is a good example.

The plot is fairly complicated and as impossible (from a scientific perspective) as most of what passed for science in Voyager and Enterprise, but the strength of Fontana's dialog and the performances of the regular crew and the guest stars (Roger Perry is great in this) carries it. Enterprise, on its way to earth, is catapulted back in time by a slingshot effect relating to the gravitational pull of a star, to the late 1960s (ya, I know, a physics class might have helped here, but bear with me). The ship enters earth's gravitational field partially disabled and in a decaying orbit. They are spotted and branded a UFO, and a warplane is sent to investigate. The crew must figure out a way to repair the time line, return some unwanted guests to earth without memories of visiting the Enterprise, and, of course, return to the 23rd century without ripping the ship apart.

The episode is well written, despite the ridiculous premise, and very nicely acted. The cinematography is effective, though the effects are some of the worst in the series, and many of the long range shots of the ship should probably have been cut. Kirk engages in one of his better fight scenes - if you're into that sort of thing.

An entertaining episode, and one that established a trope for the entire franchise - engagement with the show's own historical context. Recommended.

Fascinating Episode

[csm-78119 · 9/10 · 19 August 2020]

In some ways this has similarities to Star Trek IV, the Voyage Home as we see an interaction between some of the USS Enterprise crew and the then contemporary (late 1960's) America. Watching this in 2020 is an incredible experience as we see footage of US fighter jets that at the time were at the forefront of technology but now hail from a lifetime ago. It's a real tribute to the show that you forget that this was made 50 years ago and believe that Kirk too is looking back in time. The scene where the fighter pilot spots the Enterprise is an iconic one and there are plenty of clever touches in this episode that make it one of the best in Season 1

It's Just a Jump to the Left...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 16 February 2022]

A black star takes an almighty grip, maximum warp is required to slip, hurtle into the past, to the 60s they're cast, no time better for partaking a trip.

The Enterprise finds itself in the skies of 1969 and has to erase itself from events and activities that result while finding a way to return to the time from whence they came.

Back to the '60s

[MaxBorg89 · 10/10 · 7 July 2009]

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...

Deservies serious praise

[lisafenix · 10/10 · 18 May 2007]

as a general rule, any episode of any series showing the people and world we know from an outside perspective is a above average episode; this is no exception. Here we see the crew through the eyes of a 1960's astronaut who ends up aboard the ship. The episode is not told from his perspective of course, but it does let us see it from his point of view. What would someone from our time (roughly) think of their ways. I am very much borrowing from another reviewer here, I just happen to agree.

The dialog is the main attraction here. The dialog involving captain Christopher, and kirk's infamous joking scene especially. Fans of the show, you know what I'm talking about. I won't spoil anything but I will say that they encounter a few problems trying to return to their own time; each of which they (of course) eventually overcome. 6 out of 5 stars here again mainly because of dialog and time-travel done inventively.

Star Trek: The Original Series - Tomorrow is Yesterday

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 27 September 2016]

Time travel Trek adventure proves as it often did that these stories where Kirk and the Enterprise find themselves in the past with some sort of extraordinary situation needing fixing. This time, the starship is slingshot, thanks to a black star, to 1960s Earth, found by the Air Force in the sky, considering the Enterprise a UFO. Sighted by a pilot, Captain Christopher (Roger Perry), with his plane taking pictures and recordings of the Enterprise, Kirk has no alternative but to beam him on board. A tractor beam on the plane disintegrated, so beaming Christopher on the Enterprise was his only alternative. Even worse, Kirk will need to retrieve the footage of proof of the Enterprise, and Christopher's help might be of importance. The footage is on a base. But also of importance: getting back to their own time! The Enterprise suffered damage, which Scotty will need to repair. Kirk and Sulu (nice seeing Sulu involved in the action of the plot on a planet, especially Earth) beam down to the base to get the evidence, encounter a security guard who tinkers with a communicator and is also beamed to the Enterprise! So two 1960s Earth men on board the Enterprise are privy to the future, 200 years after them! Christopher must be returned to his own Earth due to an unborn son who will be key to how the future develops, significant due to space travel.

This is fun if just because we see Kirk constantly trying to avert one time disaster after another. The Enterprise spotted, two military men seeing how the future looks like, Christopher attempting to free himself from the Enterprise, and somehow those who have proof must be returned to the time *before* they met the crew on the starship from the 23rd century. This slingshot might can be repeated using the Earth's sun, reversing what happened, but Scotty warned of possible risks if the engines react with malfunction. I reckon students of science might look at the episode with close scrutiny and balk at some of the time travel "corrections" (beaming the two Earth men who witnessed the wonders of the 23rd century exactly at specific moments before ever experiencing Kirk and company or a trip on board their ship), but I just can't resist these kinds of plots, and Trek rarely lets me down. Just the reactions of Christopher and the security guard (the soup scene for the guard seeing how the future brings food almost immediately, and Spock's comment on how he was frozen in shock are both quite funny) when seeing Spock for the first time is priceless. Nifty opening grabs you with the crew on the Bridge recovering from the slingshot which left the Enterprise with only impulse engines, having to recuperate after such a rough ride. The later effects work seeing the Enterprise in the sky of Earth is gnarly. Perry is really good, adapting to his surroundings the best he can, but determined to get back to his family and own time. Kirk contemplating "keeping" Perry on the ship, only to be undermined by Spock who informs him that doing so would be a time catastrophe, is quite a development...thankfully there is always a Trek solution when Kirk and Spock are involved.

Great episode!; and is based on a true life incident.

[openminded1313 · 8/10 · 11 September 2023]

The Enterprise goes back, by accident, to the "present time" (late 1960s, when this episode was aired). The starship is damaged and in a very low orbit; in fact, low and slow enough for a fighter jet to possibly intercept it. A fighter jet is sent up to investigate the sighting The F-104 jet is "contemporary" for the late 1960s and, did, in fact, sometimes carry nuclear weapons ( air to air missiles with a "low" yield that were still quite capable of damaging Enterprise; as Mr. Spock correctly surmises). Such is the beginning of this episode and I believe D. C. Fontana, the writer, based the beginning on a an actual incident (the "Mantell case";; where a USAF fighter plane may actually have been shot down by a U. F. O.).

It occurred on January 7, 1948 and involved three F-51 aircraft (P-51 Mustangs as they were known in WWII). The commander of Godman Air Force Base (now closed) in Kentucky was notified of a U. F. O. Near his base. Three F-51s were on a routine ferry flight that happened to be in the air were requested to investigate this. Two of them went to the highest level they were able to (no oxygen equipment in them due to it being a routine ferry mission) and turned around. One F-51, piloted by Captain Thomas Mantell, continued to climb and chase the U. F. O. ; much like the pilot of the F-104 in this episode does. And, as the F-104 in this episode does, the F-51 disintegrated in flight.

Captain Thomas Mantell was found, dead, in the wreckage of his P-51 the next day. This DID happen; a military fighter plane chased a UFO and disintegrated. What happens in the Star Trek episode based on this? Watch it and find out.

If Tomorrow is Yesterday, What is Today?

[Bogmeister · 7/10 · 11 July 2006]

We finally get to see Earth on the original Trek show, but wait! This is Earth in the 1960s! Wow, those black holes can really do a number on our starships in the 23rd century: one rubber band effect later and Enterprise is being chased by a sixties Air Force pilot aiming to nuke a UFO (nice stock footage). This was the first time travel story from Trek in which we visit Earth of the past (the others were "City on the Edge of Forever" and "Assignment:Earth"). In the latter episode, the journey was made on purpose, following up on the accidental visitation here. This one threads a fine line between comedy and sf adventure. Especially amusing is the female-oriented computer that Kirk is stuck with here and the Air Force pilot's introduction to Spock. And the amusement continues with Kirk's slapstick fight with 3 military officers and their ineffective interrogation. Kirk is at ease here and cool as a captain can be.

On the other side of the coin, we have the pilot (guest star Perry, in fine form), a sixties military version of Kirk, being told he can never go home to his family due to what he knows of the future - well, why did Kirk give him a guided tour of the ship? We know why: Kirk is instantly fascinated by this archaic (to him) version of what will eventually become Starfleet in about 200 years. The pilot is pretty much what Kirk would be 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 - but hey, whatever gets you home.

Time Travel Back To The 1960s

[Rainey-Dawn · 8/10 · 4 January 2017]

Season 1, episode 19. The Enterprise is thrown back in time while trying to escape the gravitational pull of a black star. They find themselves stuck in the 1960s for awhile. 1960s air force catches something on their radar and a pilot, Major Christopher, flies his plane up towards the Enterprise armed with a nuclear warhead. Kirk and Spock talks about the possibility of the pilot firing that weapon at the ship and it ends up that the pilot is beamed aboard the Enterprise. Major Christopher is quite confused and wants to know what is going on plus he just wants to go back to Earth. Kirk & Spock discusses what to do with Christopher because it's not just a simple thing to beam him back down to the planet because it could alter the future with Christopher knowing the future - it turns out that Christopher will end up having a son that will launch the first successful probe to Saturn. Spock devises a plan that will put everything back to where is was before this incident occurred.

This is a very interesting and fun episode dealing with time travel and how it could possibly alter the future if those from the past knows what's going to happen in the future.

8.5/10

"I think we have a real UFO on our hands"!

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 21 October 2010]

There's a good reason time travel stories can make your head hurt; this one has a few of the ingredients. For my part, I tried wrapping my head around the argument of sending Captain Christopher (Roger Perry) back to the 1960's just before he was beamed up to the Enterprise in the first place. At that point he would have retained no memory of what he experienced. Well, who's to say that would be the case? What exactly would occur to erase those memories? BUT, presuming that to be true, why wouldn't the memories of everyone aboard the Enterprise be affected the same way? Weren't they 'slingshotting' their way back to a moment just before the opening scene happened? See what I mean, now my head hurts again.

All that aside though, this is actually a pretty entertaining episode. The interplay between Captain Christopher and the the Enterprise crew makes for an interesting look at how representatives from different eras might react to each other. I thought Christopher might have accepted his situation just a bit too readily, but then again, what was he going to do?

You know, when I heard Captain Kirk mention the United Earth Space Probe Agency, I really had to stop and think about that. United Earth. Now there's a concept. When do you think that might ever happen? Especially from the vantage point of watching these shows almost a half century after they were made. I guess that's why they call it sci-fi.

Capt. Christopher back in his jet

[isamuelson · 11 December 2009]

Overall, I liked this episode even though there are numerous errors concerning the time travel aspect. One that really has me is concerning Capt. Christopher and how they handle him at the end of the episode. The next paragraph contain spoilers, so readers beware if you haven't seen this episode yet.

When they are ready to beam Capt. Christopher back into his jet near the end of the episode in order to prevent changing the future, how could they beam him back into the jet when he should have already been there piloting the jet? Remember, he was beamed out just before the jet broke up due to the tractor beam. Therefore, if they beamed him into the jet after they beamed him up, the jet would no longer exist.

Overall, not a bad episode. However, I like The Voyage Home better.

Great episode

[mhubbard-54657 · 9/10 · 31 December 2016]

The USS Enterprise is apparently the victim of a Black Hole, which term has not yet been coined. As a result, they are thrown back to 1960's Earth, where the ship is perceived as a dangerous UFO. In the process of escaping, they beam aboard the pilot of an Air Force plane in order to save his life. From here it gets quite interesting, because altering the slightest circumstance can change the course of history- a lesson repeated later in the season in another episode. After some research, it is determined that the Air Force captain must be returned to Earth so he can father the first Commander to travel to Jupiter, without whom Starfleet will not exist. And so forth. The female computer gag seems very dated, as does the Air Force Captain oogling the women aboard, but that is part of the old fashioned charm.The episode overall is quite well done, and of course Spock saves the day in the end. But you knew that!

The Enterprise returns to 1969

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 6 June 2015]

An accident catapults the Enterprise back in time to the Earth in 1969; spotted on radar Captain John Christopher is sent to investigate. As his F104 Starfighter closes in on the Enterprise it is caught in its tractor beam and starts to break up. Kirk orders Capt. Christopher beamed aboard the enterprise… this creates a problem; now that Christopher has seen the Enterprise they can't allow him to return as his new knowledge of the future could have a major effect on Earth's history. As they learn more about the captain it is clear that they have another problem; his yet to be conceived son was due to take part in an important early space mission. While they try to determine what must be done Kirk and Sulu beam down to a base to recover photographic evidence retrieved from Cristopher's plane… and this leads to beaming another unexpected guest aboard the enterprise!

This time travel episode is reasonably fun but not particularly memorable. The conundrum of what to do about Capt. Christopher and the other man beamed up is solved a little too neatly in a way that leaves them with no memories of what happened. The situation does provide a few amusing moments; it is surprising just how funny it is what Mr Spock raises an eyebrow at their surprised guests and Kirk's interrogation at the US Air Force base was fairly funny. Further humour is provided by the computer, which has become somewhat flirtatious after reprogramming at a female dominated planet… a gag that seems somewhat dated now. Overall not a bad episode but certainly not a classic.

Well-meaning but kind of inconsequential

[intp · 5/10 · 5 June 2014]

Basically, the Enterprise is faced with a dilemma: they are forced to beam up an American pilot (Captain Christopher), who learns too much about the future; but they have to return him because his son will play a key role in the nascent space program. Both returning him, and failing to return him, threaten to alter the future.

This episode appears to have been an attempt to see how contemporary humans would view the Enterprise, if it were to somehow go back in time. Much of it appears to have been intended to be humorous, although the extent to which it succeeds in that respect is questionable.

Because this series originally ran during the mid-1960's, while the Cold War was still going strong, there is still a definite sense of paranoia and fear of the unknown that permeates the Americans. It is also almost quaint how Captain Christopher reacts to women in the military as a totally foreign notion. These things are understandable enough given the time that this series was made but offer a striking contrast with the current political milieu, while at the same time being not entirely unfamiliar in a post-911 world.

The writing and acting were done competently enough, but, given the resolution that was almost "required", the story just doesn't amount to much.

MAJOR SPOILER FOLLOWS:

The entire episode feels kind of irrelevant by the end, because the Enterprise is able, by some technical mumbo jumbo, to return Captain Christopher to the moment just before the Enterprise beamed him aboard, with no memory of the subsequent events. In other words, the Enterprise neither polluted the time stream, nor interacted with it in any way at all (except for being briefly glimpsed by Earth radar and by Captain Christopher, before it just fades away).

I appreciate that D.C. Fontana was apparently trying to give the viewer a sense of drama portraying the Enterprise as viewed through (then) contemporary sensibilities. But what was the point since nothing that happened in this episode was remembered or "mattered"?

Enjoyable episode!

[SusanJL · 9/10 · 25 February 2019]

I enjoyed seeing the Enterprise crew in the context of planet Earth scenery. So much of Star Trek involved the stark blackness of space and so many dreary and barren planets they visited. I wish they had made a few episodes visiting their former homes, like Scotty in Scotland, etc. I didn't really get the whole time travel explanations, but it seemed to make OK sense; I was able to suspend disbelief and enjoy the action. Plus no over-sexed space babe in a Halloween get-up!!

Still a popular episode in 2021

[tecems-31573 · 8/10 · 12 July 2021]

It seems that time travel is a fascinating topic no matter what the TV series. A model kit of the F-104 was recently marketed that featured the aircraft in this particular episode (from AMT, I think).

Mr. Scott is still with us

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 8 April 2021]

Enterprise inadvertently gets transported back in time to the 1960s.

This is an enjoyable episode and a good early example of a time travel story depicted on screen.

Seen by a modern audience there is nothing you will have not seen before in this type of genre, but at the time of original broadcast it contained great sci-fi concepts.

The tone is quite light-hearted and it edges more towards comic affect than dramatic tension. This works well for me, as the plot is interesting enough not to need additional suspense to engage my attention. There is a running joke involving the ship's computer which is a bit silly, but it isn't overplayed enough to cross the line between funny and annoying.

My only complaints come in one aspect of plot detail that isn't really plausible or even logical. This comes towards the end with the use of the transporters to resolve a problem. The other being the placement of the episode not following The Naked Time, which would have been perfect continuity, but we can't have everything.

All visuals are great as ever with a nice use of military stock footage blended in with the cinematography.

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and guest star Roger Perry all deliver very good performances.

7.5/10 for me but I round upwards.

One of my favorite episodes

[shuny · 10/10 · 10 March 2023]

The most interesting part of this is the black star. Lawrence M. Krauss, a professor of physics, who wrote a book called the Physics of Star Trek, wondered why they used an incorrect term for a black hole. The reason is that this episode was written before the term black hole was coined so they predated the science.

The episode is serious and fun at the same time, although I can't stand their "fun" music which they use when there is something ridiculous going on like a fight. They used it on Shore Leave also. The whole idea that someone can go back in time and change history, is a recurring theme in Star Trek and is just totally confusing. I love the episode anyway.

Things Wrap Up a Little Too Nicely

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 27 April 2014]

The challenge comes when the gang travels into the past. Going through some time warp, the Enterprise is seen in the sky in the U. S. in the 1960's. Unfortunately, a fighter pilot tails them when when they attach a tractor beam, it tears the plane apart. They are able to beam the pilot on to the ship, but now more trouble follows. He, of course, is part of the past and anything he says or does can tear apart the fabric of time. It could lead to dire consequences. What to do. The man has a family and is a sympathetic character, but he is also military all the way and says he will tell everything he has experienced. The crew must also go down to earth and steal some computer reels to cover things up and again are forced to beam another man, a sergeant of security, onto the ship. It seems hopeless but the old scientific realities of the warp enter in. There is a solution, though if one thinks too much, it's awfully convenient. This is the curse of the television series in that we know these same people are going to appear next week. It's still a sort of charming episode with some good plot twists.

I've always enjoyed time travel from the present to past or future to present

[soundcity-1 · 9/10 · 2 April 2007]

I recently saw a brief clip on (I can't remember what) channel interviewing a Vietnam War era fighter pilot who skirmished with four or five MIGs to save his downed buddy and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, or something nearly as prestigious and darned if I wasn't looking into the face of actor Roger Perry 40 years hence!

I began thinking the actor who played the '60's fighter pilot in this episode left Hollywood, joined the air force, went to war and became a hero. A little research, of course, shows Roger Perry continuing to act through the '70's, and I never did catch the name of the well-regarded Phantom pilot being interviewed in that short news sequence.

Perhaps the script for "Tomorrow is Yesterday" has not yet been been played out.

Those incriminating pictures

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 24 January 2015]

For once a science fiction prediction was not only right in advances in the future, but they got the time just about right. During a warp in the space time continuum the Enterprise is thrown back to the present and of course two years after this episode was broadcast humankind did indeed go to the moon.

It's a time about right and the Enterprise after a bumpy ride finds itself over America 1967. It's spotted as a UFO by alert Air Force pilot Roger Perry. He's transported to the Enterprise, his craft destroyed in the desert. But he's got some nasty incriminating pictures that will confirm all those UFO rumors and really mess up the future.

I'm not at all convinced of the science in what they do, but eventually things get back to how they're supposed to be. I believe this is the first time William Shatner and the rest were thrown back in Earth's history, but it certainly wouldn't be the last in the series.

As for Perry you can't really blame him for acting as his military training has taught him. Imagination isn't exactly built into it.

Funniest bit is when Air Force MP Sergeant Hal Lynch is also beamed up as he's cornered George Takei when an away team is beamed down to retrieve those incriminating pictures. His reactions are priceless.

Memories

[kinchone · 8/10 · 6 December 2018]

Why didn't Spock simply perform a Vulcan mind meld on the two men to erase all memories of the events and let them explain their situations?

A very fun episode.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 26 January 2022]

The first episode of this series to deal with time travel sees the Enterprise hurtled back in time to 1960s Earth, the result of the gravitational pull of a black star. The starship is glimpsed by a stunned Air Force major (Roger Perry, the "Count Yorga" films), and the crew beam him aboard, hesitant to return him to Earth due to the knowledge that he gleans about the future of space travel. At the same time, Kirk and others have to get inside a top secret base to obtain the audio and visual records of the majors' sighting of the starship. All of this, while figuring out how they can possibly get back to their own time.

Written by the prolific D. C. Fontana, 'Tomorrow Is Yesterday' shows its audience a pretty good time, placing some of its main characters in a setting that is archaic to them. It's endlessly amusing, especially in a scene where Kirk is caught red-handed by Air Force personnel and tries to take on all of them at once. There's also a silly throw-away bit of business with the computer intelligence on the starship requiring an overhaul since it now tends to address the people requesting information as "dear". The major, a generally agreeable sort, reacts with an appropriate wide-eyed sense of wonder yet a steely determination to remain in his time and place (and report everything that he has experienced). What is truly funny is the thunderstruck reaction of an Air Police sergeant (Hal Lynch, "The Way West") who also ends up beamed aboard the starship after he fiddles with a communicator. The scene with an amused Kirk patiently giving evasive answers to an interrogator (Ed Peck, "Bullitt") is likewise good for some chuckles.

It's true enough that 'Tomorrow is Yesterday' does go for this comedic value more often than it does true dramatic tension, but the script IS quite entertaining, even if one doesn't buy into the "science" presented here at all. Overall, it's a charming episode, with a good guest-star performance by Perry and typically good camaraderie among the regular players.

Directed by Michael O'Herlihy (the brother of actor Dan O'Herlihy), whose other TV credits include 'Hawaii Five-O' and 'The A-Team'.

Seven out of 10.

So Yesterday, Girlfriend

[bring_me_tp · 5/10 · 15 April 2012]

I think this episode is meant to just be fun and not serious. In many ways is no different from all the films in the 90s that took sci-fi/ fantasy stories and time-traveled to, surprise, LA in the 90s(like beastmaster 2). It's obviously to save money.

My problem with this one is that it unlike other episodes which covertly deal with hot-topics in the 60s -racism or pacifism- this episode tries to directly confront it's present and it just shines a big light on all the non-progressive aspects of the show. Specifically, it comes off very sexist at times.

Spoiler Alert So, of course the AI computer programmed by the female planet is flirty and randomly giggles. And every month it goes offline unless you buy it presents and tell it it's not fat. Seems like the more interesting story is how there exists an ALL female planet... but no it's just a good opportunity for a stupid punchline. And second, the only reason they can't destroy the pilot's entire life is because he will sire a son who is important. And he's like overcome with pride over his son and how he saves his freedom.

It's hard to pin-point but the episode is really phallocentric.

It all just seems unnecessary.

On another note, notice how Kirk checks out the pilot when he comes on board? What's that about. Maybe if he were 17 like Charlie-X Kirk would've wrestled top-less with him after Charlie slaps his bottom.

A possible time line fix

[donbestashford · 9/10 · 29 November 2022]

When Captain Cristapher is beemed back to his plane,the time-line should have been corrected at that point because the starship would have disappeared,like it did onscreen,would have never crashed,there for Kirk and Sulu wouldn't had to beam down to retrieve film. Sargent never had to open door to check room because no one was there. Like in the movies Frequency and the Butterfly Effect. Sargent on Eterprise would have just vanished and placed in corrected time-line. Enterprise crew would still remember everything that happened but Captain Cristapher would not remember anything because he was beam back the instant he left.