Star Trek Retro Review: "Yesteryear" | Steve's Favorite Episodes

[@Leviathan0999]

A note about the voice performance of Billy Simpson as Young Spock: he was sent a script consisting of ONLY his own lines. He recorded them on his own, thinking it was just a "demo tape." When the producers cast him, he was shocked to learn that they actually USED the demos! When he watched the episode, he learned the context of his lines, and was horrified by how badly his line readings fit into the entire episode.

[@KristovMars]

Thanks for sharing, thats a shitty way to have your work used. I hope he got opportunities to show his chops later in his acting career

[@bored_person]

I always thought he was just an untrained actor who didn't know what he was doing. How could the professionals who should know better fuck up that bad?

[@williamblakehall5566]

I like to think that Yesteryear is good backstory to The Menagerie. Captains Pike and Kirk might each wonder "Spock, what the hell are you up to?" and Spock's answer would essentially be "You don't understand -- I would do something like this for my favorite pet, so I'm doing this for Chris."

[@PhantomObserver]

Part of the reason for Yesteryear’s canonicity: DC Fontana. She was one of the few scriptwriters who absolutely nailed Spock; her understanding of the character was such that Leonard Nimoy was impressed by her writing. For example, the episode This Side of Paradise, when Spock shows himself in love with a female character. Nimoy apparently hated the idea that Spock could show a romantic side, but Fontana’s re-write of the script persuaded him.

[@chrisharris5843]

Having had to euthanize my cat, and best friend, of 19 years on Tuesday, this story resonates heavily with me - as I'm sure it does with many viewers of your channel. We had 24 hours to spend with her until the time came. I was angry and upset as, despite her age, she was fit and healthy and still full of life. However, due to an aggressive growth of a tumor on her stomach there was nothing that could be done to save her. I watched the clock tick down during the day as we spent our final hours together. I wrestled with my emotions, hoping that it was all a mistake and somehow there had been a mistake in the diagnosis. I didn't want to let her go - but I had to. Whilst still bright in her mind, physically she was deteriorating and in pain. Even as adults we face having to make such selfless decisions that this episode was introducing to children - and it hurts just as much as adults. Great video as usual, Steve. Thanks

[@StormsparkPegasus]

My condolances, I know the feeling. I had to do this with all 3 of my cats, due to illness that they couldn't be saved from (acute pancreatitis for my first two in Jan and Oct 2020 - they were both 14), and kidney failure (and possible cancer, but unable to determine since he was too weak to test - he was 17-18, exact age unknown since I got him as an adult from the shelter) for the last one in Jan 2022. I haven't yet adopted another cat, because a year ago I had some severe health issues myself, and I'm not confident in my ability to care for a cat and take care of the stuff that needs done around the house anymore. I still miss them, I kept the cat tree and put each of their urns on their favorite spot (they each had a favorite spot). They were my best friends for 14 years.

[@chrisharris5843]

Thank you, and my condolences to you. You always know that your time is limited with a pet but nothing really prepares you for their departure, either. All the best to you, and I hope your health improves soon.

[@augiegirl1]

The only pet I had as a child was a parakeet named Tracy; we had her for 2 1/2 years. My dad was the one who had to put her down; after that, he told me, my mom & my brother the REAL reason he never wanted a pet: growing up on a farm, he was emotionally traumatized from losing SO MANY animals (4 dogs, dozens of cats, plus horses & livestock). Tracy died almost 29 years ago, but the table in my mom & dad’s living room where her cage set is still called “Tracy’s table”.💔

[@MrAndyBearJr]

This series came out when I was a kid. This episode helped me to understand the the hard but necessary aspect of responsible and loving pet ownership at an early age. When to let them go, and say goodbye. Too many people do not understand the selfishness of keeping a beloved pet alive when they are in constant and untreatable pain. This would be an illuminating story for them to watch.

[@StormsparkPegasus]

The animated series is criminally underrated. I saw More Tribbles, More Troubles as a child, and I somehow didn't realize it was animated. Years later I went looking for it, watched every episode of TOS, and didn't find it. Finally figured I must've imagined it. Then I discovered the animated series and found it. Great Back to the Future reference too, haha.

[@insilencea4599]

I read the novelisations before I ever saw the animated show, and admit I enjoyed it a lot more without the animation and varying quality of voice acting. I could visualize what was being described much better than what we got on screen. I highly recommend Alan Dean Foster's Star Trek Logs for those who can't quite get past the shortcomings of the series' production.

[@sonic31century1]

I second that recommendation of the Star Trek Log books.

[@Redmage913]

Thirded. I only have Logs 3,7,8,9, but they’re worth it.

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

Oh, man, I just realized something: this episode happens right before Sarek adopts Michael. And since it causes a small change to the timeline... anyway, that's super nerdy.

[@Waffletigercat]

The Slaver Weapon is generally well-liked by fans, too. And its villains, the Kzinti, have seen repeated attempts to include them in live-action material, but those plans keep falling through for various reasons. Although there actually WAS a Kzinti in an episode of Lower Decks. All that said, yeah Yesteryear is my favorite episode of TAS too.

[@danielpasilis4046]

I've always felt that TAS was underrated. On the whole it has some great stories and some really interesting ideas and just taken from that point of view stands out among all the series for them.

[@ATADSP]

I felt it never got as good as TOS (aside from yesteryear) but also it was never as embarrassingly bad as TOS could be with its bad episodes. Kind of a Luke warm star trek

[@MotherShipMedia]

Watching it "live" on Saturday mornings in the 70s was interesting lol ... I was like 7 or 8 when it was on, and it was obvious that it wasn't the "best quality animation" I could watch on Saturday mornings, but I was a bit Trek obsessed after seeing a few live-action TOS in syndication, so I was there for the Trek stories regardless of animation style. And as I said above, the backgrounds in the show are stunning works of SF art in their own right.

[@shinyagumon7015]

My favourite part of Yesteryear is that it doesn't jump around the Predestination Paradox angle of the story and instead embraces it wholeheartedly. Spock is completely aware that he is Salek and is going to help himself survive the desert in what's supposed to be a closed time loop. Way too many time travel stories of this nature ignore the characters predetermined knowledge and consequently make them look like idiots when they name themselves after their mysterious relatives and do things they know that person was supposed to do, but never connect the dots that they are this person until they have returned to the present.

[@josemaldonado949]

Great review, Steve! Another hard agree that the animated episodes are under rated. So great to see "The Slaver Weapon" as a runner-up favorite episode. That one is definitely my favorite.

[@brettwilcots797]

Steve this is a message for you. I am doing better. Not dead yet obviously. After watching This week's Picard I realized I have never mentioned my own personal connection to both Star Trek and especially Levar Burton. My Late Uncle Joseph Wilcots not only worked on thee TOS original series but was Director Of Photography for Haley's "Roots" starring Mr. Burton. I'd hoped to travel to a convention to me Levar but never got the chance. Peace.

[@sebulia1]

You nailed it. "Yesteryear" is a true gem. I love TAS Star Trek as well, flaws and all.

[@karahughes7074]

Yeah, I thought Kirk was a little TOO dismissive of Spock's grief. You know I'd have gone back to my quarters and had to do some serious meditation not to ram Kirk against the wall and tell him that I'Chaya was a member of his family and his disregard of a beloved pet was beneath him. (On a side not, there were worries when Fontana submitted the script that the death of a beloved pet would lead to sackloads of complaint letters, but on the contrary, the network only got letters of praise from parents who had to deal with this situation themselves.)

[@castironchaos]

My favorite episode was "The Slaver Weapon," written by Larry Niven. I thought it was a neat story where Spock and even the other characters in this episode use logic to play detective. As Spock would say: "Fascinating." Filmation was notorious for its style of animation that uses enormous amounts of stock footage and repetition of the same animated sequences ad infinitum; but I've since come to accept and respect this. After all, they had miniscule budgets to work with, and they were proud to be the only animation studio that did all of their animation in-house, without farming it out to other studios in Asia and other countries. Also, Hanna-Barbera's animated series weren't really that great, either. Yes, that included "Challenge of the Superfriends," even though my nine-year-old self thought it was Saturday morning cartoon heaven.

[@jamesmurray8558]

Where the known space series meet in ST.

[@user-mg5mv2tn8q]

The Slaver Weapon and Jihad were both above-average episodes, both involving physical action, but both also calling on the characters to do some deduction to resolve matters. Jihad is basically Star Trek as Mission: Impossible, and does that pretty well.

[@MotherShipMedia]

100% agreed on the script (and Fontant!), and this being the best of the original TAS. I even agree its "low-budget animation" but there actually is something "special" in the animation that I only noticed as an adult. The foreground and the action is VERY much "low-budget" and even as a kid watching these on Saturday mornings "live" I could see the "low-budget" aspect compared to other cartoons I watched. But as an adult, when I rewatched it again, the backgrounds REALLY jumped out at me. There's an example in this piece at 3:30 that shows the truly stunning artwork that sits behind much of the "low-budget" animation, but pretty much every episode has at least one jaw-dropping example IMO. Next time you watch one, ignore the action and focus on the backgrounds - there are some truly stunning SF vistas on display, and I didn't even notice them until the 3rd or 4th time watching the shows lol.

[@walkingreader]

I still have my Star Trek: Log 1 through Log 7s which I bought as a child. This one was my favorite story of all the books, mainly because I was dealing with a bullying type of situation myself with the older kids in my neighborhood when I saw 'YesterYear' for the first time on Saturday morning. I was in the 4th grade, and quite a few of the 6th graders in my school had targeted me. It helped coping, but I've got to admit that I responded in a Klingon manner and although I was more than a little nerdy before the term existed, I was also large and strong for my age and it got me bloodied. Though the 6th graders decided that I wasn't fun to pick on since they got more than a little bloodied as well.

[@davidcolby167]

"Most people can agree this is the best one-" WELL I'M NOT ONE OF THEM! This is just my personal taste, but hands down, my favorite TAS episode is "The Slaver Weapon."

[@shoresean1237]

Fantastic that Mark Lenard and Jane Wyatt came back for this as well. It's my hands-down fave TAS ep; I even wrote a loving parody called 'Yesterracer' in which its the Kahs-Wan Desert Race, and basically its Speed Racer meets Star Trek, with Sybok as Racer X. I recall reading a Pro-Novel featuring a young Spock (older than here, but before Kirk) and him recalling these events, revealing that he had tried to find Selek, but not only could not locate him, but could not find the clan names and marriages that would have led to his being named Selek (apparently Vulcan naming conventions are that strict). I still tear up when I'Chaya has to be put down. Thanks for reviewing!

[@Willpower-74205]

Majel Barrett actually did the voice of Amanda because Wyatt was unavailable at the time. But I did like Wyatt in "Journey to Babel" and Star Trek IV. 🖖😎👍

[@RetrofanFilms]

Jane Wyatt didn’t come back for this episode. Amanda was voiced by Nichelle Nichols.

[@patrickdodds7162]

I had always wished (and still do) that Paramount/CBS had made an animated Star Trek series with the same quality as Batman: The Animated Series (and subsequent spin-offs). How hard would it really have been to make a well produced, well realized serious-minded animated Trek show with the level of the best writing of TOS-TNG-DS9? No goofball gimmicks, just great storytelling (a'la TNG's fifth season). Get Bruce Timm and Ronald D. Moore on this STAT!

[@Willpower-74205]

Am I the only one who remembers that this year is the 50th anniversary of The Animated Series? C'mon, people, let's celebrate! Woo-hoo!!! 🎊🎂🍻🎉 🖖😃👍

[@CaptainAndy]

It’s certainly one of the strongest animated episodes, and I’d argue one of the boldest in terms of how much it chooses to add to the backstory of a character. Other animated episodes tend to work with what they’re given by the original series without trying to reveal to us anything especially important about any of the main characters.

[@danielclement2832]

Yesteryear is clearly the best STTAS. A close 2nd for me was The Slaver Weapon by Larry Niven. Another I very much enjoyed was The Jihad by Stephen Kandel.

[@leovalverde1508]

Favorite TAS episodes; The Survivor, BEM, Slaves Weapon, and Yesteryear. TAS is an underrated gem. Sadly it only took almost 50 years to recognize that animated Trek can work. Lower Decks and Prodigy are worthy additions to animated Trek.

[@calebleland8390]

I already gushed over this episode in another video s comment section. It's still my favorite episode of TAS, even if young Spock makes me want to throw him into a live volcano. D.C. Fontana was absolutely an amazing writer who I don't feel has ever really gotten the credit she deserves for making Star Trek what it was. Great review, Steve!

[@OakCityGamers]

Perhaps its considered cannon. Is because of D.C. Fontana and her indellible fingerprints placed all over the franchise. A video about that would be interesting

[@germanshepherdguy]

Steve, you should include a retro review of the best episode of, Star Trek Continues.

[@samwill7259]

The cursed, dark, emotionally scarring episode that you rediscover after it used to keep you up at night sobbing is a cartoon tradition!

[@rickjohnston2667]

I personally love the animated Star Trek, despite it's flaws. It was the first Star Trek I was exposed to as a kid, and got me interested in watching the original live action series. My favorite episodes are; Yesteryear, The Slaver Weapon (written by my mentor Larry Niven), Beyond the Farthest Star, Albatross, The Terratin Incident, More Tribbles, More Troubles, The Pirates of Orion, The Survivor, The Lorelei Signal and How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth. I also like C.H. Danhauser's versions of his own animated Star Trek episodes. TAS is highly underrated, in my honest opinion.

[@bsharp3281]

I had the ViewMaster reel of this episode and i loved it! Like a dream 😄

[@jacobktan]

I can't wait to hear you review Picard this week.

[@NarfiRef]

I tend to think that the episode isn’t treated wholly as canon, it’s just that it featured a lot of material that was good enough to canonize in later stories. What it adds to Vulcan and Spock’s backstory are so great that there’s no good reason to discard it. However, the time travel aspect isn’t crucial to either, and can be ignored easily with nothing really lost.

[@thegneech]

Always love it when people say good things about TAS. :)

[@miyahollands6136]

I like how you slip in a wee bit of back to the future into your script - the link between time travelling stories is logical....!

[@squiddwizzard8850]

Hey Steve, I've been watching your vids on comics (I don't read comics, but I like movies and animated adaptions) and even star trek ,(which I haven't watched since DS9 aired); and I know you are more of a DC guy but I'd be fascinated to see your read on Marvel characters. In particular Spider-Man, Venom, and maybe Ghost Rider.

[@lindleya]

Loved the BTTF reference :)

[@deepstonecostco]

I desperately hope Thelin shows up in SNW somehow

[@gioc3496]

I’m curious what you think Michael’s character could have added to this episode if her character had existed at the time. I really enjoyed what Disco did with her as a foil for young Spock.

[@rixlan]

The animated series benefited from a writers strike going on at the time. Since cartoons were covered by different rules than live (or pre-recorded) TV they were able to get good writers that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford.

[@snakebitcat]

This was the absolute best of the animated series, and if you can get through this without tearing up you are made of far sterner stuff than I will ever be.

[@empatheticrambo4890]

I hope you review Devil in the Dark - one of my favorites

[@lennierofthethirdfaneofchu7286]

Note that the animation was low-budget for the 1970s, not just our time. But I still got up every Saturday morning to watch it.

[@greyladybast]

Ooh, ooh, Slaver Weapon! Have ya done Slaver Weapon? Because you should totally do Slaver Weapon.

[@look4lec]

I watched it for the first time to prepare!

[@tomthomas5793]

While I agree that this is a great episode, I was always bothered by Kirk's return to the Guardian after he clearly wanted to "get the hell out of" there at the end of "City on the Edge of Forever". Why would Kirk EVER return to that place, let alone go back into the time donut?

[@castironchaos]

The Federation to itself: "Hey, we've got a talking time donut! Let's go into the past and take care of the Borg and the Cardassian Alliance, both of whom nearly ended our very existance."

[@sonder420]

One of my favorite tas episodes must be the demons quest. It's just fun to see batman traveling the world and getting into shirtless sword fights

[@griffruby8756]

Is racism logical? The other Vulcan children "pick on" young Spock because of his half-human ancestry, and that is considered acceptable in that culture, though it makes his (human) mother cry, not for being fiercely logical (as almost every other feature - other than Pon Farr - of Vulcan society is) but for being what seems at least to me to be wildly illogical. Indeed, if one goes through all of what parts of Star Trek deal with Vulcans, they are an astonishingly racist community. "Outworlders" have to prove themselves in order to gain any respect (Kirk, McCoy, and Captain Archer among the precious few who do), or else they are very second class. What I wonder is how no one seems to notice this.

[@scifieric]

I think that all of us as Star Trek fans notice this, if we watch any episode with Vulcan racism. But their racism is cloaked as elitism.

[@jamesmurray8558]

How Sharper than a Serpent tooth, to a thankless child. Is mine.

[@noahbawdy3395]

I loved this episode.

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

I wonder if Thelin and Hemmer knew each other.

[@Michellejosph]

my favorite tas episode is more tribbles more troubles the follow up continuation of the tos episode trouble with tribbles

[@Cmdr1962]

Thalin: So... Tuvix: Yeah. So...

[@rustiej7232]

I've nothing important to add - you touched on everything that mattered - but I still gotta ask: Am I the only one who thinks the outfit design for the Vulcan children is as bizarre as it is ugly? They live in a *desert,* why on earth are they not covered up & layered like the adults?

[@MaggieDanger]

I cry every time I see that episode. :S

[@greeremalachi926]

what does "canon" mean?

[@jermainecrum4926]

Why are there so many damn shuttle accidents?!

[@nicholasgendreau1297]

Lol love the added humour

[@steveschmaling8217]

Good episode. Was not a fan of TAS as a whole. I disliked the heavy use of stock footage and reused animation, the voice acting that was obviously phoned in, and I found Lt. M'ress annoying as hell. However this was a good well written and well executed episode. If only TAS and indeed TOS had more episodes like this

[@ATADSP]

The only 10/10 episode from The Animated Series. It single handled makes the series worth its existence. There are other good episodes of the animated series but there are no other great episodes.

[@GrannyGamer1]

💯🖖🏾

[@sgt.tattoo9609]

I watched them all in the 70s and to be honest; this is the only one I still remember.