City on the Edge of Forever

[TransporterMalfunction 1]

Season: 1

Production No: 28

Episode Name: The City on the Edge of Forever

 

Director: Joseph Pevney

Written By: Harlan Ellison

 

 

While the Enterprise is investigating the origins of strange ripples in time and space, Dr McCoy stumbles injecting himself with an overdose of cordrazine, making him exhibit signs of extreme paranoia and psychosis. The delirious McCoy storms off the bridge and beams down to a planet that would appear to be the focal point of the disturbances.

 

Kirk, leading a landing party after the doctor is unable to stop him leaping into Earth’s history through a sentient time machine known as "The Guardian of Forever." As a result the U.S.S. Enterprise has ceased to exist and the landing party is stranded on a desolate planet. The Guardian explains that McCoy has somehow interfered with the past, thus changing the future. Kirk and Spock go through the Guardian in an attempt to correct the alteration.

 

Kirk and Spock find themselves in Depression-era America where they encounter social worker Edith Keeler, a missionary and a visionary who, while living in a time of economic and political discord is able to imagine a better world yet to come. As Kirk comes to realise that he has fallen in love with Edith, Spock completes work to access his tricorder memory circuits, discovering that in order to repair history Edith Keeler must die in an automobile accident. If they allow McCoy to save her — as he did before — she will start an effective pacifist movement that will delay the United States' entrance into World War II, allowing Nazi Germany to develop the atomic bomb before the Allies.

 

 

Cast:

William Shatner as James T. Kirk

Leonard Nimoy as Spock

DeForest Kelley as Leonard H. McCoy

James Doohan as Montgomery Scott

Nichelle Nichols as Uhura

George Takei as Hikaru Sulu

 

Guest Cast:

Joan Collins as Edith Keeler

John Harmon as Rodent

Hal Baylor as Policeman

Bart La Rue as Guardian of Forever Voice

John Winston as Transporter Chief

David L. Ross as Lt. Galloway

 

Show Notes: Writer Harlan Ellison's script went through many revisions by Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana before reaching the final broadcast version, resulting in much resentment from the writer. In the original screenplay, there were two guardians, in the form of statues flanking the time portal, McCoy's part was taken up by the drug addict and dealer crewman Beckwith, and Captain Kirk’s actions in the story climax were somewhat different.

 

Ellison's original script for "The City on the Edge of Forever" won the 1966-67 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Teleplay. The final aired version of the episode won the 1967 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.

 

Star Notes: Joan Collins’ role as visionary Edith Keeler was in sharp contrast to her stint as Alexis Carrington Colby on Dynasty.

 

Memorable quotations:

Edith: "I think that one day they’re going to take all the money that they spend now on war and death..."

Kirk: "...and make them spend it on life?"

[edmcgon 0]

"City" is still the finest episode of Star Trek ever made. If you could only watch one episode of Trek in your lifetime, this would be it!

 

The acting was superb, even by TOS standards. Even Shatner had his best performance ever. The script was poignant.

 

This episode defined what was great about Trek, and about science fiction in general.

[mj 7]

The reality of the dilemma was excellent. Kirk knew he was back in time and had to be very careful not to do anything to change history. The very reason they were there was to undo what Bones had done.

 

As well-trained and mentally prepared as he was, being a starship captain, Kirk still was unable to keep himself from falling in love with the wonderful Edith Keeler.

 

He recovered his self-control and discipline long enough to let Edith die, but at great cost to himself---the measure of a real man.

 

But the episode remains in my mind as a reminder that sometimes even the best of us fall into situations we should have had the strength and foresight to avoid. We are all only human.

[fenriz275 0]

That is one my favorite Trek episodes of all time. Excellent.

[Vulcan IDIC 0]

Definitely one of the best episodes with a good moral story to it as well. As a history teacher I find it very interesting how everything and everyone has it's place and time and each of us as a specific reason for living in the time that we live in. I think that it also leaves us with a since of how vulnerable we can be and that things don't always work out the way we want them to, but there are reasons for that even if we don't always understand what they are.

 

Besides the serious part this episode does have it's funny moments as well like when Captain Kirk is trying to explain to the police officer why Spock's ears look the way they do. "He got his head caught in a mechanical rice picker." Lol What an explanation.

 

 

The one thing that has always bothered me though is the scene where McCoy comes through the portal and the homeless guy in the alley zaps himself with the phaser. Are we to assume that he had no purpose and that history wasn't altered because of that moment? I always wondered about that.

 

Oh well, all around it's a great epsiode and one of my all time favorite Star Trek eps.

[TransporterMalfunction 1]

The one thing that has always bothered me though is the scene where McCoy comes through the portal and the homeless guy in the alley zaps himself with the phaser. Are we to assume that he had no purpose and that history wasn't altered because of that moment? I always wondered about that.

Yeah I always found that part of the episode sits a bit uneasy as I think it is meant to highlight how destructive McCoy's presence is in the past.

[edmcgon 0]

But the episode remains in my mind as a reminder that sometimes even the best of us fall into situations we should have had the strength and foresight to avoid.  We are all only human.

This episode has always been a reminder to me that sometimes bad things happen to good people for a good reason.

[Indy 8]

A great episode with many good messages. You can find a new one every time you view the episode. It also has one of my favorite quotes of all time:

 

"I am endeavoring to construct a mnemonic memory circuit using stone knives and bearskins."

[Vulcan IDIC 0]

That's a good one Indy. I always chuckle when Spock says that line.

[mj 7]

The one thing that has always bothered me though is the scene where McCoy comes through the portal and the homeless guy in the alley zaps himself with the phaser.  Are we to assume that he had no purpose and that history wasn't altered because of that moment?  I always wondered about that.

It did not bother me as if it were a loose end. It just seems that the man had fallen through the cracks, and was no longer impacting society. That really does happen to people.

 

It was put there to contrast the impact of Edith Keeler's existence.....someone who was involved with the homeless, and who, had she lived, would have impacted the whole world. It was also put there to make us think. Just because this man's death did not cause any serious ripples in time, doesn't he still matter? The answer is yes. As Edith says, " I insist that you do survive."'

[Vulcan IDIC 0]

Good point mjham. It does make you contemplate about life and much it matters.

[Admiral Kirk 1]

This is one of the best trek episodes period. I hear a lot of the Ellison's original lot had to be cut to make the episode though.

[Odie 0]

I would like to believe it is one finest science fiction story. It asked the viewer a difficult question. What would happen if... You can feel Kirk's pain when Edith Keeler's dead. remember when Sybok (Spock's brother) ask what was Kirk deepest pain. It was either Edith Keeler or David Marcus his only son.

[mj 7]

That scene certainly made me believe that the characters of Star Trek experienced depth of feeling, and were meant to be deep characters, that this was not just a comic book level sci fi.

 

With regard to Sybok, I think he was looking for hidden pain. I think Kirk's loss of his son David Marcus was very public, and probably he had much continued support in his loss. ( As an aside, the two things I think of with regard to David Marcus was that without having been raised by Kirk, he still had Kirk's penchant for taking risks and breaking rules, even though looking toward a good end. And second that his mother was right in keeping him with her...she lost him when he got more actively involved with Star Fleet.)

 

I think it is possible that the loss of Edith Keeler could be a hidden pain that Sybok could have exploited had Kirk allowed it. Only Bones and Spock knew about it. The other woman we know he fell deeply in love with Spock caused him to forget about through a mind meld. But I think Kirk chooses to honor the memory of Edith Keeler by retaining the pain of her loss (and knowing that loss was to the world which could not receive her message of peace at that time without great damage to the timeline).

[mrskirk 0]

I think "City on the Edge of Forever" showcased William Shatner's best acting-ever. What Kirk says near the end of the episode, after he, Spock, and Bones come back to the present safely..."Let's get the hell out of here." is poignant. The way Shatner recited that line was full of raw pain, you felt Kirk's loss. I loved it!!