Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 28: The City On the Edge Of Forever [VHS]

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Well, this is the episode that a lot of people pick as their favorite from the whole series and I can see why. "The City On The Edge of Forever" is without a doubt the best written of all the episodes of the original Star Trek. Dr. McCoy accidentally injects himself with a shot that makes him paranoid and out of control. He beams himself down to the nearest planet which turns out to be a 'time shifting' planet. It has a donut-shaped portal that can talk and it will show you bits and pieces of history. You can jump into it at any time and you will be transported to that period of time. Captain Kirk, Spock, and a few others beam down to try and capture Dr. McCoy before he hurts himself. However, Dr. McCoy fights them off and jumps through the portal. That's when the real adventure begins.

Kirk and Spock must try to jump in the time portal at the right time to try and rescue Dr. McCoy while also trying to change history in order to get the U.S.S. Enterprise back. Meanwhile, Kirk falls in love with a woman he meets in the movie and must make a huge sacrifice in order to get McCoy and his ship back in orbit.

I don't know if I would say that "The City On The Edge of Forever" is my all-time favorite Star Trek episode because there's so many great ones for me to really pick a favorite. But one thing's for sure, it's in the top five. I recommend any Star Trek fan to get this episode to add to your collection. "The City On The Edge of Forever" is definitely one of the episodes that you can't miss.

Now we come to what is clearly the most famous, most admired and most controversial Star Trek episode, "The City on the Edge of Forever." As I would think most people know by know, McCoy goes back in time through the time portal of the Guardian of Forever and changes history. Kirk and Spock follow to set things right, ending up in the U.S. during the Great Depression where they learn that the focal point in time is Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), a social worker: Because McCoy will save her life, Edith will lead a peace movement that will delay U.S. involvement in World War II, allowing Hitler time to create the atomic bomb first and win the war (which is not a good thing). Unfortunately, Kirk falls in love with Edith and does not want her to die.

Originally written by Harlan Ellison, who has published both the original script and his side of what really happened (that's an understatement), the only thing everybody can agree on is that changes were made in the script. The biggest difference in the two versions has to do with which character prevents Edith from being saved: in the episode it is Kirk, but in the original script it is Spock. Ellison's point was that Kirk was willing to sacrifice the future for love; the powers that be maintained their hero would not act that way. But then they also think that two hundred years from now no one will remember Clark Gable (or "Gone With the Wind" apparently).

Ironically, these two opinions are enshrined in the second and third Star Trek movies, where we go from the good of the many outweighs the good of the one (Spock sacrifices live to save the ship), to the good of the one outweighs the good of the many (Kirk save Spock at the expense of his career). I have to admit that I very much like both versions; it was years before I stopped crying when I watched the end of "The City on the Edge of Forever." Yet as great as that ending is, with Kirk having nothing to say about what has happened except "Let's get the hell out of here," what Ellison was attempting was even more operatic.

Ultimately, what hurts this episode the most is not the great debate over which version is superior, but that Kirk would have a different girl on a different planet for what seemed like every other episode during the rest of the series, which undermines his (supposedly) epic love for Edith Keeler. If you have not read Ellison's script, then you should do so. You can even skip the vitriolic account of the bad blood between Ellison and Gene Roddenberry, but there is a minor character named Trooper in the script who deserves to be remembered because he was deemed negligible by history.

'The City On The Edge Of Forever' is a classic. The Guardian of Forever is a very well-employed plot device. DeForest Kelley gives an outstanding performance. Joan Collins was cast perfectly as Edith Keeler. The 1930's setting is very authentic. Kirk falling in love with the very woman he knows must die to save history is one of the best dramatic plots I've seen from Star Trek. To top it all off, the episode ends perfectly with Kirk ultimately having to sacrifice the woman he loves to save history, and afterwards Kirk, Spock and McCoy returning to the present through the Guardian of Forever, then the episode coming to a close with the landing party, in a somber mood, beaming back up to the ship, leaving the Guardian of Forever alone, as it should be left. If you're a Star Trek fan, or if you're a collector looking for classic television episodes to add to your collection, I highly recommend 'The City On The Edge Of Forever'.

This episode is the best of the best. Other episodes as well as other TV shows have come and gone. But "City" will last and last. But what I'm really writing this for is to tell you to get the DVD version. DO NOT get the VHS version. Some of the incidental music was changed. Instead of the classic song "Goodnight Sweetheart", they substituted some dumb song. Completely ruined the show. I threw the tape I bought in the garbage. Literally. But, I now have a DVD copy which is completely original. Get the DVD !!!

Perennially voted the fan's favorite episode of the original series and, according to many surveys, the best episode of the whole Star Trek series catalogue. This high opinion and fan devotion comes for a very good reason: 'The City On The Edge Of Forever' is a gripping story that represents television at it's very best. Not just science fiction but all genres considered. Kudos, plaudits, salvos, cheers, hails...nothing but the highest of praise has come from nearly all since it's original airing April 6, 1967. During the first week of July, 1995 it was listed in TV Guide's "100 Most Memorable Moments In TV History", placed at number 68. It was the only episode of any Trek series to make the distinguished list and was a very rare entry for the field of science fiction, which has never been a favorite of television critics. In addition to this critical success every fan knows there has been a conflict surrounding this episode concerning the author of the original teleplay, Harlan Ellison, and the teleplay that appeared on the classic Trek program. Why? Apparently it's personal.

The story that circulated for years was that the episode as originally written was far over budget; the estimated figure that was quoted kept getting more inflated as the years passed. There were quibbles involving certain behavior of some of the lead characters and other differences of opinion; one infamous (and erroneous) rumor was that Ellison had included a storyline that had the Enterprise's chief engineer Scotty dealing drugs! The studio mandated rewrite has been attributed to many different people who were associated with Star Trek at that current time: Gene Roddenberry, Gene L. Coon, Steve Carabatsos, the list goes on. Ellison wrote a book on the whole matter in an attempt to clear the air and even claims to have the definitive answer to who actually penned the rewrite that was used. The book, which is titled the same as the episode, contains his original teleplay and it is brilliant. But I'm afraid I quite agree with the creators of Trek that it simply was not filmable by their then current budget standards.

None of these matters has diminished the enjoyment that the finished product has brought to legions of fans. The show grabs your attention immediately and it isn't hard to get caught up in Kirk and Spock's time warp dilemma. Their initial encounter with the Depression era is amusing; the romance that develops between Kirk and Edith Keeler is done well and manages to avoid becoming clichéd or sappy; the twist concerning the two very different futures of Edith Keeler is a complete surprise; Spock sympathetically but rationally insisting his captain allow events to proceed as they must. Aside from these is the impressively designed and odd appearance of the Guardian Of Forever; the voice chosen for this most unusual "alien" is also appropriate and effective. The end of the episode is unforgettable with Kirk and Spock's joyous reunion with McCoy shattered by the captain's need to prevent his friend from reaching to help Keeler, leading to Kirk's angry and bitter departure from the Guardian. Additionally the well-chosen Depression era background music and accompanying contemporary score are among the best work that the series has done. But perhaps the episode's greatest strength is Joan Collins' effectual and credible performance as Edith Keeler whose ethereal beauty is strikingly photographed in her close-ups. Collins was well cast in the part and she and Shatner make a believable couple.

Note: When Kirk and crew prepare to transport from the surface to the ship in the end of the episode Shatner uses the word hell. Although no television historian has made a definitive study (at least not to most people's knowledge) this is generally believed to be the first time this word was used on-air, another Star Trek television first!

While I am familiar with the many stories about the original screenplay by Harlan Ellison and the changes made for the episode, that will not be part of this review. What matters is what appeared on the screen and that is a classical episode in television history. The story combines all the best that science fiction has to offer, new technologies, exploration of the universe and the discovery of new intelligences; deep friendship among comrades, the consequences of time alteration and the classic girl meets boy with love abloom. There are even deep religious overtones, the deep voice and cryptic comments of the guardian are very similar to some of the statements of Yahweh in the Christian bible.
In my opinion, Shatner and Nimoy do their best acting in this episode. You can see the turmoil in both Kirk and Spock when they are forced to the conclusion that for millions to live, Edith Keeler must be allowed to die. The anguish in Kirk's face when he allows her to die is one of the best moments of the original series. Lost in many of the other aspects of the episode is the undercurrents of emotion in Spock. When McCoy is accidently injected with a dangerous drug, Spock rushes to his side and when Kirk and Spock are reunited with McCoy they engage in a group hug. Kirk's barbs in pushing Spock to develop a device to read the data in their triquarter clearly annoy him and spur him to greater effort.
The most emotional of all the episodes in the original Star Trek series, this is one that tugs at your heart as well as your head. For years, I have lamented the fact that the producers did not produce a sequel or incorporate some of the consequences into future episodes.

This episode is one of my favorites of all time. It has great drama, good plot, good acting and shows the character's great ability to solve problem. And, it just has that cool time continuum stuff going on. And, the time portal - the "guardian of forever" (?) has inspired many other stories such as Carmen Carter's ST:TNG book, "The Devil's Heart." This episode is definitely a piece of Star Trek lore. I encourage anyone to add it to their collection.

This is probably my favorite episode of the series along with the Doomsday Machine and Court-Martial. This episode is actually a one hour movie that you wish did not have to end the way it did. It should prove to Hollywood that you do not need a gushy happy ending to make a fantastic show. What you need is believability and the charm that this episode portrays.

McCoy accidentally injects himself with an overdose of cordrazine, a drug which makes him exhibit signs of paranoia and madness, while treating an ailing Sulu on the bridge. Delirious, he beams down to a nearby planet's surface, with Kirk and a landing party on his heels. They are too late to stop the doctor from leaping through a living time machine called "The Guardian of Forever." At that moment, the U.S.S. Enterprise ceases to exist and the landing party is stranded. The Guardian explains that McCoy went back into Earth's history and changed it, thereby altering the future. Kirk and Spock go through the Guardian, to Depression-era America, a few days before McCoy is to arrive and change history. They encounter a social worker, Edith Keeler, who helps them find work to pay for the equipment Spock requires to build a tricorder. Unknown to Kirk and Spock, Edith has taken in the recently-arrived and ill McCoy. Kirk promptly falls in love with Edith and is devastated when Spock completes his tricorder and discovers that in order to repair history, they must let Edith Keeler be killed in an auto 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, thus allowing Hitler's Germany to develop the atomic bomb first and conquer the planet. When the moment comes, a heartbroken Kirk stops McCoy from saving Edith, and the three officers journey back through the Guardian, where they find things as they should be again.

episodes. Maybe even the best of the "time travel" genre. I love the original Star Trek, over & over etc. Production values are low but the stories are so superb & original it doesn't matter. This episode is the best of those. Joan Collins was once a babe & this is her best work. The Star Trek series that have followed have used & reused the the plots from the original merely requiring some rewrite. But they haven't attempted this one. How could they? The world-wide depression, the rise of facism, WWII pending, all are actual events from history. They must be allowed to proceed or the world that Kirk & Spock know will never exist. Pretty heady stuff for a t.v show.