Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 14, Episodes 27 & 28: Errand of Mercy/ The City on the Edge of Forever

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This DVD installment of Star Trek features two episodes which are a must for every fan. Those with friends unfamiliar with Classic Trek would do well to show them these two episodes. Their friends will be instantly hooked.

Errand of Mercy was Star Trek's first story dealing with the Klingons. The late John Colicos, best known as Baltar from Battlestar Galactica, was given a virtually free reign to create the look of his character. He saw Kor as a futuristic Ghenghis Khan, and that template prevailed until the redesigned Klingons appeared in the first Star Trek movie. Under Colicos' masterly performance, the Klingons are shown to be barbaric, militaristic, brutal, but not ENTIRELY evil. Kor recognizes the value of valor, and laments that duty requires him to kill Captain Kirk: "Always it is the brave ones who die. The soldiers." He is also perceptive enough to recognize that Klingons and Federation members are more alike than Kirk would care to admit. This is further demonstrated by the surprise ending, which hints at the events of Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country. The plot development at the end, involving the true nature of the Organians is an effective and original twist.

The City on the Edge of Forever is considered by many to be Star Trek's finest episode. The screenplay, based on a story by Harlan Ellison, is craftily writted and paced. It is also Star Trek's best time travel story. Starting as a chase through time for a deranged McCoy, the victim of an accidental drug overdose, the story takes an abrupt turn toward lighter fare when Kirk and Spock arrive in 1930 New York City. After Kirk meets Edith Keeler (Joan Collins) and recognizes a kindred soul, the story seems headed for a romantic conclusion. Kirk at last seems to have found true and pure love. Then, what the audience least expects it, Spock lowers the boom: Edith Keeler must die, or history will be altered and humanity will be subjected to another Dark Ages. The superb writing--most of the dialogue was by Gene Coon, one of Star Trek's unsung heroes--is backed up by top flight performances by Shatner, Nimoy, Collins, and the late DeForest Kelley. Is it a stretch to say that 50 years from now, Collins will be remembered for this role, rather than for Dynasty? The lighting for the 1930 portion of the story looks unusually subdued for a Star Trek episode, but perhaps the filmmakers were trying for a Depression-era look.

Paramount has done a very good job with sound and picture transfer. Images are sharper, colors more vibrant, and flesh tomes more realistic than before. There are two small mistakes on the box cover: Despite the disclaimer, the original music for City on the Edge of Forever (based on the pop tune "Good Night, Sweetheart") has been restored for the DVD. The VHS version featured much less effective music. Also, one photo on the back cover is from the second season episode, "Metamorphosis."

I envy those who are seeing these episodes for the first time.

I just viewed the restored DVD version of "City on the Edge of Forever", and I'd like to assure all concerned that the original incidental music that was replaced in "City" has been restored! In the mid-eighties, Paramount had allowed the ASCAP rights to "Goodnight, sweetheart" to lapse, causing a video version to be released with inferior replacement music. ALL of the excised music is back,and the sound is tremendous. I've never heard this episode look or sound better.

The late John Colicos of "Battlestar Galactica" fame shines as the Klingon commander Kor in "Errand of Mercy," an episode which has an ambiguous title. Whose "errand" is it anyway - the Federation's? As it turns out, the mercy is shown by the Organians who act to prevent an interstellar war, establishing one of the political cornerstones of the Star Trek future history. Given the significance of the so-called "Organian Peace Treaty" which is referred to in many later episodes, I always felt this episode was too subdued; we don't see the two starfleets in space and the Klingon occupation forces on Organia are small in number. Still, Colicos' scenes with Shatner are well acted and establish the aggressive nature of both captains, a theme which comes up again and again. DVD lets us see the fog around the Organian castle as well as the writing on the Klingon occupation notices - they're printed in English!

SF writer Harlan Ellison is known to have hated the TV adaptation of his story "The City on the Edge of Forever" and we can see why. Although it is undeniably one of Star Trek's more emotionally powerful episodes (Bill Shatner's last line still sends chills up and down my spine), as a science fiction story it does not hold up to repeated viewings. But this is a strong pairing on DVD; if only there were more interactive options and liner notes. By the way, somebody goofed on the package design - there's a photo from a different episode ("Metamorphoses") for "City on the Edge of Forever."

I think everyone will agree that Volume 14 is definetly one of the most popular Trek DVD's to date. The reason being well it's actually quite simple: (1) The debut of the Klingons and of course (2) One of the best Trek episodes ever. So I can easily say that this is Highly recommended before going into great detail about the episodes.

The first episode here is ERRAND OF MERCY which features the debut of the Klingons led by Commander Korr (played by John Colicos). This episode finds the Enterprise races to Organia to prevent the Klingons from taking over the planet. However when they arrive the Organians refuse the help of Starfleet and pretty soon the Klingons invade the planet. A frustrated Kirk tries to reason with the stubborn Organians who will not allow the Klingons and Starfleet to fight. Both sides completely unnerved later find out that there is more to the Organians than meets the eye for they are a far superior race compare humans or Klingons. A classic!

The next episode is one of Trek's finest CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER is easily one of my favourites. McCoy goes insane after consuming a drug accidently and beams down to a planet with a bizarre Time portal. When the crew beams down to catch him McCoy jumps into the portal and wisked off to the past altering the course of time to the extent that the Enterpirse no longer exists. Kirk and Spock go back in time to find McCoy and end up it the early 1930's during the depression. There Kirk and Spock await for McCoy to show up and they befriend the beautiful social worker Edith Keeler (played by Joan Collins). Kirk begins to fall in love with the woman and Spock later reveals that in order to set time straight again Edith Keeler must die unfortunetly. This episode is a powerful drama and easily one of Star Trek's finest episodes ever. A true classic.

Bottom Line: these episodes must be seen. Both are excellent and belong in everyones collection! Highly recommended!

The original Star Trek was far superior to the followups for many reasons and City on the Edge of Forever, the pinnacle of that series. Harlan Ellison's legendary feud over script revision with Gene Roddenberry is well known, and supposedly the original script is even better than the one used. Nevertheless I've not seen any other TV script that approaches the profundity of this. Kirk and Spock track Bones through a time/space portal to 1930 and meet Edith Keeler, a person who changed history after being saved by Bones. Kirk falls in love with her, but has to decide between love and the Allied WWII victory. This whole episode is thought provoking, the characters are believable, the fact that this was done in 1967 shines through in its creativity and emotional intensity. Such a contrast to the ridiculous follow-up series and films. All episodes of the original are worth seeing, but this is the best.

I give this DVD five stars, not because of the episode Errand of Mercy(which is not one of the better episodes but is still okay) but because of the episode City on the Edge of Forever.That episode in my opinion is the best episode out of all the 79 of Star Trek the Original Series.I like the time travel concept, specifically the time/space portal that both Kirk and Spock are forced to travel through to bring back the ship's doctor "Bones" because he jumps through before they do and when Spock and Kirk jump through into 1930s Earth they have to wait until enough time has elapsed before they catch up with him.He has travelled weeks into their 1930s future.Kirk falls in love with Edith Keeler and Spock tells Jim she must die.Later they find McCoy and he tries to save Edith from getting hit by a truck but Kirk stops him, knowing she has to be sacrificed in order for millions of people to live.By the time they all travel back through the time portal again and return to the moment that they left(scotty tells them they only left a moment ago)Kirk is not the same man.Naturally because of his loss.He says."Let's get the hell outta here."Science fiction and television just doesn't get any better than this.

Little more needs to be said about the vibrant and mint-fresh visual quality of these two excellent television episodes. Star Trek has never looked better, and the superb cinematography and music of The Original Series (much better than any of the show's later incarnations) are at last presented in a medium which do them full justice.

The same can't be said for the packaging. Though this may seem a trvial concern, one can't help but feel that the DVD packages (slicks) were put together by young hotshot-trendies who may not have ever seen an episode. The strange choice of typography, not to mention the colours, the incorrect use of photos (surely there are enough Trekkers around to proof this stuff; I estimate it would take the average Trekker 0.2372 seconds to spot the "Metamorphosis" photo on the "City" slick) and the lack of special features on the DVD makes one feel a little short changed. Compare Star Trek to the "Contact" DVD with its multiple audio tracks and commentary. It would have been great to have Shatner or Nimoy or any of the others do some audio, or perhaps a music-only track. Why not some rare stills from each episode (as with the Space:1999 or Thunderbirds DVDs), or some "making of" text a'la The Twilight Zone. At the very least, use the classic font for titles and a colour scheme more in keeping with the art direction of the series, rather than the dumb "hip" look we have now (out of date by tomorrow afternoon).

The episodes themselves both deserve five stars. This was a great program and one that is sorely missed.

Well, I'd have to admit that it'd be an understatement to say that this particular volume contains two of the series' most historic eppies. The first show, 'Errand of Mercy', introduced us to the original Klingons, who looked more like members of Genghis Khan's Mongol horde than the ridge-headed warriors of the movie & NextGen/ DS9/ Voyager fame. And of course there's the Organians, whose outward appearance & apparent level of technology belie their true power, which proves to be far greater than the combined might of the Star Fleet and Klingon Forces.

Then there's 'The City on the Edge of Forever', Trek Classic's most celebrated & controversial episode. It featured an early appearance by 'Dynasty' mistress Joan Collins, who played the tragic love interest of James Kirk. How... original!

Then there's the controversy: writer Harlan Ellison's fight for creative control of this particular Trek has become Hollywood legend, and still garners debates to this day. I've always enjoyed hearing & reading about this battle, especially Ellison's venomous statements about Gene Roddenberry. Even after nearly four decades, he's still got a beef about the whole affair!

But the main reason I watch the show nowadays is to look for flubs, continuity errors, & left-in bloopers. And 'City' has one doozy of a moment. After the cordrazine-maddened McCoy runs into the past, he meets and gives a quick medical once-over to a vagrant, then passes out. The bum takes advantage of McCoy's state, and swipes the doctor's phaser. Here's where the weird part comes into play: in the long shot where the vagrant is fiddling with the weapon's controls before vaporizing himself, you can see that the middle finger of his right hand is missing a knuckle. Then it cuts to a close-up showing his hands working the dials & buttons, and the knuckle miraculously reappears!

At least with James 'Scotty' Doohan, they made a (mostly successful) effort to cover up his slight lack of manual dexterity. But, I guess a different standard applies if you're only a one-episode bit player...

'Late

Gene L. Coon's Errand of Mercy and Harlan Ellison's City on the Edge of Forever (extensively rewritten by Coon, Gene Roddenberry and story editor D. C. Fontana although it's true to Ellison's original concept)are two of the finest episodes produced for Trek. I would argue the point that City is the best (there were others equally as good if not better and, in fact, Ellison's original script was much, much better than the version that was shot and aired). The former was totally Coon's creation. Coon was the unsung hero of Trek writing many of the original series finest episodes and using his experience as a hands on writer/producer to help Roddenberry fine tune his vision for the series.

Essentially this is a conflict between the Federation (read the United States) and the Klingon Empire (read the Russians or Chinese however you want to look at it). It details a power struggle over a backwater planet where each group wants the planet as part of an ongoing power struggle. Kirk wants Organia to join the Federation as they are strategically valuable. The Klingon Empire invades the planet. They know Kirk and Spock are there and threaten to kill the inhabitants one at a time or in groups unless they give up Kirk and Spock. The Organians refuse as they've got a couple of tricks up their sleeves.

City dealt with time travel. The Enterprise discovers a planet that is almost unstuck (to borrow from Vonnegut)in time. There are portals all over the planet that provided the original inhabitants with gateways to the past. Accidently injected with a powerful but dangerous drug, McCoy loses his mind, attacks crew members and escapes from the ship. Kirk, Spock and a landing party pursue him. They discover the portals, their purpose (they're intelligent and alive in a sense) and McCoy at the same time. McCoy travels into Earth's past to escape the landing party and, somehow, changes the past so World War Two is won by the Axis powers. The result is a stranded landing party and a nonexistant Federation to save them. Kirk and Spock choose to travel to the past to undo whatever damage McCoy has done.

Featuring top notch art direction, effects (for 1967), performances (Shatner is, for the most part, very restrained and very, very effective in both)and direction, both episodes rate highly in the Trek canon and science fiction. City won the Hugo award and Ellison's original (much more emotionally complex)script won the Writer's Guild of America Award (where it was pitted against all episodic television shows submitted for that year).

While City IS a classic and a great episode of Trek, you owe it to yourself to read Ellison's original script which has been published as a trade paperback with introductions by original series writer David Gerrold, story editor/writer D. C. Fontana, Next Gen writer Melissa Snodgrass, actors Nimoy and Walter Koenig. It's a great piece of writing and it's a pity that it has never been produced. Errand, on the other hand, is fairly close to Coon's original conception (although Roddenberry may have had a hand in rewriting it).

Having gotten into Star Trek via the feature films it was a surprise for me to see how much better the series was, and especially these two episodes here. And that's saying a lot because I definitely loved many of the films. Here are the most important reasons:

- The story. The reason why a science fiction film can be outdated in 2 years is not because the special effects have developed so much in that time, but because the story wasnt interesting or good enough. While the movies have to cator in part to the people who have never seen trek, and to the whole "action mentality", these episodes from the 60's manage to bring some fantastic stories that have you at the edge of your seat for the lenght of it (and wanting more afterwards :)), not to mention laughing histerically at the same time. This is the reason why they will never be outdated. A vivid example of this is to see the klingons as they were in "Search for Spock" and here in "Errand of Mercy". In Search they are more like barbarians and ruthless killers rather than intelligent and interesting adversaries. Seeing "Errand of Mercy" made me look at Klingons from a whole different point of view. My only explanation for this would be that the movies are simply more action oriented... and plus, that style of filming from that time made almost obligatory for better acting and scripts. Why? Well, can you actually imagine a close up of a Klingon in a conversation where you were looking to find expressions in the eyes, etc., to see his/her feelings/intentions in Search for Spock? I certainly cant! The Klingons are better depicted in "The Undiscovered Country" than on "Search for Spock" (especially by the great acting of Christopher Plummer) but I found this episode to be the most interesting depiction of them by far, and there was room for much more even!

- The relationships between the cast members, in the case of this volume of Kirk and Spock. I see them in a different light now. It is really amaizing to see them working off each other, the little gestures in the faces that mean so much, the great friendship, their incredible humor, etc etc. While in the movies there was drama, humor, and hints of all this, here you get to see first hand their relationship, not just the characters but the inmense chemistry of these actors. A single close-up probably tells more than a whole feature film.

- The Scenery. One of the aspects that surprised me the most. I could never understand why the movies didnt utilize better and more varied locations/sets. I think when the story takes place in different places and not primarily on the spaceships it is always an enhancement. It takes you more on the "Journey" and in actually feeling that you are there. Here, the stories take place in many different locations, the most important ones beign a very epic-like ancient one on "Errand of Mercy" and the other on a 1930 setting in the USA. This was just a delight for me and I finally felt that they had utilized the full potential and posibility that this incredible concept of "Star Trek" had given.

In regards to both stories, I wont say anything specific because its much more exciting to watch them without knowing what to expect. In any case, that info can be found in many places, including here. However, I will say that they are very well written, thought provoking, exciting, with tons of humour, drama, and anything anyone could ask for. "The City on the Edge of Forever" is probably more of a movie than the 6 feature films combined. As I said in the title, this is Trek at it's best.

One final thing. I used to think for many years that Star Trek wasnt for me... only to see a Next Generation episode and liking it a lot... then I thought the older movies/cast werent for me still... only to see the films and love them even more... and finally, I still thought that the original episodes couldnt live up to the movies only to learn they were inmensily better. So if you are pondering to get this or not, STOP THINKING ABOUT IT AND DO IT! Odds are you will turn into a fanatic like me :)