The City on the Edge of Forever by: Harlan Ellison and directed by: Joseph Pevney

 

“The City on the Edge of Forever” is written by Harlan Ellison and is directed by Joseph Pevney.  Uncredited rewrites were performed by D.C. Fontana and Gene L. Coon.  It was filmed under production code 28, was the 28^th episode of Star Trek Season 1, and was broadcast on April 6, 1967.

 

Harlan Ellison was both a celebrated author of science fiction and a difficult person to work with, there is no doubt about that.  The history of the production of “The City on the Edge of Forever” is perhaps just as interesting as the eventual episode, with Ellison being brought on early in the production of Star Trek with a very different script but one with similar plot threads and themes that was rewritten several times by Ellison, though Ellison not wishing to compromise his own vision would not make necessary changes for Gene Roddenberry, D.C. Fontana, Gene L. Coon, Robert H. Justman, and director Joseph Pevney to be able to film the episode with the budget allocated to the episode.  Roddenberry, Fontana, Coon, and Stephen W. Carabatsos all worked on the final teleplay, with Fontana’s revisions being cited as the most prominent, Coon’s the least, Carabatsos’ the earliest, and Roddenberry’s as a final polish. It is paramount that while Ellison requested his name pulled from the episode because his script in his mind was changed too much, this request was not met.  For the purposes of this review the script shall be attributed to Ellison.

 

“The City on the Edge of Forever” begins deceptively like a normal episode of Star Trek, the Enterprise is under attack from a planet that has the ability to alter time.  It almost immediately changes directions, the danger from the planet ceasing but not before McCoy accidentally being injected with a dangerous stimulant leaving him psychotic.  He transports down to the planet which is a ruined city, with a sentient arc claiming to be the Guardian of Forever, given a comfortingly alien voice by Bartell LaRue, giving the ability to travel along one’s species’ history.  McCoy finds himself going through the portal into the history of Earth and somehow changing history in such a way that the Enterprise and Starfleet no longer exist, stranding Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Uhura, and a couple of redshirts as rogue elements.  Kirk and Spock go after him, arriving in New York City during the Great Depression, some weeks before McCoy’s arrival, their plan being to find him on arrival so he cannot change history.  This premise clearly sets up a story based on the butterfly effect, but in traditional fashion for Ellison there is a very dark twist.  Somehow Leonard McCoy saves the life of one woman, Edith Keeler, a social worker played by Joan Collins.  The effect Keeler living leads to a mass pacifist movement which takes the US by storm and allows Germany to be victorious in the race to the atomic bomb and win World War II.  This is already a very powerful idea, something that Ellison twists even further by having Kirk fall in love with Edith and have to grapple with the question of what a single life is worth.  This is a very dark idea for Star Trek to tackle especially within the context of airing just under 22 years after the close of World War II, doing this without ever showing the war or destruction.

 

The set design of the Guardian and the city are perhaps important to note here: it is a very simple and fairly small set, but the evocation of destruction due to the ability to time travel primes the viewer to understand the destruction.  The same with leaving Scotty, Uhura, and the redshirts behind with the instructions to follow Kirk and Spock after some time has passed.  The passage of time also develops and analyzes the Kirk and Spock relationship as this deep friendship, a friendship deep enough to call love.  This adds this sense of danger that the rest of the crew could be coming through the portal throughout the episode, something that ultimately doesn’t happen yet it adds the sense of danger.  Ellison then begins to twist the knife: after a sequence of Kirk and Spock having fun trying to blend in and find clothes, stealing from the streets and wandering into the basement of the mission Edith runs.  Throughout the episode Kirk falls in love with Edith, admiring her proactive attitude in the face of the Great Depression and the service she provides to the less fortunate, as well as her vision towards the future.  Edith believes mankind’s destiny is peace and exploring the stars, the episode explicitly calling her mission for peace the right thing to do, but sadly at the wrong time in hindsight.  Shatner and Collins also have impeccable chemistry, the best chemistry of any of Kirk’s other love interests thus far, the relationship also being stronger through the script itself allowing Keeler agency.  The discovery of how the timelines diverge is another twist of the knife, but there is also one final twist.  When McCoy appears, DeForest Kelley’s performance slows down from the manic and drug addled McCoy to the rational and kind doctor brilliantly.  The death of Edith Keeler is an easily preventable tragedy.  McCoy had been taken in by Edith and the chance mention of him by Edith to Kirk leads to a beautiful reunion, but Edith crosses the street.  She is struck down by a passing truck.

 

Overall, despite the troubled production “The City on the Edge of Forever” is the latest episode of Star Trek to join the ranks of perfect storytelling.  Harlan Ellison’s penchant for dark but human themes work perfectly.  Joseph Pevney’s direction brings out the best in the entire cast and the ending is one that is genuinely tragic and shocking to behold, the episode not feeling as if much of its runtime has passed.  It ends on this beautiful note of the Guardian of Forever being abandoned, despite the opportunities of advancement it may offer.  This is among the ranks of the best of what the show has to offer and is trying to say.  It’s definitely worth the hype and praise in often surprising ways.  10/10.