The City on the Edge of Forever

Dr McCoy suffers an accident whilst administering treatment to a crew member.

This is a classic episode with a brilliant story and great character moments.

The plot is a mixture of sci-fi and romance that culminates in a very memorable ethical dilemma. If you like time-travel, period drama and emotion, this one has it in abundance.

From a sci-fi perspective it is a great time travel episode that mixes real life history with the fictional characters. I have always thought a lot about the bad things that have happened in my family history that indirectly led to me being born. People died young, relationships and careers were destroyed, and countless other events happened that resulted in my mother and father being together at the exact time required for my conception. When you add thoughts about about fate and chance, then ask 'what if' it is truly fascinating. 'City on the Edge of Forever' always provokes this type of contemplation about life and the butterfly effect.

Ethics plays a huge role in how the story unfolds as it all leads to a huge climax for Kirk and guest character, Edith Keeler, who has to be one of the most memorable leading ladies he has shared a screen with. As a romance it just about works as well as it can in 45 minute episode, but it's too short a time to really invest in a love story.

There are some excellent moments for Kirk and Spock, with many strong scenes of drama and comedy. Bones also has an important role and his scenes are memorable.

The visuals are simple and effective, particularly the sets, costumes and props. Spock attempting to create miracles in a in a zinc-plated vacuum-tubed culture is superbly done.

All performances are excellent, particularly William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley. Joan Collins is solid as Keeler.

This is often referenced as the greatest Trek episode of all time. It certainly is one of the best, but it really depends what you look for in Star Trek as there are many different types of story. There are some plot holes and some aspects that require a suspension of disbelief, but these criticisms are only minor.

For me it's a 9.5/10 but I round upwards.

One of the best "acted" episodes in all of Star Trek....small screen or large....and regardless of TOS right on through Discovery. Kudos to Shatner, Nimoy, DeForest and especially Collins. Great story, set design and as mentioned...the performances are outstanding. Definitely among top 3....and that's with all the options available today.

I have never written a review for any Star Trek episode. However, last night on H&I. I saw COTEOF probably for the fifty some time including when it was originally aired in April of 1967. The more I see it over the years, the more amazing it is and severe admiration is to be Harlan Ellison, the writer. It is wonderfully acted by a restrained Kirk who faces the decision of love vs. humanity. Spock knows this and fears if left alone to make the decision, Kirk would choose love. It is rated the best Star Trek, TOS episode and it's easily to see why. If it's your first time watching this episode, one word....ENJOY.

After Bones accidentally injects himself with a shot that causes him to have dementia, he jumps into a time-travel gateway and lands in New York in the 1930's. Kirk and Spock must go in after him and prevent him from doing something in the past that could alter the future. Kirk finds a love interest, played by Joan Collins, but comes to find out that she will play a key role in determining the outcome of Earth's future. Without spoiling it, lets just say it appears Kirk will never have a steady love relationship as long as he is captain. Great job by Shatner and leaves you numb at the end. He even uses the word "hell', which was probably a big deal on television in the late 60's.

This is that one episode of the original Trek series which contained a certain inspired, sublime quality, which transcended the limitations of even the best episodes (translation: 10+ stars). We know there is greatness here, but what exactly is this impression that staggers us? Famed writer Harlan Ellison wrote the original teleplay, which was re-written by other hands (causing some controversy that continues to this day) to presumably make it fit better within the confines of Roddenberry's and television's view of the Trek universe. Very briefly, Ellison looked at human beings as more flawed (which, of course, they are) and probably regarded Roddenberry's vision of near-perfect future humanity as a bit too bland. This is television we're speaking about here, when all is said and done, and blandness is de rigueur. But, even the re-writes could not reduce this magnificent piece to anything less than the masterpiece of its day.

The City that the title refers to, on the surface, appears to be the eerie setting we see in the first act, with ruins, as Kirk notes, stretching to the horizon. It is here that we first see the Guardian of Forever, a strange rock-like arch which actually functions as a time portal. We've all seen time travel stories before, with similar devices ("The Time Travelers" from '64, for example). But, it's what happens after we enter the portal that then defines the story and weaves a tale of bitter, even mind-numbing tragedy. There's a chill odor assaulting us even before all this happens, a foreboding, as the Guardian intones 'All that you knew...is gone' after a deranged McCoy leaps into Earth's past. Without having to show the audience anything - anything physical or expository - the story lets us know that the Federation has been wiped away. All that in the span of a few seconds - all gone... just gone. The cosmic hook is that a particular individual, just another citizen in the dim past, can have a profound effect on the course of events within the known galaxy, while others, such as a skid-row bum, would have no effect at all.

The City may also be the city of New York, in the 1930's, for this is where a piece of Kirk (or his heart) will always be - forever, as it were. During the week that Kirk and Spock are forced to live a brief out-of-time life there, the story now stirs in the most potent human elements with the most dire cosmic dilemma - it's a fantastic, unforgettable mix. Unfortunately for Kirk, this was the one scenario he was not trained for. You might note, watching any of the other episodes, no matter how outlandish the threat or problem, it's always something Kirk is able to take control of eventually, to grasp and handle in his own persuasive manner. Not here - gradually, he becomes helpless, caught in the undertow of that perhaps strongest of human emotions after he meets a social worker. As with everything in this episode, actors Shatner and Collins seem to transcend their normal limitations. It's amazing that this episode, at least while taking place in this timeless New York City, is only the length of about half-an-hour; it seems like we're with Kirk & Edith for a good week there, much as it was meant to be.

As I got older, I found it almost too painful to watch the final act of this episode. It's like a piece of music - so well done, you're compelled to listen, but the notes are heart rending and leave that dull ache, as if you're missing something in life. As a comparison, I would bring to your attention another episode, "Requiem For Methuselah" from the 3rd season; it's actually not that bad of an episode, not without interest. But, in that one, Kirk falls in love in the span of an hour and then Spock erases his pain with his Vulcan abilities. Nothing so trite here. By the look on Kirk's face and his words in the final scene, as he dismisses the incredible Guardian, we know he will have to live with this pain forever. 'All IS as it WAS before' the Guardian intones some more. I'm afraid not. Not ever.