"The City on the Edge of Forever" was the 28th episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, in the show's first season, first aired on 6 April 1967. The episode was written by Harlan Ellison, directed by Joseph Pevney and novelized in Star Trek 2 by James Blish. An additional adaptation was published, in the form of the first "Fotonovel" of the Star Trek series, using sequential stills from the episode with word balloons to re-tell the story. This volume was simply titled City on the Edge of Forever.
While the credit for writing the episode went to Harlan Ellison, several details of his draft script treatments were deemed unusable by the producers of Star Trek. Ellison was rewritten, and protested by submitting his original draft (rather than the rewritten filmed episode) for an award. Over intervening years, the convention and interview circuit played host to Ellison and Star Trek's producers re-telling the story of the re-writing process. In order to clarify points that were being misremembered or exaggerated, Ellison published his original script in 1996. He then allowed it to be fleshed out as a full-length Star Trek story, in comic form, by IDW Publishing in 2014, with art by J.K. Woodward. Titled Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever, the collected edition of that comic was published on 17 February 2015.
References
Characters
Episode characters
- Paul Bates • Clifford Brent[1] • David Galloway • Guardian of Forever • Bill Hadley • Edith Keeler • James T. Kirk • John Kyle • Ryan Leslie • Lewis (USS Enterprise) • Leonard McCoy • Rodent (1930) • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Takayama • Nyota Uhura
- Referenced only
- Alnitak novelist • Will Bailey • Gus Barnes • Bobby Cabe • Clark Gable • Adolf Hitler • Alfredo Pedillo Jose • Killer Kidd • Jean Labeau • Gus Lloyd • Mike Mason • Ricky Mason • Kid McCook • Charley Mulaney • Manuel Prado • Franklin D. Roosevelt • Buddy Sencio
Novelization characters
- Davis (engineer) • Guardian of Forever • Edith Keeler • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Rodent (1930) • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Nyota Uhura
- Referenced only
- Bonner the Stochastic • John Christopher • Clark Gable • Adolf Hitler • Franklin D. Roosevelt
Gong photocomic characters
- Guardian of Forever • James T. Kirk • Eva Light • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Nyota Uhura
Starships and vehicles
Locations
Planets and planetoids
- Earth (Sol star system, sector 001, the galaxy's Alpha Quadrant) • Gateway (the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrants)
Planetary locales
- Referenced only
- Atlantis • Bangkok • Boise • China • Egypt • Germany • Honolulu • Lee's Summit • Missouri • Orpheum • Outer Mongolia • Paris • San Diego • The South • Thailand • Washington, DC
- Gateway
- Oyya
- Referenced only
- Orion's belt (Alnitak • Alnitak planet) • Hell
Races and cultures
Technology and weapons
- clock • cuckoo clock • hand phaser • mnemonic memory circuit • phaser • plating • robot • stone knives and bearskins • tricorder • type-1 phaser • V-2 rocket
States and organizations
Other references
- 20th century • 1907 • 1930 • 1944 • 1970s • 2267 • alternate reality • alternate timeline • Amellican • American history • anachronistic event • anatomy • angel • apron • armband • article • atmosphere • atomic bomb • basement • bologna • "Bones" • boot • boxing • broom • budget • calendar • car • cent • city council • classic • clothing • column (structure) • combination lock • constellations • cordrazine • cot • diamond • displacement wave • dress • duodynetic field core • energy • fascism • Fischer's Infants Wear • fission bomb • flop • Floyd's Barber Shop • furnace • gas • God • gold • Goodnight Sweetheart • Goody Two-Shoes • government • Great Depression • Great Pyramid • Guardian of Forever • hat • Hebrew • Hell • highway • highway patrolman • humanoid • jacket • jeans • jumpsuit • Kirk's women • ladder • lifeform • logic • Madison Square Garden • March Bake Shop • matter • mayor • mile • missionary • mechanical rice picker • nation-state • needle • novelist • pants • planet • plastic surgeon • platinum • races and cultures • Radio Corporation of America • Radiola 20 • saint • shirt • silver • Singer's Book Store • slum • squid • space • star • The Star Dispatch • Star of David • star system • suture • sweeping • technology • tectatyl • theme • time • time travel • TLK computer • tobacco • toolbox • tunic • United States dollar • universe • vacuum tube • Vanguard Insurance Company • Victor Ice Company • Vulcan neck pinch • Walt's Restaurant • weapon • Widin Dairy Farm • wood alcohol • World War I • World War II • zinc
Appendices
Related media
- TOS - The Yesterday Saga novel: Yesterday's Son
- TOS - The Yesterday Saga novel: Time For Yesterday
- TOS novel: Final Frontier
- TOS - Crucible novel: The Fire and the Rose
- TOS - Crucible novel: The Star to Every Wandering
- TOS - Crucible novel: Provenance of Shadows
- TOS - Strange New Worlds I short story: "Reflections"
- TOS - Strange New Worlds II short story: "Triptych"
- ST - Strange New Worlds V short story: "Disappearance on 21st Street"
- TOS - Strange New Worlds VI short story: "Marking Time"
Comic adaptation
Titled Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever, the comic was originally issued as a 5 issue miniseries, and was adapted not from the final cut of the episode, but instead from Ellison's original script.
- Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever, Issue 1
- Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever, Issue 2
- Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever, Issue 3
- Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever, Issue 4
- Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever, Issue 5
Novel adaptations
Video releases
Background
The names of the two crewmen who accompany the landing party to the planet vary according to source:
- David Galloway and unnamed security guard (on-screen episode)
- Davis and an unnamed security guard (novelization)
- Michael Jameson and Worsley (TOS - Strange New Worlds II short story: "Triptych")
- David Galloway and Paul Bates (TOS - Crucible novel: The Fire and the Rose)
Images
Episode images
Adaptation images
Connections
Timeline
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous episode: Errand of Mercy |
TOS episode produced | Next episode: Operation -- Annihilate! |
| Previous episode: The Alternative Factor |
TOS episode aired | Next episode: Operation -- Annihilate! |
| Previous story: Operation -- Annihilate! |
Star Trek 2
|
Next story: Space Seed |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Errand of Mercy |
Next Adventure: Triptych | |
| Previous Adventure: Against Their Nature |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (2264 to 2270) |
Next Adventure: Triptych |
Connections
External link
- The City on the Edge of Forever article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- ↑ This character was not named in the episode but the same actor, wearing an officer's Starfleet uniform, was addressed as Brent in TOS episode: "The Naked Time". The same actor also played the character of Vinci.
