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The City on the Edge of Forever

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"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[edit | edit source]

Characters[edit | edit source]

Episode characters[edit | edit source]

Paul Bates • Clifford Brent • 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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

Guardian of Forever • James T. Kirk • Eva Light • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Nyota Uhura

Starships and vehicles[edit | edit source]

USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser)

Locations[edit | edit source]

Planets and planetoids[edit | edit source]

Earth (Sol star system, sector 001, the galaxy's Alpha Quadrant) • Gateway (the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrants)

Planetary locales[edit | edit source]

Earth 
New York City, North America (Brooklyn Bridge • Twenty-First Street Mission) • San Francisco
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[edit | edit source]

Human (Chinese • Hellene • German) • Vulcan

Technology and weapons[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

United Federation of Planets • United States of America • World Peaceways • Nazi • Starfleet

Other references[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

Related media[edit | edit source]

Comic adaptation[edit | edit source]

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.

Novel adaptations[edit | edit source]

Video releases[edit | edit source]

Background[edit | edit source]

The names of the two crewmen who accompany the landing party to the planet vary according to source:

Images[edit | edit source]

Episode images[edit | edit source]

Adaptation images[edit | edit source]

Connections[edit | edit source]

Timeline[edit | edit source]

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
Blish2.jpg 		Next story:
Space Seed
chronological order
Previous Adventure:
Errand of Mercy 		Pocket Next Adventure:
Triptych
Previous Adventure:
Against Their Nature 		Voyages of the
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
(2264 to 2270) 		Next Adventure:
Triptych


Connections[edit | edit source]

IDW Publishing miniseries
Completed series The Space Between • Klingons: Blood Will Tell • Year Four • Alien Spotlight • Intelligence Gathering • Turnaround • The Enterprise Experiment • Assignment: Earth • Mirror Images • Romulans: The Hollow Crown • The Last Generation • Countdown • Alien Spotlight II • Crew • Mission's End • The Wrath of Khan • Spock: Reflections • Nero • Romulans: Schism • Ghosts • Fool's Gold • Star Trek Movie Adaptation • Leonard McCoy, Frontier Doctor • Burden of Knowledge • Countdown to Darkness • Captain's Log • Khan: Ruling in Hell • Infestation • Star Trek—Legion of Super-Heroes • Assimilation² • Hive • Khan • Strange New Worlds • New Visions • Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever • The Primate Directive • The Spectrum War • Starfleet Academy • Manifest Destiny • Star Trek • Stranger Worlds • Waypoint • Mirror Broken • Boldly Go • Through the Mirror • The Light of Kahless • Succession • Terra Incognita • Star Trek vs. Transformers • The Q Conflict • Aftermath • Picard: Countdown • Too Long a Sacrifice • Seven's Reckoning IDW bulb.jpg
Future series Assignment: Earth II • Year Five

External link[edit | edit source]

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