The City on the Edge of Forever

"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.

ReferencesEdit

CharactersEdit

Episode charactersEdit

Paul Bates • Clifford Brent (?) • David Galloway • Guardian of Forever • Bill Hadley • Edith Keeler • James T. Kirk • John Kyle • Ryan Leslie • Lewis • Leonard McCoy • Rodent • 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 charactersEdit

Davis • Guardian of Forever • Edith Keeler • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Rodent • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Nyota Uhura

Referenced only 

Bonner the Stochastic • John Christopher • Clark Gable • Adolf Hitler • Franklin D. Roosevelt

Starships and vehiclesEdit

USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser)

LocationsEdit

Planets and planetoidsEdit

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

Planetary localesEdit

Earth 

New York City, North America (Brooklyn Bridge • Twenty-First Street Mission)

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 culturesEdit

Human (Chinese • Hellene • German) • Vulcan

Technology and weaponsEdit

clock • cuckoo clock • hand phaser • mnemonic memory circuit • phaser • plating • robot • stone knives and bearskins • tricorder • type-1 phaser • V-2 rocket

States and organizationsEdit

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

Other referencesEdit

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 • 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

AppendicesEdit

Related mediaEdit

• 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 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 adaptationEdit

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 adaptationsEdit

Video releasesEdit

BackgroundEdit

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)

ImagesEdit

Episode imagesEdit

Adaptation imagesEdit

TimelineEdit

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	Pocket	Next Adventure: Triptych
Previous Adventure: Against Their Nature	Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (2264 to 2270)	Next Adventure: Triptych

ConnectionsEdit

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
Future series	Assignment: Earth II • Year Five • Aftermath

External linkEdit

• The City on the Edge of Forever article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.