“The City on the Edge of Forever” is a classic episode of Star Trek, often considered to be one of its very finest episodes. There’s no question that it features a narrative that is briskly paced, epic, and heavily character-driven. And without question, there are some indelible on-screen moments for the main characters of Kirk Spock, and McCoy. But there’s an all-too-blatant contrivance to open the episode, and a contradiction in the episode’s premise which very nearly threaten to overwhelm the entire story. Fortunately, through the sheer power of the episode’s latter scenes, the result is a truly memorable installment of Star Trek, worthy of the praise it so often receives.

The premise of the episode involves having a raving Dr. McCoy go back in time, disrupt the timeflow, and seriously alter the course of history. Kirk and Spock are then forced to also go back in time to correct the damage. The time travel element is a compelling sci-fi idea, particular in terms of how seemingly minor incidents might have a profound effect on future events. Unfortunately, the episode is selective in applying its own brand of time travel science fiction. Kirk and Spock head back in time to 1930 to ensure that McCoy doesn’t interfere with history – only to have Kirk actively date a woman from that time period.

Of course, the episode’s central conflict revolves around her fate – she is destined to die – but Kirk didn’t know that before he started dating her. This kind of selective application of the basic premise of the episode is a fault that, depending on how willing you are to buy into the paradox of time travel to begin with, may prove to be too distracting. And if that isn’t enough, the episode’s opening sequences, the ones in which McCoy is “accidentally” overmedicated (and becomes a raving lunatic) are horribly written. Such blatant contrivance is more than enough to delegitimize the entire gravity of the episode as a whole.

That being said, if viewers can overcome those two major obstacles, the rest of the episode is nearly pitch-perfect in terms of tone, writing, and performance. What Kirk and Spock uncover is that Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), a luminescent woman who reaches out to the poor and preaches a highly progressive philosophy of peace and tolerance, is saved from a deadly car accident by Dr. McCoy. By doing so, Keeler’s pacifism keeps the United States from entering World War II until it is too late to prevent Nazi Germany from developing atomic weapons. The result is that her pacifism actually results in a nightmare future for Earth. As Spock says, “right ideas, wrong time.”

This setup introduces the questions of when and in what capacity war protests and pacifism are either necessary, healthy, or detrimental. And, too, the nature of the conflict established by Kirk’s love for Edith elicits moral questions such as: when might the needs of one outweigh the needs of many? Of course, because Kirk is the epitome of the duty-driven character, we know that he’ll make the right choice. But the strength of the episode isn’t in the value it places on the choice, rather in the emotional cost it takes to make such a choice. This is wonderfully portrayed by the various looks, edits, and fragments of dialogue in the moment when Kirk, against his own feelings, stops McCoy from saving Edith.

Along the way, the episode seems some wonderful performances from all of its principle cast members, including Joan Collins who manages to convey a captivating performance, despite a rather humdrum script (where her character is concerned). Also, the concept of the time gateway is sufficiently mysterious to be both plausible and captivating. Perhaps the only criticism here is the fate of the gateway. It would seem a highly dangerous thing to leave around.

“The City on the Edge of Forever” is, without a doubt, a very, very good episode. And this may be a case of self-fulfilling prophecy. With so many Star Trek fans singing the praises of this episode, their adulation alone elevates it to being a must-see installment. Otherwise, it’s faults would be enough to warrant a slightly lesser evaluation.

Filed under: Original Series