"Since before your sun burned I have awaited a question."
--Guardian (the question was not asked of it, and other
questions were asked before, but it didn't answer those.)
"[My friend here is obviously Chinese.] I see you've noticed the ears.
[Well, they're] easy to explain.
--Kirk
"[Perhaps the unfortunate accident I had as a child...]
--Spock
"[Yes, the unfortunate accident he had as a child... You see, he
got his head caught in a mechanical]
rice [picking machine. Fortunately, there was an American missionary
nearby who was really a skilled plastic surgeon]..."
--Kirk
"I'm a surgeon, not a psychiatrist."
--McCoy (but he HAS a degree in psychiatry).
"I am attempting to make a [neumatic | pneumatuc | mnemonic]
memory circuit [using] stone knives and bearskins."
--Spock
"Let's get the hell out of here."
--Kirk
"He knows, doctor. He knows."
--Spock
PLOT
The Enterprise is orbiting a planet with ripples in time. While
investigating, McCoy (suffering from an overdose of cordrazine) vanishes
through a time portal (The Guardian of Forever, a giant talking
donut-shaped rock) and somehow changes the past. One side effect is that
the Enterprise and Star Fleet no longer exist, but for some reason the crew
that are on planet still do. Kirk and Spock follow him to Earth's 1930s in
an effort to rectify whatever it is that McCoy has done.
FACTS
Tricorder says the Guardian is ten million years old.
A 2030 A.D. novelist from a star in the left side of Orion's Belt
advises "Let me help" over "I love you" as the three most important
words.
Ellison wrote the original version of "City on the Edge of Forever". It
had McCoy drugged non-accidentally among other things. It was a bit
of a different story than what the aired version turned into. It needed
major re-writing because most of the characters were out of character
(as they had been defined in earlier episodes), the script had to be
re-written, Ellison didn't like that, and the rest is history. If you
get a chance, read both versions of the script.
Kirk falls for Edith Keeler.
First time "hell" was used on television as a ___.
Seven people beam up at the end (on to a transporter pad that hold six).
OPINIONS
One of the best-written stories in science fiction. Period.
Probably the best acting I've seen out of DeForrest Kelley. Excellent
portrayal of someone accidentally shot up.
I'm not sure who was filling in for William Shatner this week, but the part
of Kirk was played to perfection. The viewer can actually GET IN to the
part, FEEL what Kirk felt for Edith, and HURT inside when he had to watch
her die. One of the few episodes that can send chills up your spine.
