Star Trek at 50: The City on the Edge of Forever

Season 1

Episode 28: The City on the Edge of Forever
Filmed:  February 1967

First Air Date: April 6, 1967

Karen: Kirk sacrifices the woman he loves to save the future. It's a heart-breaking story that has gone on to be hailed the best Star Trek episode ever by many. And yet, the original story would not have had the Captain making this soul-rending decision. Perhaps more than any other episode "City" suffered from incredible behind the scenes strife. But it turned out to be a beautiful, touching tale.

Karen: Star Trek fandom has for years heard tales of the rancor between Roddenberry and Harlan Ellison, the writer of this episode. Depending on who you're listening to, you may hear a very different version of what happened. Again, we turn to Trek historian Marc Cushman and his book These are the Voyages Volume One for a detailed and (seemingly) unbiased account. If you're looking for all the minutiae I suggest you pick up the book (well, I suggest you pick it up anyway) but the basics are that Roddenberry approached a number of high-profile science fiction authors as he began getting Star Trek off the ground. Ellison was one of them. Ellison, besides having written a number of stories, had also written scripts for TV shows, including the script for the Outer Limits episode "Demon with a Glass Hand," which won a Writers Guild award.  There was no doubt about his talent. Ellison had an idea about Kirk going back in time and meeting a character based on the evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, who Kirk would fall in love with but have to let die in order for the future to proceed properly. Roddenberry gave the go-ahead and Ellison quickly produced a story treatment. This was in March of 1966.

Karen: However, while producer Robert Justman and others thought the story was beautifully written it also was not something they could film, for a number of reasons. Part of it was due to budget -there were too many things in the script that they couldn't translate to film given the meager funds they were working with. But perhaps just as important, there were things in the script that simply weren't consistent with the type of show Trek was. Maybe the best known of these is that rather than having McCoy become temporarily insane from an accidental overdose of a drug, as was filmed, Ellison had a crew member (not one of the regular cast) selling hallucinogens on the ship, and bludgeoning to death another crew member  who threatened to turn him in. This is certainly not typical behavior on the Enterprise.  It was felt by the Trek staff that the script needed revision.

A graphic novel featuring Ellison's original story is available

Karen: This is where the merry-go-round starts. Ellison provided a revision -but it took five weeks to get it. It was  May, and they were beginning to film the first episode ("The Corbomite Maneuver"). Even at this point, they were concerned about running out of scripts. They needed to turn them out with some alacrity. But Ellison was moving slowly on getting the teleplay finished. So in an act of desperation, Roddenberry set Ellison up with a desk in a tiny office at the studio, hoping they could keep an eye on him and get that script. Unfortunately, it may have distracted Ellison more, as he was frequently found on set. D.C. Fontana defended Ellison, to some extent, saying that, "Harlan did spend some time visiting the set, but that's considered necessary research for a writer. When a show hasn't been on air yet, freelance writers must have an opportunity to study the actor's speech patterns and delivery, the little gestures and nuances that each one brings to his or her role -and most of all - the character relationships which are being built episode by episode."

Karen: Robert Justman finally got his script from Ellison on June 7. After the first blush of excitement, Justman realized they were in trouble. Although the script was "brilliantly written" it was still too expensive to film, and the characters weren't acting the way they'd been established in the show. They were stuck at the same point. Ellison revised his script, unhappily, feeling that the special qualities of the script that he had worked so hard to put in were being lost with each revision. And there were many, many revisions. According to Cushman, Ellison himself provided three versions of the story outline, then did three versions of the teleplay (script), at which point Steven Carabatsos, who was still story editor (October 1966) stepped in to provide a rewrite. It was Carabatsos who removed the drug dealing element and instead introduced the idea of Dr. McCoy getting hurt and then injected with Adrenalin, which makes him go temporarily mad. After Carabatsos' effort, Ellison again went at it. What was marked as his final draft arrived in the Trek offices December 19th. It still wasn't where the staff felt they could use it. So Gene Coon took a shot at it over the Christmas holiday, then D.C. Fontana came in and worked on it, then Coon again, then Fontana, and finally Roddenberry touched it. By February of 1967,  nearly a year later, they finally had their script.

Karen: Typically, when you have this many people fiddling with a script, it comes out a mess. But somehow, they managed to create a gem. The Ellison script was, by all accounts, absolutely incredible, and would have been perfect for an anthology show like Outer Limits. But it was felt that it didn't have the 'feel' of Trek. The finished episode however is resolutely Trek to its core; the characters are the people we have spent this entire first season getting to know. Their mannerisms, their personalities, are all there. I should note that Ellison does not feel this way at all about it and you can easily find out more by searching the web. 

Karen: The acting in this episode is top-notch. Shatner is still working hard as Kirk. We see the gears turning in his head and the love and the anguish he feels is very real. Nimoy is as understated as ever but Spock's sense of concern for Kirk and his plight is tangible. DeForest Kelley gets to have some fun as the demented McCoy, but he has a sweet scene with Joan Collins as well. Kelley said that he decided to play it as if McCoy was also enchanted by Keeler. And what of Edith Keeler? Joan Collins was a well-known actress at this time and a casting coup for Trek. She and Shatner had real chemistry and the two of them made a lovely couple. Director Joe Pevney, who helmed many episodes, said of this show, "It was a pleasure working with the actors. They realized their full potential in that one."

Karen: There was one scene in this episode that I never completely saw until I got the DVD set, and that was McCoy's arrival back in 1930. When it went into syndication, they removed  the part where the derelict he encounters accidentally phasers himself out of existence. The full scene is in the clip below. 

Karen: Most of this episode was filmed back in Mayberry again -there is one well-known publicity  still where Floyd's Barbershop can be seen behind Kirk and Keeler - and desperate for stage space, the crew even borrowed the My Three Sons empty stage to film some scenes. I'd always wondered about the design of the Guardian, the mysterious machine/entity that transports our heroes through time. It was a strange design, but effective. Apparently it was not the work of the series regular designer, Matt Jeffries, who was ill at the time, but of Rolland Brooks. D.C. Fontana stated that Brooks misread the script, somehow translating 'runes' into 'ruins' and so we got the broken classical columns surrounding the Guardian. It's unclear where the lop-sided shape of the portal itself came from. Reportedly, when Jeffries walked onto the set he burst out with, "What the Hell is this?"

Karen: I have to admit, as a kid, this episode didn't do it for me. But now...it really guts me. Throughout the series Kirk has to make many hard decisions, but this one is surely the most terrible. Despite the short time he is with Edith, she is a real kindred spirit  and it's easy to see how he could fall in love with her so quickly. The line "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one" has become a standard within Trek fandom since Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan but long before Spock performed the math on that and made his decision, Kirk does it here, to its brutal conclusion. When Kirk discovers that McCoy is in the mission and races back to it, the brief joy he and Spock and McCoy experience at being reunited, plunges quickly into utter devastation when he realizes Edith's fate has arrived, and he has to actually hold back McCoy from saving her. McCoy's anger at Kirk -"Do you know what you've done?" and Spock's almost-consoling, "He knows, Doctor. He knows" were pitch perfect. Of course the final line, uttered by Kirk as they leave the planet was the perfect way to end the episode: "Let's get the Hell out of here."

Star Trek at 50: Shore Leave

Season 1

Episode 17: Shore Leave

Filmed: October 1966 

First Air Date: December 29, 1966

Karen: One of the more fanciful episodes of original Trek, 'Shore Leave' makes an impression. Our crew is bewildered by encounters that simply cannot be occurring, but are. Some of these are funny, some are melancholic, and some are outright lethal. Even our good Captain finds himself overcome by the phantoms of his past. The pace is quick and there's never a dull moment. The episode is greatly enhanced by being shot on location -something that would become a rarity in later seasons.

Karen: Surprisingly, it takes quite some time before the Enterprise crew begins to understand the nature of the planet  and what's going on around them. Kirk still can't resist giving his old adversary Finnegan a good beating, even though he knows it's not really him.  Well, after he had already gotten the tar knocked out of him earlier, I guess Kirk had earned it.

Karen: Kirk also encounters Ruth, an old flame. Shatner portrays this well, with mixed emotions: confusion, longing, regret...you can tell that whoever Ruth was, she was no one night stand. The music by composer Gerald Fried in these scenes also highlights these feelings. My one complaint is that I always thought Ruth (played by actress Shirley Bonne) looked a bit too old for the presumably Academy-aged Kirk. But then again, Kirk never seemed to discriminate. 

Karen: In the book Star Trek Memories, Shatner recounts how filming this episode was a bit tricky. NBC had wanted major revisions done to the story by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, so Gene Roddenberry, who was about to go on a vacation to Hawaii, left behind notes for Gene Coon. For some reason, Coon never received the notes. So Roddenberry went off on his vacation, and when he returned, the crew was ready to film "Shore Leave" the next day -without any of the changes NBC requested! Roddenberry rewrote the script on location (both Africa USA and Vasquez Rocks were utilized). However, Shatner notes that Roddenberry couldn't finish everything, and there was quite a bit of ad-libbing by the actors in this episode. Roddenberry and the actors were  coming up with all sorts of ideas to fill out the story. One that didn't make it into the finished episode: Captain Kirk wrestling a tiger. There is a tiger seen in the show, and Shatner at one point thought it would be a terrific idea for Kirk to wrestle the big cat. Shatner, always enthusiastic, was a little too pumped up that day, as he explains:

"Now the words 'stuntman' and 'phony tiger' are probably already buzzing about your cerebellum, but I can assure you that strangely enough, I wasn't the least bit interested in such precautions. Even stranger, I can remember being really excited about the whole thing. I mean, here I was, this middle-aged actor, caught up in the adrenaline of the moment, and I stood there, like a dope, actually contemplating hopping on top of Shere Khan. Roddenberry, who had about a hundred thousand other things to worry about, came over and tried to talk me out of this unarguably stupid idea, but I was, for some reason, determined to go through with it.

"Then Roddenberry did something brilliant. With his arm around my shoulder, we strolled through the park as he tried to convince me I was far too important to the show to risk wrestling some man-eater. He really wasn't getting far, but then, and in retrospect I'm sure it was premeditated, we 'stumbled' upon the tigers' habitat at precisely feeding time. There sat the tiger I would be battling, enormous, majestic,  and gnawing away at a bone full of red meat.

"Immediately my testicles rose up into my Adam's apple, and the ignorant machismo that had been pulsing so heartily through my veins was now replaced by sheer abject terror. I stood there trying not to look too horrified as I now gracefully backed down, 'for the good of the show.'"

Karen: Despite not getting to see Kirk battle a tiger, this is an exciting, action-packed episode. The knock-down, drag-out fight with Finnegan is a heck of a brawl. This episode also sees Dr. McCoy killed - not almost killed, but d-e-a-d, dead. The advanced technology of the planet is used to bring him back to life, as if nothing had happened. Trek seems at times to treat death lightly. Scotty was also killed in "The Changeling" and brought back to life with no adverse reactions. I think there may have been a few other deaths and resurrections, I just can't think of them at the moment. You can make the argument (as some people have) that every time someone steps into the transporter, they actually die and are reconstructed -a copy of the original person. So I wonder where the concept of the soul or the afterlife comes in to Trek? Is a person just a machine you can restart? Is there no element to us greater than our biochemistry? The fact that Star Trek makes me think about things like this makes me love it even more. 

Karen: All in all this is a very enjoyable, if atypical, episode of Trek.

Star Trek at 50: Where No Man Ever Went

Karen: As we have reached the mid-point of the first season, I thought it might be interesting to discuss some of the story ideas that didn't make it into episodes in this first season (or maybe ever). Many thanks to Marc Cushman and his excellent book, These are the Voyages, Vol. 1 (if you haven't bought it yet, what are you waiting for?), wherein he discusses many of these failed concepts.

Karen: Stories were rejected at various stages of development, and for many reasons. Writing for a show as novel as Star Trek was not an easy task. Writers familiar with science fiction often came up with concepts too big (and expensive) for the TV screen. Those writers used to handling Westerns or police dramas just couldn't wrap their heads easily around the futuristic concepts of the show. So it was not unusual for stories to require a lot of hands-on from the staff. Sometimes they could be salvaged, but other times they had to be let go entirely.

Karen: In the first season, there were more than a dozen such stories which were either completely discarded, or reworked and produced in later seasons. Often considerable effort went into developing these stories, only to have Roddenberry or Coon come to the conclusion that it simply wasn't working. But perhaps a bit of an idea might be salvaged to be used elsewhere.

Karen: From the first season, prominent scrapped shows include Roddenberry's own "Omega Glory" which he had pushed again and again, and no one but he truly seemed enthused with it. It would eventually get produced in the second season, but grudgingly.

Karen: Science fiction writer A.E. van Vogt came up with an idea called "The Machine that Went Too Far," but apparently his idea went too far, and this story about an android who tries to take over the ship was reworked but rejected, although the second season episode "I, Mudd" had some similarities.

From "Elaan of Troyius"

Karen: Likewise, "The Galatea Syndrome" by Alfred Brenner involved the Enterprise transporting a hostile planet's leader to peace talks with another planet, and the leader's mistress used an aphrodisiac to wreak havoc on board. Although this treatment was disliked by Bob Justman and others, and rejected, elements of it can be seen in the third season episode "Elaan of Troyius."

Karen:  "Rites of Fertility" by Robert Sheckley, another SF writer, had the Enterprise crew turning into plant people. This one was rejected for a variety of reasons, including expense. 

Karen: One of the most intriguing, and perhaps infamous rejected stories, is "Portrait in Black and White." Fans have heard tales about this one at conventions and through other means for years. In his book, Cushman gives a detailed rundown of how this idea came to be. My short version: Roddenberry came up with an idea about a parallel world resembling the pre-Civil War era South, with the twist being that Blacks were the ruling class and Whites were enslaved. He handed this off to writer Barry Trivers to flesh out. Associate Producer Bob Justman was very uncomfortable with the whole thing, which included breeding camps, and he felt they had to send it over to NBC before they got too far along with the project. NBC flat-out rejected it, despite Roddenberry's protestations, and it died...but by the third season, a different story would use a blatant make-up technique to address racial hatred in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield."

Karen: George Clayton Johnson, writer on the episode "The Man Trap" and numerous episodes of

George Clayton Johnson

The Twilight Zone, as well s the film Logan's Run years later, received an assignment to develop one of Roddenberry's ideas, titled "Chicago II," but it went nowhere. Johnson submitted his own idea, "Rock-a-Bye Baby, and Die," which involved the Enterprise becoming 'impregnated' with a newborn soul. As the being becomes aware of itself, it wreaks havoc on the ship. Gene Coon felt the story was too out there, and he and Johnson couldn't see eye to eye. Johnson went to Roddenberry for help and Roddenberry essentially said Coon, his producer, had final say. Feeling Roddenberry had taken the easy way out, and just generally annoyed by the whole situation, Johnson withdrew his story. It was the end of his affiliation with Star Trek.

Karen: One of the stories I find the strangest was titled "The Squaw," and was pitched by Simon Wincelberg, who had worked on "Dagger of the Mind." Essentially it is a cowboys vs. Indians story, where the Indians on the planet are primitive Vulcans, and the cowboys are human survivors of a spaceship crash. Spock winds up with the 'Indians' and one of them, a woman named Missie, becomes smitten with him. No, I am not making this up. This actually got through two drafts, but bad blood between Wincelberg and Roddenberry over the rewrites of "Dagger of the Mind" put a stop to any chance of our seeing Kirk and Spock riding horse -although come to think of it, we'd see them with six-shooters in "Spectre of the Gun" and they would encounter Native Americans in "The Paradise Syndrome."

Karen: There were many more lost episodes but I think this is enough for now (the second season had some even more interesting ones!). One thing is for sure: no concept was ever wasted! Even if a story never made it into production, some concept could surely be taken and reworked for another episode.

Star Trek at 50: The Menagerie, Parts 1 and 2

Season 1

Episodes 15 and 16: The Menagerie, Parts 1 and 2

Filmed: October 1966 (The Cage filmed November -December 1964)

First Air Dates: November 17, 1966 (11th episode aired), November 24, 1966 (12th episode aired)

Karen: This two-part story is well-loved by most Star Trek fans - and why not? It surely gives us a deeper understanding of Spock, and expands our sense of wonder at the universe out there that the Enterprise crew is bravely exploring. It's also a huge 'what if' - what if the network had given the original pilot ('The Cage') the greenlight, and we had received a very different Star Trek?

Karen: Gene Roddenberry had the idea to incorporate footage from 'The Cage' as not only a cost-cutting measure, but to help fill out the production schedule, as the network had ordered more episodes of the show. However, rather than producing a crass product, the move created two fine episodes which invariably make top ten lists. 

Karen: Roddenberry put forth his proposal to NBC, and they agreed, stipulating that the new content be approximately 50% of the two episodes and feature current cast members. An 'envelope' story, to encompass the footage from 'The Cage,' was developed. John D.F. Black made a first pass at it, but Roddenberry wasn't satisfied and did his own version.  Black filed a complaint with the Writer's Guild for credit but lost, a result he was always bothered by. Roddenberry felt he had been the originator of the concepts. As noted in previous posts, these sort of disagreements would occur frequently with the show, particularly in the first season. Gene Coon would provide some additional script work before it was final.

Karen: According to Marc Cushman in These are the Voyages Volume One, NBC was gratified that the script highlighted Spock. In a memo from NBC rep Stan Robertson to the producers, it reads, "We are very pleased that you have written in Mr. Spock as the primary character since, as you know, he is emerging as one of the definite "pluses" in the series." It had become apparent that the viewing audience 'grokked' Spock. This story would be a nice vehicle for the Vulcan.

Karen: Malachi Throne was cast as Commodore Jose Mendez. Of note is that Throne originally did the voice of the head Keeper in 'The Cage' (which you can hear in the trailer below) but it was redubbed for 'The Menagerie. Sean Kenney had the unenviable role of the injured Captain Pike. They needed an actor who had at least a basic resemblance to Jeffrey Hunter, who had played Pike in the pilot. But poor Kenney was literally slathered in latex, stuck in a bizarre futuristic wheelchair, and had no lines! Luckily he was also cast on two other episodes ("Arena" and "A Taste of Armageddon") as Lt. DePaul -happily without any makeup.

Karen: 'The Menagerie Part One' is very much a mystery -why is Spock hijacking the Enterprise? Why is he kidnapping his former commanding officer, Captain Pike? Why go to Talos IV, a forbidden world? It's all very exciting. We know how incredibly loyal he is to Captain Kirk, as well as Starfleet, so his actions are shocking. Kirk is especially dismayed that his First Officer -his friend -would betray him. But as the story of the earlier Enterprise crew's mission on Talos IV unfolds, things become clear.

Karen: Ultimately, we discover the depths of Spock's loyalty and friendship towards Pike -and also Kirk, whom he keeps out of his plans, so he cannot be implicated. It reveals Spock not as a person devoid of emotions, but rather one who feels deeply, but keeps those emotions held rigidly in check.

Karen: It is intriguing to get this glimpse of a Star Trek that might have been. I think that the actors and characters we wound up with are much superior to the ones in the pilot. Kirk (and Shatner) is far more dynamic than Pike; and McCoy seems much more human and likable than Dr. Boyce. I have to admit that Number One was rather interesting, but it's been stated that many of her characteristics were transferred to Spock. Of course, Spock himself behaved quite differently at that point. In any case, having 'The Cage' as part of Star Trek lore provided some nice history and backstory. 

Karen: Pike's struggle with the Talosians was deemed 'too cerebral' by NBC at the time, but it seems like pretty good science fiction/adventure to me. Overwhelmed by illusion, the captain is unsure of what to believe - but pieces together a way to to overcome his captors. Susan Oliver as Vina, the only survivor of a spaceship crash, provides Pike with insights -and is well-remembered for her turn as a green-skinned Orion 'slave girl.'

Karen: The idea that the gravely handicapped Pike might prefer a life of fantasy to reality would certainly be controversial today. At the time however, it was a rather beautiful expression of Spock's desire to see his former commander live out his life peacefully. I'm curious what you all think of this ending.

Karen: On a lighter note, as a kid, the alien Keepers really freaked me out. They had those pulsating veins on their heads -ewww!! I remember I called them 'the buttheads.' Nuff said.

Star Trek at 50: The Naked Time

Season 1

Episode 6: The Naked Time

Filmed: June/July 1966

First Air Date: September 29, 1966 (4th episode aired)

Karen:"The Naked Time" is nearly universally considered to be one of the best original Star Trek episodes. It was even nominated for a Hugo Award in 1967. As the fourth episode broadcast, it provided viewers with insight into the personalities of Enterprise crew, particularly Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. A strange infection causes deeply buried desires and traits to come to the surface, causing chaos on the ship. At the same time, the planet the Enterprise is orbiting is beginning to break up, creating a difficult navigational situation. This only gets worse when Lt. Kevin Riley, under the influence of the contagion, takes over engineering and shuts down the engines, resulting in the ship heading dangerously towards the planet's surface.

Karen: This episode was written by John D.F. Black, associate producer and script editor at the beginning of the first season. Black had both science fiction and TV and film screenwriting experience, and had even won a Writers Guild award for one of his screenplays. This had brought him to the attention of Gene Roddenberry. However, when Roddenberry decided to do some rewriting of Black's script, it caused irreconcilable issues between the two, as Black felt that Roddenberry had been tinkering too much with the scripts of other writers, particularly talented science fiction authors, and now his own script was getting the same treatment. Author Marc Cushman, in his excellent These are the Voyages Vol.1, looks evenhandedly at both sides of the argument. Black was quoted as saying, "I couldn't bear to see quality work changed to the point where the dialogue did not have the sharp edge that it had...I was watching too much good material getting screwed up and I couldn't take it."

Karen: For Roddenberry's part, it was a case of the creator feeling he knew best. "During those first shows, none of our writers knew what I wanted to do. Not fully. But I had this idea; I could see where to take it, who Kirk was, who Spock was." Roddenberry rewrote the script before Black was allowed to do a second draft,which went against Writers Guild rules. Black was furious. But he took Roddenberry's version and did his own draft. The script would go back and forth between the two several times. But only Black would be credited on screen. 

Karen: One of the notable things that Roddenberry added was the character of Nurse Christine Chapel, played by Majel Barrett. Barrett had played the role of Number One, the raven-haired first officer of the Enterprise in the original Star Trek pilot that NBC passed on. The executives had demanded Roddenberry dump the female officer, saying she was not likable. But since Barrett and Roddenberry were romantically involved, he was determined to get her back on the show. He might have thought putting a platinum blonde wig on her would fool them, but he was wrong. Bringing Barrett back was just one of the things that would make his already bad relationship with NBC worse.

Karen: Besides Roddenberry's rewrites, two actors also contributed their own ideas. Leonard Nimoy came up with the idea of having Spock seek privacy in the briefing room, where he breaks down. Originally, he was to walk down the corridor crying, and a crewman would paint a mustache on his face. That's it. Talk about a lost opportunity! The other change came from George Takei as Sulu. Writer Black had planned to give Sulu a samurai sword. Takei told Black, "Sulu is a 23rd century guy. I'm a 20th century  Asian-American, and I didn't grow up brandishing a samurai sword. I was swept away by Errol Flynn and The Adventures of Robin Hood. What about putting a fencing foil in Sulu's hand?" And so a brilliant, memorable scene was born.

Karen: And what of Lieutenant Kevin Riley, the descendant of Irish kings? Can anyone forget 'I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen'? Even if you tried, you probably couldn't. It's as bad as 'It's a Small World'. 

Karen: William Shatner also has a good turn as Kirk here, as the ship is starting to spiral down toward Psi 2000, when the audience finds out the extent of his dedication/obsession to his ship -"Never lose you" -is a great line. 

Karen: If there are any negatives, I'm hesitant to name them, because it's such a great episode. But when Spock and Joe Tormolen (what a name -turmoil?) beam down to Psi 2000, their special environmental suits look like they are made out of shower curtains. They are just awful. Then, Tormolen, a highly trained officer (one assumes), having been warned to be careful in this situation, takes off his protective glove and scratches his nose, and then touches the desktop at the station with his bare hand. Wow. Later, when he is infected, he tries to kill himself with what looks like a butter knife. And succeeds. So...a few weak points. But hey -who cares. The drama in this episode is great. I also noticed that when Kirk gives the order to Scotty to do the controlled implosion to restart the engines, he says, "Engage," so he beat Picard to that by twenty years!

Karen: Cushman points out that "The Naked Time" was originally conceived as Part 1 of a two-part story.At the end of the episode, the Enterprise is propelled back in time. Part 2 would have seen the Enterprise in the past, but the plan was scrapped. The idea though, was re-used as the germ for the later episode "Tomorrow is Yesterday."