The City on the Edge of Forever // Star Trek: The Original Series Reaction // Season 1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
- Thanks for watching Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 "The City on the Edge of Forever" with me!
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Please no spoilers! So that I can provide my best and most honest reaction, please do not mention the names of any future characters, events, or episode titles (this goes for future series as well). Please do not say which upcoming episodes are good or bad, otherwise I will have trouble forming my own opinion!
Thank you, and enjoy!
Bunny: "I'm upset......that hits kinda hard."
Yes, that's good writing. That is why this is generally considered Star Trek's best episode by fans.
The 1st couple versions of the script are even sadder…if that is possible
Bunny, some of us warned you that not all episodes had happy endings. This is the one many of us had uppermost in mind.
To answer the question why couldn’t the guardian of forever bring McCoy back without so much heartache….that is the subtext of the story…this becomes clearer in the original scripts or if one reads some of ellison’s other writing- he is constantly asking this question in his fiction and raging against the answer he feels life gives us, as a writer he generally wants to elicit the same response from his readers/viewers. One of the more interesting facets of the TOS is to see how what the writers brought to the stories by reading about them or their other work
This might be in;the classic episode’s of James Blishe’s Star ⭐️ Trek?Yeah,City on the edge of Forever is:one of those episode’s that make you think.It’s the go back in time to fix thing’s in history episode.Yeah,I can’t remember details in every episode,so….there’s no problem with that,here!No.Captain Kirk is in command,and in love 😻 with his ship,as is usually the case!But,reading into the Star Trek series with the James Blish episode’s is quite interesting,too!It’s that time of year where people fall in love,too!Happy Valentine’s Day,too!❤❤❤❤❤❤😮😮😮😮😮😊😊😊😊😊😢
This episode never fails to make me tear up. Even after five decades.
Leonard Nimoy described this episode as a classic Greek tragedy. A man trapped by fate in circumstances from which there is no escape. He was always moved by this story and considered it one of his favorites.
As I recall, this episode won a sci-fi Hugo award for that year, the only episode of TOS to ever win that honor.
Harlan Ellison's original script won the Hugo award, not the final filmed version.
The episode won the Hugo Award for best SF screen portrayal of 1967.
Ellison's 1st draft won the WGA (Writers Guild of America) author's award as Ellison submitted it, and not Roddenberry's performed script.
This one is the the quintessential TOS episode - Edith Keeler essentially speaks for Gene Rodenberry and lays out his world view. It also makes me cry. Also, great history behind the writing with the infamous Harlan Ellison.
Yes, ma'am. That ending has hit the same for all who have seen it, for the last 57 years. Just proves how much a fan you are now. 🙂
And how good the writing and acting on it was. That's why a good story is timeless. That's why people still perform Shakespeare, over 5 centuries later.
Bunny: Have we ever seen Bones fight?
McCoy: Damn it, Bunny, I'm a doctor, not a ninja!
🤣
I would have gone with warrior.
Sandoval: "We don't need the services of a doctor, I'll put you to work however I see fit."
McCoy: "Oh? Do you want to see how fast I can put you in a hospital?"
Fisticuffs ensue. This Side of Paradise.
He had a brief scuffle in This Side of Paradise when he was under the influence of the spores.
@@shawnkildal3151 And plenty of scrapes in the Westerns De Kelley was in.
It's also difficult to convey how hard Kirk's final line hit when this originally aired. The word "hell" was simply not heard in a swearing context on broadcast television. But the use and allowance of it here was like a sledgehammer at that time.
Yes! There were gasps in our living room when that last line came.
and the solemnity with which Shatner delivered it... absolutely masterful.
I also like Spock summing up all the emotional experience they went through by simply saying "We were successful."
That's why Shatner should be given his due for his acting ability. Yes, he has it up on occasion, but when he needs to be poignant as Kirk he hits the mark. This episode is a prime example of that.
Hams, not has. Typo.
It's perfectly proper to cry for Edith. Don't hold back.
This is probably the best of the TOS episodes.
Yup even after almost 50 years still brings tears to my eyes!
probably? certainly!
@@komradewirelesscaller6716 me too. no matter how many times I see it.
A fellow old guy here, and yes, it's a very real tear jerker.
Because his loving her was very realistic to believe in. It was clearly so painful to him, he appears sick of his very job out there in space, at least for the moment. Sick of how cruel it can be.
I saw this episode when I was about 7 years old or so and found Edith Keeler's death most upsetting...my Mom had a hard time explaining it to me. As a dumb kid, I had a hard time understanding the fact that it isn't real, it's just a show, it was a necessary plot device, that was made 20 years ago(from when I was 7), the actress is just fine and okay and has been in other things since then, etc. 😭😭😭😥
The joyous moment where they find Bones cut short by the death of Edith. Real life.
Yes :(
It may have felt like a movie because Edith Keeler was played by Joan Collins, one of the UK's biggest film actresses of the time.
She went on to star in Dynasty, a major US tv show in the 1980s.
Joan was also in Space 1999 episode ‘Mission of the Darians’, she was hot as hell in that 😍
@@Temeraire101 you beat me to it. Some of the costumes on Star Trek can be defined as suggestive or racy, but the costumes on the Gerry Anderson shows were way more sexier and risque' 😳
No, it doesn't feel like a movie because Joan Collins was in it. That's inane.
She was also in a very good episode of another science fiction series from the 70s about a base on the moon called Space: 1999. The episode was entitled "Mission of the Darians."
@@rickjohnston2667 Hot as feck!
🇬🇧UK here. At the start I thought if she doesn't cry, something is wrong with her.
There's nothing wrong with you.
X
"Stop talking about the future!" The Temporal Prime Directive, people!
I'm so impressed you were able to get in a head space to experience this episode as untainted as you could. It's so difficult when people don't respect someone else's journey. Your empathy and the way these episodes affect you makes me emotional. Thank you for all of these.🖖
Thanks very much!
"Stop talking about the future!"
There's a reason why the Department of Temporal Investigations labeled Kirk a "menace."
The temporal prime directive hasn’t been introduced yet by this point in the shows timeline. Mentioning it to bunny now violates the temporal prime directive. Bake him away, toys.
I totally get Bunny's reaction to people constantly saying something you haven't seen is awesome making you hesitant to watch as those comments affect me the same way. There are several series that I have avoided for similar reasons after reading all the slobbering love of the show...2 that come to mind is GOT and Stranger Things.
@@Wertsir Obviously, the Temporal Prime Directive is enforced retroactively 😆
"City On The Edge Of Forever" isn't just considered the best Star Trek episode ever. It almost always shows up on lists of the best single episode in the history of television, regardless of series, usually in the top ten or top five. It's probably even topped some of these lists. This is why Star Trek fans get so excited when someone reacts to this episode. Plus Joan Collins, as Edith Keeler, would become a TV icon in the 1980s. So Bunny, you've just witnessed history. One of the most acclaimed single episodes of any TV show in the history of American TV.
The funny thing about those “Lists” is that they’re all totally subjective.
We all have our own lists of “Best Episodes”, and no one is wrong. It’s never a competition.
@@Stogie2112 True, but this episode does tend to top such lists more than any other TOS episode does all the same.
@@Stogie2112 "It’s never a competition."
That sounds like a challenge!
It was actually nominated for an Emmy
Yes, Joan Collins became an 80's TV icon on the night time soap opera "Dynasty." Prince even referenced the show in his song "Kiss."
Edith Keeler is very smart and very intuitive and she could hear the unsaid word - Captain - even when it wasn't uttered by Spock.
Thanks for clarification!
@@bunnytailsREACTS But he does regularly call her Captain when he doesn't think she can hear him, like when she goes to get her coat to take him to the room for rent, and just before she knocks on their door to tell them about 5 hours of work at 22 cents an hour. She has heard him call Kirk "captain," she is saying, and hears it in his tone even when he doesn't.
him
These hour long weekly episodes were more thoughtful and entertaining than most modern movies
City On The Edge Of Forever won the television award for the catagory of "Best Dramatic Episode" that year.😮😊
Yep. Won the Writers Guild Award for Best Episodic Drama on Television. Also won a Hugo.
Spock's "stone knives and bear skins" quip is my ATF ST quote. But the one that I actually use on occasion is, "A question. Since before your sun burned hot in space and before your race was born, I have awaited... a question." I usually get a puzzled look in return.
My brother and I use the "stone knives & bear skins" line quite a bit. Anytime there's something that is essentially useless like floppy disks or using basic tools for complicated work, that's our go-to line.
I used to have "A question!" in a wave file that I had Windows programmed to play whenever it popped up a dialog box. Once I saw a guy using a floor polishing machine and I said, "Show me sand-the-floor." He gave me a puzzled look too.
The line I want to use is, "Hey, you! What planet is this?!"
By far my most used quote from this is "tools...for finely detailed work" which I use every time I need and grab a precision tool around the house or at work.
Kind of like when I say, "Klatu barada nikto." Blank stares, often.
One thing that always struck me in this episode is when Spock calls out to Kirk not to save Edith, he calls him “Jim”, not “Captain”. As much as Spock relies on logic, it’s moments like that which remind us not only of his human half in general, but that he and Kirk are more than just colleagues - they’re true friends.
Sulu's eye shadow is impeccable.
It always is!
Oh my, eye shadow!
Unlike Kirk's on-again off-again eyeliner.
"Oh, my..."
This does hit Hard! That ending is so abrupt, and Kirk's last line "Lets get the Hell out of here" sums up what we all felt at that time. PS: AGREE with Bunny; best not to say anything about future episodes, best for Virgin eyes & minds to watch these with no knowledge going in.
Another great reaction, everything about this episode: the story, sci-fi, writing, acting, production, set, music, and direction is over the top. A shout out to Joseph Pevney, the director of this and many TOS episodes.
Thanks!
My top 5 , city on the edge, mirror mirror, OK coral, corbimite devise. Assignment-earth.
My bottom 3 - The alternate universe guy fighting with his own self, Shakespeare guy who killed riley's parents, The two aliens doing experiments on kirk and mccoy, to test girls recovery powers.
The man in the alley, finding the phaser, most likely disintegrated because he accidentally set the phaser on overload.
....and apparently would not have made any significant contribution to history dead or alive.
The episode cast lists the character simply as "The Rodent".
The actor, Jon Harmon, also played "Tepo", the bowler-derbied third gang boss in the comic episode "A Piece of the Action".
@@anorthositeHow dark is that? To die, and have not a single ripple along the course of history?
I always felt that he may have held it backwards, pointing at himself, and triggered it at a max setting...
Also, something to consider, that perhaps his place in history IS important as he may have been the one responsible for Edith''s death and that void was filled by the presence of the big 3... ;)
Also, why does McCoy even carry a phaser here? 😮😂
If they were stealing milk in a back alley, I doubt that would be their first priority.....
Jus'Sayin
@@maxderp6588 Yeah: McCoy should have been disarmed upon (temporary) capture on the Guardion Planet. Plot Hole, fur shur.
There have been other Trek episodes where Phasers have been set to overload. Like when you short-circuit an 18650 lithium-ion battery, X 10,000.
Quentin Tarantino has talked about turning this into a movie. His favorite episode.
He'd better not. We've seen what happens when they try to turn episodes of TOS into movies. STID is the *worst* Star Trek movie.
God no! QT in charge of a Star Trek episode will have people calling Uhura the N word and out of control gun violence. No thank you.
@@PaperbackWizard No talking about future Trek! Besides, that wasn't even a TOS episode...
@@firstenforemost It was the Abrams version of Khan's story, which includes Space Seed and WOK. And it's okay to talk about it here, because Bunny has seen SS and WOK. It's not a spoiler to say that STID reimagines them for a different continuity, since people knew that would happen before STID even came out.
@@PaperbackWizard To be fair, that's based on the second movie, not an episode (also, as horrible as it is, I still rank Nemesis below it).
Although they controversially edited his original script, "The City on the Edge of Forever" was written by the legendary science fiction author, Harlan Ellison. It's widely regarded as one of the best episodes in the entire Star Trek franchise.
Everybody's scripts get edited. Harlan couldn't accept that, and that's why work dried up for him in Hollywood.
They made the original script into a comic. Great adaption and art.
@@onepcwhiz6847 That was re the Outer Limits episode called Demon With a Glass Hand. Same basic idea in both shows -- changing the past changes the future.
@@onepcwhiz6847 He was constantly involved in conflicts and lawsuits. Producers finally decided he wasn't worth the trouble of using.
It should be noted that the biggest change (the one Harlan objected to the most) was that Kirk actually tried to save Edith and that it was Spock who stopped him.
Roddenberry felt that this would be out of character for Kirk and wouldn't fit for the show's hero, but it would have led to a touching final scene that was also dropped:
Spock comes to Kirk in his quarters, finding Kirk despondent. He offers to take Kirk home with him to Vulcan to rest and recover from the experience. Spock tells Kirk that no woman was ever as loved as much Kirk loved Edith, because no woman was ever offered the universe for love.
James Blish, who novelized the TOS episodes, found himself in a difficult position. He was friends with Harlan and found himself stuck in the middle of Harlan's bitterness with how his script had been changed, yet having to novelize the episode as it appeared onscreen.
As a sort of concession to Harlan, Blish added that scene back in, despite it never having been filmed.
did you notice them walking in front of the window that said Floyd’s barbershop? That was from the Andy Griffith show. They’re using the same set
Imagine watching these episodes at 4 and 5 years old. Star Trek was so influential on it young brain. What it means to be a hero, what is the importance of humanity, the importance of logic.
Great reactions from Bunny, to one of the best episodes of classic Star Trek.
Oh this is one of the all time favorite episodes by many Star Trek fans.
Mine, included!
watching Bunny processing her emotions at the end of this episode🤣🤣🤣 priceless...
A lot to take in
Only sad thing about this reaction was that she didn’t get to see with her pops. Bet that would’ve been awesome for both of them.
Every time I watch that end scene when Edith mentions McCoy to Kirk and McCoy walks out to Spock and Kirk, the tears just come. Best episode ever!
I'm glad you said what you said near the end. People are understandably excited for stuff they love, but it would be great if they laid off the pre-hype when someone is watching though something for the first time.
Much cooler to get through an episode like this then be like - "wow, see? everyone's fav."
Yes, and it begins to sour the thought of the episode before I even watch it.
The best of all the Star Trek episodes 💔. William Shatner nailed those last scenes. Great reaction as always. Four crying bunny's out of 4 🐰🐰🐰🐰
This episode won a Hugo award for best dramatic presentation in 1968. There are a few other ST: TOS episodes that won that award as well. Great reaction.
If anyone had been in doubt about your smarts, your sensitivity and your passion for Star Trek, this reaction should end those. You're a cool young woman, and are making lots of old Trek fans happy with your efforts!,
I highly recommend the 1952 short story "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury.
It explores the concept of how the death of a butterfly in the past could have drastic changes in the future.
It has been used as an example of "the butterfly effect" and how to consider chaos theory and the physics of time travel.
This story is a reversal of the Butterfly Effect in final reveal. Yesterday is Tomorrow is a standard accidental time travel story, where they worked hard to minimize their footprint.
This one however is a required time travel to make the known past that leads to the current reality happen. The Guardian knows it and lures them to this point in time (ripples in time)...and presents Earth's past to get them back there.
Kirk always got Edith killed. He's god's triggerman. She crossed the street because, while on a date to a Clark Gabel movie, he told her to wait there....then a reunion occurs to lure her mindlessly into traffic. This is why Kirk must fall in love with her...despite Spock's advice agaonst it. Spock is fighting the Butterfly Effect...but in reality they messing about are vital to normal time.
If Kirk had not gone back with knowledge she must die, reinforced by logical Spock...then he would not have been there with the Enterprise to go back.
They would do the same paradox with Assignment Earth a year later.... And Yesterday's Enterprise in TNG.
Both Outer Limits and Twilight Zone had stories somewhat like this a few years earlier. Some written by Ellison.
The original written screenplay makes that more obvious than this softened tragedy...but it also wrecks Kirk as a hero and they'd have needed to replace him in Season 2.
Edith Keeler's place was called a soup kitchen.
This episode also was awarded some sci-fi award which no other episode accomplished. It touched me to see you so effected and basically left hanging as you were hoping for more. God Bless you !!
🙏🏻❤️
If I remember correctly when Kirk says “ Let’s ge the hell outta here”, hell was consider a swear word and it was it’s first use on television.
Incorrect. Swear words were on TV for years before this. That’s mythology.
@@christopherdavis3729 what is your source then? Outside of a live accidental utterance, where is the show that had it in its script and made it past censors. It is well documented that sensors stopped the use of the word during the second season of the Monkees television show and that was very close to the time of the TOS airing in 1967.
This episode was especially shocking in 1967: It was the first time the word "Hell" was spoken on television. I remember it clearly and was amazed TV censors allowed it.
Agree. I read that Roddenberry fought to keep that last line in and refused to back down from the censors. I'm glad he succeded as it's a powerful ending to a powerful episode.
Roddenberry was fined over the use of the word "hell" I believe.
I always think of that when people complain about swearing in New Trek. People swear, even in Star Trek. There's nothing wrong with it.
@@starmnsixty1209 If the punishment is a fine, then it's legal for a fee.
@@PaperbackWizard"Double Dumbass on you! "
This is my favorite episode of Star Trek ever. It's a typical choice, because it's cited as a favorite so often, but there's also a good reason for that. It's tremendous writing.
Apologies on behalf of the fandom for us hyping it up so much prior to your viewing. 😂 We're just so in love with this one. It makes us a little crazy over it. Love does that sometimes.
Definitely one of the most iconic episodes in all of Star Trek. And one of the most tragic stories. This is truly a remarkable piece of television history.
"the clock in san dimas is always running" by the time they would have asked the guardian to return mc coy the future/present was already changed, they had to go back to fix it before the guardian could return them all.
For Bunny: I think it would have been forbidden for the Guardian to change history. Only those directly or indirectly responsible could do that, not the Guardian itself. Kind of like The Guardian’s own Prime Directive.
This is generally considered one of the top four episodes of the series. I would never have mentioned that beforehand. The other episode that you have seen that is considered in the top four is "Balance of Terror," the episode with the Romulans. I am not going to mention the other two until after you've watched them. This is also one of the very first instances of profanity allowed into a prime time network television episode, with Kirk's famous last line.
joan collins went on to be most known for her role in "dynasty" in the early 80s. its a shame if the hype you heard about this episode beforehand hurt your ability to enjoy it for the art that it is. now that youve seen it, it has been in first place in fan polls as to the best episode not only of this season, or this series, but this franchise, every time the polls have been done. shatner, nimoy, and deforest kelly (kirk,spock, bones) all picked it in their personal top 3. in 1995 tv guide called it the 68th best thing that had ever been on television. this included not only shows, but sports, presidential speeches, other major news events, the beatles on the ed sullivan show etc. its fine if the world's favorite isnt your favorite bunny, and im sorry the ending disappointed you. the ending being such a sad surprise is strongly involved in why it was considered a masterpiece of small-screen film making. and the episode has so much going for it, from the performances of the big 3 stars and guest joan collins, to the story itself, to the ridiculous fun of mccoy screaming "YOU, WHAT PLANET IS THIS?", to spock saying "perhaps the unfortunate accident i had as a child", im certainly among those who love it. its a shame if pre-hype set you up for disappointment here. we're just eager to share with you, not trying to ruin anything at all.
I absolutely loved this episode, and was not disappointed at all. I fear that overhyping will cause me to not be able to fully enjoy something because that has definitely happened before, but that was not the case this time. If me being disappointed and not enjoying the episode is what you got out of this video, I must have gone horribly wrong in my explanation somewhere.
Also, I don’t now how to check members here on mobile, but you may be my first member of this channel. At least, you are the first that commented. So for that, thank you very much!
i guess you were just sad at the ending and really wanted a different one? not sure if i was the first to sign up, but as soon as i saw your post with "you can watch city on the edge of forever right now ad free, i was like, hell yeah i want to see what bunny thinks of the blinking donut! (which i believe you called a giant butt-hole?) @@bunnytailsREACTS
@@ice-iu3vv I was thinking the ending would be different so I was a bit shocked and sad, but I love a tragic story if done properly. If I’m crying it means I’m invested and feeling things. And stories that make me feel something are amongst my favorite, even if it’s sad or outright depressing.
@@bunnytailsREACTS The "time travel" paradox has been done enough times that it isn't as mind-bending as it was 50 years ago (to people who didn't read a lot of sci-fi).
I think the strong reaction of most viewers was due to the emotional story in this episode. Your response of shock and sadness shows that you understand why people were hyping this episode.
@@bunnytailsREACTS "I love a tragic story if done properly"
Have you seen Franco Zefferelli's "Romeo and Juliet" (1968) or "Robin and Marian" (1975) with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn? The latter is on youtube so everybody can watch it together.
" Damn it, Bones, you're a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away. I need my pain. "
- Captain James T. Kirk , sometime in the future .
When I first saw Star Trek V, when it was time to show Kirk's hidden pain, I fully expected that "street accident" from "City" to be recreated. But, Kirk's speech--which you referenced--abruptly short-circuited that!
@@davidgradwell8830 Considering the budget issues ST:5 had , with even the final confrontation having things shaved to a bare minimum -- a re-creation of a scene from the 1930's was not very likely .
Yet I doubt that any such re-creation would have been as powerful as Kirk's words here .
Considering the sometimes inconsistent characterization that Kirk got, this speech streamlines the Yang to his Yin impetus to being a Starship Capitain -- with the Yang being that it comes at the cost of pain , and loss (both ladies and Redshirts) , as well as isolation and loneliness (as observed by Bones in ST:2) .
Yet those are the burdens of command that have fallen upon him , and Kirk is shown a willingness here to carry that burden .
ST:5 is a pretty awful sci-fi movie, but it has excellent characterization, some of the best of all the Classic Trek movies .
The funny thing about the away party that went down to the planet after McCoy is that it had the top three command officers of the Enterprise. Spock is second in command, and Scotty is third in command. That's like the president, the vice president, and the speaker of the house going on a dangerous mission together. Not very sound tactics.
Not sound tactics, and probably frowned upon by regulations. StarFleet captains in the Kirk Era probably had a bit of " wiggle room" in these matters . He wants to see everything first, and he wants his closest buddies to as well.
Trivia: At 50 years old, Joan Collins (Edith Keeler) posed nude for Playboy magazine; I believe at that time the oldest woman to do so. It was quite a tasteful layout, and undoubtedly improved the fortunes of older women everywhere.
In the depression they called those a "soup kitchen" that served food to the poor, gave them a cot to sleep on, etc.
Hi Bunny. Thank you for your reaction/review of this episode!!!! Like everyone else here, Im a huge fan of STAR TREK TOS!! So, to comment on this, the script originally intended for Kirk to not go through with letting her die and Spock having to step in and let it happen. Additionally, there was also things like the Enterprise being run by pirates in the current timeline as a result of McCoy's interference. That was the other significant part of this episode but Gene Roddenberry modified the script and rightly so. I whole heartedly believe to cast Kirk as not allowing this to happen and as Spock said, "Do as your heart desires", wouldve been a HUGE character flaw for James T Kirk. Also, to be more practical, they simply did not have the budget for the series to allow this addition. Roddenberry simply kept it within both the financial confines of what we had to work with and also, his vision of Kirk as well, at least in my humble opinion. The added touch of not having any sort of closure between Kirk and Spock and McCoy in the end, only adds to the "Greek Tragedy" aspect of this episode. Either that or they simply ran out of time. Thank you Bunny, as a Boomer, (Born in 64), I certainly enjoy a younger person's take on this series. Thank you for sharing your reaction and insights with us.
Fun fact bunnytails, this episode won several science fiction awards for best writing including the Hugo and Writers Guild of America awards.
Another great Star Trek reaction, bunnytails.👍 Keep them coming.
For me, the absolute greatest episode of any television series ever.
You all ready heard things about the most famous episode of Star Trek 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮
Constantly, like a barrage. No specifics, fortunately. But still...
check comments to see, it gets pretty bad
@@bunnytailsREACTS I feel bad for you Bunny. It's not fair to you when spoilers are left in comments. Hopefully you will continue and not let them spoil the episodes. I really enjoy your reactions and thoughtful comments.
This was one of the more elegant TOS episodes with time travel, instead of going back changing history and seeing the results you see the results first off when the Enterprise disappeared. But it is a very 😢😢
This episode was written by the late science fiction writer Harlen Ellison.
His version was unfilmable at the time
Still it was his basic story brought to life.@@mem1701movies
@@mem1701movies Harlen also wrote Lost in Space, he stormed off the set of that show when he saw what a mess it was.
@@ardvark8699Ellison had no connection with “Lost in Space”. You May be thinking of his contribution to “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”, Irwin Allen’s prior series.
The set they used to film this was made for THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW. It’s the town of “Mayberry.” As they’re taking their romantic stroll they walk right past Floyd’s Barber Shop.
The first time Hell was used on television in America is in this.
I thought THE TWILIGHT ZONE used it
I was wondering about that.
I remember being startled when I first saw this episode (way back when). "Hell" isn't nearly the curse word now that it used to be. But I couldn't think of any other series from that time where it was used (and got past the censors).
Yes. That “dead” hillbilly, said, “hell of a place.”
That's my recollection as well. Daring for Standards & Practices (censors) of the day. I believe the closest he got in earlier episodes was "Go to the devil."
The first Damn was used in a Gunsmoke episode called Bank Baby.
Girl, there is no shame in getting emotional at the end of this episode.
I'm crying too
We can cry together, then. 😭
@@bunnytailsREACTS I cried when I watched the original broadcast and every time since.
someone already mentioned the exteriors were shot on the set of the andy griffith show. the proof can be seen at 12:29 when kirk and edith walk by floyd's barber shop. they didn't know what "easter eggs" were back then,but they included a great one by accident.
I'm not certain, but I think I read that a "Fallout Shelter" sign also appeared in one outdoor shot. XD
Like no one seems to remember Vulcans in The Space Seed/Wrath of Khan/Arrogance of Ricardo, no one seems to remember that America WAS dragged kicking and screaming into WW2 by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 12/7/41. Edith couldn't change that nor could the isolationists. It was literally fight or die. And four days later Hitler made the biggest mistake of his life and declared war on the Americans in solidarity with the Japanese. And immediately started unrestricted submarine warfare with us. He did this in hope that the Japanese would attack the Soviets from Manchukuo. Nope. The Japanese Army regrets...they told Hitler.
Nothing Edith did could change either of those fight or die scenarios. So the Nazis had NO chance of developing atomic power and no way of winning. Except suing for peace. The British said no to that, after Rudolf Hess flew there to try to arrange one.
And so Edith could not influence THAT, either. So the whole episode is predicated on the myth that we had a choice in WW2.
I’m a fan of Ellison, so I hope you’ll pardon the infodump. :) If you’d like to see some other teleplays written by Harlan Ellison, there’s an episode of The Outer Limits from ‘64 called “The Demon With the Glass Hand” and a (slightly) more recent episode of The Twilight Zone called “Shatterday”; I suspect both are somewhere on this website. If you’d like to read stories he’s written, one of the more famous is “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream”. Lastly, there’s a documentary about him called “Dreams With Sharp Teeth”. Enjoyed this; cheers.
I hope bunny stays away from A Boy and his Dog by Harlan Ellison That's a controversial ending. Putting it mildly.She might get upset.
Don’t forget “Paladin of the Lost Hour”
Many comments here about Kirk should've taken Edith to the future with him. While I can relate to that what would actually happen if he could? She is an empathetic soul with a knack for creating peace movements. If she stayed with Kirk in the future sooner or later she'd start twisting his arm about making peace with the Klingon Empire. Problem is his hatred for them runs almost as deep as his love for her.
As Ryan George, from the Pitch Meeting channel would say, the reason why the Guardian of Forever couldn't bring McCoy back was 'so the movie can happen'.😉
"At his side...as if you've _always been and always will_ ."
As if he has been... and always shall be...
I'm not going to spoil it, but at that point I needed a Kleenex.
Glad you avoided the spoiler... 👍... but she actually has seen the one movie you mentioned (which she said was dhy she came back and started watching this whole series, as I recall.)
I susoect she'll have to do a "rewatch reaction" to that film after sering the whole series up to that point. No doubt a lot of things will feel differently to her by that point.
But search for her reaction to the "Regula One" movie (no spoilers in case anyone is watching her reactions with no prior Trek knowledge!). That was the second thing I saw from her (I found her channel while searching for help with a spot in the game "Alien Isolation") and it was what convinced me to follow her. A serious and thoughtful reaction... too rare on here, I'm afraid.
Truly a classic that shall forever be a gem in the Star Trek collection. Such emotions. Great presentation of story telling. And will it ever be possible to explain how Spock made a time traveling internet connection to a future TH-cam? Now that is vision.
Spock was comparing the internet history as stored on his tricorder to the massively slowed-down recordings he managed to salvage from the Guardian’s presentation. Hence, he had two records to examine. As in all things on TV, don’t think too hard about non-sequesters in story-telling, particular those involving time-travel!
Only Spock could accomplish such a feat. Because he's Spock! (And maybe Data.)
But then again, Data wouldn't have to manufacture the parts to do it.
Isn’t it amazing how we get so invested in these characters that we feel their joy and their pain. A great episode. Even though they are in a grim situation, the episode is sprinkled with love, friendship and humor. It was fun to see Spock trying to do his thing with 1930’s technology.
Bunny -- I felt you all the way. This is not only one of the most outstanding hours of "Trek." It's one of the most outstanding hours of television period. If you watch again in a few years, it will hit you just as hard. That last scene on the planet -- "Let's get the hell out of here" -- is so powerful. Excellent performance by Joan Collins as Edith Keeler. There are a lot of deep layers to this one.
You mentioned the set. That reminded me of something I saw. A number of episodes, including this one and the Episode Miri, use the same set as The Andy Griffith Show, Also known as Mayberry. 🙂
The same general idea plays out in Terminator. Kyle Reese has to come back and die for the time loop to be complete. It goes even farther if you watch the directors cut. The factory she crushes the Terminator in is Cyber Dyne. The company that eventually creates the AI that starts the war.
One of the best TOS episodes. A fine mix of comedy and tragedy. I really like your reactions. Very nice.
Thank you~
You are most welcome.
Edith's death and the following gets me every time. So tragic and she was such a forward thinking person. Brilliant really.
You've made it!!! You've reached the greatest famed episode, so proud of you😊
Mirror, Mirror, Season 2 is a must see.
I knew you would cry ,it chokes me up too.
It's a familiar trope that crew members dressed in red do not live long, but Uhura was wearing red in this episode.
Your reactions are the most authentic that I've seen so far. And yes, I understand your reluctance to watch after such a huge buildup from fans of the series because you know there's always the inevitable let down that follows. While I've always considered it one of the best episodes, I've always stopped short of calling it THE best because to me it kinda sells the series short. There were many more that were just as thought provoking, well written and acted. But definately one of the best. Great job and keep it up🖖
I remember watching this in syndication for the first time and freaked out when Kirk said hell. It hit hard. Loved the dynamic between Kirk and Spock in this episode.
I think the reason this episode is so memorable is the very fact that the ending is so sad and Kirk has to live with his decision, that's his job as Captain, to do the right thing no matter how difficult for him personally.
The rewrite by Coon, Fontana and Roddenberry (maybe) completes the Kirk Character Arc.
He has to kill his best friend (Gary) to save his command.
He has to face his childhood monster, and decide what to do.
He is driven by revenge to destroy the Gorn sight unseen, but learns empathy and mercy.
He is expositioned as an great hero in Court Marshal and states NOTHING is more important than his ship.
He then faces this as god's triggerman of fate.
Add to that Operation Annihilate where he loses what's left of his family
S1 was the Kirk Arc.
S2 was thw Spock Arc.
S3 should gave been the Bones Arc.
I remember reading that the Star Trek production team was frustrated with the author of the screenplay, Harlan Ellison. He was late with the script and they had to shoot around the hole in the schedule while he worked the bugs out of his script but their patience was rewarded with one of television's finest moments. Ellison went on to have a distinguished and successful career.
on a lighter note. Who knew Kirk, Spock and McCoy would end up in the town of Mayberry. The street scenes for this episode were filmed where they also made The Andy Griffth Show.
"Somebody stole some clothes, Andy! We need to NIP IT in the BUD!"
Yes, that was the Culver City "40 acre" site. On one end was the Mayberry town set, and Stalag 13 from Hogan's Heroes was on the other end. In one scene where Kirk is talking with Keeler on the street, Floyd's barber shop is in the background. The town set appears in a few other episodes.
@@timmooney7528 _Miri_ for one.
Otis was driving the truck that killed Edith....DUI
@@helifanodobezanozi7689 Andy's gonna lock him up and throw away the key for a whole episode!
"Let's get the hell out of here" It was the first time the word "hell" was used on TV.
Congratulations on (and thank you for) keeping your reaction fresh & heartfelt for this episode! If it's any consolation, that was probably the most pressure you'll ever face to "peek ahead." City of the Edge of Forever is by now so weighed down with critical praise (all of it warranted) that it's a true & rare delight watching someone experience its special magic for the first time.
With all due respect to the late Harlan Ellison (whose teleplay surely had the seed of that magic in it, but also seems to have needed a lot of massaging to get it into the taunt shape we actually experience on screen), it's worth mentioning that much of the effectiveness of this episode comes from the performance of Dame Joan Collins as Edith. The chemistry you picked up on, between her and Kirk, shows what William Shatner could do when he got a chance to play opposite an absolutely first-class female lead.
25:09 - The answer to your question is in the episode more or less. The Guardian says "I was made to offer the past in this manner. I can not change." This sort of implies that it can not take actions to interfere in history, only to make it available to others. It couldn't even fulfill Kirk's request to "change the speed at which yesterday passes". It pretty much has a very limited function. But I think we all had these questions like you did, until some repeat viewings and closer watching and dissection. Thank you again for your reactions, they make me remember how impactful these episodes were to me when I first watched them. 🙂
Of course, it also says, "I am my own beginning, my own ending." But I guess it could put restrictions on itself and prevent itself from ever changing them.
Also, the Guardian said it had been awaiting a question, but when Kirk first asks what it is, the Guardian says nothing.
"Hopefully itll be a good one"
Well now ...😂
1:36
Bones illegally utilized the "Kirk Chop" maneuver.
4:11 "Shouldn't they also be gone, then?" Excellent point! Apparently, being down on the planet in the Guardian's proximity means you're in a protective shell that shields you from changes in time. The _Enterprise_ in orbit and the rest of the Federation, however, are not so lucky.
Star Trek First Contact did a similar thing.
im a man and 35 years ago i cried at the end of that episode.the best episode ever .
One of the greatest Star Trek episodes, if not the greatest. Wonderful reaction! Thanks.
If you didn't like Edith Keeler having to die, then you are really going to hate "The Revenge of Charlie"
This episode always breaks my heart, so sad and tragic. Keeler was Kirk’s true love based on Trek lore.
Hi bunnytails, I'm very much enjoying your first-time reaction journey through the original Star Trek series! Keep up the wonderful work!🙂
Wow, thank you very much! I appreciate that and I'm glad you've been enjoying!
A great example of what television can achieve as a medium.
And on a dime budget! Those were all sets, props, wardrobe, and vintage cars left over from "The Untouchables," which was set in the 1920s and also produced by Desilu Studios. It kept the costs down. Star Trek would also save a few dimes by returning again to the old "Untouchables" sets, wardrobe, etc. for the classic comedy episode, "A Piece of the Action" in Season Two. But that's heading into "spoiler" territory, so I'll leave it at that! :)
"Ripples in time..." Time and space are believed to be something like an interwoven fabric. (Probably why they used to prep the engines for "Time Warp" in the early episodes of the show.) Mass pulls at the fabric, so large objects like planets will *warp* the fabric, causing smaller masses to "fall into" its gravity well, and causing time to slow down the closer you are to the planet's surface. Gravity can be treated as warped space. IRL we factor for this when we deal with sending to- & receiving signals from satellites. Signals from the ground are always slower when compared to signals in orbit, so the timing is off by fractions of a second, so we compensate.
No pressure. Like what you like, speak your mind and express your preferences as authentically as feels natural. Star Trek is a big franchise with lots of branches to accommodate different interests and perspectives. I can certainly agree to neither spoil nor pressure a reaction by not discussing anything we haven't seen on screen (in Bunny's journey) so far, or information that doesn't pertain to the episode at hand. Let's make Bunny's journey one of wonder and discovery, not info-dumping and trivia-gloating.
The very first time that phrase was uttered on American national TV ....
'Let's get the hell out of here!'.
When used sparingly, a curse word can carry a lot of weight.
This is one of my favorite 'Kirk' moments.
Mr. Shatner played that scene so convincingly.
✌️
Don't worry, there are still many great episodes left to watch!😊😊😊😊😊
I don't doubt it!
I love the hug you gave yourself as the three reunited at the end. Like you were participating. If you (a person in general) can suspend your skepticism and attention to detail, this is a great episode. The poor guy in the transporter room has been knocked out a dozen times in this series!
Very touching reaction. There's a huge backstory to this episode, and the original writer Harlan Ellison had a huge falling out with Gene Roddenberry because of the changes they made to his script. Anyway, in the original version, Kirk DOES try to save Edith Keeler. In the end, it was Spock who had to stop Kirk from saving her.
Ellison explained why he wrote the ending this way - he said that Kirk knows full well saving Edith will cause unimaginable death and destruction, but in that moment Kirk doesn't care because HE LOVES HER and everything else in the world falls away when he sees the woman he loves in danger. Roddenberry is the one who insisted Kirk had to do the right thing and let Edith die. Because it would weaken Kirk as a leader to do anything else.
Maybe they could have "fixed" it by simply taking her back to the 23rd century with them.....but oops, that Prime Directive.
In this regard at least I thoroughly agree with Roddenberry.
@@jasontoddman7265 I agree this was the better ending (especially for a show airing in the 1960s), but it is interesting to contemplate what Harlan's original ending would have been like. I think the original script is available somewhere. One of these days I'd like to read it.
@@fyreflye100 It's been published a whole bunch of times so should be easy enough to find. I first encountered it in the mid 1970s in a book called Seven (I think that's the number anyway) Science Fiction Plays. I agree it would be interesting to see his original story produced as written; just not as a canonical TOS-story. Not without some changes, as he was more than ready to overwrite someone's else's vision for the series while bitching and complaining about that same someone changing his own vision, which strikes me as supremely hypocritical. Harlan was a great writer but seemed to have little to no understanding concern for the complexities and costs of translating such stories onto the big (or even little) screen.
@@jasontoddman7265 Thanks for the info! As I recall, Harlan's original script also won some prestigious awards. Though I agree with you about Harlan's lack of understanding on some crucial aspects of actually turning his script into a workable Star Trek story.
This was DeForest Kelley's (Dr. McCoy) self proclaimed favorite episode.
Hugo award winning episode. Don't need to say anything else.
Great reaction! It's a tough episode, Edith Keeler's death is very sad. "He knows, Doctor. He knows." is one of my favorite Star Trek quotes. One interesting note is the death of the man who picked up McCoy's phaser. Apparently that had no effect on history, although chaos theory might lead us to believe that any perturbation in the timeline could have very large consequences--even something like Kirk and Spock stealing the clothes. The effects might not have altered the outcome of WWII, but some disturbance in the timeline could have propagated to the present. What if some people who had existed suddenly vanished? Would anyone realize it? Most people wouldn't because the entire timeline had changed. The only reason the landing party was not affected is because they were in the vicinity of the Guardian of Forever, which seems to isolate people from changes in the timeline. So people in the landing party could have noticed changes to reality when they beamed aboard the ship (or at some later time). In fact, it might be impossible to ever restore the timeline perfectly. Fortunately, time travel to the past appears to be impossible so it's all just fun speculation...