59 Years Later, Star Trek’s Definitive Time-Travel Episode is Getting a Major Update
Star Trek’s “The City on the Edge of Forever” remains one of the franchise’s most celebrated episodes because it makes the consequences of time travel intensely personal. Its central dilemma forces Captain Kirk to let Edith Keeler die to preserve the future, a choice that still stands out in a series known for finding ways to save the day.
IDW Publishing is due to release a collection on 13 October that reprints a 2015 comic adaptation of Harlan Ellison’s original screenplay, which differed considerably from the televised episode. The article highlights how Kirk’s restrained love for Edith challenges his reputation as a space-faring womaniser, and how the episode’s ending, including his raw final line, conveys the cost of his decision. Joan Collins, who played Edith, later became widely known for her role as Alexis Carrington in Dynasty.
- Kirk must let Edith Keeler die to preserve history.
- The episode remains a defining Star Trek time-travel story.
- IDW’s 13 October collection reprints a 2015 screenplay adaptation.
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Star Trek is a science-fiction series about the crew of the starship Enterprise, led by Captain James T. Kirk. The original television series began in the 1960s and often used journeys through space to explore difficult choices.
“The City on the Edge of Forever” centres on a device that can send people through time. Kirk and his first officer, Spock, travel to 1930s New York, where Kirk meets Edith Keeler, played by Joan Collins; events there put the future they know at risk.
The story is notable for making the fate of one person central to the survival of a wider future. Its comic adaptation draws on an earlier screenplay by Harlan Ellison, offering a version of the story that differs from the episode broadcast on television.