"The City on the Edge of Forever" always ranks among fan favorites all the way up to the Great Bird himself, odd since only the episode bookends resemble TOS visually. Here the characters must carry this story to a reluctant climax that affects them alone however intensely, while otherwise leaving the universe unchanged ("You only left a moment ago"). There's no particular need for the Enterprise crew to do anything and in fact there's no difference from the beginning of the episode to the end. What redeems the tragedy from pointlessness is the commitment Kirk and Keeler share for peace and the human condition.

Joan Collins leaves an indelible impression as Edith, operating her 21st Street Mission with as much hope and energy as soup and coffee. The Depression simply cannot compete with her Optimism, and no doubt were she aware of the horrific consequences of personal survival she would jump before the truck earnestly. (Though why Kirk goes weak-kneed, falling in love when he should be focused on McCoy, is best left as a script crutch. Picture an "Ed Keeler" and then imagine how the story might unfold.) The intriguing icon of the Guardian of Forever (voiced by Bartell La Rue) certainly deserves credit as a famous guest "character," appearing since in many official and fan productions.

The regular crew makes little but cursory appearances, the ship even less. Instead the dynamic between Kirk, Spock and McCoy is being challenged, as the accoutrements of starship command are swapped for stolen jeans and highly trained officers are obliged to deal with money and rent. Kirk in plaid is a stranger in a strange land, too comfortable and soon going native, while Spock prevails over an extremely complex problem in logic constructing memory circuits from "stone knives and bear skins." McCoy performs at his paranoid best in a cordrazine-induced frenzy, inadvertently saving a life history would prefer claimed (yet claiming another with an inadvertent phaser, causing some interesting alternatives).

Sadly some sharp-toothed snobbery sought to sour the evolution of a coherent and credible (and let us not forget entertaining) script, fortunately improvement won over acrimony into the acclaim "City" has received ever since. There are genuine takeaways now, laughs and tears and unforgettable lessons like "a lie is a poor way to say hello" and the especially poignant, "Let me help." Like Edith to her mission charges Star Trek seeks to inspire us beyond our daily struggle. As this process will likely continue forever, all truly is as it was before.