He was perfect for Star Trek. Captain Pike was more techie and would have been good as well but for prime time TV Shatner was the best.

At a time when saying “hell” on TV was considered swearing.

Yes. A big deal to say hell on TV then.

@@matthewsvideos8235 I was just thinking about that. I wonder if there was ever any backlash for that.

Add to that the fact that Kirk doesn't even respond to Scotty's inquiry as to what happened and to the landing crew's perception that they had only left "a moment ago". Instead, Spock simply responds, "We were successful". Brilliant. Then Kirk's command, "Let's get the hell out of here". Eerie and cool as they beam out leaving just the scene of the smoking gateway. Classic.

Summer of 2027. That is what I will be saying when I leave the gun loving / right wing USA!

Doomsday Machine is my favorite (William Windom is incredible in it), but I agree....this is the best one made.

This episode was excellent, but my all time favorite was 'The Galileo Seven'.

This my second favorite. My favorite is A Piece of the Action

i share that opionion.

I prefer "Balance of Power." But this makes the Top 5 easy.

Absolutely! Spock's human side was crying when he said that!

That’s absolutely wonderful. Star Trek inspires so many occupations, doesn’t it?

Great! Just don't become an SJW. 🙄

@@haitolawrence5986 Why not? That's what the Enterprise crew were all about? Sad little fascists don't like that fact do they?

I was thinking that if Roddenberry had been hit by a truck and there was no Star Trek, what would America be like? From a previous comment, I would say that right-wing fascism and white-supremacy with religious extremists trying to speak for all American Christians would have been much stronger in the 1980 election, and we would have had the overturning of the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and Roe v Wade by an extremist Supreme Court 30 years ago.

Edith Keeler was a social worker and a pacifist!

Yeah the direction was perfect. Just a subtle look to show they knew something big had happened.

@@Charon58 Something else that needs to be pointed out. In Star Trek II it was revealed that Kirk was the only cadet to have beaten The Kobayashi Maru test. Saavik told Kirk that he's never faced a no-win scenario and Kirk said he never believed in a no-win scenario but looking at this episode this was it. This was his Kobayashi Maru test because here there was no way to win. If he had allowed McCoy to save Edith Keeler he would've erased his own history and the the history of his crew and caused the death of millions that hadn't died before. If he had prevented McCoy from saving Edith Keeler he would've caused the death of someone he truly cared about. So either decision he made would've resulted in a grave loss for him.

@@samcrubish1336 Great observation. I had never considered it. Kirk passed the test, at great personal expense. Thanks!

@@samcrubish1336 Excellent insight my friend. Yes, this indeed was Kirk's Kobayashi Maru. THIS was also a treatise on how the needs of many outweigh the needs of the few or the one. The life Edith Keeler as noble, venerable...virtuous as it was, was not greater than value of millions of lives that would have perished had she lived. And saving the heart of James T. Kirk while significant for Kirk, Spock, McCoy et al, does NOT outweigh the fate of all those lives impacted by the advent of Starfleet and the Federation. THIS one episode perhaps more than any other reveals just how alone Kirk was fated to be. He never settled down and had a family. The death of David underscored Kirk's fate. He was need to "save" the galaxy time and time again. And his end, in Generations, was exactly what and how it should be. Kirk, giving up the life of peace and happiness he would have had in the Nexus, is precisely what he has always done. He has chosen duty over personal happiness. Saving Spock was NOT Kirk trying to buy personal happiness, it was his duty. Kirk needs Spock to temper his judgment and focus his fool rush in approach. Spock needs Kirk to make him comfortable with "guessing" with "exaggerating" (aka lying) and to take risks where doing so would seem illogical. Together, the two of them undertake missions of grave importance to the fate of many!

This was also a great 👍 love ❤️ story!I like it when Captain Kirk takes Edith Keeler’s 🖐 hand,as they walk threw San Fransico.It’s also very 👍 nice how she want’s to help,(Captain Kirk)because,Edith Keeler think’s Captain Kirk is in 👿 trouble!”If you’re in trouble,pleas,let me help!”She say’s.Did you do something wrong!She also say’s.What does Captain Kirk say,after;Let me help?Is it something about Mr.Spock being born on the Planet 🌎 Vulcan!I think,I’ll have to look up the story,here!And,I said it before,I’ll say it again….this is a great,romantic,episode!

Glad you wrote that. In 1968 'hell' was still a profanity. I know its' utterance, and Shatner's emoting affected this 8 yr old. My favorite STOS episode

Being a captain is an extremely stressful job, and he sometimes had to make sad decisions, like this one!

The only other show I heard using "profanity" around this time was _Dragnet._ Jack Webb used "damn" and "hell" in the dialogue pretty freely in that show, which I thought made it that much more gritty. So when "hell" was used here, that put _Star Trek_ on a different level from the fare at the time and sorta helped break that "taboo" on television.

@@briane173 I loved Dragnet, probably one of the most accurate police shows ever made. A crime occurs, our heroes spend most of the show going over files and doing door to door interviews ("just the facts ma'am"), checking with forensics and drinking coffee.

He knows, doctor.

Not to mention the spooky-cool mystery music.

Very underrated

Not by us :)

Underrated by all but himself.

@@daleksupreme2913 shut up

@@bsh819 you shut up too.

@LisaK71000 yeah if they were only gone seconds , Kirk says HELL here tooo!!!!

WHO HO, A BADDDIE CURSE WOID.s+p HAD A CORONARY

@LisaK71000 SECONDS ELAPSED IN THEIR LEAVING AND RETUNS

Spock wasn't indifferent. He was unemotional.

@@Charon58 .and LOGICAL.Edith KEELER MUST DIE!~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Love lost forever ,back in time.

was supposed to be a druggie episode but S+P of time nixed it , so they toned it down alot and made BONES the accidental drug addict

Great art is timeless.

@@iggyarctic5711 lost in the mist of time

MAYBERRY never looked so BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing. Fifty-one years later and it still brought a tear to my eyes.

It's quite all right. It's quite all right dear, because I don't believe in you, either. -McCoy.

One of the saddest endings of all Trek episodes. "Let's get the hell out of here." Scene chokes me up every time.

I wouldnt say he deliberately killed Edith. All he did was let her get hit by a car, but it was her who walked out in front of a moving vehicle. Who's to say McCoy or Kirk hadn't been run over themselves had they tried to help.

POWERFUL PATHOS!!!!!!!!!!!

From reading about Ellison, he was not a guy you wanted to know. He went out of his way to start confrontations. He thought he was better than anyone else - and acted like it. In my view, if someone is better than most, he does not have to say it or flaunt it, or put down others' work. Yes, he had a great imagination with great story ideas, but what good is that for tv and movies if it can't be filmed? Reading about the making of the episode, Ellison insisted on doing it HIS way, not the Star Trek way. It would have cost the studio the entire budget for three episodes! When the studio objected, he called them untalented hacks. He sounds to me like a childish, but talented person who needed adult supervision. He could get away with things in his books because they weren't filmed. But you can't expect a studio to build elaborate sets when there's another way to do it. In this episode, the studio won and they only went a little over budget. If they followed Ellison's way, it would have meant that two episodes would have no money for filming!

A genius mind can never be contained by the minds that aren't.

@@The22on kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gapkf86lmbjHho0.html

@@The22on You’re correct that Ellison’s draft was not filmable for budgetary reasons, but the actual claims and counterclaims regarding who was at fault for the extensive rewrites on ‘City’ is a more complicated story than that. Just one example: in Ellison’s version, the speech Edith Keeler gives to the downtrodden masses when we first meet her is vastly superior to what was eventually used, and it wouldn’t have cost one more penny to film. Unfortunately after all the delays the rewrite process took on a life of its own, and ultimately went further than it really needed to. That said, it’s still a wonderful episode.

@jabba da hutt No.

I think Shatner is more of stage actor, that's where he got his start. But loves to chew scenery on camera.

Can't forget about Spock's funeral in WOK. The voice cracks, and near tears. That is an excellent performance as a man who is failing to keep him composure.

BlueRator classic!

The guardian offers the greatest opportunity for an explorer, but Kirk has seen enough. Great ending.

Agreed.

Kirk loves her he really loved her and he should have saved her no matter what he should have just took her back to the Enterprise with him 300 years in the future to the year 2230 !

@@jonjonas2528 There was no Enterprise, or Federation. Bones going back in time altered the future and the crew couldn't contact the Enterprise, because it wasn't there. They shouldn't have been there either, but then there wouldn't have been an episode.

@@CaminoAir The explanation that is usually offered is that the time ripples around the guardian of forever provide at least some short term immunity to being written out of time.

Actually, I think Kirk’s statement at the very end “Let’s get the hell out of here” is even more grim and to the point. You shouldn’t ever mess with time.

@@db4a “This conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.”

Yeah I know right? It was like life long buddies reuniting. I always liked that scene.

I loved this scene as a little kid, circa 1977-78...watching in syndication.

Yes! I remember feeling that way when I saw the episode for the first time as a boy....funny now I'm a grandpa:)

You don't see it, but I am sure Spock was giving the same face to McCoy as he did to Kirk in Amok Time when he saw he didn't kill his best friend.

I always love it when friends and family are reunited!

Kevin Hilley TOS: Profanity is only used ONCE in the entire series and it is not a really bad word at all. TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise: Profanity is used multiple times but with not really harsh words. Discovery, Picard: Sometimes harsh profanity is used like "fuck"

@@voyagerfanspianotranscript323 Rios swears *quite* a bit in Picard, but its in Spanish.

Wasn't it one of the first instances of profanity on Primetime TV or something?

@@ct0760 Good question! I honestly don't know but I suspect that by the time this TOS episode aired, some other show may have already done it.

Profanity has multiplied ten score in the latest Trek series/films. I think the tv series have more profanity than the latest Trek movies though. Definitively not family friendly for those of us who are traditional.

Gutted...that's exactly the right word....

@@kevinbraden798 Happens to men still so sadly.

She was a wonderful person who was going to cause the worst result of history. One of the many reasons to love this episode is how it shows how complex the strings of time and fate really are, and how their twisting can deliver the worst of pain in the moment that yet can give a brighter future.

Life has way of gutting us all from time to time.

You could almost feel his anguish as he stood on the curb. He threw up his hands as if for only the 1st time ever Captain James Tiberius Kirk was helpless to save the day.

Ditto!!!

You nailed it.

Yes indeed

Some things NEVER go out of style!

So true, very emotional and well performed by each actor involved!

Amazing. Fifty-one years later and it still brought a tear to my eyes.

William Shatner is always a wonder actor!

I'm sorry to hear of your loss, may you and your family find peace and comfort during this time. ❤

Thanks Logician, much appreciated. My bro died 4 years ago from a brain tumor. I lost my mom 2 days before he died, she passed away from a stroke. Other than that, it was a great week! lol I miss them both, but God has been good to me-I try and think of that most of the time. Just occasionally, when I see this episode....well, you know how it goes. Hope you and yours have a great Holiday season. Peace.

@@pimpompoom93726 You truly are an inspiration (and a master of dark humor). I don't think I'd survive losing two family members in a row like that. But, thank you for taking the time to respond. You have incredible faith and I wish you and your family a beautiful holiday season. God bless 🖖🏻❤.

I feel the same about TAS episode The Counter-Clock Incident. That was my late brother's favorite episode. I get torn up inside when Sarah April asks Commodore April about staying young and living their lives over again.

@@williamhaynes4800 Understand my friend. Every time I see this episode I think of my bro. Hope you and Logicians Vlog have a great holiday season. Life goes on.

Yes - the wind is a great creative touch. It adds great atmosphere. I think the script called for RUNES (old symbols), but someone, thinking it was a typo, changed it to RUINS for the set design. Once they built that expensive set, I guess they figured they needed some sound effects to go with it. Anyway, it worked out PERFECTLY. That beautiful set for the time portal looks great. And lets not forget the lighting. It reminds me of the Doors song, Riders on the Storm. I read that they loved the suggestion of adding a rain sound at the start of the song.

The winds of time.

foley artists.. often overlooked.

@@The22on yes, such effects combined with being so far from home, the idea of how fragile they constantly were from losing that thin tether in space and time called the enterprise.

Those winds can sound frightening when bad things happen!

powerrful nusic and acting

Speaking of the production, i thought the set design of the time portal was fantastic. I read that the episode went way over budget. Also, the script called for the Guardian's location to have "runes" which is writing in an old Germanic alphabet. Instead, when the script way typed, the word was changed to "ruins" which accounts for the look of the place. Another interesting fact is that the 1930s street is really the street used on the Andy Griffith show. If you look closely, you'll see Floyd the Barber's shop. They did this to save money, which was going out of control because of script rewrites and special effects. The script rewrites got so numerous, that the original writer, Harlan Ellison threatened to take his name off the credits.

@@The22on and musical score was one of the few that was original to the series instead of using production canned music

One of the better and more dramatic episodes.

@@The22on Actually, the ‘runes’ story is an urban legend. Ellison admitted that he’d misremembered the whole thing some years before he died.

I lose it when Kirk dies, in Generations. He, Spock and Scotty are like old friends, to me. I tend to cry a lot, when close friends pass on.

True

He had to hold Dr. McCoy back so history could return to normal!

The sudden jump close up of Kirk's face. Right out of Hitchcock.

Before Kirk and Spock left, Scotty wished them good luck and Uhura said "Happiness at least, sir." Kirk found both but could only have one or the other.

@@williamhaynes4800 Good way to put it.

Captain Kirk was forced to make the hardest decision of his life!

The best ST:TOS episodes were miniature movies, and this one is no different, there were about 5 mini-movies in ST:TOS (incl. Doomsday machine and Balance of Terror.)

vicente romero you would expect Spock to just stand there while Captain Kirk grabs and hugs him... one of the very few moments when Spock's 'Human side' peeks out... Full on emotions of Spock happily greeting Kirk, watch Amok Time', season 2, Epi. 1.

Vulcans maintain emotional control and logical thinking to dictate his actions. Sometimes Spock thinks he needs to purge emotions like in _ST: The Motion Picture._ We see in the series sometimes his emotional control fails. Whether that's because he's half-human or a full Vulcan would experience the same is debatable.

He's half-human, so it's NOT all that surprising!

So does Uhura!

I was born in 1967, so I couldn't watch it until the reruns came out!

A stupid sound that had the unbelievable effect of making you think you weren't on earth 😅

Craig Durso, the landing party was stranded on another planet, but I wouldn't call the sound effects "stupid!"

Wait but this planet sounds just like the "Mudd's Women" planet. I expect to put our my frying pans on this planet and have the sandstorms "blast them clean" !!!

Haunting...reflected Kirk's emotions perfectly.

It ws actually heavily rewritten by Roddenberry and which became a sticking point between him and Harlan!

poetic thinking there :)

and think those lights from above left millions of years ago and that that star may have burnt out allready and died

@@gertraba4484 and that is the most mind-warping thing of all.

I go out and look up at the stars... and can't see shit up there because of pollution and city lights. But I bet that before electric lighting, looking up at the stars was cheap entertainment. After all, isn't 'up there' where the gods live?

Me too bro, me too. I was exactly 13 at the time also. I always dreamed of the USS Enterprise being out there somewhere beyond the night sky stars.

She was so lovely

Spock is half human, so his human side was crying.

Kind of like The Red Skull on Vormir.

Lots of what-if's in the Original Series. That's what propelled over Buck Rogers.

The last shot, of the camera lingering on the Guardian and surrounding ruins while the lonely wind howls and the melancholy music plays, puts me in mind of a Twilight Zone ending, where something irretrievable has been lost.

Not only TOS..but of the entire Star Trek franchise

It's NOT easy staying calm when you're devastated!

Mine too. I had to beg my parents to let me stay up on school nights to watch. They didn't have much interest in it but this was probably the only episode my mother ever watched during its' original run. She grew up during the Great Depression so there was some interest in the period aspect of this. She explained soup kitchens and such while we watched. It was gut wrenching for me, as a 6 year old, when Edith died. I don't think my mom expected to have to comfort me when we started watching. I still feel that way every time I hear it, even today 52 years later. Masterful how the sound effects become part of the score there.

@@bitmapman never saw it in color til the mid 70's and it was all hatched up due to commercials and re-runs................DVD's rule

Music scores in the TOS are often forgotten, but there's literally dozens of great themes and they're the best of all the series.

Nah this was nothing, the best for me was the music from the apollo episode

Whatever it's really called, I always thought of it as "The Loneliness of Command".

Joan Collins was a force to be reckoned with on the TV show, dynasty. From Ms. Harper Stacey.

We're still a long ways away from solving the world's problems. The Baby Boomers grew up in the 1970s or turned 30 and allowed the Religious Right to gain the political initiative. Meanwhile my Generation X grew up under Reagan and learned selfishness and contempt for their fellow man as well as political paralysis on making the world a better place. Environmentalism, social justice, women's rights, and international peace all were put on hold.

Sandal_Thong, I was born in 1967, and I'm NOT selfish! My late father was selfish, and my late mother constantly worried about me turning out to be like him! It makes NO difference which generation you come from, because ANYONE can be selfish!

Oh please.......@@sandal_thong8631

He was heartbroken for ALL the right reasons!

Me, too! RIP Nichelle Nichols!

@LisaK71000 are you that lesser writer? :p

@@enshk79 I might be lol. i've tried writing a book. I have some cool ideas, but it ain't easy to put a whole world together.

LisaK71000 yes, of course they’d of talked about it.

This episode won some kind of writing award.

Spock's human side was crying, and I'm sure Captain Kirk told Dr. McCoy after they beamed back up to the Enterprise.

I still feel sad when I watch this scene!

Her legs were too skinny for me, but her acting in this episode is top notch!

The episode got changed but the essential storyline is Ellison.

@DM Sullivan Harlan was an egomaniac and couldn't stomach the fact that ANY version that he had drafted was way too expensive to produce given the limits of TV budgets at the time.

@@STho205, thank you for the background production notes. I always enjoy knowing about events that surround shows I enjoy.

Marcus Asaro. If I could direct Paramount's will, it would be to go ahead and let Tarantino produce/direct a remake of Ellison's "City" with the characters in his original play second revision. The drug dealer, the addict, the murder, the escape to gateway, the shining eternal Runed City (not Ruins City), the 7 guardians, the obelisk, Rand staying behind leading the landing party to fight the alternate crew (yes badass Rand fights the mirror crew of cut throats) the love story, "Trooper" the WWI disabled vet saving Kirk and getting vaporized, Spock having to prevent Edith's saving because Kirk couldn't do it, and then the murder sentenced to an eternity of hell in a sun. If that ain't a Quinton Tarintino Star Trek, I don't know what is.

@@LordGreystoke May the Lord Jesus receive him and give his family Peace.

One suspects that they knew they had something very special and needed to treat it so.

You are right about the music. They beamed out and you could still hear the wailing from that portal despite the music. Goose bumps.

Totally agree

Absolutely no argument

Honestly it's either this or Shatner's paranoid masterpiece Gremlin on the Plane "Nightmare at 20000ft" episode of The Twilight Zone.... He really is possibly the greatest Television actor of all time!

It felt like watching a movie, but it wasn't!

timeless

Neither do I!

This perhaps my favorite episode , my fascination with time , reality , etc , stems from this

Joan Collins was terrific in this episode. From Ms. Harper Stacey.

Even to this day, this is the saddest scene!

You. Me. A whole lot of people react the same way. Would that we had the same empathy for real people.

i'd say more like "arguably" i'd lump it together with Doomsday Machine----Mirror Mirror--The Enterprise Incident--Balance of Terror & honorable mention Space Seed

Made all the better with Joan Collins. She is a fine actress.

I heartily agree.

It is heartbreaking when someone you love has to die!

He's devastated, that's why!

I think, am NOT sure that was the original intent...

Possibly, but it's best as a TV episode!

The Voyage Home was originally pitched as a sequel to this episode where Captain Kirk finally gets his happy ending. Nimoy stated this episode was the one that influenced the fourth film the most.

Me, too!

Many people still feel that way after more than 50 years later!

He NEVER disappoints!

I wouldn't call it a great ending but it was a great episode.

@@samcrubish1336 It was the only ending possible. That's what makes it such a classic. 😉

@@haitolawrence5986 Actually, this ending is what pissed Ellison off. His ending had Kirk bringing Keeler back with them. NBC couldn't afford to do that (oh, had it been a NG episode, it could have been done), so Keeler had to die.

@@dougbrowne9890 No, I think he said that Kirk would rush to save her out of love, but Spock would restrain him. A captain that would doom the world to Nazism and destroy the Federation? What respect or trust would we have for Kirk after that? The crew of the Enterprise showed they were stronger than the common man and do what they had to for the greater good. Just saw a clip from "Bread and Circuses" where Captain Merik had betrayed his oath and crew out of personal weakness, but stole a communicator to free Kirk, Spock and McCoy in the end.

Sandal_Thong, Captain Kirk was smart enough to listen to Spock and restrain Dr. McCoy, because everything would have been destroyed!

Among all series combined, ST:TOS would probably have 2-3 out of the top-5 episodes of all time. Tapestry would make it into the top-5, as would Doomsday Machine and Balance of Terror, the military episodes were quite excellent in ST:TOS.

Spock's human side was crying when he said that!

@@LisaKoffler and even McCoy knew better than to argue with Vulcan's statement

Yes, it was the most painful!

The street accident was frightening, along with the "death scream!"

Don't forget his eulogy at Spock's funeral in Wrath of Khan. I kinda felt his pain when my brother passed. The choir played Amazing Grace just like Scotty did. I almost went to pieces both times.

Phillip White quite possibly the best episode of the whole show, and probably the whole franchise

cdsilber than the entire three last movies I'd venture.

@ John Phillips Took the words right out of my mouth.

I'm still not over that last cluster fuck they called a movie. absolutely unbelievable even in sci Fi realms of fiction ... nonsensical garbage.. me sad

Agreed. Down with J. J. Abrams!

The only Trek since this that is remotely worth anything is Star Trek Continues and Starship Farragut. Discovery is garbage too.

Spock's human side was crying, because Edith Keeler had to die!