Publisher Description
The original teleplay that became the classic Star Trek episode, with an expanded introductory essay by Harlan Ellison, The City on the Edge of Forever has been surrounded by controversy since the airing of an “eviscerated” version—which subsequently has been voted the most beloved episode in the series’ history. In its original form, The City on the Edge of Forever won the 1966–67 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Teleplay. As aired, it won the 1967 Hugo Award.
The City on the Edge of Forever is, at its most basic, a poignant love story. Ellison takes the listener on a breathtaking trip through space and time, from the future, all the way back to 1930s America. In this harrowing journey, Kirk and Spock race to apprehend a renegade criminal and restore the order of the universe. It is here that Kirk faces his ultimate dilemma: a choice between the universe—or his one true love.
This edition makes available the astonishing teleplay as Ellison intended it to be aired. The author’s introductory essay reveals all of the details of what Ellison describes as a “fatally inept treatment” of his creative work. Was he unjustly edited, unjustly accused, and unjustly treated?
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“For the first time, science fiction maverick Harlan Ellison’s first-draft ‘Star Trek’ script is performed in its entirety, with ace voice talents John Rubinstein and Scott Brick gleefully taking on the major roles. A desperate Dr. ‘Bones’ McCoy dives into a time portal and changes the course of human history, while Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are right behind, bent on reversing the damage. So begins one of the most popular episodes of the original ‘Star Trek’ television series. It’s also the most controversial. Reading from a number of interviews and essays, the outspoken Ellison re-voices his battles with ‘Star Trek’ creator Gene Roddenberry over the direction of the story. Both Ellison’s original script and the aired ‘edited’ version received major awards. So, listen and decide which version you prefer.”
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AudioFile
About Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison (1934–2018) wrote and edited more than 120 books and more than 1,700 stories, essays, and articles, as well as dozens of screenplays and teleplays. He won the Hugo Award nine times, the Nebula Award four times, the Bram Stoker Award six times (including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996), the Edgar Allan Poe Award of the Mystery Writers of America twice, the Georges Méliès Fantasy Film Award twice, and was awarded the Silver Pen for Journalism by PEN, the international writer’s union. He was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2006.
About the Narrators
Orson Scott Card, the author of the New York Times bestseller Ender’s Game, has won several Hugo and Nebula awards for his works of speculative fiction. His Ender novels are widely read by adults and younger readers and are increasingly used in schools. Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy, American-frontier fantasy, biblical novels, poetry, plays, and scripts.
Bonnie MacBird was born and raised in San Francisco, and fell in love with Sherlock Holmes by reading the canon at age ten. She attended Stanford University, earning a BA in Music and an MA in Film. She is a regular speaker on writing, creativity, and Sherlock Holmes. She lives in Los Angeles, with frequent trips to London
Richard Gilliland is a veteran television and film actor.
Orson Scott Card, the author of the New York Times bestseller Ender’s Game, has won several Hugo and Nebula awards for his works of speculative fiction. His Ender novels are widely read by adults and younger readers and are increasingly used in schools. Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy, American-frontier fantasy, biblical novels, poetry, plays, and scripts.
Richard Gilliland is a veteran television and film actor.