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From: ginger@ssc-vax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Star Trek Episodes
Message-ID: <296@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 23-Jun-83 17:37:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: ssc-vax.296
Posted: Thu Jun 23 17:37:03 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 27-Jun-83 13:16:41 EDT
Organization: Boeing Aerospace, Seattle
Lines: 32

Re:  The City On The Edge of Forever

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If McCoy caused the Enterprise not to be built by interfering
with history, how come Kirk and company didn't vanish too? Any expanations?
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This is my all-time favourite episode, too.  My understanding of
the denouement is that history was NOT changed, because McCoy
was prevented from saving the life of Edith Keeler.  Had she
lived, history *would* have been changed, and there would have
been no Enterprise and crew.  This is the dilemma with which
Kirk was faced, augmented by the fact that he was in love with
Edith Keeler.

I think that one reason that this episode was so affecting and
effective is because the script allowed for less Shakespearean
swaggering by William Shatner -an element which sometimes
detracts from the other episodes.  I like Shatner, but his early
stage-training is obvious and the action does not always
translate well to the small screen.

Another reason is that the show did not have the sometimes
sugar-coated, cartoon-flavoured ending, in which the dead
are brought back to life and all trouble and harm magically
reversed.  Instead, you are shown an aspect of Kirk's character
versus his role as Captain in a very human but impossible
situation, with a grimly delivered final line,
"Let's get the hell out of here."

					ssc-vax!ginger