I can’t really remember a time that I hadn’t seen “The City on The Edge of Forever.” I know I must have seen it in syndication with my parents, and certainly a few times since then. But over the years it has been largely consumed as a tidbit, either in a documentary about Ellison’s writing or a documentary about Trek. Usually, when I return to watch something like this, I put on The Next Generation, a show I know better and bonded with strongly, so it hasn’t been my habit to watch TOS episodes.
And, let’s be honest, nowadays the plot of “City on the Edge of Forever,” is incredibly well worn. This is a kind of story that we are now trained to see a mile away. It IS a cliché.
So why is it that, in 2019, a corny TV show from over 50 years ago, filmed on a backlot, where the ACT-ING is so stilted and over the top – and yet – still, even, I’m brought to tears by Shatner and Collins hamming it up for my emotional center to become completely destroyed?
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_on_the_Edge_of_Forever
Austin Rich 