While the Enterprise is investigating temporal anomalies emanating from a planet Dr McCoy stumbles and accidentally gives himself a massive dose of 'cordrazine'. This leaves him ranting like a mad man; screaming about assassins and suchlike. He flees the bridge and beams himself down to the planet. Kirk leads an away party down to the surface where they find an ancient arched device which identifies itself as 'Guardian of Forever' before claiming to be able to send them back in time to any point in Earth's history. As an image of passing time appears under the arch McCoy jumps through and suddenly all contact with the Enterprise is lost. The Guardian informs them that time has changed and the Enterprise is no more.
They ask the Guardian to start again and Kirk and Spock jump through into a period a few weeks before McCoy in depression era New York. They take refuge in a homeless shelter run by Edith Keeler and prepare for McCoy's arrival. Spock works to create a method of viewing the history he had recorded and Kirk grows close to Edith. When Spock finally finishes his work he sees that he has recorded two contradictory histories; one where Edith dies in the near future and one where she does on to work for peace the question is which history is the 'correct' one, which led to the future being changed and how will McCoy interfere with what is meant to happen?
This episode is considered to be one of the best episodes of the series and rightly so. It uses the time travel device to set up a moral conundrum and surprisingly the doing the right thing will mean allowing a good woman to die. Guest star Joan Collins does a fine job in the roll of Edith and DeForest Kelley's portrayal of the drug-affected McCoy is one of his best performances in the series. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are also on top form as Kirk and Spock. The story is well told without excessive melodrama leading to a conclusion that is a genuine tear-jerker. If you are a fan of Star Trek you'll certainly want to see this one.
They ask the Guardian to start again and Kirk and Spock jump through into a period a few weeks before McCoy in depression era New York. They take refuge in a homeless shelter run by Edith Keeler and prepare for McCoy's arrival. Spock works to create a method of viewing the history he had recorded and Kirk grows close to Edith. When Spock finally finishes his work he sees that he has recorded two contradictory histories; one where Edith dies in the near future and one where she does on to work for peace the question is which history is the 'correct' one, which led to the future being changed and how will McCoy interfere with what is meant to happen?
This episode is considered to be one of the best episodes of the series and rightly so. It uses the time travel device to set up a moral conundrum and surprisingly the doing the right thing will mean allowing a good woman to die. Guest star Joan Collins does a fine job in the roll of Edith and DeForest Kelley's portrayal of the drug-affected McCoy is one of his best performances in the series. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are also on top form as Kirk and Spock. The story is well told without excessive melodrama leading to a conclusion that is a genuine tear-jerker. If you are a fan of Star Trek you'll certainly want to see this one.