Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Guardian Of Forever

8. Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison
Pip R Lagenta via Wiki Commons

Harlan Ellison penned the original screenplay for The City On The Edge Of Forever, introducing the Guardian of Forever to Star Trek lore. However, the original story for the episode was quite different from the version that was released.

Ellison's script was heavily rewritten, and though it would go on to win the Hugo Award in 1967, Ellison would never again work with Star Trek after they 'eviscerated' his words.

How the Guardian appeared in that story will be covered in a later entry on this list, but there was finally a release of the original script, in printed form, along with an essay by Ellison himself, in 1993. This collected work outlined both the script and the thoughts around his treatment by Roddenberry. IDW publishing would later run a mini-series, depicting this version of the episode, in 2014, with cover art by Juan Ortiz.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"