City on the Edge of Forever - More on Harlan Ellison's Screenplay

From reading various books and listening to several reviews of City on the Edge of Forever, you'd think that Roddenberry just "Tweeked" Ellison's screenplay and it was more or less the basis for the Episode. Ellison is given at LEAST 50 percent of the credit for the episode. Wrong Dude!

Roddenberry (and company) completely changed Ellision's screenplay. Which is why he was so upset at Roddenberry and never forgave him. Yes, the basic plot and the Character of Edith Keeler comes from Ellison but everything else was changed by Roddenberry. As follows:

1) Every supporting character Ellison created in his May 1966 script EXCEPT for Edith Keeler was eliminated by Roddenberry. We're talking: Beckwith, LeBeque, the Space Pirates, Trooper, The Bigoted Cook, The Jainitor, the ranting street corner demagoue, and the Howling mob.

2) Roddenbery elimiated Ellison's epilogue. No Spock and Kirk discussing Trooper, musing about Evil men having some good in them, or talking about Keeler.

3) Roddenberry eliminated Ellison's Prologue: No Beckwith dealing drugs. No Lebeque drug addict. No murder by Beckwith.

4) There are only TWO lines left from Ellison's May 1966 script left intact. Both are from the Guardians.

5) Roddenberry competely changed Kirk's behavior. In Ellison's script, Kirk refuses to believe Keeler must die, and in the final scene REFUSES to stop Beckwith from saving Keeler. Kirk is so in love with Keeler, he asks Spock if he can take her back to the future, and Spock has to remind Kirk that the Landing party is back fighting for their lives.

6) Roddenberry completely changes how Spock/Kirk understand Keeler must die. In Ellison's script, the Guardians tell them before they go back to 1930 NYC that: "Beckwith has saved that which die. Look for a Golden sun on blue". Spock figures out at the end of Act II that Keeler is the "the focal Point" and by the middle of act III that "Keeler must die". Why keeler must die, is never made clear in Ellison's script. Spock suggests she may have helped delay WW II entrance by USA OR given birth to a dicattor.

7) Roddenberry give Keeler character and lots of lines. Once Kirk/Spock arrive in NYC 1930, there are only 4 named characters with lines: McCoy, Spock, Kirk, and Keeler. Keeler is in almost every other scene from the Middle of Act II to the End. Kirk is so broken up at the loss of Keeler, he says in the Epilogue "Lets get the Hell out of here". By Comparsion, Ellison has Kirk almost as upset over the death of Trooper as Keeler, and Keeler doesn't speak until the beginning of Act III, and shares time in Act III and IV with Trooper and the fight with Beckwith.

In summary, Roddenberry (and his writers) massively improved and changed Ellison's script.