posted
This was a pretty fine episode, and it actually handles the whole Temporal Cold War thing WITHOUT pulling a Voyager. It was pretty cool.
In short, there are a number of "factions" involved in time travel as part of their regular operations. The plot of this episode revolves around Silik, our nutty Suliban buddy from the pilot show, and crewman Daniels, who claims to be from the 31st century. The beauty of this episode is that it really deosn't establish a good or bad guy side, as Daniels' sole motive was to capture Silik, and Silik's job was apparently to *save* the Enterprise, and possibly to capture some technological doohickey of Daniels'.
But Daniels' story is thus: he works for a group that enforces the "Temporal Accords" governing time travel. Silik's pals are from a time before his, and can only project themselves into the past - they can't interact with it. Anyway, Daniels brought with him a variety of technological doohickies including a "temporal observatory" which apparently kept track of various peoples traveling in time, such as some people observing the construction of the Giza Pyramids - but at least they were "following the rules". He also had some sort of phase-shifting gadget which lets him walk through walls and stuff.
FutureGuy makes an appearance here, and supervises the *removal* of some of Silik's genetic enhancements as punishment for not getting the Klingons to go to war. FutureGuy does promise to restore them however should Silik succeed in his mission. Oddly, Silik's mission was to save Enterprise from an antimatter cascade, and does so. However Archer prohibits him from sneaking off with the observatory gadget, but he does escape.
But where does this leave us? Or rather, when? If Daniels really is from the 31st Century, this is a couple centuries after Braxton's adventures on the Relativity and Aeon. Daniels comes from Illinois, but on an Earth that's allegedly not the Earth that the Pre-E crew is familiar with. Also, what about FurtureGuy? By the 23rd Century people knew enough to slingshot around the sun in order to travel through time. Couldn't he just do that? Or possibly, he was sitting in the future at some point, and could only communicate in real time in the temporal chamber thing. So, it's possible he came from a point in the futre sooner than the 29th Century, when Timefleet could easily transport people through time, and probably later than the 22nd. Point being, that Daniels' organization apparently could not track FutreGuy and stop him at his origin time. Strange, that.
So, as you can see this episode raised a bunch more questions than it answered, and at this point I think that's a good thing. We have here a time travel episode that doesn't distinctly involve time travel, but does. Cool.
Mark
[ November 28, 2001: Message edited by: Mark Nguyen ]
Mark, when this thread is on the main board, the ["Cold Front" $$$] is ommitted, and someone clicking into the thread might not realize you're talking of the episode in particular, but the Temporal Cold War in general.
posted
Jeff: Well, if you're going to be clicking the links off the main page, maybe you should start a habit of reading the entire thread title at the top of the page before you start reading the posts themselves.
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
posted
Mark, I agree with on this episode. A lot of questions were left over, and that means there's still a lot of play for future "Temporal Cold War" episodes to play with. This could theme could get really interesting, but it's already confusing me a bit. If two of the factions are seperated by a couple centuries or so, wouldn't be easier for the later-in-time faction to win since they are technologically more advanced and already know about every possible course of action to be taken by FutureGuy? I agree with O'Brien, thinking about these things gives me a headache.
Going to Enterprise technology for a moment, it looks like the enlisted crew really gets screwed on their cabins. Those things are smaller than most dorm rooms I've lived in! I guess that hold to the "submarine" feel of the sets, though. Quite nice, I thought. Also, the massive lock that Reed puts on Daniels' former quarters is an interesting device. Could be a similar alarm mechanism to the device on Spock's quarters in The Search for Spock? And on a final note, I was right. Enterprise's launch bays do have to depressurize and repressurize which each use.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
posted
No, I think there's also been mention of two launch bays. Each bay has two doors. We normally see Launch Bay One which houses the two shuttle pods. If you watch some of the earlier docking sequences from the series, you'll see that there are four doors on the underside of the saucer. So, nope, I think you're the only one (or one of a few people) who was surprised by this.
One last thing: it looks like Main Engineering is in the saucer. When pointed out the malfunctioning relay to Daniels, he indicated its location on a schematic overlay. So the reactor is in the saucer, and it really doesn't look like it can be ejected in an emergency.
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
posted
Apparently, the Enterprise has not 2, but 4 shuttle bay doors. I do not see any other reason why the two shuttle bays we saw in this episode would be labeled 3 and 4.
I'm also left with this question. Was the Enterprise suppose to be a ball of reckage and fire by now? If Silik was lying about the fact that the Enterprise was not supposed to be destroyed at that time then it's open season on continuety for Berman. He can do what ever the hell he wants at this point.
In Archer's room there was a wall with sketches of all the previous Enterprises. There was a sketch of another space craft right next to the one of the space shuttle Enterprise. I don't think it was the ring ship Enterprise, but I cannot be certian.
posted
Just finished watching this episode, and I would like for someone to technobabble their way out of this current thing: Daniels is from the 31st Century while Braxton was from 29th Century. However, Daniels clearly states that those from the 30th Century does not have the technology to send people back. So where does that leave Braxton and (quoting someone else) "Timefleet"? Beaming people back through time, repeatedly, over and over again? Not to mention that time travel, with people, was quite possible even in the 23rd Century. Even assuming that Daniels meant that only the 'other' faction did not have the ability to send people back, why did not they adopt a strategy more like the one they used in the VOY episode "Relativity" to arrest that Suliban? Instead, they have a long-term mole onboard the Enterprise and before that probably in Starfleet (what branch of Daniels in? the Corps of Mess Hall Staffers?), all for the purpose of catching one Suliban? And he failed? Don't tell me they couldn't see that coming 900 years in the future. "We don't monitor things that closely," he said. Well, maybe you should start! Besides that, don't tell me that all the special time-travelling operatives in the future possess a slight "Reg Barkley" streak. I mean, Daniels did not seem like the most realiable of type you'd send 900 years back in time, apparently unarmed and unaware, to capture a genetically engineered superman. What? Was appearing totally air-headed the only way to pass the 22nd Century Starfleet entrance exam? Plus, he brought all that fancy gear back with him through time, but no apparent way of defending himself? He didn't even need to have brought something fancy, a bloody little Type-1 phaser would have been plenty. Maybe a skin cream that reduces the effects of particle beam weapon hits, who knows? I'm beginning to think that The Brass sent him knowing full well that he'd just get killed. Then there's the fact that even with 31st Century gear, they still have trouble scanning for Sulibans. Sweet baby Cthulhu, there's only so much genetic engineering is capable of, and fooling multiphasic scanners and so on is almost certainly not one of them.
*catches breath*
Only thing of some redeeming quality the guy said, or at least didn't say: there was apparently no more Starfleet. Either that, or Starfleet was no longer involved in time policing.
Good thing they locked his quarters up before the end, I bet Daniels was the type to leave dirty socks laying around. "God knows what else is in there"? Yeah C'ptain, check in there in a couple seasons. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
-------------------- "God's in his heaven. All's right with the world."
If I had to guess, I'd say that Daniels (in the interest of explaining things quickly) wasn't entirely honest with Archer about the capabilities of the future. I mean, did you honestly expect a detailed history of time-travel? "Yeah, in a hundred years, you'll be able to sling-shot around the sun."
Also, I would imagine that "Time-Fleet" can somehow protect itself from ripples in time. This might also hamper their knowledge of how their Time-Cops' missions end up.
posted
Wait a second, the Suliban's FutureGuy is operating from the 30th Century? I must have missed that part, when was it said?
-------------------- The philosopher's stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
quote:Originally posted by Siegfried: Wait a second, the Suliban's FutureGuy is operating from the 30th Century? I must have missed that part, when was it said?
Naw, his puppet master is from the 30th Century.
-------------------- "God's in his heaven. All's right with the world."
posted
The century that FutureGuy is in isn't nailed down by Daniels, David. We just know it's a different (and earlier) century than the 31st.
-------------------- "I was surprised by the matter-of-factness of Kafka's narration, and the subtle humor present as a result." (Sizer 2005)
Registered: Mar 1999
| IP: Logged
Printer-friendly view of this topic
