Cold Front (episode)

Archer is confronted by a member of his crew who claims to be from nine hundred years in the future – and is there to capture a Suliban operative who has boarded Enterprise.
== Summary ==
=== Teaser ===
In a temporal chamber, the Humanoid Figure reminds Silik, bound to a medical bed, there are consequences to his failure to destabilize the Klingon Empire. He then orders a Suliban doctor to proceed with an operation to remove Silik's enhanced vision. The mysterious figure promises to return it if he succeeds in his next mission.
=== Act One ===
On the , Captain Jonathan Archer has a meal served by crewman , explaining that they are on the way to a stellar nursery where a few ships are stopped. There, the ship encounters a transport ship whose captain, Fraddock, explains with some annoyance that there are Borothan pilgrims aboard, who have come to see the Great Plume of Agosoria, a phenomenon their religion associates with the beginning of the universe. Archer invites him, his crew and the pilgrims aboard to show them Enterprise. Fraddock declines, but says he'll pass on the message.
Commander Tucker and Sub-commander T'Pol join Archer to greet about a dozen guests. One of them happily greets Archer and the group have brought gifts for the crew. Archer offers a meal for them, and they accept even though they usually fast. Later in the mess hall, the alien group talks about their belief in the Plume. Doctor Phlox points out the cycle of re-birth is not unlike what the Hindus believe. Archer is asked if he follows a faith, but he prefers to keep an open mind.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, Malcolm Reed sees Hoshi Sato return from meeting the guests and asks what they're like. He's in disagreement with a full ship's tour, preferring to keep tactical areas off-limits. In engineering, the tour continues, with Tucker giving a basic explanation of the warp reactor until one of the aliens reveals he's actually a warp field theorist. Another one inquires about how the positron flow is regulated in the dilithium matrix, and so Tucker goes to bring up the schematics of the reactor assembly so that he may see for himself. However, another alien parts from the group for a little while to discreetly tamper with the engine.
As a few of the aliens are learning about the sickbay imaging systems, Enterprise is hit by a plasma storm. It is not deemed serious, but soon an antimatter cascade occurs. Engineering panels erupt closer to the engine until it unexpectedly stops. Tucker reports he was not responsible for the lucky outcome.
=== Act Two ===
After the aliens leave (taking Phlox along with them to visit their ship), Tucker calls Archer to engineering and shows him the disconnected antimatter junction that prevented the cascade from reaching the warp core; if it hadn't been for this act of 'sabotage' then Enterprise would have been destroyed. The question remains as to who did it, and Tucker is certain no-one on his staff is responsible. Archer then gets Fraddock to question the alien group, but he also responds that no-one is admitting to it.
As Archer leaves his ready room, Daniels catches him and wants to talk to him. Archer explains he's busy, but then he begins to explain he thinks one of the aliens is a Suliban. Now Archer stops, and Daniels brings him to his quarters to explain. Daniels reveals he is not in Starfleet, and is from the future. He is with an organization that prevents factions tampering with the timeline. Using a device that projects something he calls a Temporal Observatory, he then talks about the events of a Temporal Cold War, and claims that the 22nd century is seen as an important front in the war. Archer is skeptical at first, but is convinced when Daniels reveals facts that would be impossible to know otherwise. He reveals that there is a Suliban named Silik aboard Enterprise, who saved the ship, and must be captured by Daniels. Further, he needs help from Archer to tie in his devices with Enterprises in order to track Silik.
Captain Archer offers Daniels his full cooperation, though he will need to inform a few people. He explains the situation to T'Pol and Tucker. They express skepticism, as they can explain away the odd circumstances. Despite this, he orders them to cooperate with Daniels. He then learns that some of the aliens want to return to the ship to view the Plume.
=== Act Three ===
Archer meets up with the aliens, now preparing to view the Plume. Phlox, back from his visit, tells the captain how interesting his time was. Archer is preoccupied, though, and asks Phlox about the alien's behavior. Phlox didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so he leaves. Meanwhile, Daniels works with Tucker and T'Pol. His technology is amazing, with holographic displays and a phase device that allows him to walk through walls. Daniels works quickly, but does answer the occasional question about himself and Earth.
Later, Archer is feeding Porthos, who s excessively at nothing seemingly. Then, Silik appears, making contact with the captain to find out who is searching for him: he has detected tachyon radiation that would not normally be on the ship, as there are no devices on board that emit tachyons. Archer feigns ignorance about Daniels initially, to which Silik presents relativist arguments about Daniels just being in another faction and not being who he seems to be. He also suggests that the antimatter cascade was not accidental, and reminds the Captain that he (Silik) saved the ship and every life on it. T'Pol then makes an unfortunate communication, revealing that it is Daniels who is seeking him. Silik then stuns the captain and leaves.
In Engineering, Daniels brings his sensors online and detects Suliban life signs. Tucker then notices a movement on the catwalk, and orders everyone except Daniels to evacuate Engineering. Silik appears, and twice shoots Daniels, who seems to explode, but his body parts disappear. Outside, Tucker calls the captain but he doesn't respond, so the two leave and call Phlox to get to Archer's quarters.
=== Act Four ===
Phlox revives Archer, and immediately calls Reed to lock down hatches and find the intruder. Fraddock says no one has returned to his ship, so Silik must be still on board. Archer also finds that Silik has stolen Daniels' Temporal Observatory device from his quarters. After Tucker works out how Daniels' sensor system works, he pinpoints Silik's location. Archer goes after him with the phase device, catching him in the shuttlebay where he has opened the hatch doors. The two men scuffle, during which turbulence from the Plume disrupts both men and the phase device falls through the open hatch, Archer destroys the Temporal Observatory device with a phase-pistol. Silik tells him "You may have endangered your future, Jon," leaving the captain with a final puzzle. Silik escapes by flinging himself out of the launch bay, toward a .
On the bridge, T'Pol informs Archer the ship went to warp, but Archer decides to stay put. Archer orders Reed to seal off Daniels' quarters and re-assign Daniels' roommate, stating that there may be more technology inside. Daniels' quarters are thereafter locked.
== Memorable quotes ==
"You won't need enhanced vision where you're going. Proceed with the extraction."
:- Humanoid Figure, ordering a Suliban to remove Silik's visual enhancements for failing him previously
"Lieutenant."
"Ensigns. Enjoy the show last night?"
"Ugh."
"Heh, those were two hours of my life I'd rather have back."
:- Mayweather, entering the bridge with Sato while Reed asks their opinion about Night of the Killer Androids
"If you don't mind my asking, what brings you here?"
"A job. I'm escorting a group of spiritually minded men on a pilgrimage to the Great Plume of Agosoria."
"The – the what?"
"Every eleven years one of the protostars gives out a neutron blast. These gentlemen believe it's a sacred event. If you ask me, I think it's just another ball of hydrogen!"
:- Archer and Captain Fraddock
"It's customary on Earth to greet someone with a… handshake."
:- Archer, to Prah Mantoos
"For you, Captain."
"It's beautiful. What, uh, exactly is it?"
"A clock! It charts time from the beginning of the universe."
:- Prah Mantoos and Archer
"Aren't you going to take the chair?"
"What?"
"You're in command!"
"I'm fine right here."
"Haven't you ever wondered what it's like?"
"I can wait until I'm promoted."
"Okay…" (Mayweather thinks about it, then takes his place in the Captain's chair.)
"Nice fit."
"The bridge looks a lot different from here. Think anyone would mind if I fired a torpedo?"
:- Hoshi and Mayweather
"I see you already know a thing or two about starship engines."
"I'm a warp field theorist."
:- Tucker and Sonsorra
"You might want to focus your sensors on that plasma lightning up ahead."
"We're aware of it."
"You ever been in a plasma storm?"
"Twice."
"Then you know it can get a little bumpy. I suggest we try and go around it."
:- Captain Fraddock and T'Pol
"We've got a power surge in the impulse relays. Here's a good example of how we can reroute the energy flow to protect our critical systems."
:- Tucker, to the group of visitors touring engineering
"Trip, what's happening?"
"That last bolt struck the warp manifold! We've got an antimatter cascade, sir! If it reaches the warp reactor…" (Everyone holds their breath as they await the inevitable.) "I think we're alright Captain. The cascade stopped in its tracks."
"Good work, Trip."
"It wasn't me, captain."
:- Archer and Tucker
"I'm sorry about the mess. Sometimes I think my bunk-mate majored in Chaos Theory."
:- Daniels, to Captain Archer
"Are you Human?"
"More or less."
:- Archer and Daniels
"I know this must seem a little overwhelming."
"Overwhelming… doesn't quite cover it."
:- Daniels, while showing Archer through the Temporal Observatory
"You're from… 900 years in the future, and you need my help?"
:- Archer, to Daniels
"You're asking me to capture someone who just saved my ship – why should I trust you?"
"You like your scrambled eggs soft. Have I ever brought them to you any other way?"
:- Archer and Daniels
"The Vulcan Science Directorate has studied the question of time travel in great detail. They found no evidence that it exists, or that it can exist."
:- T'Pol, to Captain Archer
"I always knew we'd be meeting people from other planets – but other centuries?"
:- Tucker, to T'Pol after being told by Archer that Daniels is a time traveler
"You may have endangered your future, Jon."
:- Silik, to Archer
"Starfleet's in store for one hell of a report. I'm not quite sure where to begin."
"I'd be glad to help."
:- Archer and T'Pol
"Mr. Reed, assign new quarters to Daniels' roommate and seal off cabin E-14. It's off-limits till further notice."
"Aye, sir."
"God knows what else is in there. Let's get back on the road, Travis."
:- Archer, ordering Reed to close off Daniels' quarters after his confrontation with Silik (last lines)
== Background information ==
=== Production ===
* This episode had the working title "Untitled Suliban" (as evidenced by the episode's script). The episode's final draft script was submitted on .
* The restrictiveness of the set for the service junction shown near the end of this episode made filming the episode's climactic fight scene, between Archer and Silik, a difficult task. "You've really gotta create some different types of choreographed sequences when you're in tight like that," Stunt Coordinator Vince Deadrick, Jr. said of the tightly confined area. ()
* Several costumes from this episode were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including the costumes of John Fleck and Lamont Thompson , as well as an unnamed pilgrim's robe. 
=== Continuity ===
* According to dates given, this episode actually takes place a week after the next episode, .
* This is the Humanoid Figure's only appearance on the series in an episode which is neither a season premiere nor a season finale.
* This episode marks the first appearance of Daniels (Matt Winston) on the series.
* This episode also marks the first time that Silik's name is given.
* This episode marks the first mention of movie night. Ensign Mayweather gripes that out of 50,000 titles in the movie database, they could find no better movie than Night of the Killer Androids. It further implies that Reed and Sato frequent the event.
* This episode marks the first appearance of T'Pol's disbelief in time travel, based on the Vulcan Science Directorate's conclusions.
* Both the Temporal Observatory and the phasing device are lost in this episode, but Daniels' Temporal Database remains to be used in and , the latter episode featuring its final appearance in the series.
* In , recalls seeing the Great Plume of Agosoria to Zho'Kaan while they are stranded on a moon together.
* Daniels quips to Trip that whether Earth still exists in the 31st century "depends on how you define Earth". reveals that the planet does still exist in a "normal" fashion as late as 3189, albeit having closed its borders to the galaxy a century prior.
* This is the first episode of the series not to feature a shuttlepod.
=== Reception ===
* This episode achieved a Nielsen rating of 4.7 and was watched by an average of 7.33 million viewers. 
* 's "Ultimate Guide" rated this episode 2 out of 5 arrowhead insignia. ()
* The unofficial reference book Beyond the Final Frontier (p. 363) describes this outing as "a scrappy episode, but one that adds a new twist to the Temporal Cold War." The book goes on to say, "There are tantalizing hints, but nothing really meaty to get excited about."
=== Video and DVD releases ===
* UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 1.6, 
* As part of the ENT Season 1 DVD collection
* As part of the ENT Season 1 Blu-ray collection
== Links and references ==
=== Guest stars ===
* John Fleck as Silik
* Matt Winston as 
* Michael O'Hagan as Fraddock
* Joseph Hindy as Prah Mantoos
=== Co-stars ===
* Leonard Kelly-Young as Sonsorra
* Lamont D. Thompson as N.D. Alien Pilgrim
=== Uncredited co-stars ===
* David Keith Anderson as alien pilgrim
* Adam Anello as operations division crewman
* Solomon Burke, Jr. as 
* David Paul Christian as Borothan pilgrim
* Jane Bordeaux as command division crewman
* Mark Correy as Alex
* Evan English as alien pilgrim
* Lee Faranda as alien pilgrim
* Hilde Garcia as Rossi (deleted scene)
* Lindly Gardner as operations division crewman
* Peter Godoy
* James Horan as Humanoid Figure
* Aldric Horton as operations division crewman
* Amina Islam as command division ensign
* John Jurgens as command division crewman
* Andy Keith
* Les Matloff as alien pilgrim
* Robert Middleton as Borothan pilgrim
* Carmen Nogales as operations division crewman
* Louis Ortiz as Suliban medic
* Prada as Porthos
* Mike Rappaport as Borothan pilgrim
* Cary Sato Lee as Borothan pilgrim
* Thelma Tyrell as operations division crewman
* John Wan as an operations division crewman
* Mark Watson as operations division crewman
* Gary Weeks as operations division crewman
* Tyson Weihe as Borothan pilgrim
* J.B. Williams as alien pilgrim
* James L. Woods as alien pilgrim
=== References ===
ability; Agosoria; anthropologist; antimatter; ; biometric parameters; Borothans; bunk mate (roommate); chaos theory; cheese; ; chord; circumnavigating; consulate; Cycle of Creation; "Cycle of Renewal"; cylinder; Daniels' bunkmate; Earth; faith; Federation anthropologists; final resting place; Fraddock's transport ship; genetic engineering; genetic enhancements; Giza; Great Plume of Agosoria; Great Pyramid; growl; heart; Hindu; hydrogen; Illinois; impulse relay; "Invocation of Renewal" Jupiter Station; kaana-sah; Klingon Empire; lama; liver; logic; lung; magnetic constrictors; ; ; megawatt; meter; monastery; nacelle; neutron blast; "Night of the Killer Androids"; orange juice; orbital engineer; organ; pilgrim; Plan B; plasma lightning; plasma storm; Porthos; positron; Prah Mantoos' species; protostar; purification; rebirth; religion; Saint Peter's Square; Sarin; science officer; scrambled eggs; sing; space-time scanner; stellar nursery; subspace displacement field; Suliban; ; Suliban helix; tachyon radiation; Tal-Shanar; ; Temporal Accord; Temporal Cold War; Temporal Observatory; Tibet; time travel; time traveler; transport; ultraviolet radiation; voo-sinteel; Vulcan Science Directorate; warp coil; warp field theorist/warp theorist; warp manifold; warp reactor; Xyrillian ship
=== External links ===
* 
* 
* 
cs:Cold Front
de:Kalter Krieg (Episode)
es:Cold Front
fr:Cold Front (épisode)
ja:ENT:時を見つめる男
nl:Cold Front
pl:Cold Front
sv:Cold Front