The Temporal Cold War mercifully spared the second season, excepting the insipid season opener. Then, since the return of the Tholians wasn't apparently interesting enough, it rose like some re-animated undead. Early on worry was that this war would turn into a convenient solution for hopeless situations, not only for the crew but particularly its corner-painted path scribblers. In "Future Tense" those worries come true with a plot all dressed up with a mystery ship (with an undead inside Phlox and Trip reanimate) but no good place to go. Guess it's time again to reach into the magic bag!

For diplomacy's sake I accept it was originally intended as good pavement, but note now how crookedly it leads the series "Enterprise" like some Grimm's child. Even its symbol, Daniels, confuses the issue with his back-and-forth recollection of the Paraagan colony which once survived, then it didn't - so now who knows? Erroneously this outlook betrays belief in one "official" timeline only, a belief buttressed not by physics but by the Omniscient HoloboxTM (which, without any training, can be deftly manipulated much better than horse-drawn ancestors could handle rush hour traffic in a sports car. Why "leave" a "sports car" with such "ancestors" anyway?) The only thing being manipulated, and far from deftly, is the credibility of the fanbase.

Restrained from tiresome rescues using technical genies like the transporter or holodeck, um, just go ahead and ram a new one in! Pitched as The Guardian of Forever with food slot and bad hairdo it's not entertaining, it's just bad. Did it occur to production too late that their calendar dart stuck the show smack dab into the Romulan War - does Trek really need another? Of course the only good war is one never fought (or "a dead war," I cannot decide). Bad enough to use war as a bad vessel to deliver questionable ends - the only meritable success comes from good throughout.

Perhaps the strangling of the golden great bird represents the best evidence supporting the "one official timeline" theory, one preferred without peace. In that scenario perhaps mischievous miscreants - a "real" Future Guy, with an office say somewhere near the lot - defect from the better world to hobble fresh inspiration as it emerges. Or not. All this may prove as not the first or last time Star Trek escapes to "reprogram the simulator" and Live! another day. "Or, she will die - I saw her obituary. Some sort of Temporal Cold War accident."