Episode Report Card Keckler: F | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Silik Stalkings
By Keckler | Season 4 | Episode 2 | Aired on 10.14.2004
Trip and May-Wetter are returned to their cell that is painted like an elementary school bathroom, and Silik falls from the ceiling right on top of Trip. Quantum's going to be so jealous!
In Quantum's Quarters, Reed says he pinpointed when the timeline changed and it was when someone assassinated Lenin in 1916. To Quantum's question, Reed says that no one took Lenin's place. "Wait, uh, Lenin's been assassinated? So...Trotsky -- hello?" Cask 23 sputters as Hunca Munca noisily shreds my notes on this episode. The claim is that Russia never became Communist, so Germany never considered it a threat, which left Hitler free to concentrate on taking France, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, and the Eastern U.S. "But Camel Taupe and his men arrived on Earth recently -- a few years ago," T'Pol interjects. Quantum agrees that means the Alienazis couldn't be responsible for the assassination, and Reed adds that the assassin disappeared. T'Pol thinks the assassin was working for one of the Temporal Cold War factions that Daniels mentioned. I think the assassin was Daniels. "But I thought we were here to prevent Camel Taupe from starting the Temporal war," Reed puzzles. "Chicken or the egg," is Quantum's blithe way of sweeping all pesky explanation under the rug with the rest of the Dust Bunny Plotlines.
Camel Taupe contacts Quantum to offer a deal: Trip and May-Wetter for something he wants. After hawing a bit, Quantum agrees to beam down.
Keckler: That room the Alienazis are in looks like something right out of Strange Brew.
Dr. Mathra: So, does that mean this is going to end with them drinking their way out, and then Quantum's so huge that he has to put out the Temporal Not So Cold War by peeing on it?
Keckler: If anyone's drinking their way out of anything, it's going to be me and a case of pumpkin ale.
Dr. Mathra: And the peeing?
Keckler: I'm not making any promises.
Quantum beams down with some Uh-Ohs to a remote location few miles outside New York. Ah, so in this alternate future-past, New York has redwoods. Interesting -- better get the temporal botanists on that one. Camel Taupe gets out of his jeep and says, "It's good to see you again, Captain." Because somehow we were only now supposed to make the connection that this is the same Alienazi from the finale?
Trip and May-Wetter are brought forth and are shocked to see Quantum, but not too shocked to bitch a bit about they way they've been treated at the hands of the Alienazis. Camel Taupe apologizes for the inconvenience, and Quantum tells his men they are going back to the ship. Trip protests that Quantum is coming with them, but Quantum shuts him up a short bark of "Trip!" Trip shuts it. Quantum calls the ship to beam the guys up. They beam. Camel Taupe grills Quantum on what he knows about him and the rest of the Alienazis. Quantum recaps everything we already know. Camel Taupe accuses all the other temporal agents of being the real bad guys in this Temporal Not So Cold War. "If you've ever dealt with them then you know they do much more than watch history unfold. They interfere with events," Camel Taupe asserts. Well, that's certainly always been true of Daniels. Camel Taupe believes that there shouldn't be any temporal accords, because he thinks time travel technology should be used to manipulate historical events to benefit various species. Quantum wonders who determines what events get manipulated, but Camel Taupe won't be drawn into a philosophical discussion, and says Quantum should help him because he can send them all back to their century. Quantum's not all over that. Camel Taupe encourages him to go back to his ship and think it over.