Shockwave, Part I

When Enterprise visits a mining colony it apparently sets off an explosion that kills all the inhabitants.

This is the gripping first episode of a strong two part story that ties in several of the bigger story arcs from the series. The Temporal Cold War and the Vulcan/Andorian/Human political situation feature heavily.

Most central characters give a strong contribution to the story as whole, but this first part does end on a bit of a cliff hanger, as per standard practice within the franchise. To get the full effect, both episodes should really be watched back to back if possible.

Trek purists will probably struggle with the episode's franchise continuity once more as the Vulcans (T'Pol aside) are not only portrayed negatively, but in their confrontations with other characters they show too much emotion. Also, the specifics of time travel science are not really addressed by the writers other than to tell us it's complicated.

I don't think the above problems drag this one down too much, because the whole story for me is so entertaining it would feel a bit harsh.