"Cold Station 12" is the fifth episode of the
fourth season of the American science fiction television series ''
Star Trek: Enterprise'', the eighty-first episode overall. It was directed by
Mike Vejar
Michael "Mike" Laurence Vejar (born June 25, 1943, in Los Angeles, California) is an American television director, with directing credits on four ''Star Trek'' series, as well as directing other notable series, such as ''Zorro'', ''Babylon 5'', ' ...
from a script by
Alan Brennert
Alan Brennert (born May 30, 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American author, television producer, and screenwriter. Brennert has lived in Southern California since 1973 and completed graduate work in screenwriting at the University of Cal ...
, and aired on November 5, 2004, on
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
. It comprises the middle-act of a three-episode arc, preceded by "
Borderland" and followed by "
The Augments".
The series follows the adventures of the first
Starfleet
Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...
starship ''
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterprise ...
'', registration NX-01. In this episode, after leaving ''Enterprise'' stranded, Doctor
Arik Soong and his Augments travel to "Cold Station 12", a secretive pathogen and bio-medical facility run by
Starfleet Medical and the
Denobulans, where much of this episode's plot unfolds. Once inside, they begin torturing the scientists with the goal of retrieving some 1,800 augmented embryos, allowing them to expand their race.
The production team created several new sets to represent the
space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station ...
itself, as well as re-using some from "Borderland" to represent the
Klingon
The Klingons ( ; Klingon language, Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''.
Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' ('' ...
starship. The make-up team were required to make
Brent Spiner
Brent Jay Spiner (; born February 2, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the android Data on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', as well as four subsequent films. In 2019, he reprised the role fo ...
look younger for flashbacks and to show the progression of a character's exposure to a number of pathogens. The story-arc has been considered one of the best seen in ''Enterprise'', and critics praised "Cold Station 12", specifically for the special effects and character development, but felt that the death scene crossed the line. On first broadcast, the episode was watched by 2.1 percent of the population according to
Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
s, placing it in fifth position for the timeslot.
Plot
After the escape of Doctor
Soong and the Augments, Captain
Archer
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...
and his crew proceed to the coordinates Soong had provided earlier in the mission. On Trialis IV, the away team find an abandoned building where the young Augments were raised and schooled by "father" Soong. They also capture a banished member of the Augments named Udar. Nicknamed "Smike" by his Augment siblings after a handicapped character from the comic novel
Nicholas Nickleby
''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...
by
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
, he is taken to ''Enterprise''. Analysis reveals that although Udar's DNA is similar to the other Augments, he has none of their enhanced abilities (except for superior hearing).
Meanwhile, Soong and the Augments capture ''Barzai'', a Denobulan medical ship, and use it to enter the medical facility called Cold Station 12 (C-12). They soon overpower security and capture the scientists there, including its chief medical officer, Doctor Jeremy Lucas (Doctor
Phlox's Interspecies Medical Exchange counterpart). Due to security protocols, tensions begin to surface between Soong and Malik, as to how to coerce Lucas into divulging the entry codes. Malik convinces Soong to torture Lucas, and failing that, to expose a scientist to a deadly pathogen using a containment chamber.
''Enterprise'' approaches within transporter range, and beams a landing party (including Phlox) to the facility. They are soon detected, however, and imprisoned with the facility's staff. Meanwhile, Commander
T'Pol
T'Pol () is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Portrayed by Jolene Blalock in the series '' Star Trek: Enterprise'', she is a Vulcan who serves as the science officer aboard the starship ''Enterprise'' (NX-01).
Concept and ...
, having lost contact with the team, attempts to destroy the station, but the Klingon ship intervenes. Malik uses Phlox's friendship to finally coerce the security codes from Lucas (by threatening to expose him to a pathogen as well). Soong, who had previously stolen 19 genetically enhanced and frozen
embryo
An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm ...
s from C-12, is now able to access the remaining 1,800, a carry-over from the
Eugenics Wars. Soong and the Augments then escape, but not before Malik kills Smike, helps himself to a number of pathogen samples, and sets the viral containment fields to fail.
Production
The episode was the second of a three-part storyline, which was intended to link ''Enterprise'' more closely to ''
Star Trek: The Original Series'' with the return of genetically engineered "Augments" which had appeared alongside
Khan Noonian Singh in "
Space Seed
"Space Seed" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Gene L. Coon and Carey Wilber and directed by Marc Daniels, it first aired on February 16, 1967.
In the ...
" and the movie ''
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''. It was preceded by the episode "
Borderland", and followed by "
The Augments".
[ ] Production on the episode began on August 24, 2004, and concluded on September 1. There were several swing sets created for the episode, specifically to cover the scenes filmed on board the station. It re-used the sets created for "Borderland" to represent the
Klingon
The Klingons ( ; Klingon language, Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''.
Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' ('' ...
vessel captured by the Augments. There were also sets created to represent the compound where Soong raised the genetically altered humans, which was set up different as flashbacks to the character's childhoods were also shot for this episode. It was directed by
Mike Vejar
Michael "Mike" Laurence Vejar (born June 25, 1943, in Los Angeles, California) is an American television director, with directing credits on four ''Star Trek'' series, as well as directing other notable series, such as ''Zorro'', ''Babylon 5'', ' ...
, who had directed several earlier episodes of ''Star Trek'', most recently "
Stratagem
Stratagem, Stratagems, or Strategema may refer to:
Books
* ''Strategemata'', or ''Stratagems'', a first-century book by Frontinus
* ''Stratagems'' (Polyaenus), or ''Strategemata'', a second-century book by Polyaenus
Media
* "Stratagem" (''Star ...
". It was written by Consulting Producer
Alan Brennert
Alan Brennert (born May 30, 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American author, television producer, and screenwriter. Brennert has lived in Southern California since 1973 and completed graduate work in screenwriting at the University of Cal ...
, his first writing credit in the franchise.
There was some specific work required by the make-up department on
Brent Spiner
Brent Jay Spiner (; born February 2, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the android Data on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', as well as four subsequent films. In 2019, he reprised the role fo ...
as during those flashbacks he was made to look younger which the team created by dying his hair darker and applying more youthful make-up. Also, the team added several different appliances to Kris Iyer to show his character go through a series of levels of infection of a number of diseases at the hands of Soong. These included colored
contact lenses
Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...
, prosthetics to make his veins appear to pulse and gel was added to his eyes to make them
bloodshot.
There were several guest actors in "Cold Station 12". The character, Dr. Jeremy Lucas, had been previously mentioned in the episodes "
Dear Doctor
"Dear Doctor" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Enterprise'', and originally aired on January 23, 2002, on UPN. The episode was written by Maria and Andre Jacquemetto ...
" and "
Doctor's Orders" as a friend of Phlox. But "Cold Station 12" marked the first occasion that the character appeared on screen, played by
Richard Riehle
Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. He portrayed Walt Finnerty on '' Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005) and The Warden on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2007). He also appeared in over 200 films, including '' Glory ...
. The actor had previously appeared in the ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode "
The Inner Light" as well as the ''
Star Trek: Voyager'' episodes "
Fair Haven" and the follow-up episode "
Spirit Folk". Guest stars Spiner,
Alec Newman and
Abby Brammell resumed their roles from the previous episode in the trilogy, "Borderland".
Reception
"Cold Station 12" was first broadcast on November 5, 2004, on
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
. According to
Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
s, it was watched by 2.1 percent of the population of the United States and by four percent of those watching television at the time. This put it in fifth place for the 8pm timeslot, behind ''Totally Outrageous Behavior'' and ''
World's Craziest Videos'' on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
.
It had an average of 3.4 million viewers.
Brent Spiner was credited for the ratings boost, the best of season so far.
Bill Gordon, writing for the website Sci-Fi Pulse, said that it was a "nearly flawless episode", with his one critique in his analysis of the plot being targeted at Captain Archer telling Soong that they were sending over the self-destruct code for the station. He said that there was an "epic" quality to "Cold Station 12" that made him compare it to the ''Star Trek'' film franchise, saying that it had "stellar FX shots, to first class character and story development, to a quality of writing that has been sadly lacking in the Star Trek universe of late."
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...
gave the episode 2 out of 5, and saying it "lacks some of the flair of its predecessor and seems to take some storytelling shortcuts to get where it's going, making it feel more like the usual Enterprise episode rather than something special" but hopes that the next episode will be able to deliver on the promise of the arc's ambitious premise.
Michelle Erica Green of
TrekNation
TrekNation is a reference and community website for the ''Star Trek'' franchise. It also serves as a hub for its network websites: TrekToday, a news site updated nearly daily; The Trek BBS, which describes itself as the largest ''Star Trek'' ...
praised the episode, saying it was an improvement on "Borderland" and that Spiner was even better. But she found the murder of the doctor shocking and felt that it had gone too far. She said that themes raised in "Cold Station 12" mirrored those which could have appeared on ''The Original Series'' but that this episode didn't take the time to discuss them. She hoped that the final episode of the trilogy would cover that ground.
Aint It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book pro ...
gave it 3 out of 5.
The mini-arc featuring the episodes "Borderland", "Cold Station 12" and "
The Augments" were subsequently ranked the sixth best story of ''Enterprise'' by ''
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine.
History
''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...
'' writer James Hunt.
The
University of Dubuque
The University of Dubuque (UD) is a private Presbyterian university in Dubuque, Iowa. About 2,200 students attend the university.
History
The University of Dubuque has had a long history in Dubuque since its founding in 1852.
Early years
T ...
included viewing of "Cold Station 12" alongside the ''
Doctor Who'' episode "
The Beast Below
"The Beast Below" is the second episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was written by executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat and broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 10 April 20 ...
" in the course "Captain Picard Meets Dr. Who" to demonstrate the idea of sacrificing one person to save many.
In 2018, ''
Screen Rant
''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'' praised casting Brent Spiner as the character Arik Soong.
Awards
Alongside his work on the previous episode "Borderland",
Vince Deadrick, Jr.'s work on "Cold Station 12" was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for
Outstanding Stunt Coordination. The award was won by
Matt Taylor for his work on
''24''.
Home media release
"Cold Station 12" was as part of the season the four DVD box set of ''Enterprise'', originally released in the United States on November 1, 2005.
The
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...
release of the fourth season of ''Enterprise'' was on April 1, 2014.
References
External links
*
{{Star Trek: Enterprise episodes, 4
Star Trek: Enterprise (season 4) episodes
Star Trek locations
2004 American television episodes
Television episodes about eugenics