“A Matter of Time” is an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation from the series’ fifth season. The episode has an average rating of 3.8/5 on the official Star Trek website (as of January 19, 2008). On the way to Penthara Four, the Enterprise encounters a temporal distortion, and discovers a small pod containing a single human. Once aboard, the pilot identifies himself as Professor Berlingoff Rasmussen (played by Matt Frewer), who has come back from the 26th century to study history. Rasmussen sets about examining the ship and interviewing the crew, but reveals little about himself. This is necessary, he insists, because he does not wish to alter history. The Enterprise heads to Penthara Four, which is suffering a planetwide drop in temperature due to dust kicked up by an asteroid impact. The crew prepares to use the Enterprise’s phasers to drill into the crust and release carbon dioxide, thus increasing the greenhouse effect. The plan works, and Rasmussen, claiming this is a very important historical event, is overjoyed. Rasmussen continues his interviews, in a somewhat irritating manner, and even makes a failed pass at Dr. Crusher. Suddenly, a series of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions begin rocking Penthara Four, an unanticipated result of the drilling. The volcanic ash being thrown into the air is dense and threatens to block out the sun and cause an ice age, killing thousands. Geordi and Data come up with a plan to sweep away the dust with an ionizing phaser …