Star Trek Ent - Season 2 - Episode 02
Star Trek Ent - 2x02 - Carbon Creek
Originally Aired: 2002-9-25
Synopsis:
T'Pol's recollection of the Vulcans' first encounter with Humans conflicts with what Archer and Trip learned from history books. [DVD]
Problems
- Sputnik was launched in 1957. Velcro was invented in 1955. The episode was close at least. ;)
Factoids
- Trip confirms what Geordi said in Star Trek VIII: First Contact that a statue of Zefram Cochrane would be built in Bozeman Montanna.
- In the real world, Velcro was invented by a man named Mestral, which is also the name of the Vulcan who stayed on Earth.
- This episode was nominated for the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
Remarkable Scenes
- Trip wondering just how old T'Pol is.
- Mestral: "It's unfortunate that you'll be leaving these people without experiencing one thing they have to offer." Stron: "Such as alcohol, frozen fish sticks, the constant threat of nuclear annihilation?"
- Trip: "This is like finding out Neil Armstrong wasn't the first man to walk on the moon!" T'Pol: "Perhaps he wasn't."
- T'Pol winding up Archer and Trip over whether or not her story was true.
My Review
T'Pol's story is captivating, and the Vulcan actors do a superb job. The episode leaves you wondering if any of it is true, but like Voy: The Haunting of Deck Twelve, there's clear evidence that it is true shown in the final scene. Besides, I find it hard to believe T'Pol would lie when she said the incident was well documented on Vulcan. Unfortunately, these plots are poor recipes for episodes and seldom make good ones. I was pleasantly surprised that this episode didn't turn into another Voy: 11:59, which was totally irrelevant. But then again, an episode like this is something the writers can only get away with once a long while. It was done well and it was a nice change of pace, but we just don't watch Star Trek these kinds of stories.
The following are comments submitted by my readers.
I wonder if after "I Love Lucy", they watched "Star Trek"? ;)
Perhaps Quark, Rom, and Nog were on Earth at the same time as the Vulcan(s). (DS9: Little Green Men)
DS9: Little Green Men took place ten years prior. This episode is set circa 1957 (the launch of Sputnik 1) whereas DS9: Little Green Men is set circa 1947 (the Roswell UFO incident).
Moreover, being that this episode is set circa 1957, it would have been about ten years too early for Star Trek to be on the air too. ;)
I enjoyed this episode, but I thought it had one major problem. Vulcans come from a desert planet, and it has been made rather clear that hey have a range of complexions that would all be darker on average than the citizens of Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. With different looking hair and a darker skin tone, the stranded Vulcan crew would probably not have been very welcome in a small Pennsylvania town in the 1950's, and likely would have been treated like second class citizens. Even if there were no other minorities in the small town, they would have still noticed on television and through common discussion with the townsfolk that the humans were still primitive enough to be divided simply by skin color. This would definitely have changed their overall impression of humans by the end of the show (especially since one of them complemented the humans on how accepting of strangers they were).
I enjoyed this one too. We've seen in Star Trek (TNG: First Contact) that humaniod warp-capable species will research pre-warp species before first contact is established. As with most non Season 4 episodes, it's not the prequel we get in Season 4, but still not bad.
T'Mir: "Okay, Mestral, you may stay behind and live here on Earth among the humans. Just don't ever get sick and seek out medical attention. Especially if they'll need to find your heart or even take your pulse, since our hearts beat several hundred times a minute. And try not to ever get bruised. Or get a cut. Or go to a dentist. Shit, okay, maybe this actually a really bad idea after all."
I'm going to have to disagree with you whole heartedly on this one. This is exactly why I watch Star Trek. Star Trek does these kind of one-off stories better than any other franchise I've ever seen.
This is easily my favorite episode of Enterprise so far. I love these kind of "fish out of water" stories and I can't think of anyone more entertaining to see in that role than Vulcans. I only wish this was a two-parter and didn't end so quickly. Hell, I could watch an entire series based on this premise.
I only have one real complaint about it. I was floored when T'pol insinuated that it was just a story. The thought that this was all T'pol's attempt at levity brought this episode to an entirely new level for me. I was ready to call it one of my favorite episodes in all of Star Trek. Unfortunately, they decided to go with the touchy feely ending and have her pull out the purse, revealing that it wasn't just a story. Not a game changer, but it brought the episode down a peg.
I do wonder if the end implied that it actually was T'pol and not her great grandmother. Just how old is she?