Episode 029 – Enterprise 2×02 – Carbon Creek
T’Pol tells Archer and Trip a story about the true first contact between Vulcans and humans on Earth, way back in 1957 in the small mining town, Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. An episode that ended up delighting each one of your hosts!
Enterprise 02×02 – Carbon Creek
Directed by James A. Contner
Written by Chris Black
Guest Stars: Ann Cusack, J. Paul Boehmer, Hank Harris, Michael Krawic, David Selburg
There Are Four Mics is a weekly Star Trek podcast discussing the Star Trek episodes and movies in stardate order. Join Anna Heiser, Jason Allen, Joe Heiser, and Joshua B. Jones as we discuss the 2nd episode of season two of Star Trek: Enterprise, Carbon Creek.
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Music credits:
Faith of the Heart/Where My Heart Will Take Me – Written by Diane Warren, performed by Russell Watson, Jerry Lubbock, and the New York Trek Orchestra
Archer’s Theme – Dennis McCarthy and New York Trek Orchestra
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Show Notes
Cold Open
Archer, Trip and T’Pol are sitting down to celebrate the one-year anniversary of T’Pol joining the crew when the captain asks her about a vacation she took to Pennsylvania when she was stationed on Earth. After some cajoling from Trip, she reveals that Carbon Creek was the point of true first contact between the humans and Vulcans and she begins to tell the story.
Act I
After arriving at Earth to investigate the launch of Sputnik, a Vulcan ship carrying T’Pol’s great-grandmother suffers a malfunction and is forced to make a crash landing on the planet. After a week of being stranded on Earth, rations are running low and the Vulcans reluctantly head towards the nearby town of Carbon Creek. They steal someone’s laundry and do their best to blend in as the walk through the town. The two disguised Vulcans walk into a bar and are met with silent stares.
Act II
They make their way over to the bartender and discover that they need to have currency in order to grab some grub. After hearing a fellow bar patron issue an open challenge for some gambling over a game of pool, Mestral gets in on that action. Because he doesn’t have any money, the patron wants some quality time with T’Mir in lieu of money. Winning gives them enough for some groceries, but the length of their stay eventually requires them to get jobs and increase integration into human society. While T’Mir is eager to get off the planet as nuclear tests and war have her convinced that humanity is on the verge of self-annihilation, Mestral seems to be flourishing on Earth. He slips out of their shared Vulcan home under false pretenses, and T’Mir spies him getting into a car with Maggie, the bartender.
Act III
After returning home from a game, Maggie surprises Mestral with a kiss which is witnessed by a scornful T’Mir. After a scolding where T’Mir tries to pull rank and forbid him from seeing Maggie again, Mestral argues that the mission is over and so are the days of having a command structure. Later, T’Mir’s efforts to meditate in the middle of the bar are thwarted by Maggie’s kid bragging about all the stuff he knows. While Mestral is working in the mine, there’s a sudden collapse that has twenty miners trapped. T’Mir and Stron seem pretty cool with the idea of not helping the dying humans. But Mestral ain’t playing at that game and because he sees compassion as a desirable trait, he’s going to do what he can to help them.
Act IV
In spite of her reluctance, T’Mir uses her scanner to guide Mestral through the mine in his quest to rescue the miners. After successfully rescuing the dozen miners, months pass as the Vulcan team begins to accept the fact that they may never leave Earth. BUT WAIT. Their communicator goes off and a Vulcan ship lets them know they’ll be there to pick them up in a few days. Maggie’s kid Jack tells T’Mir that he isn’t going to college after all because he couldn’t get the money together. So she travels to the city and sells some of her advanced Vulcan technology, velcro, to a fella and slips all of it into Jack’s college fund. Back in Casa de Vulcan, Mestral announces that he is not planning on leaving the planet with the others. Once the rescue ship arrives, T’Mir lies and said that Mestral died in the crash, allowing him to remain on the planet. Back aboard the Enterprise, T’Pol leads Trip and Archer to think this was nothing more than a story. BUT WAIT. She goes back to her quarters and pulls out a purse we previously saw T’Mir with.