Carpenter Street (episode)

Archer and T'Pol travel back in time to stop the Xindi-Reptilians in 21st century Detroit.

Summary
A man from the early 21st century receives a phone call from a Xindi-Reptilian. From what they discuss, it appears that the man probably does not know to whom he is talking and that his motivation is money. Later, the man abducts a prostitute and brings her into a room with other people who he apparently kidnapped earlier.

On Enterprise, Daniels contacts Captain Archer to ask him for his help figuring out what the Xindi are up to. The captain and T'Pol are then transported to Detroit, Michigan back in 2004. They then "borrow" a car (and some money) and begin searching to find the Xindi hideout. They soon find it and witness Loomis (the abductor) bringing another "specimen". Inside the facility, the Xindi asks Loomis to bring specimens for the last two blood types by the next day. He offers him a double reward.

Archer and T'Pol then follow Loomis to his apartment and eventually get him to talk. Since he knows very little, Archer says he will be his next "abduction", to be able to get inside the building undetected. After being brought in, he explores and, from what he sees, suspects the Xindi are building some kind of bioweapon. He proceeds to destroy their temporal beacon (preventing them from bringing back what they have collected so far), and has the time to disable one Xindi before being forced to withdraw.

Archer pursues to prevent the two remaining Xindi from releasing the toxin in the present period. Loomis tries to warn his former associates, but to no avail as their confusion allows Archer to reach and disable them. Archer and T'Pol bring the Xindi and their equipment back to the 22nd century using temporal tags given to them by Daniels. Loomis is then arrested by police officers from the Detroit Police Department.

Memorable Quotes
"We just traveled 90 light years back to Earth?"

"And 150 years into the past."

"Forgive me if I'm not entirely convinced."

"You will be."
 * - T'Pol and Archer, after stepping through the airlock door into 21st century Detroit

"Have you ever operated a vehicle from this period?"

"I can pilot a starship!"
 * - T'Pol and Archer, just before departing in their stolen Dodge Ram.

"People used to go to jail for this."

"We'll return what we don't use."
 * - Archer and T'Pol after Archer uses 22nd century technology to take money from an ATM

"This gonna take long? I don't wanna miss Conan."
 * - Lawrence Strode to Loomis

"You're a veggie. I forgot. Why don't you take a fry? They're probably okay."


 * (T'Pol looks at Loomis' french fries in disgust, then at him)

"Have it your way!"
 * - Loomis, to T'Pol

"Why would anyone on the street be interested in acquiring methohexital?"
 * - T'Pol, to Loomis, unaware of drug dealing in the 21st century

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know about you honey but I'm a little tense, you know what I mean?"

"Extinguish that now!"
 * - T'Pol reacts to Loomis lighting up a cigarette

"You two better keep your word."

"You've been abducting people for money and you're questioning our honesty?"
 * - Loomis and T'Pol

"Those creatures – the lizard-people – they're around here somewhere. You gotta find 'em!"

"No problem. We'll get right on that."

"Be careful. Be careful. They got ray-guns."

"Yeah, ray-guns. Got it."
 * - Loomis and his arresting officer

Background Information

 * John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox), Anthony Montgomery (Ensign Travis Mayweather), and Linda Park (Ensign Hoshi Sato) do not appear in this episode. Dominic Keating (Lieutenant Malcolm Reed) does not appear on screen, but has several voiceover lines at the end of the episode.
 * This episode does not feature any scenes shot on the bridge, in sickbay, or in engineering.
 * Leland Orser previously played Gai, Lovok and Dejaren.
 * This is the first episode of any Star Trek series to be rated TV-14 in the United States, because a small part of the plot involving drugs and prostitution.
 * The idea of characters coming back to the same time period as the real-life filming is similar to, , and . In this instance, "Carpenter Street" was filmed and aired in 2003 and Archer and T'Pol travel back to the then future year of 2004.
 * The civilian costume worn by Jolene Blalock was auctioned off in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction.
 * The truck "borrowed" by Archer and T'Pol happens to be the same color and type as the one used by Tom Paris and Tuvok in the episode.
 * Although this episode takes place in Detroit, in reality, most scenes were filmed on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Notably, the final shot with the police cruisers features hills in the distance; Detroit has no such hills.
 * There are many references to the 1978 horror film . The title, and street name, is a reference to director . Loomis is a reference to Dr. Sam Loomis played by . Lawrence Strode is a reference to Laurie Strode played by . Loomis talks about a "Mr. Myers," a reference to the infamous killer . Loomis drives an old station wagon much like the one Myers drives.
 * T'Pol asking Archer if he is familiar with driving a truck recalls a similar line in, where T'Pol asks Tucker if he knows how to ride a horse. In both instances, the officer doesn't, but assumes that their past experience will be sufficient.
 * Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played Damron in this episode, stated in 2012 to Entertainment Weekly that he only took the role because he needed some money to pay his bills. He recalled the experience of playing a Xindi-Reptilian was not pleasant for him at all, remembering that he had to stick straws in his nose to breathe, was claustrophobic the entire time and that he couldn't eat. He remembered going to his home in tears and claimed he nearly quit acting because of his experience on Enterprise. (Entertainment Weekly, issue #1201, pg. 65)
 * In some scenes between Archer and T'Pol which take place in the stolen truck, the rear-view mirror is noticeably missing. This is a common technique when filming television episodes or movies, so the camera and filming crew do not show up in the mirror.

Main cast

 * Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer
 * John Billingsley as Doctor Phlox (does not appear)
 * Jolene Blalock as Subcommander T'Pol
 * Dominic Keating as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed (com voice only)
 * Anthony Montgomery as Ensign Travis Mayweather (does not appear)
 * Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato(does not appear)
 * Connor Trinneer as Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III

Guest stars

 * Leland Orser as Loomis
 * Matt Winston as Daniels
 * Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Damron

Co-stars

 * Michael Childers as Strode
 * Donna DuPlantier as Prostitute #2
 * Billy Mayo as Officer #1
 * Dan Warner as Officer #2
 * Erin Cummings as Prostitute #1

Uncredited co-stars

 * Tom Morga as a Xindi-Reptilian guard
 * Breezy or Windy as Porthos
 * Unknown actor as Xindi-Reptilian guard 2

Timeline references
30th century; 2002; 2004; 2061; 2154; 1970s

Carpenter Street Carpenter Street (Episode) Carpenter Street Carpenter Street (épisode) ja:ENT:デトロイト2004 Carpenter Street