EPISODE: "Carpenter Street" PROD#: ENT063 TRAN#: 3.11 RATING: 14-V AIRDATE: wed-25-nov-2003-20:00 EPDATE: [not stated; 2154, 2004] OFFICIAL: startrek.com/startrek/view/series/ENT/episode/3256.html FROM: Phillip Thorne, thorne@underbase.org POST-TO: rec.arts.startrek.current, .reviews, .tech, rec.arts.sf.tv REVIEW#: 54.0 FORMAT#: 5.0 URL: underbase.org/dept/trek/ent000_title.txt I. INTRODUCTION This document focuses on the technical aspects of a current episode; it is intended to support discussion, and to later serve as a reference; it accordingly contains PLOT SPOILERS, so CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Whenever possible, it indicates who did/claimed/knew what, because characters can lie or be mistaken. Spellings of technobabble and alien nouns are obtained from TV closed-captioning ("CC") -- which is imperfect: it may not match spoken dialogue, or the website, or be consistent within or between eps. In the Synopsis, I may condense or reorder scenes. If you have corrections or clarifications, please contact me, and I'll (eventually) make corrections. Abbreviations commonly used: -(m/f/?) name belongs to mel/fem/unclear, (os) on [viewer] screen, (vo) voiceover, -(?) quote is uncertain, -(sp?) spelling is unclear; VDB Vulcan database, VHC Vulcan High Command, XDB Xindi database; series: TOS TAS TNG DS9 VGR ENT. Although CC uses "Launch Bay," "Sick Bay," and "shuttle pod," I often condense those terms to single words. "Star Trek" and all related indicia are copyrights of Paramount Pictures, while this overview is (c)2003 Phillip Thorne. Feel free to use this document as a reference, but please give credit where due. ** Just one week until PHILCON, the major annual generalist ** ** SF con of the Philadelphia area. It includes Star Trek ** ** panels! Also anime, art, books, costuming, and stuff for ** ** the kids. December 12th-14th, info at www.philcon.org ** II. TERMINOLOGY TECHNICAL: temporal tags, Starfleet database, neutronic power source, temporal beacon, scanner, delta band frequency TECHNICAL/ENTERPRISE: Command Center, Cargo Bay 2 BIOLOGICAL: methohezital(cc), blood types, viral agent, bio-reactor LOCATIONS, POLITIES and ORGANIZATIONS: Detroit, American Wrecking Company, Carpenter Street, Burgerland III. ANALYSIS 1. What we get... ENT's location (90 Ly from Earth). 2. What we don't get... Specific dates. 3. The shirtless files... None. T'Pol wears her blue pajamas. 4. Arcs... The Xindi bio-weapon, time travel, Daniels. 5. Links... Daniels appears in 111-"Cold Front", and 126/201- "Shockwave"; is mentioned in 203-"Minefield" and 216-"Future Tense"; his quarters appear in 119-"Acquisition" and 216. 6. So, Archer and T'Pol are guilty of grand theft auto, theft, breaking and entering, assault and battery, unlicensed use of firearms within city limits, and littering. 7. Archer speaks of both a "toxin" and a "viral agent," but he really has no idea of the nature of the Xindi bio-weapon -- when he first began speaking, he hadn't yet scanned the bio-reactor; and we don't know if his scanner *can* differentiate the two. 8. T'Pol's Vulcan scanner has a range (at least to detect Xindi bio-signs) of 3 km. A Starfleet scanner can remote-interface with 20cen electronics, such as ATMs and automobile locks and ignitions. (Archer had no chance to surf TV channels.) 9. Daniels gives Archer a box of blue-glowing "temporal tags" to mark anachronistic items; the Xindi (only one?) wore disc-shaped belt devices as "temporal beacons." See also: 1993's TV series "Time Trax," in which agent Darien Lambert shot temporal refugees with "blue pellets" to trigger their return to the future; and "Babylon 5":"War Without End" in which the characters wear disc- shaped "time stabilizers" on a mission to their past. 10. Methohexital (the CC is misspelled) is a short-acting barbituate sedative (general anesthetic), sold under a variety of brand names. It's typically administered rectally, although it can be injected intramuscularly (as Loomis does). It's unclear why a blood bank would carry a supply. http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/anesthesia/ProceduralSedation/Methohexital.html http://www.drugs.com/xq/cfm/pageID_0/htm_203043/type_cons/bn_Methohexital/micr_medex/qx/index.htm http://leda.lycaeum.org/?ID=449 11. The "eight blood types" checked by the Xindi are the ones listed on blood-donor cards, and reflect two sets of antigens expressed on the surface of red blood cells (and only on RBCs) ("erythrocytes"). They're important because the presence of an alien factor in donated blood can trigger an immune response in the recipient. (Conversely, a large volume of blood, if the immune cells aren't removed, can attack the recipient; a "graft versus host" reaction.) Vulcans are typically precise when reporting numeric figures. That T'Pol implied the six blood types accounted for "three- quarters" of humanity indicates she's not aware of 21cen distribution. This varies by ethnic group, but in the European and American (mostly caucasian) populations it is: O+ .38 A+ .34 B+ .08 AB+ .04 O- .07 A- .06 B- .02 AB- .01 The two groups not collected were B-negative (Archer) and AB- positive. The ABO blood group is the phenotype of a gene with three alleles: A, B and O, in which only the first two express proteins. Since one allele is inherited from each parent, a person can express neither (genotype OO), a matched set (AA and BB), or a mix (AB) of the proteins. The ABO group was elucidated by the Austrian Doctor Karl Landsteiner (1868-1943), for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize (in Physiology or Medicine) in 1930. The "negative or positive" is an indicator of the "Rh factor" (from "rhesus monkey," from whose blood Landsteiner first isolated it). It's significant to pregnant women: if an Rh-negative mother carries an Rh-positive fetus (the fetus having inherited the factor from the father), she'll develop antibodies against the Rh factor, which will attack the blood of a subsequent Rh-positive fetus, causing "erythroblastosis fetalis." There are hundreds of additional, minor, blood factors. Although they aren't listed on blood donor cards, the entire gamut is scrutinized before blood transfusions; hence, the term "universal donor" for O-negative has been discarded. Similar factors, called "histocompatibility antigens" (there are four groups: A through D) must be considered with organ transplants. http://www.bloodbook.com/world-abo.html http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1930/index.html Van De Graaff and Fox, _Concepts of Human Anatomy and Physiology_, 1986 IV. NITS 1. T'Pol's an avowed skeptic of time-travel. Why would she suspect the Xindi would be wearing temporal beacons, and how could she guess they'd be detectable on the delta band? V. THIRD-PARTY COMMENTS 1. Observations on blood typing by: "Frank 'Observer'", "RRT", "Manky Badger", "BlakGard", and Cory C. Albrecht. 2. Speculations about time travel by "DM", Timo Saloniemi, Tim Martin, David B. Cory C. Albrecht, Joseph Nebus, Chris Basken, David Johnston, Victor Wong, Mike Dicenso and Graham Kennedy. VI. EPISODE SYNOPSIS TEASER: Detroit, 2004, night: a man (LOOMIS) parks his station wagon and climbs to his squalid apartment. He gets a phone call. The caller is a Xindi-Reptilian. ACT 1: Night: Loomis picks up a hooker who had, earlier that day, visited the clinic where he works. He subdues her (with chloroform or the like). "They said they won't hurt you," he says to himself as he injects a (sedative?) into her left arm. He brings her to a building ("American Wrecking Company"), and drags her into a room lined with eight beds -- four of them already occupied. He inserts an IV drip and attaches two EEG pads, then retrieves his payment ($5000 in a briefcase) and leaves. The galley, night: from a set of stacked bins, Archer retrieves a bag of cheese for Porthos (and something else unidentifiable). He turns to see DANIELS. "It's about time you showed up ... Maybe you can fill in a few of the blanks for me." Daniels claims that history mentions nothing of a Human-Xindi conflict; Archer is currently experiencing the result of "temporal incursions," and "the outcome hasn't reached us yet ... it takes a while for the changes to ripple through the timeline." He doesn't know if Archer's "crucial player in history" involves this. The captain points out that it was the Suliban's "Time Traveller" who told him of the Xindi; Daniels casually answers that there's no reason to disbelieve him. Three Xindi have been detected in "Detroit, Michigan, 150 years ago." Archer awakes T'Pol (blue PJs): "I think all your doubts about time travel are about to go out the window." (Porthos pads in to sit on her floor cushions.) She's skeptical of Daniels' story, but Archer relays the agent's explanations: there are time- consuming "clearances" Daniels obtained to interact with Archer; it would take even longer to get permission to attend to the 21cen himself, and the Xindi have already been there "two months." Anyway: he's been recruited to resolve the problem, and can bring only one other; they're to show up in the Command Center at 08:00 for their trip to "2004." Archer briefs Tucker on the mission, and orders him to cover for their absence. He shows him a hinged box containing a signalling device for their return, and a set of blue-glowing "temporal tags" to retrieve other items. T'Pol arrives, her hair styled to conceal her ears. The two step into the Command Center -- and onto a Detroit sidewalk at night, "90 light years" away and "150 years" into the past. "Forgive me if I'm not entirely convinced," says the Vulcan. ACT 2: Archer scans a line of parked cars for one without an alarm, then remote-activates the (presumably electronic) locks -- but T'Pol notices the boot immobilizing the vehicle. The second car contains a noisy dog; the third (a pickup with ladders on top) is unoccupied. He remote-activates the ignition, then scrambles to silence the blaring radio. "Have you ever operated a vehicle from this period?" T'Pol asks. "I can pilot a starship," he answers, then: "R N D two three four; foot controls." T'Pol suggests second, then headlights. T'Pol has loaded her Vulcan scanner with a 2002 map, "the closest I could find in the Starfleet database." Given her 3-km scanning radius, she's plotted an 80-km search grid. Archer recognizes the low fuel warning, and finds them an ATM for some cash; he hacks it with his scanner. "People used to go to jail for this," he comments grimly. Loomis cons a paraplegic blood donor ("LAWRENCE STRODE") in #602 to come with him. T'Pol finds the building: three Xindi and five human bio-signs. Archer orders their phase-pistols set to kill; stun had no effect in their last encounter with XR. He detects a "neutronic power source." They witness Loomis' arrival. Loomis wrestles Strode onto the bed, and notices his customary payment's absence. He warns that the cops might solve the disappearances soon, and advises a delay; the lead Xindi (concealed in the shadows) insists that the last two arrive by tomorrow -- and as incentive, offers to double the fee. Loomis returns to his apartment and starts paging through file folders. Archer arrives, and kicks in the door. Loomis flees down the fire escape, but T'Pol neck-pinches him. ACT 3: They interrogate him; Loomis assumes they're cops. He admits he works at the "blood bank on Porter Street," and claims he stole the vials of "methohezital"(cc) to sell on the street; but denies any connection to Carpenter Street. Archer orders T'Pol to untie the prisoner, then punches him. "You're not allowed to hit me," he complains miserably. He says his contact claimed he was a doctor working on a vaccine, needs all eight blood types, and offered $5000 for each; he only tonight realized he might be a terrorist; and he's never seen him clearly. "In one individual we've managed to find the worse qualities of this era," observes T'Pol: "Greed, violence, moral corruption." Archer decides to infiltrate the base as Victim Number Seven. Archer drives them back to Carpenter Street in Loomis' car. At his insistence, they stop at a "Burgerland" drive-through. Loomis drops a fragment of meat on T'Pol's leg; she gingerly discards it through the window. Archer feigns unconsciousness as Loomis wheels him into place and hooks him up (without disinfecting his arm), then whispers to him that blood samples are taken every hour, and sedative administered every six. He's B-negative; the last would be AB-positive. Two Xindi arrive and take "45 milliliters" from Archer's neck (after swabing it). They leave; he gets up, and scans. Loomis returns to his car, where T'Pol lies concealed. "Nice ray gun," he sneers to T'Pol; she demonstrates it on the driver's door lining. They drive off to wait; Loomis lights a cigarette. "Extinguish that now," says T'Pol, sounding near panic; she puts the gun to his head when he's slow to comply. Archer observes the makeshift Xindi lab from cover of an overhead catwalk. He calls T'Pol, reports that they're "synthesizing some kind of viral agent" in a "bio-reactor." She suggests destroying whatever "temporal beacon" they're carrying; he can locate it by adjusting his "scanner" to a "delta band frequency." He does so, and shoots at the disc-shaped device on one Xindi's belt He disables #3, while the other two return fire (handguns that fire green beams). They escape out the "west" door (labeled "22"); Archer advises T'Pol. ACT 4: T'Pol directs Loomis to drive to a position opposite the alley where the Xindi will emerge, but he ruins the ambush by sounding the horn; but while distracted, zaps #2 in the neck. Meanwhile, Loomis tries to stab T'Pol (with a switchblade concealed in the seat), but she deflects the blow and stuns him (beep beep with side button). She joins Archer, climbing to a rooftop in pursuit. The Xindi removes the inner vial from the cylinder (it glows yellow and has red lights at the base). From cover, Archer points out that it's only been modified for six blood types; if released now, it won't kill all humans. T'Pol replies that, with his return route destroyed, he may have no choice; and humanity will pose little future threat if "three-quarters" are destroyed. She lays down covering fire as the captain sneaks around, leaps an alley, and confronts the Xindi from atop a shed. "We won't allow you to destroy us. Your species is doomed," defiantly declares the alien, then dives for the cylinder. Archer zaps him; he falls and shoves the container; Archer lunges and grabs it just as it's rolling off the roof. Later, he tags the Xindi. BACK IN THE FUTURE: Archer and T'Pol step from the Center, only a moment after leaving; Tucker's still perusing the duty roster PADD. Archer calls Mayweather down, orders the loot stashed in "Cargo Bay 2," then rushes off to Phlox with the bio-cylinder. T'Pol shows Tucker the room, now crammed with three Xindi, the bio-reactor and its control console. Detroit, 2004, morning. Three police cruisers arrive, and two officers arrest Loomis, still stun-groggy. "Those creatures... the lizard-people, you've got to find them," he mutters. "Be careful, they've got ray-guns." The officer shoves him into the cruiser. "Yeah, ray-guns. Got it." VII. SFX SHOTS Ent at impulse, dorsal. Ent at impulse, ventral. VIII. PRODUCTION REGULAR CAST: Scott Bakula as Cpt. Jonathan Archer Connor Trinneer as LtCdr. Charles Tucker III Jolene Blalock as Sub-commander T'Pol Dominic Keating as Lt. Malcolm Reed [one voiceover line] [x Anthony Montgomery as Ens. Travis Mayweather] [x Linda Park as Ens. Hoshi Sato] [x John Billingsley as Dr. Phlox] Porthos GUEST CAST: Matt Winston as Daniels Leland Orser as Loomis Michael Childers as [Lawrence] Strode [Victim #6] Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Xindi-Reptilian #1 [Somebodies as Xindi-Reptilians #2 & #3, no lines] Erin Cummings as Prostitute #1 Donna DuPlantier as Prostitute #2 [Victim #5] [And four other people as Victims #1-#4, no lines] Billy Mayo as Officer #1 Dan Warner as Officer #2 CREATIVE STAFF: Directed by Mike Vejar Written by Rick Berman & Brannon Braga NEXT WEEK: Repeats. On 14-jan-2004, 064/3.12-"Chosen Realm" sees ENTERPRISE's mission delayed when religious zealots hijack it as a weapon. In "Proving Ground," Shran arrives with Andorian reinforcements. In "Strategem," Archer tries his interrogation skills on Degra, designer of the Weapon.