Star Trek Retro Review: "Carpenter Street" | Time Travel Episodes

[@Diego-zz1df]

The long-term purpose of the episode is to show that the reptilians and the sphere-builders were working behind the backs of the other xindi and that the sphere-builders are capable of time travel and are manipulating the timeline.

[@benroberts2222]

Yep, I think it serves only to provide the protagonists with physical evidence (via woo-ey "quantum dating") to get some of the Xindi on their side. It's highly contrived to achieve that so it stands poorly on its own

[@scaper8]

I agree, but I will say that it fails to _feel_ connected. That's more of a problem to me. Even if it was a one off, but they had managed to make it feel connected, it would have worked better. Having the episode actually tie-in in interesting ways but feel like it does is almost an accomplishment in and of itself.

[@tbirdguy1]

Yeah but... we already knew most of this. Also, whats to stop the Sphere builders from just doing this again in like five minutes? The problem with time travel episodes like this is that they only cheapen the idea of Time Travel, and make it less special when we see it pop up again.

[@alexgoebel7462]

Steve! You've missed an important bit of trivia. This episode is credited with nearly ending the career of one Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen, Walking Dead) who played one of the Xindi Reptilians. According to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, having done some work on Voyager, and low on cash, he took the job figuring he would speak some lines, and go home, but was horrified when they started pouring molds of his face, and trapped him in poor fitting prosthetics. They also denied him lunch, saying it would ruin the make up, and he had claustrophobic attacks throughout the day due to having to breathe through straws placed in the nose prosthetics. On the subway home, in his own words, he broke down and cried, and said he would never act again. Fortunately, not the case!

[@TiffanyStarrxxx]

Oh wow. I had no idea he was in this episode. Thanks for this

[@margeryk000]

I always found it unbelievable that Archer knew how to drive a car and navigate the streets of Detroit.

[@scaper8]

Or that the weird kinda-gas-pump symbol meant "fuel level." He said, ""It looks like a fuel pump," only, not really. Yeah kinda, and also possible a dozen other things.

[@davidpumpkinsjr.5108]

T'Pol had a map.

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

They also made no effort to make California look like Michigan. Among other things - there are no mountains visible from Detroit. I grew up in Michigan and my brothers and I found the blatant "California doubling" hilarious. If you're not going to make the effort, just set it in Los Angeles. Midwesterners are used to being flyover country. It doesn't really bother us anymore. Well, it doesn't bother the people who watch Star Trek, anyway.

[@mattyodotcomchannel]

As a Detroiter, I immediately noticed the MOUNTAINS in the background when Loomis was being arrested. No mountains here; only litter-strewn, Illich-family-owned parking lots. Also, I can't bring myself to hate ANYTHING about the Xindi arc.

[@ATADSP]

It's a minor point overall, but with the listed blood types the Xindi had in this episode the virus would have killed like 94% of the human population, not 75% because it turns out that blood type distribution is not evenly divided amongst the blood types.

[@KristopherBel]

Came to the comments to see if anyone else pointed it out, I remember looking it up when I first saw the episode.

[@williamblakehall5566]

For what it's worth, you inspired me to try some Googling. Berman and Braga wrote this themselves, pleased by the "easy" production values. Jeffrey Dean Morgan played the Xindi and found that to be a deeply alienating (no, that is more than just a pun) experience. It got the lowest ratings of any third season episode, though that got attributed to people traveling for Thanksgiving at the time.

[@gemglowsticks]

Hey Steve!. The situation of the episode concludes when Archer meets with the Xindi counsel and uses the bio weapon of proof of the Reptilians deception. That's probably why Daniels had Archer go back instead of him and his people.

[@sinswhisper9588]

that sesame street call back theme song was awesome ... hit me with all the nostalgia for my very young formative years

[@princemasai472]

As a nearly lifelong resident of Detroit, the thing that pulled me out the most was the fact that it obviously wasn't filmed in Detroit. Apparently, they felt that Downtown L.A. at night could be used as a replacement. It would have been better if they went to Toronto, which has a closer midwest sensibility. That's what didn't do it, for me at least. I've alway wondered why they just didn't just say it was L.A. All of your points were valid which , along with the setting, makes this episode one of the weaker ones of Enterprise.

[@johnchedsey1306]

I don't know if you remember the show Jericho, but it was supposedly set in western Kansas, one of the flattest places in the country. But it was filmed in California so there huge hills and mountains all over. I loved the premise of that show but man, being filmed in the wrong geography did occasionally take me out of the show.

[@brad9189]

When it first aired, I remember thinking how easily Archer drove a car designed a century and a half earlier. Hell, the last time I rented a car, it took me twenty minutes to figure out all the new-fangled gizmos my old Corolla doesn't have.

[@tonygilbert5256]

I thought this episode was inoffensive. It was one of those episodes that was just there to go along for the ride. The one thing I noticed in this episode and some of the other episodes from Enterprise is that they really have more of a mid to late 90s feeling then an early 2000's feeling. I can't quite put my finger on it, but this episode in particular feels like something I would see in your run of the mill average action show rather than something from a Star Trek show in the early 2000s.

[@WFierce]

The craziest part of the plan is that it *relies* on Archer letting himself get stabbed by the Xindi without flinching and it works!

[@oren1neu1dag]

Unpopular Opinion: I actually did enjoy watching this episode because it proves to be essential (to my mind at least) the overall arch-story of the season that those extra-dimensional beings (a.k.a. "The Sphere Builders") have zero care for the Xindi and anyone else for that matter that lives within the expanse, and, their only reason to engage with the Xindi is to use them as a tool and a weapon to further their interest in creating a livable universe within our realm. Now sure, the episode itself is quite dull, but the findings that the leadership of the Enterprise collect at the end of the episode do turn out to be essential for the next episodes of the season (such as "Azati Prime" and "The Council").

[@johncattley5919]

There’s nothing like a good time travel episode. This was nothing like a good time travel episode.

[@Greezy42]

Loved Time Trax! I sometimes still pretend my keyfob is a Pellet Projection Tube.

[@roxtonpascoe3131]

Can we get more skits showing the most thankless jobs in starfleet...lawyer, janitor, etc. Maybe a skit about the guy/gal who has to clean the dolphin tanks or the person who has to shine up all the photon torpedoes when they get smuches! Please and thank you!!!

[@FailSonOfAnarchy]

I like how the virus is glowing Ed Repka acid green.

[@John73John]

Just started the video, but I just wanted to pop down to the comments to say I think Steve should start every video with a song.

[@mitchellforney6109]

Agree with the uncanny feeling. Look at the cars, clothes, sets, and props. None of it looks 2004. Loomis' outfit is like something from the '70s that someone from the '90s would've picked up from a 2nd hand store ironically. And the phone he talks to the Xindi with is an old cordless landline from like 1989 or so. In '04 he should have had a flip phone at least. And the cars are all wrong. There are a few more contemporary looking rounded lozenge style cars, but way too many '70s-'80s looking boxy beaters.

[@ZiddersRooFurry]

@@Keithustus Only they filmed it in LA.

[@ianmcewan8851]

Time Trax! and for some reasons I'm also thinking Trancers....

[@ZiddersRooFurry]

Apparently, it was filler meant to tie the season's plot points together in as cheap a way as possible. The feeling you have about it being off is probably because it was filmed in LA and not Detroit, had a bunch of costumes, props, and vehicles not period-accurate, and just wasn't all that interesting. IMO what City on the Edge of Forever feel more period-accurate is because much of past and modern audiences idea of what the 30's and 40's look like comes from films and TV shows of those eras. Because a lot of the movies and shows from back then were filmed on those same sets using those same costumes, etc they didn't have as much of an issue making it look and feel right. A better idea would have been to have set it in late-90's L.A. It would have made more sense costume-wise, looked right, and they could have had a bit of fun satirizing Hollywood pop culture. Some of it would have been cringe for sure but at least it would have been interesting. I even have a name for it-City on the Edge of Dreams. They could have wandered onto the set of a sci-fi film being made and had some commentary about the human spirit always looking forward and upward despite the bleakness of the period and the troubled times they knew lay ahead. It would have been a great way of addressing all the real-world conflict and darkness facing the immediate post-9/11 audience.

[@billvick293]

Oh My God I thought No one else remembered Time Trax!! I loved that show. It and new Kung Fu came out the same time!

[@lgoamity]

Don't knock...Trying to beat the McDonald's Breakfast Cutoff. It was a thing until just the last few years...

[@davidpumpkinsjr.5108]

I like how Archer's assertion that he can drive a car because he can pilot a starship mirrors how earlier in the season, Trip assumed he could ride a horse because he's seen Westerns.

[@ThisIsMeAndNotYou]

900! I did it! 🎉 the force is strong with me.

[@RhapsosProductions]

There are times that I get scared how much I think like Steve, and opening with a parody song is something I know I've done!

[@punditsponge]

"Verisimilitude" is the term for what the episode lacks. And the way you felt about this episode ("why are we here?") is how I felt about anything related to the Temporal Cold War on Enterprise -- and why I do think it's ultimately worse than Voyager.

[@kaitlyn__L]

And I think the writers had no interest in telling the temporal stuff any better, since it was forced on them by Paramount execs. They wanted a straight prequel.

[@ArcherNX1701]

LOL loved the Time Trax reference! I enjoyed that show! 😂

[@puffapuffarice]

Well pointed out! So many of the MEH episodes on all Trek series are essentially versions of Huckleberry Hound cartoons. I'm not sure where this one aligns with Huckleberry cannon, but I know it's there somewheres.

[@La_Roo]

Congratulations on 150k!

[@BobSperber]

@7:50 “ a real person, living a real life” and ordering a burger with nothing to drink… I disagree. The guy was obviously one of those people who are so down on your luck they give blood to pay rent. AND: if I’m so starving and hard up for food, I order a fast food burger, I never order a sugar/chemical carbonated drink with it. does that make ME not real, Mister?🤓

[@KristopherBel]

But archer is a starship captain and they just stole all that money from the atm. He is the one who steve thinks it is weird dint order a drink. Loomis orders a combo.

[@StonedWidowOnDoom]

Reading the comments while listening to your opinion. I have a totally opposite view. When I watched Enterprise the first time, I was lost in all the temporal conflict and Xindi arc. I wasn't able to watch the show every week on TV, therefore a lot of the story was missing to me. This episode was so simple. I was able to follow it, and it had nothing to do with anything else, and therefore was a nice relief. Like the monster of the week episodes in X-Files. I can't even remember, if I knew the Reptilians were, part of the Xindi. Bad aliens travel back in time to do some bad stuff, good people follow and stop them, making comments about how ignorant the present is. All leave unnoticed. The End. There are action series out there having similar incidences and still f it up. I rewatched all Star Trek series during 2020. This episode was still a relief. Being able to watch the series in full. In my opinion, the show had its strongest points in almost standalone episodes with short arcs or at the end, when the Protofederation formed and the Romulan War was looming on the horizon. That was the promise of the show, anyway. I have no clue why the show just took these key moments in Star Trek history and ran with it. I can understand all the comments, and it is fine for me having a different view. Since, I had a different experience with the series anyway. Never was a fan of time travel episodes in Star Trek, with some exceptions, like this little rough gem. :D

[@philiusmaximus6517]

Looking forward to the labour rights reviews! So happy I actually clapped my hand in applause.

[@TheDarthEddie]

Ah, the episode that made Conan O'Brien canon in the Star Trek universe. That alone made this worth the watch.

[@malonius5]

Haha I get the weird uncanny sense about their "2004" as well

[@lasercatsproductions]

On the bright side, Archer and T'Pol getting startled by the car's radio raping their ears with "SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!" will always be a funny scene

[@Kyronea]

Spot on review, mate. The only thing I ever liked about this episode was that the name felt vaguely like it was including a cousin of mine in it because her last name was Carpenter, and she was all excited over it at the time because she loved Enterprise. It was pretty forgettable at best though.

[@chrisblake4198]

They should have used the same framing device SNW used-- Just as Daniels shows up, time changes around them and the crew, wiping out everyone from partial list of blood types. Only T'Pol and Travis can be held in a bubble to remember their timeline. Daniels explains their mission will now be the second attempt, after Archer failed to stop the near complete virus. Spread out the sequence of events such that Loomis betrayed Archer and left him unconscious with the Xindi the day before. The ending becomes a byplay of a much more sinister Loomis working to fool the crew members and them catching him out just in time, and also rescuing Archer so he and Travis together can succeed, instead of what would have happened-- a groggy Archer trying and failing to stop the release.

[@lessonslearned2569]

This review felt like Steve said to himself, "Well eff it! I said I was going to review Old Trek's time traveling episodes so...."

[@voxymandias441]

Dude I loved Time Traxx so much.

[@GeeYouEye]

I expect Daniels was lying about why it had to be Archer and T'Pol to go back, especially in light of the revelation in "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" that the Romulans just have a big computer simulation tell them who needs to go where and when to do whatever. It's very likely that the 29th century Federation has the same thing, but given the lack of urgency in their departure time, that revelation could have opened up some very uncomfortable questions that Daniels would rather have avoided answering, so he made up a sufficiently relatable story for T'Pol.

[@Cmdr1962]

So much late 90s/early 00s Trek is a blur in my mind. I've not gone back and rewatched most of it.

[@MaceyMichael]

I always asked myself why abduct people in the first place? Loomis works at a bloodbank. He could take the blood samples from there much easier.

[@williamjackson6705]

I actually liked this one Steve. I liked seeing T'pol & Archer in a fish out of water scenario. It was clearly a bottle show to save money for big battle scenes later in the season, but Leland Orser's performance won Me over. Plus, T'Pol started to believe in time travel.

[@andrwblood9162]

That Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow episode from SNW has a lot of the same bones as Carpenter Street. Now that I think about it, both episodes seem like they're evolving the general plot of City on the Edge of Forever. Obviously, they all are very different from each other... but plot beats are the same. The quality of the more recent episodes here are definitely an issue, as they don't really compare well with the TOS episode.

[@Stardust_7273]

I gotta admit, this episode is a guilty pleasure for me.

[@jasonbrock2681]

I have a soft spot for the drive thru scene, because Archer orders his burger ketchup only. Us picky eaters gotta stick together.

[@mcgretzinger]

Weirdly, this review makes me wish that Carbon Creek had been a time-travel episode, and that you had reviewed it, so that there might be even a chance that you could give a good review to an Enterprise episode (it's a show I'm quite fond of, despite its flaws). Alas, not the case.

[@theredheadproject]

I used to love Time Trax as a kid!

[@robinburt5735]

A like just for your little song :) (i probably would've liked it anyway though)

[@josephedwardgovan3262]

I wonder if the time it was made has anything to do with the plotting issues. What with it being post 911 and in the middle of the bioterrorism scares. Perhaps some studio execs scuppered the idea that any kind of bioattack, not even a sci-fi one, would have any chance of succeeding so as not to cause a negative reaction in a paranoid audience. Hell, thinking about it, a contemporary setting for that kind of story may have been very risky at the time.

[@AmberAge]

I know exactly what you mean about it feeling slightly uncanny… it feels like it was filmed on the Paramount backlot, and until I looked it up, I actually thought it was. The whole place doesn't feel, for lack of a better word, lived in.

[@distantcomets]

Yes! Labor! How many weeks do I have to FFWD until we get to Rom organizing the Dabo Girls in DS9?

[@PassportKings]

It all felt like it was "on set." I agree.

[@tbirdguy1]

The best thing anyone can say about this episode... it's an episode of Star Trek. It's the problem a lot of Enterprise had. It just exists, without anything interesting to say. A lot of this could have been much more interesting if they had changed the antagonists, added a theme say about the tragedy of the individual being lost amidst the chaos of the pace of technological progress. Loomis could have been a lost man doing bad things to help his family through a depression, living in an economically depressed area because of WW3 and the devastation it brought to humankind. That the Xindi, while evil, may not have always been so, that perhaps we are more alike then we realize. Tpol could have learned more about the origin of Human beings and how the devastation of Vulcan was similar to humanities, and that she should be more empathetic with their failings. But like you said the plot never goes anywhere... it just lays there like an over ripe banana, not enough to make banana bread, too ripe to eat, and not rotten enough to warrant throwing away.

[@patrickdodds7162]

"Carpenter Street" takes the bizarre premise of being-conscripted-by-temporal-agents-from-the-future from Voyager's "Relativity" and then mashes it up with going back to an extremely inauthentic "present day" earth story from "Future's End" and...despite it all, I love it only because Leland Orser livens up the proceedings. He has such a strange and uncanny awesomeness to him that this episode is one of my favorites of Enterprise (which I often think of as a 4-season long test pattern).

[@DownriverRick]

Damn it Steve, now that song is stuck in my head

[@michelletheia9853]

I loved Time Trax as a kid!

[@joearnold6881]

Those doofy power ranger bad guys the zindi (xindi? Zindy? Idk) sure looked silly

[@jamesrowh4290]

I had completely forgotten this episode existed. And that's my best summery of it: not terrible, just forgettable.

[@DrDoom-ph4gi]

For the latest Star Trek SNW episode, look at the 1986 game “Starflight”. It’s not quite as clear a connection as “Those Who Walk Away From Omelas” but close.

[@Prickli2000]

I thought the point of this episode was to situate Archer's interrogation of Loomis in the modern day. There was a lot of 'hard men making hard decisions' stuff in _Enterprise_ and I was never sure whether it was being critiqued or promoted, but it seemed like Archer was crossing a line somehow in this episode.

[@kevinKronnack]

Weird, I just watched your "Enterprise Cold War" video that covered this episode, too ... which everyone should also check out!

[@alanbear6505]

Why T’Pol? If things go sideways you risk the locals getting proof of extraterrestrial life. That would seriously mess us the time line. Each of the humans in the case had skills that could potentially be useful so any one of them could have gone instead without that risk.

[@AndrewLakeUK]

I was wondering about the hate at the start. Sure it's not a great episode, but it had some good parts, and it was fun. My mind had transposed Carbon Creak and Carpenter Street, my bad. Carry on.

[@JKG52]

I never understood why this wasnt a two-parter. Like most other star trek shows, making their back in time episodes two-parters gave them some weight. I think they mention this virus again in a few episodes and I didn't remember it. In one ear and out the other.

[@sinswhisper9588]

did t'pals time travel story about vulcans on earth before first contact where velcro is 'invented' also have the same 'not believable' feeling for you?? im genuinely curios -- sorry i cant remember the name of it

[@BCBaron]

Carbon Creek

[@themindfulbeing]

Opening song is still better than "Faith of the Heart"

[@Peregrine57]

I think the main purpose for this episode, the reason Daniels chose Archer and T'Pol to stop the Xindi plot instead of fixing it himself, is because Daniels knew that Archer would need the Reptilian corpses and equipment to prove to Degra a few episodes later that the Reptilians have gone rogue, and the sphere builders can't be trusted. That's assuming, of course, that they'd actually planned that far ahead, and didn't just pick up some stray plot threads they'd left lying around. Also for the 2nd time this season, to illustrate Archer's frustration and desperation by having him go Jack Bauer on somebody. You're absolutely right that the episode by itself is kind of... meh. But it ends up becoming a linchpin of the arc.

[@ricaard]

I already knew he wouldn't like one my favourite episodes.

[@johnchedsey1306]

I rewatched ALL the Star Trek shows during the pandemic and one of my major takeaways was that 24-26 episode seasons of TV are just too much. The Xindi arc of Season 3 was pretty solid and had some great episodes, but it also felt like there were perhaps 4-6 episodes too many. If Carpenter Street had never existed, the Xindi arc story would have been just as complete. While not bad, it's just unnecessary, I guess. This just reminds me that I'm glad TV seasons are being condensed down to 10 episodes or so. Generally less risk of those filler episodes that occurred in each iteration of the non Modern Trek.

[@FordCooke]

Worst part of the episode is when Archer orders a burger with only ketchup on it.

[@allanolley4874]

To think I reviewed it on Carpenter Street.

[@MotherShipMedia]

The recent Tomorrow ... episode from SNW reminded me a lot of this one in the sense that the time they are trying to depict didn't feel authentic in many ways ...

[@saena971]

All of the 21st century scenes feel like they're playing out on a holodeck.

[@sammyflowproductions933]

I love this episode AND your channel! Weird, right?

[@artvandelay2873]

I totally fell the same way about this episode. Usually time travel episodes are really fun but that one just feels blah.

[@TazDevil50]

ah there is something that comes up to do with this ep as later they used this to try and stop the supper weapon from lurching

[@AxlePineapple]

not even a single quantum leap gag? you demonstrated far more restraint than i would have.

[@mikepavlik3159]

This is an example of the problem of the way we do TV. We get filler episodes, like this one, because it was made without re write. It was due, and they produced an episode to broadcast. I think.the British model is better, where they wrote a series, did it, 6 or 10 or whatever episodes, then tried to get together another series. I often think we need to make series length fot the story, rather than saying we need 26 ( or 24 etc) with no idea what story or stories will be told.

[@gaileverett]

You mean it should have been written as a single arc the way Discovery seasons were? That didn't work out too well.

[@johnpotts8308]

They could easily have made Loomis a conspiracy theorist to make him more interesting, "Well, it's probably some CIA Black Ops experiment they won't admit to!" (he could even reference the Tuskegee Experiment). Or they could have had him turn out to be more significant than they realised and that even though he was a villain, he led to some great breakthrough in the future so we had a "we have to let him go for the Greater Good" argument. But it just seems like a completely disposable episode.

[@LauchlinMacGregor]

Have you dobe Past Tense, DSN episode retro review? Didn't find it in search, but would be interested in your thoughts. If you did, sorry.

[@justinsheppherd1806]

Didn't see this episode. I gave up on Enterprise well before it aired. Given "Carpenter" and "Loomis", they should have aired it a few weeks earlier, for Halloween (I'm sure I'm not the first to notice that, but hey).

[@Xizor15]

Not a great episode, but the gag when Archer and T'pol order fast food through a drive-thru always gets a chuckle out of me.

[@OpinionsNoOneCaresAbout]

They're always taking the Vulcans back in time...playing "hide the ears", except it's not a sex thing.

[@chapablo]

A weapon designed to attack a specific species? Human trafficking? Aliens experimenting on human Did RFK Jr write this episode?

[@kaitlyn__L]

This episode always seemed really misanthropic to me. Or like they wanted to do a pastiche of some 80s B-movie about a serial abduction case. Like, all his victims are classic horror victims. (Sex workers, disabled people, old people.) But it doesn’t even try to make them compassionate or care about what happens to them at the end. I totally buy that the cops aren’t interested in investigating the disappearance of an old guy in a wheelchair tbh, but the rest of it like you say just has this veneer of fakery. It feels like a bad film’s interpretation of the 80s which just got shoved into 04 because of the tradition of Trek going back to when it was made. This is the only such episode/film I don’t like. You can feel the writers’ hands EVERYWHERE. I think we’re supposed to hate Loomis, and the ending seems like it’s supposed to be a happy one, but even that still feels misanthropic and dirty. The direction is also perfunctory, just like the plot. Early-00s Detroit, in the middle of the night, seemed like an excuse to not hire any extras or have anything going on. We don’t even see the dog which supposedly threatens Archer. There’s like 4 actors in this whole thing. Also sadly they did make it have consequences - for whatever reason they’re allowed to keep the future gear they took from Earth and it’s later instrumental in convincing the Xindi primates and aquatics to support humans 🤦‍♀️ just to really rub salt in the wound, and raise even more questions about the timeline.

[@mannymac82]

I think T’pal does make some social commentary about him abducting and selling humans. At the beginning we he says how much he is paid she says “So that is value of humans in this century?” Or something like that. She also made comments about how he was a morally reprehensible person.

[@jimlang7461]

Wait, new theme and you haven't done "Assignment: Earth" which I absolutely loved as an elementary school student when it first aired.

[@ctso74]

Visual mode, Selma.

[@RedShift323]

They should really just make a series about time travel and do the time cops/gangsters thing (who said Starfleet were the cops?). Maybe start by retconning "The Burn" and firmly putting Discovery in the 32nd century as if it was already there and that's how it's always been.

[@Bethos1247-Arne]

I remember this episode and yes, I found it is off. Not fitting Enterprise, Star Trek, or anything I expected. I was not invested in any of the guest characters. The hooker scene and everything felt like someone from that future time imagines how it was on Earth, based on incomplete information.

[@mgscheue]

As a semi-local, that sure doesn't look anything like Detroit.

[@LightOfZeon]

If season 3 of Enterprise is 9/11 inspired, this episode is that one or two months the new agencies wouldn't stop talking about dirty bombs.

[@michaelhall2709]

Literally, the one scene I remember from my one and only viewing of this episode was where our Starfleet stalwarts get themselves some drive-thru fast food. (I also seem to recall Archer sampling his burger with visible distaste, but maybe that’s a phantom memory.) No, not the Trek franchise’s worst episode by a long shot, but easily among its most forgettable.

[@BrianRRenfro]

I remember the first time I watched it I thought, "That just seemed like they went on a fun holodeck adventure story!" Kinda surprised Riker didn't pop up midway!

[@b33j4y]

Had to watch it after your review.. it flew by so I can't say it has bad pacing (I actually had to check if your review was longer than the episode). I think the reason it feels "off" and, rather alien, is that its a very sterile setting. Only 2 members of the regular cast + Leland Orser.. The Xindi or abductees don't really don't do anything of note - yeah.. very strange episode.

[@randallwong7196]

The scene of Archer, T'Pol, and the dude ( eating french fries ) in the car seemed.....pointless. Clearly T'Pol is turned off by the grease. There's nothing else with the scene. It just seems like pading for the episode.

[@darkhalf75]

It's one of those episodes i know I have seen but do not remember