22 years ago, Star Trek: Enterprise retconned Vulcan history with a flashback episode set in 1957 Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. Before 'Star Trek' was added to the prequel's title, Enterprise season 2, episode 2, "Carbon Creek," saw Subcommander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) regale Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) with the story of how her ancestor, T'Mir (also Jolene Blalock), and two Vulcan explorers, crashed in Pennsylvania and lived among humans undetected in the 1950s. While Archer and Trip take T'Pol's tale with a grain of salt, Enterprise strongly implies it's the truth.
Star Trek: Enterprise's "Carbon Creek" was produced 6 years after Star Trek: First Contact, which was essentially Star Trek's origin story. Director Jonathan Frakes' hit movie depicted Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-E time-traveling to 21st-century Bozeman, Montana. While Picard battled the Borg on the Enterprise, Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and his away team ensure Dr. Zephram Cochrane's (James Cromwell) historic first warp flight aboard the Phoenix happened on April 5, 2063. Cochrane's feat led to First Contact with the Vulcans, which changed the course of humanity toward exploring the stars.
Star Trek: Enterprise’s “Carbon Creek” Retcons When Vulcans Came To Earth
Vulcans were on Earth in 1957
According to T'Pol in Star Trek: Enterprise's "Carbon Creek," however, Vulcans actually first landed on Earth in 1957. A Vulcan survey team monitored the third rock from the sun because humans launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. Unfortunately, the Vulcans crashed just outside of Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania. While awaiting rescue, T'Mir, Mestral (J. Paul Boehmer), and Stron (Michael Krawic), lived among the people of Carbon Creek, who were unaware that three pointy-eared aliens from the planet Vulcan were in their midst.
Star Trek: Enterprise's "Carbon Creek" also altered Earth's history in a few other ways. When the Vulcans were able to make contact with their people for rescue, Mestral opted to remain behind on Earth. Mestral had become fascinated by humans, and he decided to spend the remainder of his life traveling Earth to witness Mankind's technological advancements. T'Mir lied to her superiors and said Mestral died on Earth, so he never returned to Vulcan. In order to help a boy named Jack (Hank Harris) pay for college, T'Mir also sold Velcro to a company in Pittsburgh. This retcons Velcro as a Vulcan invention that humans unwittingly purchased from aliens in Star Trek canon.
First Contact Day is a holiday in Star Trek
In Star Trek, First Contact Day is formally established as taking place on April 5, 2063 - 106 years after Vulcans crashed in Carbon Creek, Pennsylviania. April 5, 2063, is the day Zephram Cochrane completed his first warp flight on the Phoenix and met the Vulcans who landed on Earth to investigate, as seen in Star Trek: First Contact. However, the Vulcans already knew about T'Mir's experience living on Earth in 1957. T'Pol considers Carbon Creek the site of the true First Contact between humans and Vulcans, and "Carbon Creek's" ending in Star Trek: Enterprise indicates that T'Pol's version of history is, in fact, correct.
First Contact Day 2385 was the day rogue synthetics attacked Mars and killed 92,000 souls, a tragedy depicted in Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Prodigy.
According to T'Pol, "the incident" of Vulcans on Earth in 1958 is "well-documented" at the Vulcan Science Directorate and Space Council. However, the Vulcans concealed the truth about Carbon Creek from their human allies. Regardless, First Contact Day is formally celebrated in Star Trek canon on April 5, 2063. It's an Earth holiday where children stay home from school, and Bozeman, Montana's First Contact site became a theme park, as seen in Star Trek: Lower Decks. First Contact Day is also an annual event in the real world, and it is celebrated by Star Trek fans and Paramount, who use the occasion to deliver Star Trek news.
Enterprise’s “Carbon Creek” Is A Great Star Trek Episode
"Carbon Creek" broke Enterprise's mold
"Carbon Creek" is an excellent episode of Enterprise and one of the most memorable of the first Star Trek prequel series. Enterprise, which followed an episodic format for its first two seasons, took a break from exploring the galaxy to tell a charming flashback about Vulcans visiting Earth. "Carbon Creek" aired just three years after The Iron Giant, Brad Bird's animated film about an alien robot who came to Earth in 1957, and it evokes the same kind of nostalgia for the era of Sputnik and the Red Scare. "Carbon Creek" is one of Star Trek's finest episodes set in Earth's past.
Jolene Blalock also shined in her dual role of T'Pol and T'Mir in Star Trek: Enterprise's "Carbon Creek." Blalock got the unique opportunity to play the ancestor of her Star Trek character, and Enterprise's 1957-set flashback was a fascinating glimpse into real-world history melded with Star Trek's canon. Enterprise leaving the question open about how factual T'Pol's story is ends the episode on a fun note of wonder, although T'Pol actually having T'Mir's handbag gives credence to her tale.
Star Trek’s Prequel Movie Could Retcon Vulcan History Again
What is Untitled Star Trek Origin about?
Star Trek history could be on the verge of yet another retcon. Expected to premiere in theaters in 2026 is an Untitled Star Trek Origin movie directed by Toby Haynes. Untitled Star Trek Origin is a prequel set 'decades before' the 23rd century of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies, which approximately slots it within Star Trek: Enterprise's 22nd century. Haynes' Star Trek prequel movie is reportedly set mostly on Earth and will deal with humans encountering aliens and the origins of the Federation.
It's unclear when, exactly, Star Trek's untitled prequel movie takes place, but Vulcans and humans began working together after First Contact Day in 2063. Vulcans helped humans establish Starfleet and take steps to become a spacefaring species, although Star Trek: Enterprise also established that there was conflict with the Vulcans, who believed humans were not ready for the stars and withheld technology that could accelerate Starfleet's progress.
It's doubtful the events of "Carbon Creek" will factor into the Untitled Star Trek Origin movie.
How much Star Trek: Enterprise will be referenced in the Untitled Star Trek Origin movie remains to be seen. Enterprise was homaged in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Beyond, but the new Star Trek theatrical film is intended for wider audiences and may gloss over continuity from Star Trek: Enterprise. It's doubtful the events of "Carbon Creek" will factor into the Untitled Star Trek Origin movie, but Star Trek: Enterprise fans know Vulcans really landed on Earth in 1957, 106 years before the official First Contact Day in 2063.
