Carter, the Enforcer

“Carter, The Enforcer”
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) episode
Season Code:	9
Episode:	7
Original airdate
Written by	David Wise
Producers:
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Split-Second" "Doomquest"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1995 Season 1995 List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes

Episodes: "The Unknown Ninja" "Dregg of the Earth" "The Wrath of Medusa" "The New Mutation" "The Showdown" "Split-Second" "Carter, the Enforcer" "Doomquest" 1987 Season – 1988 Season – 1989 Season – 1990 Season – 1991 Season – 1992 Season – 1992-1993 Vacation in Europe sideseason – 1993 Season – 1994 Season – 1995 Season – 1996 Season

Carter, the Enforcer is a the seventh episode of season 9 of the 1987-1996 series. It originally aired at CBS on 28 October 1995.

Synopsis

Dregg claims to have detected alien activity on Earth, and reveals plans to build a Star Shield, a defensive platform that he claims will protect Earth from hostile alien invaders. Donatello concludes that it's probably going to be used to subdue the Earth. Though Raphael is angry about the way they're being treated by the humans, Splinter advises the Turtles that they must fight for their principles especially when the world is against them.

They head for where the Star Shield is being made, along with April and her minicam - and find that the Star Shield is almost complete. April successfully tapes a transmission from Dregg that exposes his real motivations, but they are discovered by by HiTech before any more evidence can be gathered. The Turtles are chased away by military police, and escape into the sewers.

April finds that the anti-Turtle sentiment is so strong that no news station will release the videotape of Dregg, even though it's quite obviously real. The Turtles decide that they have to transmit the tape one way or another, and head for a broadcasting tower that they can transmit from.

At the same time, Carter is cornered by the Technogang, but de-mutates in the middle of the fight and is captured. When he reappears, he appears to be in league with the Technogang, destroying April's videotape - and two strange people in futuristic clothing appear, attempting to shoot him down. Their names are Merrik and Landor, and they claim to be from twenty years in the future, where their research shows that Carter was actually a Dregg spy. Supporting this, Carter appears out of nowhere and fires repeatedly at them.

Merrik and Landor teleport them to a future version of New York. In twenty years, Dregg has won and rules the world, everything is in ruins, and the TechnoGang terrorize the humans who have survived. As Landor and Merrik show them Dregg's shipyard, the two time travelers are captured by the TechnoGang, forcing the Turtles to infiltrate the Command Central building.

Much to the Turtles' horror, the head enforcer of Dregg's army - and his scientific genius - is none other than Carter. Carter tries to kill them, forcing them into retreat, and a bitter Raphael says that now - except for April - not a single human in their time is on their side, and that humans brought it on themselves. Merrik reveals that in the past, the Turtles were killed by Carter and Dregg soon took over the Earth. Now the only way to stop the terrible future from coming to pass is to get the time device and send the Turtles back to their own time. Also, Donatello deduces that the Carter who tried to kill them wasn't the real Carter, since he was too strong and there's no sign of him having a mutant form.

When Carter attacks again, the Turtles manage to destroy him, revealing that he was actually an advanced robot. As the TechnoGang descends on them, Merrik and Landor get back the time device, and prepare to zap the Turtles back into the past. Leonardo is reluctant to leave their new allies in a deadly situation, but Merrik points out that they will both be saved if Dregg is defeated in their past. The Turtles vanish, and Merrik and Landor hold hands as they are about to die.

The Turtles reappear in the hangar, and encounter Carter - this time, the real one, who has just escaped from the Dreggnaught. Just then, the android Carter appears, intending to kill the Turtles and the real article. Carter successfully destroys his doppelgänger, just as the Star Shield takes off into the sky.

Since Carter stole the plans, Donatello is able to find the weak spot that will allow them to take down the platform. After several failed attempts, Raphael manages to shoot down the Star Shield.

April informs them that she has found Landor and Merrik, and calls the Turtles to a playground where they see two small children playing in a sandbox. They reflect that they have to keep fighting against Dregg even if the world is against them, for people like those two children.

Characters

• April O'Neil (Renae Jacobs)
• Carter (Bumper Robinson)
• Donatello (Barry Gordon)
• HiTech (Rob Paulsen)
• Landor (Kevin Schon) (debut)
• Leonardo (Cam Clarke)
• Lord Dregg (Tony Jay)
• Merrik (Roxanne Beckford) (debut)
• Michelangelo (Townsend Coleman)
• Raphael (Rob Paulsen)

Home media releases

DVD

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 9
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Classic Series Collection

Notes

Animation Errors

• When the Turtles free Landor and Merrik, Michelangelo speaks with Raphael's voice while he knocks out the guard.
• Michelangelo becomes Raphael after Carter throws him through a wall.
• When Donatello and Raphael mutate while fighting Carter, Donatello's belt letter vanishes.
• When Leonardo cuts a control panel off the wall, there is no hole behind it.

Continuity Errors

• Carter claims to know of only one alien, namely Dregg, despite many past incidents involving aliens in the series.

Gallery

• Carter, the Enforcer/Gallery