Enterprise is Cancelled

[Dave]

This time it's not an April's fool joke, it's reality:

from StarTrek.com

02.02.2005
Star Trek: Enterprise Cancelled!

After four seasons, Star Trek: Enterprise has reached the end of its mission ...

PRESS RELEASE

UPN and Paramount Network Television have jointly announced that this will be the final season of Star Trek: Enterprise on UPN. [Production will continue until the end of this season, which will finish shooting in March.] The series finale will air on Friday, May 13, 2005.

"Star Trek has been an important part of UPN's history, and Enterprise has carried on the tradition of its predecessors with great distinction," said Dawn Ostroff, President, Entertainment, UPN. "We'd like to thank Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and an incredibly talented cast for creating an engaging, new dimension to the Star Trek universe on UPN, and we look forward to working with them, and our partners at Paramount Network Television, on a send-off that salutes its contributions to The Network and satisfies its loyal viewers."

David Stapf, President of Paramount Network Television, said, "The creators, stars and crew of Star Trek: Enterprise ambitiously and proudly upheld the fine traditions of the Star Trek franchise. We are grateful for their contributions to the legacy of Trek and commend them on completing nearly 100 exciting, dramatic and visually stunning episodes. All of us at Paramount warmly bid goodbye to Enterprise, and we all look forward to a new chapter of this enduring franchise in the future."

A prequel to the original "Star Trek" series, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE premiered on UPN on Sept. 26, 2001, and aired for its first three seasons on Wednesdays (8:00-9:00PM, ET/PT). On Oct. 8, 2004, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE moved into its current time on Fridays (8:00-9:00PM, ET/PT). Through its four-year run, STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE produced a total of 98 episodes and earned four Emmy Awards.

As I said in another thread it is hard for us UK fans, who have not seen a single episode of the final fourth season yet. It sounds to me like it was actually the best season yet, but the audience just wasn't there on the Friday night when it was pitched up against the superior Battlestar Galactica.

Having said that, many inferior shows have been given new seasons, while many excellent shows were strangled at birth, so the mind of a TV executive is a strange one.

Another thing to bear in mind is the fact that this announcement coincides with the one about Enterprise being syndicated. I read last year that Paramount/Viacom would let Enterprise run until the magic 100 episode number in order to allow syndication. They countered that this had absolutely no bearing on the decision to have a fourth season. It seems to me that it certainly did have a bearing, and that the decision to cancel at 100 was probably made even at that time.

The early announcement means that there are still two episodes left in which to write a suitable ending.

I never thought that the retro-trek idea was a good one - read my old posts - but it did grow on me and I'm sad to see it go. It will be the first time since 1987 that Star Trek is not being made. That is sad, but I'm sure it will return after a rest.

Hopefully, they can spend more time getting a new series right before it starts.

And I'd still like to see the Earth-Romulan Wars. I'm not sure if we can still see that within Enterprise.

Anyway, it's a sad day :crying:

 

[ray gower]

Rather pre-empted a post I was going to make, though its topic is pertinent- Comparing Enterprise against its competitors, as undoubtedly P'Mount have or are doing exactly the same analysis

Against Battlestar Galactica, there was really no chance for Enterprise. BG knew exactly where it was going from start to finish.
The season was only 13 episodes so there was never a need to pad out the story arc and, dare I say, we had a whole raft of characters to fall in 'love' with for what ever reason.
Whether Trek should even tempt to follow the path set here is open to question. It might be Trek, but not as we know it.

Looking at Enterprise's big competitors, Stargate and Atlantis. Both of these are following a tried and trusted episode format.
With a critical hat on, the stories are pretty well interchangeable for the week before and with as much inventiveness as Enterprise's worst efforts.
What saves SG is that we have the old team, all of whom have built up strong characters that blend naturally together and stay in the mind.
Atlantis, the new kid on the block, had nothing going for it at the start, dour stories and the blandest set of people imaginable. Now we are starting to see a range of real characters forming as they settle down, largely due to the natural repartee between people.
In Enterprise there is either no interaction, or it is the whole episode. Certainly nothing to build characters or create a team with, or make the viewer feel part of what is happening. Nor are the characters consistent in how they are portrayed, certainly Archer has swung through everything from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hide and back in the first 3 years.
As I have observed Stargate is still following its trusted formula, and has not seen any need to reinvent itself between seasons (or even in the middle of a season!). Yet story arcs slide in and out of the schedule with easy familiarity and never feel as disjointed as say the Enterprise Suliban arc.

That leaves only Andromeda, which is pretty dire in any language, a cut price TOS in all but name, story, charm and toupee.

Overall
Enterprise's good points are that the individual stories used are generally sound. While not always used as well as one might like, compared to Stargate they cannot be faulted.

It is when the individual stories are strung into a series that all the cracks appear.
The poorly written and wildly variable characters remain as annonymous now as they were at the start.
That they have tried to 'reinvent' the show for each year has not helped. Nor is the fact that, as with Voyager, they appear to be back in the position where the scripts are being thrust into actors hands the day they start filming which in turn is barely a couple of months before screening.

I confess a level of ambivalance to the shows departure. Despite its faults, it doesn't do anything so seriously wrong that a touch of time and editing beforehand couldn't fix. It is just that there are shows that are not making the mistakes.

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by ray gower
Comparing Enterprise against its competitors, as undoubtedly P'Mount have or are doing exactly the same analysis.

As well as posting here, I'm subscribed to several SF lists and it's been clear for many years that some people have just got sick of Trek. Many people especially just never liked Enterprise, and they never will. But strangely, from the figures that UPN quotes, those same people don't like BSG either. They do however like Firefly, but how do you resolve that?

The problem with Enterprise on UPN was actually lot to do with UPN as a broadcaster itself. Syndicated like the earlier series, or even on another Network, it would have had higher audiences and still be with us. It was in the top 25 TiVo shows last year (that's like Sky Plus in the UK.) You cannot say it is not popular, it is just not economical to be made and shown on UPN.

Fans of Enterprise will continue to fight for it:

from TrekToday
By Michelle
February 2, 2005 - 11:11 PM

Within hours of the announcement that Star Trek: Enterprise had been cancelled by UPN and Paramount, fan organizations announced that they would continue to fight for continuation of the series.

Both SaveEnterprise.com and The Enterprise Project announced plans for ongoing campaigns to keep the show on the air, possibly on a network other than UPN, which fans have complained has never given the series proper promotion.

"Although the official word came down from UPN and Paramount today that Star Trek Enterprise was canceled, nothing has changed with the Save Enterprise campaign," wrote Tim Brazeal, the founder of SaveEnterprise.com. "Have the fans let the show down? Not in any way. The failure of Enterprise on UPN is because of UPN. You have to promote something in order to get it on the market and this is where UPN failed."

Brazeal quoted series star Scott Bakula (Captain Archer) as having said that Enterprise was "a weight around UPN's neck" and expressed hope that Paramount would shop the series to another network. "We have a campaign to collect funds to run ads in nationwide papers. This will continue on," he said, asking fans to continue to write to Viacom Co-President Leslie Moonves to tell him that fans want to see the series continue even if UPN will not broadcast it.

MJ Rogers of The Enterprise Project echoed similar sentiments. "To quote John Paul Jones, I have not yet begun to fight," she said, announcing that The Enterprise Project will now begin working on a "campaign to Bring Back the NX-01."

"We hear, 'Trek needs a break'...Trek does not need a break. Its current incarnation does not need a break," she insisted.

Information on fan efforts to keep Enterprise on the air can be found at SaveEnterprise.com and The Enterprise Project, which are currently running a joint fundraising campaign for national advertising.

Originally posted by ray gower
I confess a level of ambivalance to the shows departure. Despite its faults, it doesn't do anything so seriously wrong that a touch of time and editing beforehand couldn't fix. It is just that there are shows that are not making the mistakes.

The thing is that there will now be no Trek at all on TV, only repeats! It is a long time since that was the case. The rich backstory is such a great canvas to paint on, there should be something being made.

 

[Dave]

A rather bullish reaction here from Rick Berman. Apparently, it's all our (the fans) fault it got cancelled...

from scifi wire

Berman Reacts To Enterprise

Rick Berman, executive producer of the just-canceled Star Trek: Enterprise, told SCI FI Wire that he was surprised not by UPN's decision, but by the fact that viewers continued to tune out the series despite a marked improvement in quality, strong reviews and guest appearances by the likes of Brent Spiner. "Nobody is more surprised about that than we are here," Berman said of the precipitous fan drop-off in an interview conducted after UPN announced Enterprise's fate. "We've always seemed to have a big drop from before Christmas to after Christmas, which I've never quite understood."

Enterprise attracted more than 13 million viewers in its debut, but by the fourth season, that audience had fallen to just 2.9 million.

Berman added: "I think the whole network had a big drop from before Christmas until after Christmas. I am not only very proud of the shows that we've done so far for the fourth season, but the shows that we've done that haven't aired yet are undoubtedly some of the best shows that we've produced. I don't think it has to do with the quality of the show. That just might be ego speaking, but I think we've done a great job. If you look at the performance of [Star Trek] Nemesis, you see what I think was a terrific movie that did not perform anywhere near as expected. I think that's been happening with Enterprise." The 2002 movie Nemesis grossed $43 million domestically and had foreign ticket sales of $23 million, the worst performer in the film series.

Berman is the man who has been principally responsible for shepherding the Trek franchise since he was handed the reins by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. "Whether you want to call it viewer apathy or franchise fatigue or any of the cute little titles that people have come up with, I think it's the case," Berman said. "We've figured out that we've produced 624 hours of Star Trek over the last 18 years, and of those 18 seasons, seven of them we did two shows simultaneously. It's a lot of television. And each show has had the previous shows in reruns to compete with. Climates have changed. I think you can just squeeze so many eggs out of the old golden goose." Berman and Enterprise co-executive Brannon Braga are penning a series finale that will air on May 13.

I found that quite insulting, even though I couldn't possibly watch UPN even if I wanted to. I'm not sure that I would go quite this far though...

from Bureau 42

...He just doesn't get why fans are tuning out. That statement, right there, should be Paramount's final clue about him. He doesn't understand the fans. He may never have, he just got lucky with smarter people around (Ron Moore and Ira Steven Behr come to mind).

Maybe his luck's run out.

Add Michael Piller, Rene Echeverria, Jeri Taylor, Robert Hewitt Wolfe, Joe Menosky to Ronald Moore and Ira Steven Behr. Now compare the list with some of the shows in competition with Enterprise.

He does have Manny Coto working for him though. There's a thought, maybe he can finish off 'Odyssey 5' now.

 

[ray gower]

I'm afraid I can see the Save Enterprise crowd ending up like the Battlestar mob, with all the knock on effects that had

While I am sure there are many good reasons used in an infinite combination, the fact remains that Enterprise lost 3/4 of its audience in quick order.

Why?

Because there was nothing to keep them interested enough to watch. If there had been, then Trek Fatigue would not have been a factor.

Reinventing the show for the third season ultimately has done more harm than good as well. If only because a good number of viewers that liked the previous format, would struggle with the new. Meanwhile those that wanted a little meat on their bone had given up watching. Then, so it appears, they have reinvented again for the fourth season and now nobody knows what to expect. Is it any wonder that people are not watching?

That Berman and Co. found it necessary to try such desperate major contortions to keep ST going at all does rather imply that they really had no idea why they were loosing audience. So claims on this line, have, in my mind, some validity.

So, if you were a TV company executive who has given a series three chances to save itself, and found that things are just getting worse, would you stick your neck out for a fourth attempt?

Whatever the paper reasoning at Paramount, be it politics or finance, they have decided to cut their losses and I do not think we can entirely blame them for that.

 

[ray gower]

Sitting back and reviewing all the comments that have floated at various times here and elsewhere, is it possible that the Trek camp has split into two or more factions?

There is the camp, which both I and Dave are in, that wish Trek to be something bigger, with solid extended stories that engage the mind, full of drama that build on the Star Trek mythos.

The other prefers the old style. Simple unrelated episodes that requires little from the audience, or because they do not have the time or patience to watch a story build over five or six weeks?

Neither is large enough on its own to support a series as large as Star Trek, yet neither is going to be satisfied shows for the others.

Enterprise tried to pander to both, promising everything except free cornflakes with every episode, but never satisfied either camp

 

[Dave]

I completely agree with you on the last comments, and if you don't read the spoilers (and I think you avoid them) then you may not know this, but these comments by you are even more spot on than you realise...

Originally posted by ray gower
Reinventing the show for the third season ultimately has done more harm than good as well.... ....so it appears, they have reinvented again for the fourth season and now nobody knows what to expect. Is it any wonder that people are not watching?

Spoiler

The second episode of the fourth Season apparently not only ends the Temporal Cold War, but negates the necessity for Enterprise to go into the Expanse at all. Basically, it is a 'trek' 'reset button' for the whole of the third Season - a bit like Bobby Ewing going into the shower in Dallas.

If we look back on Enterprise now, the number of 'Jump the Shark' type episodes such as that are alarming!

 

[Maria8475]

huh? i don't know what planet i've been living on for the last week, but i completely missed all this!

I only really watched Enterprise in the third series, but was getting into it. I'm gonna be sad to see it go. And if Berman really thinks the reason is 'Trek fatigue' why would they bother with a new show, whatever format?

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by Maria8475
And if Berman really thinks the reason is 'Trek fatigue' why would they bother with a new show, whatever format?

I don't think that they will, not immediately. There is lots of talk of giving Trek 'a rest'. But they have contracts with third parties, such as games companies, that demand that they continue to make film and tv. One took Paramount to court last year.

The lastest news is that Paramount is not even bothering to shop around for another network to show Enterprise, they just want to kill it off. They claim that only UPN can afford to make it, that no cable network could. I've read speculation from that, that they are really trying to kill off Rick Berman.

On Rick Berman: the part that annoys many fans, and me too is the

I think you can just squeeze so many eggs out of the old golden goose.

He sees Star Trek as a gold mine that has been worked out, when he should instead see it as a vast canvas with areas that have not yet been painted in. That reflects in exactly the kind of recycled old stories we got recently (until Manny Coto came along.) I would have defended his stories last year, but the alien Nazis were the final straw for me.

 

[ray gower]

Even golden geese need a rest between eggs. A couple of years will give all involved the opportunity to imagine a few new ideas.

I don't know just how big UPN is compared to some of the other networks, Fox, Warner etc. but I doubt if this has any real bearing on their objection to selling the franchise on. If one, or even a joint venture between several networks, did take it up and managed to achieve something from Enterprise, then UPN is going to look very silly indeed.

A ploy to get rid of Berman?
I suppose it is cheaper to end a contract for lack of work rather than sack.

There has been agitation about Brannon, Braga and Berman over whether they are upto the job of extending the Star Trek Universe since well before Enterprise and I was one of them.

But to explore the Trek Universe more fully, everybody needs to accept that Trek has to change in style and I am not sure that the viewing public are ready yet.

In fairness to the B3's they have tried to change Enterprise to something different. It was a cack-handed panic stricken response that couldn't carry what support it had, let alone gain some. But give Trek a year or two's break and then everybody (including the B3's) may be ready to make and accept the changes?

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by ray gower
I don't know just how big UPN is compared to some of the other networks, Fox, Warner etc. but I doubt if this has any real bearing on their objection to selling the franchise on. If one, or even a joint venture between several networks, did take it up and managed to achieve something from Enterprise, then UPN is going to look very silly indeed.

Being British like you Ray, I'm no expert on the inner workings of US TV networks, but I do know that UPN, being a relative newcomer does not have the same coverage as the others. I think it is only 90%. It's a similar situation to the UK's Channel 5.

Also, Paramount makes 'Star Trek', but UPN shows it. It is Paramount's decision not to shop it around, but without a buyer they cannot afford to make it.

On a related but slightly off-topic subject, I've been reading the latest 'Star Trek Magazine'. It was published before the announcement, but in hindsight the comments from Rick Berman and others reveal that they knew the end was close.

The magazine editor, John Freeman, a self-confessed fan, talks about his views on the negativity toward 'Star Trek'.

There's a lot of negativity about Star Trek right now that I don't feel is entirely justified - I think it's symptomatic of the miserable navel-gazing the Internet allows fans of any scifi-series to indulge in.

So, it's all OUR fault again!

Rick Berman says it's all the fans fault for not watching! John Freeman says it's all the fans fault for moaning!

I really don't think this is fair. On Ascifi we certainly complain about things, but aren't our complaints fully justified?

Having said that, it is always easier to criticise someone or something than it is to give praise. But I'm sure that equally, I've raved here about episodes and series that I enjoyed (generally followed by that series being quickly cancelled!)

I've loved and avidly watched Star Trek most of my life. However, if something isn't good enough, you can't force people to watch it. There are better things to do with your life than watch rubbish on TV, and there is also more choice of TV today.

Not that I think Enterprise was rubbish, but there were certainly mistakes made, and they did seem to become increasingly desperate to do anything for ratings. I'm thinking here not only of the 'jumping the shark' moment of the 'alien nazis' but also the backrubbing in the Decon chamber, the Vulcan massage techniques, the name change to 'Star Trek: Enterprise' and theme music tinkering.

There I go, miserably contemplating my navel again!

 

[Dave]

Not the end of Star Trek...

Ron Moore says that Star Trek will be returned to the fans where it belongs and this is a cause for celebration...

from Trek Today

Former Star Trek writer and producer Ron Moore, currently the executive producer of Sci-Fi's Battlestar Galactica revival, said that he has personally heard Viacom executives "refer to the 'next fifty years of Star Trek' as a corporate priority and stated his belief that "Star Trek isn't dead and it isn't dying" in his blog.

Writing at SciFi.com's Battlestar Galactica Blog, Moore labeled the current state of the Trek franchise "an interregnum, a pause in the treadmill of overlapping productions that have become the norm for the series that was once considered 'too cerebral for television.'" He mentioned the names of several staff members who have been with Star Trek since the early days of The Next Generation, also the era in which he joined the franchise, but said that he believes it to be a cause for celebration that Star Trek has been returned to the care of its fans.

"I say returned because there was a time when the fans were the exclusive owners and operators of what would later become the Franchise," he noted, citing the grassroots movement that produced early fan fiction, zines and conventions -- all of which now have commercial equivalents. "I was one of those fans; I was a kid growing up in the 1970's who found Star Trek in strip syndication and bought every book and magazine I could lay my hands on and every piece of fan merchandise I could con my parents into buying." Moore named several fans turned Bantam novelists and said that "we, the fans, embroidered the Trek tapestry while the powers that be at Paramount dawdled."

Moore seemed to suggest that Enterprise viewers would do better to abandon the trappings of the Franchise and return to the imaginative roots of Star Trek, stating that fans "can consume the seemingly endless licensed products available to them from the Franchise, everything from barware to shower curtains, and read only the mainstream, officially licensed and sanctioned books, or they can go their own way. Some of the most daring and creatively challenging Star Trek material has been created not by Paramount, but by amateurs, who simply had an idea for an interesting twist on the Trek universe." He even gave a plug to slash fan fiction, in which Kirk and Spock are reimagined as secret lovers.

This might seem odd to many people, but thinking on it a little more it isn't to me. I will still role-play my Klingon Science officer, Cardassian tailor, and British Captain; I can still watch TNG and DS9 and TOS in reruns, and 10 great films, and there are hundreds of books that I never picked up! Also from Peter David:

from Trek Today

Another Trek writer, Peter David, said at PeterDavid.net that pundits have previously announced the deaths of sitcoms, westerns, and even Star Trek itself after its first cancellation in 1969. "Star Trek" has died more often than Jean Gray, and yet it rises once more like...well, like a great bird," he stated, referring to the X-Men character who has been resurrected in several versions of that franchise. "I think that *a* Star Trek series that never fully engaged (no pun intended) the viewership is dead. But if they build a new series, I think viewers will come right back and at least sample it."

 

[ray gower]

Trying a little navel gazing myself, going over the comments we have made regarding the various episodes.

By and large, we here at Ascifi have been positive about the individual episodes. there haven't been many unanimous dogs breakfasts, perhaps half a dozen over the last 3 years. So I suppose on the face of things it does give Berman some justification in his complaints.

Afterall Stargate and others are trotting out far poorer stories without serious complaint.

 

[Dave]

I'm not sure why the ratings for Enterprise are so low either, it's difficult not seeing Season 4 yet, when it is supposed to be the best yet, but as you quite rightly say, Season 8 of Stargate SG-1 has had some really dire episodes but a new Season is ready to start filming.

The Enterprise ratings have fallen though; from 13 Million for the pilot down to a couple of Million in January 2005.

The series has some big fans though. All ten of them have clubbed together to produce an advert...

from Scifi Wire

Enterprise Fans Buy L.A. Ad

Fans of UPN's canceled Star Trek Enterprise announced that they will be purchasing a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times to urge someone to pick up the show for a fifth season. The Enterprisefans.com Web site said that it had changed its original plan to buy a USA Today ad when contacted by a fan who works for the Times, who offered to arrange a special deal for one of the ads, which normally costs $35,000.

The ad will appear in the Feb. 21 edition of the paper in the "A" section, the site reported. The site has been raising funds to place a newspaper ad and added that any additional money will go toward relief for victims of the South Asia tsunami.

This is a link to their advert:
http://www.enterprisefans.com

 

[Dave]

Manny Coto's Season 5 plans...

In a TrekUnited-hosted chat, which was posted in full by a SaveEnterprise.com administrator at the TrekBBS, Manny Coto gave his plans for a fifth season...

Manny_Coto: Personally, although I wouldn't really recommend doing another prequel, The most interesting would be the period during the Star Trek feature films. However I'd recommend for the next series going to the 25th century because I feel that Star Trek should move forward....I have numerous plans. The most interesting that come to mind are an arc that would deal with the founding of the first starbase. Also, I want to do a multi-part arc that takes place on the cloud city Stratos. And I really want to visit Denobula and to possibly do a couple more mirror universe episodes which I envision as almost a series within a series. But the central theme of the season would have been the true founding of The Federation.

Manny_Coto: I don't for a moment believe Star Trek needs a break. In fact I think we need more Star Trek. There should be a Star Trek night on UPN. I believe there is an audience for the show. I think a lot of it has to do with promotion. I don't know how many times people have told me when I tell them that I'm working on Star Trek, they're response is "Is that still on" Many people don't know we are here.

Manny_Coto: My favorite [episode] is The Doomsday Machine. It's a perfect mix of action and drama. I wouldn't say it's the best, but it's my favorite. It's the one that made me fall in love with Star Trek. If I had to pick the best episode it would have to be "City on the Edge of Forever"

Manny_Coto: One of the things I wanted to do for season five is to open the door once again for fan submissions as well as approach sci-fi writers to come up with ideas for story arcs. I envisioned story arcs developed by David Brin, Gregory Benford, and Greg Bear....One of the things I wanted to improve upon season four in season five is more social commentary....I think the idea of a gay Star Trek character is a fine idea and totally keeping with the Star Trek universe.

Manny_Coto: If Enterprise does come back the finale will in no way keep us from doing more episodes.

Xindi: If Rick Berman and Brannon Braga were both drowning, and you only had time to save one, which would you save (if either)?

Manny_Coto: I would say Rick because he makes more money ::biggrin

Echoing Jolene Blalock (T'Pol), who said in a recent interview at Coast to Coast that the on-set mood is gloomy, Coto said that the staff of Enterprise were "understandably let down by the news" of the cancellation and feel validated by the fan efforts to save the series. "We are constantly talking about it and asking how it's going," he revealed. "As for what's happening inside Paramount or UPN, I couldn't say, but I imagine it isn't going unnoticed. We have the full page ad from the L.A. Times in my office... fan campaigns have succeeded in the past and they will again in the future."

Like Rick Berman, who has said he thought it would be financially impossible to put Enterprise on another network (story), Coto said he thought monetary considerations would make a move difficult. "I think the obvious choice [for a new venue] is the Sci-Fi Channel. But the Sci-Fi channel doesn't have a great deal of money and we would need to retool the budget...part of me wishes we could just stay on UPN; with more support from UPN we would be fine."

 

[ray gower]

A reduction in budget might not be so bad?

Battlestar is supposed to be 'low budget' and it was been one of the best Sci/Fi shows for many years.

And it looks as if Cotto has a fair sprinkling of ideas up his sleeve and appears to be willing to accept more.

Which all at least makes me hopeful for the future, just not Enterprise.

 

[Dave]

The thing that caught my attention in that was... "I envisioned story arcs developed by David Brin, Gregory Benford, and Greg Bear...."

That was also Gene Roddenberry's vision when he first developed a science fiction TV show in the sixties that would be aimed at adults rather than for children.

Within only three months, Star Trek was already in danger of cancellation. A form letter was sent from Los Angeles, California to everyone on the mailing list of the 1966 World Science Fiction Convention. Inside was a message from an impressive array of science fiction writers (many who would later write episodes) Poul Anderson, Robert Bloch, Lester del Rey, Harlan Ellison, Philip José Farmer, Frank Herbert, Richard Matheson, Theodore Sturgeon, and A. E. van Vogt calling themselves "the Committee".

At that point, worse than cancellation, a "lobotomy" for Star Trek was a distinct possibility -- converting it into something closer to a kiddies show.

Enterprise is not TOS, and these are different times, but I really dispute Rick Berman's argument that they have drunk from the well too many times. Surely, it is the job of a writer to develop new and original stories, the Star Trek universe is just a backdrop on which to hang them?

The rot set in when they stopped accepting on spec scripts from fans without an agent. I know about all the legal reasons for that, but they failed to bring in a system to replace it. Only very recently did they bring in Manny Coto, and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens. If Rick Berman and Brannon Braga can't think up original plots between them, then they really do need to move over and let in someone who can. That is their fault not the fault of the franchise.

There is excellent competition at the moment from rival products that are much better in quality at a lower cost.

Rick Berman still thinks 'Nemesis' was a great film! They tell us that the best episodes were 'Similitude' (with a terrible 'clones can take on the memories and skills of the original' storyline) and 'Chosen Realm' (which was the John Lennon 'imagine no religion' idea rather than one of tolerance and acceptance of our differences.)

I've now read so much negativity about 'Enterprise' that I just can't see how it can be saved - lower budgets or whatever - people just don't like it. I don't think that all the stories were bad, many were excellent, I've said so here - 'Carbon Creek' comes to mind - mainly the second season (season four only comes to the UK next week.)

Many think Paramount knew all along they would cancel it now. They only made the fourth season to get enough episodes for syndication. That's why they sold it to UPN at under cost price. How much lower can they lower costs anyway? Can't they fire a few executives?

Anyway, what is needed is some good solid storytelling again.

 

[ray gower]

Which puts us in the same boat and singing the same hymns, if slightly different versions.

The B3's are stale and Star Trek is bigger than anything they can produce, so it needs somebody new at the helm to both write and produce it.

It should be a mature show, not aimed at kids in particular. It should be something children can aspire to 'grow' into. It should not be aimed at those who remember TOS the first time around either, there are too many of us that have moved on or out to other things. A family show?

It should be a genuine drama (often missing in Enterprise, it was rare for anybody broke into a sweat), with solid stories, imaginatively presented, that occaisionally challenge our beliefs, without getting over complex. (BSG I would suggest is the absolute limit for complexity).

Where does this leave Enterprise?

I think with all the chopping and changing, generally stale performances and stories and all but non-existance of drama, there can only be one answer...

DEAD!

Perhaps Coto can breath life into the Star Trek universe. But to have a chance he needs a clean sheet to start with. While Season 4 may be the best Trek ever (not seen it yet either), it's 3 previous years have all but destroyed his chances.

Enterprise RIP, look forward to series 6

As an aside...
If they insist on making Trek a kids show, perhaps they could persuade Gerry Anderson to write and produce it?
He has always had the ability to create proper family shows that insult the intelligence of nobody.

 

[Dave]

I'm not dead yet!

To quote 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' -- I'm not dead yet!

This story is going to run and run...

from Scifi Wire

Trek Fans Take To Streets

Fans of UPN's soon-to-be-canceled Star Trek: Enterprise took to the streets in Los Angeles, New York and other cities on Feb. 25 to urge Paramount to give the show a fifth season. About 300 people marched at the entrance of Paramount Studios in Hollywood, Calif., to protest UPN's decision to cancel the low-rated show at the end of the current fourth season.

Candice McCallie, a spokesperson for the fan group Trek United, told SCI FI Wire that similar protests were scheduled to take place in New York, Tel Aviv and London. "Manny Coto [Enterprise's executive producer] and some of the writers and crew people came out and talked to us and to show their support," she said in an interview. "The studio has not said anything to us at this point. I would assume they're thinking about whether to cancel the show or not. I would hope that these protests would not go unnoticed."

Trek United made headlines in recent days with the report that three anonymous donors had offered $3 million to help jump-start the organization's attempt to raise $36 million to pay for a fifth season of Enterprise. "That donation is in negotiation, but it is not set in stone," McCallie said. "A group of people has contacted us about donating $3 million to our cause, but they wish to remain anonymous. What I can tell you is that these are some of the same people who invested in the commercial space-flight industry." The official Trek United Web site reported only that fans have raised $49.720 toward their goal. Fans also paid for a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times on Feb. 15.

McCallie said that the protests and fund-raising are the fans' attempts to get Paramount "to wake up and fund the fifth season themselves, because they know the franchise makes plenty of money for them. We're offering to pay for everything, and they would still keep all the rights. I realize we could give them the money, and they could still say no, but I think they would be fools if they did." Enterprise airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT; the series finale will air in May.

That only 300 people could turn out is somewhat depressing I think, but that someone is willing to pay $3 million is unbelievable! If they could really raise $30 million, I don't see how they could be turned down.

But if they can raise $30 million, couldn't they write and produce their own scifi series entirely?

 

[Dave]

Spike TV?

from Scifi Wire

Enterprise To Get Spiked?

The Boston Herald reported that cable network Spike TV may be mulling whether to pick up UPN's canceled Star Trek: Enterprise. "It would definitely be something we would look at, and we know how devoted the show's fans are," Spike TV spokeswoman Debra Fazio told the newspaper.

UPN has said the current fourth season will be Enterprise's last, with the series finale set to air in May. Production on the final episode was expected to wrap this month. A UPN spokesperson told the Herald that the network's decision to cancel Enterprise is final, and no other network has come forward with an offer to pick the show up.

But fans have been vocal about lobbying for someone to pick the show up for a fifth season, and have even raised funds to pay for it themselves, claiming more than $3 million in pledges toward an estimated $36 million goal.

Spike TV already holds the rights to reruns of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

I've never heard of Spike TV before now. Any Americans want to give us the lowdown?

I just looked at their website: http://www.spiketv.com/

Their scheduling seems to be one of WWF, TNG, DS9 and CSI. Nothing there that was financed themselves, so I wonder if they could afford 'Enterprise'?