Bring back Star Trek: Enterprise

Yeah, Eaves doesn’t count because he currently works on the show. Almost all of the guest artists in the calendar do not.

 

I ran a campaign that got over $3m in crowdfunding to get a fifth season, got a dialogue with Paramount execs at the time, and I sat with the crew whilst we watched the their latest episode at the time ("Divergence").

Believe me when I say I'd be overjoyed to see this, but it's never happening - if we couldn't do it then, it isn't happening now. There was (unfairly) never the fan base numbers to support, and I can't see why they'd bring back an ageing cast for a show that never hit it out of the park.

I'd say the best we can hope for are some cameos (ancient T'Pol in Strange New Worlds?) or even a Short Trek or a time travel ep from one of the current shows. But that, for better or worse, is as much as we'll ever get. Despite the promise a fifth season could have brought!

 

That's more my view. Despite the recent insistence that ENT has this upswell of popularity the demand simply is not there

 

To rob hand over fist from Shakespeare---
I come to bury Enterprise, not to praise it.
The mediocrity that shows do lives after them in syndication;
The good is oft interred with their cancelling;
So let it be with Enterprise.

 

On tv, DIS netted 1. 7 M viewers and placed dead last among every other CBS show in viewership, including Scott Bakula’s NCIS: New Orleans which got 4.85M viewers itself. Streaming wise, DIS nets 11M viewers is considered a top show on Paramount+ and one of the mot popular streaming shows in the US.

Maybe ENT didn’t get a season renewal at the time because tv viewership in general was already in decline and the streaming networks were not yet established? I mean, ENT was UPN at the time, and it was probably deemed not the best idea to renew a show on the ratings decline that was expensive to produce, even if it was one of the higher rated shows UPN had (FYI: the other highly rated show UPN had at the time – a wrestling show – is now airing on FOX despite the fact that that entity has been in a tv ratings decline for the past two decades, and it still sells out stadium-level events every year). And TPTB also had a clear direction for the then-planned CW that did not include Trek, after the past efforts to make ENT appeal to younger viewers in the first couple of seasons failed. And even though ENT would be in more home than before by its sixth season if it had lasted that long, I’m not sure how appealing the Romulan War would be to teen girls outside the Trek fanbase. The CW was trending towards female audiences in general by ’07-’08, and not the 18-34 adults demographic like it does now thanks to the superhero craze.

An ENT revival would do quite well for itself in the streaming era, as long as its on a streaming service.

 

ENT would do well...? I struggle to find the logic. It's all conjecture, assuming that fans are going to tune to a show that they largely left behind.

 

You're willing to go through some torturous mental calisthenics to try and prove your point, I'll give you that. Problem is, it doesn't work. Not even remotely. There is no demand outside of your fantasy for bringing Enterprise back.

By and large, people have moved on to other, more interesting things. You might consider giving that a try.

 

Actually, I moved on from the series long ago like everyone else. I’m not being a try hard or living in a “fantasy”, I’m just discussing the topic at hand. And I don’t really need to continue on these boards anymore if I’m just going to be seen as someone who’s not dealing with reality because a few posters on the internet disagree with me.

 

I do love that on bulletin boards there's always someone who wants to question your sanity/bias/originality/moral fibre for daring to express a view. You keep going,
@FederationHistorian - opinions are what this place is for.

Enterprise was actually cancelled because of internal politics surrounding Les Moonves and UPN. It was disguised under the veil of "well it needs a rest anyway"; but were that true, we'd have seen it quicker than twelve years later.

The fact that the first two seasons were slow out of the gate (a common trap in Star Trek; they weren't bad, they just weren't great) and lost audience certainly made it an easier choice.

Modern Trek is more akin to Voyager - it's been launched to carry a new venture - versus Enterprise, which was an expensive show at odds with the political direction of a studio boss. There is, as the old saying goes, only so much future in being right when the boss is wrong.

The last two seasons of Enterprise were as good as any of the best of Trek, but not enough folks were still tuned in and therefore there hasn't been the groundswell of support since that might get consideration for it returning. It could stream - but why go to the bother when you can make something new which has no baggage and could as well or better?

 

That's a more logical question. I would have no issue with ENT returning but it makes no sense to do so.

 

Thanks for the kind words, but leaving is probably for the best. But I’ll still offer a response here.

The desire to cancel Enterprise existed from the end of the second season, and departure of Jonathan Dolgan - a huge Trek guy by Bakula’s account – and other staff in Paramount and Viacom prior to the debut of the fourth season likely sealed ENT’s fate. Yes, Les Moonves did cancel Enterprise. He also negotiated the UPN/WB merger, which came about a year after ENT was cancelled. The show was also cancelled months before Youtube took off and showed how viable streaming was; in fact, YouTube was launched 12 days after Enterprise was cancelled in 2005. On the cusp of the streaming era.

UPN could have had ENT take a break between seasons, like Fox did with 24 between S6 & S7 a few years later, and debut S5 on CW to see if it would have made a difference to Enterprise’s ratings, but they didn’t.

Of the six shows that UPN picked to debut on CW (America’s Next Top Model, Veronica Mars, Everybody Hates Chris, Girlfriends, All of Us, and the wrestling show), I’ve heard of all of them but All of Us. Enterprise definitely stood a chance of being picked up for the CW inaugural schedule in ‘06-‘07 if there was interest, as it was a recognizable name. Although all of those shows but ANTM were gone from CW within two years, and it’s hypothetically possible that ENT might have only lasted one or two seasons on CW too. However, Veronica Mars got a film and revival series after being off the air for several years, and Everybody Hates Chris is in the process of getting an animated reboot. No reason Enterprise could not get the similar treatment.

And if the show does not come back, I’m content with my TATV edit that I made from my Bluray purchase of the series during this pandemic, and treat that as the true finale instead. It was a total pain resizing certain scenes with Riker & Troi in their TNG uniforms to remove them from certain scenes, but totally worth it. If the CBS is ever interested in looking at it (since I can’t upload it on Youtube or elsewhere), I’m happy to let them.

But I’m content as to whether the series comes back or not either way.

 

@FederationHistorian , no one is suggesting you leave. And if somehow ENT was brought back like the OP wants, and it was largely unchanged from its last broadcast back in 2005, and all of the cast members came back for it (even Trip back from the dead), then I'd be the first person to bow my head in shame and repeat "I was wrong" for an entire week.

But the reality is that that's just not going to happen. The most logical time for ENT to have been brought back was before the first Abrams film in 2009. And even then that's being very optimistic. The show was simply not popular enough both with the people in charge of producing it and the fans who were actually watching it (or not watching it, for that matter). In my opinion, you simply haven't shown me any kind of viable evidence that anyone in power thinks that the show is worth bringing back.

 

I am also in the camp of those who would absolutely love for Enterprise to return - however equally so, I’m also of the camp that believes there’s no chance this will ever happen.

 

I would love to see the upswell of support for the show. I appreciate the optimism and passion even if Enterprise isn't my favorite it would be nice if they could find a high note to go out on.

I just don't see what is being sold here as logical.

 

I agree with all of this.

Moonves was jockeying for Sumner Redstone's job, as was Tom Freston, and UPN was the black mark on his record. His strategy was to turn it into a minority programming channel, and ultimately it was Enterprise and WWE left standing. Simple choice: axe them, save on production costs, complete the channel rebrand. And a deal could never be agreed about sending this vital property to WB or Fox, so a stalemate there.

Ironically, of course, CW instead came about and Viacom split anyway. Enterprise was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would have had to have STELLAR ratings to survive that - not even be doing well, be doing phenomenally. And truthfully, in the era of 24, BSG, Dexter, The Sopranos: people weren't buying optimistic sci-fi in as large volumes as they did during TNG's heyday, even after 9/11 references were added.

Absolute tragedy. Enterprise, especially by its last two seasons, was far superior to most of what has come since - it just ran out of rope and got caught in studio crossfire.

 

Yeah, I think it's just been too long at this point. It pains me to say it because I really enjoyed Enterprise. Yes, the 1st and 2nd season were a bit uneven. But I kept reminding myself the first 2 seasons of TNG and DS9 weren't exactly award winning TV but they became excellent Star Trek series over time. But by seasons 3 and 4 the series really found its footing. I was hugely disappointed UPN cancelled the show when they did. In universe time less than a year before the Romulan War would have started (assuming the show continued the usual trend of one season being about a year in universe). And yes, I agree, there was a lot of internal politics involved. If they had the support of the studio, or at least a more passive attitude as opposed to the hostility Moonves seemed to have for Star Trek, they they might have considered moving it to a different network on cable.

But they didn't. They could have brought it back I think even after the cancellation if they did it within the 1st five years I think.

But now? No way. I just don't see Paramount investing in a continuation of a TV series from a prior regime who's overall popularity wasn't the best. I have noticed more appreciation for Enterprise among Trekkies (though not all of course). Sometimes you even read comments here from posters who didn't watch or like Enterprise the first go around for various reasons but have given a 2nd look at seem to have liked it more on reflection. But let's face it. This is still a money making business. Enterprise just never had the broad based appeal beyond us Trekkies.

What's more likely to make money? A continuation of a show that ended over 15 years ago that had little appeal at the time except among hardcore Trekkie's. Or new shows, or a continuation of a show like TNG that did have more broad based appeal. The money is in shows based around the original series and TNG (with some nods to DS9 and Voyager--which is easy to do since they took place in the same era so you don't have to spend a lot of money on new sets and so forth, just bring in some actors here and there from those series).

I read all the Star Trek novels and one only needs to see the novels S&S are putting out to get a feel for where there priorities are. The original series (which will always have a place at the table), tie ins to the current running shows, and TNG/DS9 novels. There hasn't been an Enterprise novel in a couple of years now (which is a shame because that is the one continuing relaunch that is unaffected by any shows and could continue). Nobody in the PTB's are thinking about Enterprise.

At the end of the day there's nothing wrong with wanting Enterprise to continue. I've seen some comments here even from people who don't see it happening that still would love to see it. It's just, at least for me, the reality is I don't see it happening. The most you could ever hope for is a nod, or maybe some cameo in a current running show.

 

Makes me wonder what series has the highest rattings in the streaming era? as in what show is viewed the most ( minus the new series, just Tos and berman era) and where Enterprise is at in that list. I know I rewatch Enterprise more than any other series since they appeared on Stream. Enterprise and Tos are my go to's.

While I would like a continuation, likely by animation, I honestly would just like another series IN that Era so they can finish the Romulan war and the Birth of the Federation out. I think the new Starfleet Academy show that is a maybe should be set in this Era.

 

This used to bug me as far back as the 90s - that Trek shows seemed to need three seasons to get right. Most successful shows may or may not get better with time, but rarely get the luxury of waiting til their third year to get it right.

TNG had the '87 writers' strike, and VOY and ENT were both rushed out of the gate prematurely. But it didn't help the cause.

This is a really interesting question.

I happen to think Discovery is just sheer bloody awful; Lower Decks is meh at best and Picard has some great material and some serious issues. In this era of streaming, it's hard to gauge whether any are audience successes, or what the metrics used are. Nielsen ratings were certainly a simple yardstick, flawd though the methodology could be.