Are New Enterprise Fans More Passionate About the Series?

[Middleman]

Relatively speaking, I consider myself a “New Enterprise Fan”. I watched my first episode of Enterprise on the Sci-Fi channel late in October of 2007, 2 1/2 years after the series was canceled. I was an old time TOS fan and a fan of all the movies, but I gave up on Star Trek on television after the second season of TNG; I lost interest. I gave Enterprise a chance because there was nothing on TV at the time but reality shows, due to the writer’s strike. Sci-Fi was airing season 3 episodes at that time and after watching several episodes over a few weeks, I decided to buy the DVDs and watch the series in order. My daughter and I went through 4 years of episodes in less than 6 months. We became hooked on Enterprise and I became a very passionate fan of the series. Wanting to lean more about the series and why it was canceled, I went on the internet to sites like StarTrek.com and TrekSpace and found that there were many fans out there, like me, who found the series after its cancelation. They seemed to have the same level of passion about Enterprise that I had. I also noticed that the number of new fans continues to grow!

So my question is: Why do the “Newly Minted” fans seem so passionate about Enterprise? Does it have anything to do with the fact that they didn’t have to wait 4 years to go through all the material? Does it have anything to do with the fact that Enterprise is canceled?

 

[JiNX-01]

I never missed an episode during the show's first run. I loved Enterprise from day one and still, on occasion, get very sad over it's untimely cancellation.

I bought every DVD set as soon as it became available.
Most of my posts on this site are here. I love Trek in general, but Enterprise is my absolute favorite -- and I NEVER expected to love any sci-fi show more than TOS!

 

[LadyPenelope]

i'm definitely a brand new fan - i only started watching at the end of last year and i'm only just finished with season one. it's brilliant - i love the enthusiasm in the characters and stories because everything is brand new to them, and i was shocked to see that not as many people like it as with the other trek series, but i'm not "passionate" about it. well, not yet anyway. we'll see how it goes.

 

[Count Zero]

So my question is: Why do the “Newly Minted” fans seem so passionate about Enterprise? Does it have anything to do with the fact that they didn’t have to wait 4 years to go through all the material? Does it have anything to do with the fact that Enterprise is canceled?

I guess, it's because it's still new to them. One tends to be more excited about something one has just discovered.

I never missed an episode during the show's first run. I loved Enterprise from day one and still, on occasion, get very sad over it's untimely cancellation.

Same here. Today, someone quoted Manny Coto's plans for the fifth season here and I became sad that we didn't get to see that. I think, many of the old fans were very passionate (maybe too much sometimes, I'm thinking of the shipper wars here), they even had a pretty well organised campaign to save it. But it's been a few years and many have moved on.


LadyPenelope, welcome onboard. The best of ENT is yet to come from your point of view. Just hang in there during season two!

 

[KimMH]

Watched it from day one and bought the dvds as they became available. SO glad to see love for it because I've never understood why it (or any trek series for that matter) should be bashed so freely. Sure it suffered from uneven writing, but they ALL did. Remember Spock's Brain? I like to attribute that to the idea that the 60's and 70's involved a lot of substance uh, expirimentation. . . .

 

[lceb]

Another new fan here, started watching last summer and was captivated. So, yes, I can say I am passionate about it. I suppose it is good to watch a show all at once because you get the feeling of it better, you don't have to wait during hiatus and forget what was going on etc. On the other hand you lose the element of anticipation and the possible fan wars.
I was shocked too when I realized the bashing Enterprise still gets from many Star Trek fans and I don't understand it, but what really makes me sad is that there was no season 5 (or 6, or 7). I believe it is such a pity...

 

[SFRabid]

Two things that I can think of.

1. At the time of release there had been a flood of Star Trek episodes and movies. Watching Star Trek was no longer a rare treat. That made problems with the writing seem much more critical.

2. Enterprise is a character based series. Developing an affinity for the characters is much easier when you see two episodes a week rather than one a month.

When I bought the DVD's last year and started watching it suddenly seemed much better.

 

[Middleman]

i'm definitely a brand new fan - i only started watching at the end of last year and i'm only just finished with season one. it's brilliant - i love the enthusiasm in the characters and stories because everything is brand new to them, and i was shocked to see that not as many people like it as with the other trek series, but i'm not "passionate" about it. well, not yet anyway. we'll see how it goes.

Wait until you get to season 3 my friend. you will be passionate about it. trust me.

 

[miraclefan]

I watched the first run of almost every episode, I've been there from the begining, and I've never been more ''PASSIONATE'' about ENTERPRISE then I am now!

 

[gblews]

So my question is: Why do the “Newly Minted” fans seem so passionate about Enterprise? Does it have anything to do with the fact that they didn’t have to wait 4 years to go through all the material? Does it have anything to do with the fact that Enterprise is canceled?

I don't think that passion you refer to is unique to new fans. Just like the old timers, they have picked up on the fact that not only did the show develop into the most compelling Trek since DS9 (some would legitimately argue, since TOS), the show occupies a unique place in Trek T.V. lore.

As compelling as it turned out to be, it was also the most maligned of the spinoffs among the fandom, the only spinoff denied a 7 season run, the most controvertial of the spinoffs, with it's opening song with lyrics, to it's emotional Vulcans and failure to employ the sacred "Star Trek" in it's title when the show started. It was the show that finally turned out the Bermaga regime.

BTW, its too bad the archives here are no longer available, or maybe that's a good thing, because you really haven't seen "passion" like what was going on in this forum during Ent's run and especially around 4 years or so ago. Why, the internationally reported, and uniquely Trekkie idea of the fans buying another season of Ent was born right here in this forum.

Talk about passion, among the Trek faithful, Ent fans are like a little cult within a cult.

 

[pookha]

i dont think the passion is unique to new fans.
but i always thought the series would still be attracting new fans because syndication would suit it well.

the few bad episodes dont stand out as much if they are in the midst of some good ones.

even that bad stretch about a fourth way into the second season dosnt pull the series down as much.
and i think the last part of the xindi season plays out really well seen close together.

 

[cylkoth]

Another new fan here, started watching last summer and was captivated. So, yes, I can say I am passionate about it. I suppose it is good to watch a show all at once because you get the feeling of it better, you don't have to wait during hiatus and forget what was going on etc. On the other hand you lose the element of anticipation and the possible fan wars.
I was shocked too when I realized the bashing Enterprise still gets from many Star Trek fans and I don't understand it, but what really makes me sad is that there was no season 5 (or 6, or 7). I believe it is such a pity...

Something the newbies should consider, when pondering the 'various', erm.. critical *cough* opinions directed towards ENT, is the expectations many viewers held. For many who watched the previous shows, comparisons were inevitable. And it's there, where ENT often comes up short. I think those who vigorously commented during the show's run, would have swallowed the emo Vulcans, theme song and absense of Trek in the title, if only the stories that were being told, were better in quality than what was delivered earlier. That's really the heart of the matter.
Seasons 1 and 2, while not egregiously bad, failed (in some eyes) to deliver on the promise and potential of it's basic premise. They picked the early 22nd century to get away from the advanced 24th century world, then proceeded to incorporate just about everything 24th c into plotlines...If you closed your eyes and merely listened to the show, it was like VOY had never ended. They even told a story that was nearly identical to an episode of DS9. And the Ferengi ep didn't grate on you because you missed out on all their scintillating exploits from the other shows. If you never watched DS9 or VOY, then you don't understand just how strong in tone ENT came to resemble them, especially VOY. Which is why long time viewers howled-uh, strongly articulated their disappointment.

At the end of the day, I liked ENT, but liking it doesn't blind me of it's many faults, and not lament that it didn't do a better job of exploring truly interesting concepts built into it's premise, rather than retreading worn ground.

 

[lceb]

Something the newbies should consider, when pondering the 'various', erm.. critical *cough* opinions directed towards ENT, is the expectations many viewers held. For many who watched the previous shows, comparisons were inevitable. And it's there, where ENT often comes up short. I think those who vigorously commented during the show's run, would have swallowed the emo Vulcans, theme song and absense of Trek in the title, if only the stories that were being told, were better in quality than what was delivered earlier. That's really the heart of the matter.
If you never watched DS9 or VOY, then you don't understand just how strong in tone ENT came to resemble them, especially VOY. Which is why long time viewers howled-uh, strongly articulated their disappointment.

I really cannot comment on that because I did not watch Voyager on tv. Back when there was no internet and no dvd, in Greece anyway, I watched TOS as a child, TNG and DS9 as they came on tv later on and really loved them, then forgot about Star Trek for many years until last summer, when looking for some good sci-fi I bought four seasons of each Enterprise and Voyager. So I don't know how it is to watch Ent after Voy, but doing it simultaneously I could not help getting hooked to Enterprise. I was not expecting something from it, just to enjoy it, and indeed I did.
Now, after having time to think about the show and read different opinions in the forums, I know that there are things that could have been done better, things that I would have liked to see but didn't and I understand all that, what I don't understand is the attitude "Enterprise, blah this is not Star Trek".

 

[Saga]

i watched several episodes first run, but was busy moving, getting married and had other things going on in real life. i didn't get to watch as religiously as i wanted to, but i always loved Enterprise. my cousin didn't discover Enterprise till the series was on DVD. he's a big fan and still rants about how it should have got seven seasons.

 

[Verse]

Us first run fans are just as passionate if not more so, we just arnt as vocal anymore.

 

[SFRabid]

I'll say that when I watch it through, as I get half way through season four I still get a sense of dread because I know that it is almost over.

 

[Alexandra]

I first stumbled upon ENT sometime in the spring of 2005. I was living in Houston at the time, and there was a UPN channel there. I was intriqued with the show, and tried to make a point to watch it each Friday night. Sometimes, though, it was pre-empted by broadcast sporting events. One night, however, I tuned in to find what I thought was an old re-run of some TNG episode, which I had no desire to watch. I now believe that episode was TATV. After that, I just assumed that UPN was running old TNG episodes and I no longer tuned in. Fast forward to this past Christmas. One gift I received was a 16 gig IPod touch. I searched ITunes for things to download, and found all kinds of Trek episodes. I downloaded some of my favorite episodes of TOS and the first 5 episodes of ENT. After watching them, I was hooked. I immediately downloaded all of ENT season one, and then purchased seasons 2, 3 and 4 on DVD. I have the last five episodes yet to watch, but I will not watch TATV after reading what went on in it.Yes, I am now a PASSIONATE ENT fan! It is a close second to my favorite TOS. I would love to have a new movie or series with the ENT ship and crew! And, as a long-time Trek fan, I've learned to never say "never". I still remember those awful years between the cancellation of TOS and the release of ST:TMP.

 

[caisson2delta]

I watched it from the beginning, just like all the other series. It had it's flaws, in certain areas, but still a quality that was all it's own. I agree with many of the other posts; namely, that there should've been a little bit more "down time" before this series had aired. I agree, that there was just too much trek out there and difficult for it to compete with what was already established.

I also remember, during first run, that it was on UPN and in a bad time slot. It originally aired Wednesday nights, and was competing with the likes of Law and Order and CSI, IIRC. It also got preempted by Miami Heat games, constantly (where I live). A good deal of the potential fan base either: 1. didn't know where or when to find it, or 2. weren't even aware that it was on.

I also agree that it had high expectations. I remember the show being very hyped up at the time and prior to being aired. It was a big deal that Scott Bakula was playing the captain and TPTB automatically assumed all QL fans would jump on the band wagon.

 

[Mr.bobo]

I'm a big fan of THE show Enterprise.

When I saw the first couple of episodes I said to myself:that's it!
I love that show more then the others... (star trek)
I love the ship's construction...
I love the cast and all the characters... especially Archer...
I love the stories of the episodes....and I think it's simply the best show...

 

[Lady Conqueror]

I'm an old fan who's still passionate though sadly I don't post as much as I'd like to anymore (it's a time thing mostly).

It is great to see new fans still discovering the show though