How expensive were Enterprise episodes vs. VOY/DS9/TNG?

[C.E. Evans]

Maybe some of these figures need to be adjusted for 2014 as this was a necro'd thread from 2010. I'm sure it's even more expensive now in today's dollars.

 

[DS9forever]

DS9's sets probably cost a lot at the start; Ops, the Promenade and Quarks, quarters, the runabout sets etc.

Then they added a new level to the Promenade for season two and in season three the Defiant bridge, the Defiant main engineering and the wardroom set.

Add that to how many aliens there could be and the makeup required - "What You Leave Behind" alone has Bajorans, Klingons, Jem'Hadar, Cardassians, Changelings, Vorta, Trill, Romulans, Evora etc. That wouldn't have been cheap.

 

[MacLeod]

I know the "canceled" subject has been debated to death... mediocre ratings matched to a very expensive budget per episode spelled the death of Enterprise. Although I'd question how effective the rating systems really are, outside of "grand slam" showings.


Anyway, since the budget was noted a number of times as being very expensive, I'm wondering what made it so and how it ranked next to other Star Trek series. I have to admit, season 3 and 4 were more elaborate than season 1 and 2. The show seemed to be hitting its stride by the 2nd half of its run. But what are the aspects of production that are the most expensive? Would the show have gone to season 5 if the staff had been a little more conservative, made more with less to keep the budget down?

"Broken Bow" cost as much as $15 million before the mainstay sets were even factored in. "Caretaker" cost as much as $25 million, all in. Each episode cost something like $3 million, sometimes more, so it was not cheap for anyone involved. Because a lot of costs (namely CGI) came down over time, "Enterprise" seemed to do more with the same budget DS9 and Voyager had.

I'm not sure it did at least with regards to DSN.

 

[kadajawi]

I recall reading on imdb that DS9 was around 1-2 million or so for the first 3 seasons, and then around 4 million thereafter. Memory Alpha says Emissary was $12 million.

To those surprised by the price per episode... considering how many people are involved, the new sets to be built, it isn't that much. An average Marvel movie is like what, 200-250 million? In season 10 of Friends each episode cost 10 million. And they had a few sets that they always reused, no CGI, no effects, ...

B5 was apparently around 850000 or so? And you can see how they reaaaaally tried to save money.

Do read Michael Piller's Fade In, if you have any interest in how Star Trek is made. He writes about the making of Insurrection, he talks about the budget (how much everything costs, like the make-up for some extra in the background), etc. It's a great read, it's very interesting, and it made me understand the movie and why it turned out the way it did more.

Btw., MacLeod? Did your wife initially name your child Q? If yes, you should have stayed with that.

 

[ALF]

Interesting thread... whenever I rewatch ENT I'm always blown away by the quality of the production. It's simply a great looking show. Also, I hadn't really thought about factoring in permanent, standing sets for a television series and baking that cost into the budget for the pilot episode. Would love to see those comparative numbers on all the series'.

 

[Samurai8472]

Completely agree with both of you. Whatever money was spent, it was all up there on the screen. Enterprise looked fantastic.

Sorry to necro the thread

I was watching old episodes of "Enterprise" in Standard definition. The hall ways look more real than the "walls" on Star Trek TNG.

I think the HD conversion probably cost a bit too when they moved to HD.

You'd think they'd have a cheaper episode with their stock footage of Enterprise moving through space.

I also notice the cost cutting scenes when I watched "Enterprise" and "Voyager"

Archer- Fire phasers!

*No exterior CGI shot of enterprise firing phasers*

Reed- Phasers fired!

LOL

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

And with that last comment, we'll let this thread rest in peace. Interested parties are welcome to start a new thread to continue the discussion.

*closed*