in general did Enterprise...
- Thread starter rick
- Start date
Nothing helped "ruin" the franchise as it is not ruined.
It added 4 more seasons of Trek to the franchise that I enjoyed, so it enhanced it.
It added 4 more seasons of Trek to the franchise that I enjoyed, so it enhanced it.
It enhanced it, sure, but it also had lots of missed opportunities, as did VOY, IN and NEM. But then so did TAS and TMP. And ST V...
Well, it was surely designed to reinvigorate the franchise, and I don't think there's any way we can argue that this goal was accomplished in any meaningful sense. Nor can we fairly argue that the public didn't have some significant exposure to Enterprise; the show debuted, got ratings and press coverage, and then lost most of its audience. At the end, there were a lot of stories speculating that the cancellation meant the time of the entire Trek franchise had passed, and those quite probably did harm the franchise, overblown as they were.
I think even someone who is a fan of the series could make a case that it represented a missed opportunity in some sense. But as Therin says, this has been true for many Trek productions in the past, and the franchise continues...hopefully, for many years to come!
I think even someone who is a fan of the series could make a case that it represented a missed opportunity in some sense. But as Therin says, this has been true for many Trek productions in the past, and the franchise continues...hopefully, for many years to come!
What I have been saying for a long time now: Season 4 should have been Season 1 (more or less) and perhaps there would have been far less problems.
That being said, it was probably a mistake to put Rick Berman and Brannon Braga in charge again. Paramount should have opted for let's say Manny Coto and Mike Sussman as Executive Producers in the beginning. Fresh but experienced blood.
That being said, it was probably a mistake to put Rick Berman and Brannon Braga in charge again. Paramount should have opted for let's say Manny Coto and Mike Sussman as Executive Producers in the beginning. Fresh but experienced blood.
Nail in the coffin.
It wasn't really responsible for the end of the circa-90's hayday of Star Trek, but it was the final whimper. (Along with its contemporary, Nemesis.) It was a last desperate attempt to draw in an audience that had long since dismissed the franchise and the network it aired on; it was essentially doomed to failure.
It wasn't really responsible for the end of the circa-90's hayday of Star Trek, but it was the final whimper. (Along with its contemporary, Nemesis.) It was a last desperate attempt to draw in an audience that had long since dismissed the franchise and the network it aired on; it was essentially doomed to failure.
Pretty much my sentiments. Trek was on its way out no matter what. ENT might have fared better in first-run syndication in the sense that it could have possibly run seven seasons there, but Trek had already been run into the ground by then, IMO...
Moving to Enterprise forum
Three things hurt Enterprise and Start Trek as a whole.
Too much too fast. We had three seasons of TOS to last 20 years. Suddenly we have 21 seasons of TNG, DS9 and VOY. Then they bring out Enterprise. By this time fans were getting very picky and starting to pick apart the shows. TNG withstood two bad seasons because fans were so desperate for more Star Trek. If Enterprise had come out at that time it would have run 7 seasons. They should have let the franchise rest for a while.
Too hard to find. It is hard to build and sustain a big budget scifi show when 50% of your audience does not have access to the limited broadcast area. I would have boosted the ratings a tiny bit if it had been available in my state.
Too much negative Star Trek publicity. Tell your co-workers that you watch Star Trek and they imagine you showing up at conventions in full alien costume worshiping the actor that played Klingon number 3. Somehow Star Wars was cool but not Star Trek. I don't think anything has hurt the franchise as much as the film "Treckies."
Too much too fast. We had three seasons of TOS to last 20 years. Suddenly we have 21 seasons of TNG, DS9 and VOY. Then they bring out Enterprise. By this time fans were getting very picky and starting to pick apart the shows. TNG withstood two bad seasons because fans were so desperate for more Star Trek. If Enterprise had come out at that time it would have run 7 seasons. They should have let the franchise rest for a while.
Too hard to find. It is hard to build and sustain a big budget scifi show when 50% of your audience does not have access to the limited broadcast area. I would have boosted the ratings a tiny bit if it had been available in my state.
Too much negative Star Trek publicity. Tell your co-workers that you watch Star Trek and they imagine you showing up at conventions in full alien costume worshiping the actor that played Klingon number 3. Somehow Star Wars was cool but not Star Trek. I don't think anything has hurt the franchise as much as the film "Treckies."
number6
Vice Admiral
I enjoyed the show. I thought it added adequately to the Trek lineage. I think the lost opportunies Enterprise didn't capitalize on were the results of network tampering and a vocal minority of fans who thought they were going to get something else. I saw fandom reach an historic low and it was ugly and disgusting. It made me ashamed to be a fan. The fanbase had been divided for years, but never had I heard of death threats and petitions for the show's cancellation. It went too far.
I loved the show. It gave us four more seasons of Trek, plus it introduced more people to the Trek franchise who had never watched it before so I think it had a positive effect.
I love Enterprise. I love the characters and the whole premise. But I have to agree that burying it on UPN did the series no favor. And it certainly wasn't helped by putting a pair of burnouts in charge, guaranteeing that would be one missed opportunity after another.
Bermaga needed to take a break. A LONG ONE. I'm glad to see they're getting... even if it is too late.
Bermaga needed to take a break. A LONG ONE. I'm glad to see they're getting... even if it is too late.
number6
Vice Admiral
The fact is that Trek needed a break. Berman said it, Majel Barrett said it, nearly everyone creatively involved said it. If they had taken even 6-12 months between series, we would have had a better show.
As a fan it helped enhance the franchise as a whole because of how much they fleshed out the Vulcans for me. It enhanced the series as a whole because they brought back a loved briefly-seen TOS race and they did it awesomely. It enhanced the series as a whole when they actually explained the difference in Klingon heads between TOS and post-TOS series. It was very well done how tentative, excited and sometimes unsure the humans were during the first season of deep space exploration--very realistic. This enhanced all the "NEXT planet, move along" eps of series set centuries further into exploration. Nice to see humans at the beginning.
So from a long time fan perspective I felt ENT enhanced the franchise greatly.
So from a long time fan perspective I felt ENT enhanced the franchise greatly.
I reckon it was positive on the whole, but it was a close call. During season 1 and 2 the show was spinning its wheels, pretty much like Voyager had been doing for a while. ENT was supposed to reinvigorate the franchise, but delivered more of the same old, same old. Season 3 turned the corner, when a more concerted effort was put into the writing. Season 4 was hit and miss, but was aiming high in its ambition of realising the concept of being a prequel.
Ahh, no need for Viagra tonight!
Similar threads
