A very unpleasant time really, to be a Star Trek fan. And 2003 was around when I began to join online forums, so a baptism of fire. If you don't show your support in any shape or form, nobody's ever going to know and the strength of opinion against the show was unjustifiably more vocal to start with.
I remember the Save Enterprise organiser was a guy by the name of Tim Brazeal. Looked like a huge bearded biker kinda fella, and he was from one of the Southern States. I recall he and his wife got a lot of flak. Basically any old fan-turned-amateur sleuth, motivated by their own dislike of the show, digging through somebody's private life to find something to tarnish their, as far as I could see, genuine love to not see it end right there in February 2005. I donated some measly amount and eventually got it back... not that I needed it then, and knowing everything has running costs. Nowadays I absolutely couldn't afford much more than lending moral support.
I don't regret supporting the campaign and liked the aim of it so much I carried on for quite a while after. I moved onto the Trekunited forums for a bit, ran a petition calling for a Direct-to-DVD, carried on writing letters, mailing postcards and little home-made DVD discs with the Save Enterprise phoenix on them. Even as late as into the production of the first JJ Abrams' film, to Writer/Producer/Executives working on it and indeed anybody within CBS/Paramount. More recently I frequented the Facebook campaign launched around the time the Blu rays came out. But I guess that's pretty much done with now too.
I didn't consider it a waste of my time, because I still regularly rewatch the show and felt passionately about getting more from these characters or if not the 22nd Century, over the others which have been well-mined for stories. Frankly I'd still have preferred to see something onscreen that picks up where Season 4 left off, over anything that's come out of this franchise since... or probably ever will.
I think it's unlikely Star Trek 2017 will do any better than Enterprise did. There's a core of 2-3 million committed fans - the figure still left bothering to stick with UPN by the end - and even over a decade later, that's basically the ballpark figure CBS Access will be hoping subscribe. Fans seeking out Star Trek wherever it ends up, by whatever means and whatever media platform is willing to host it. So in my mind at least, the reasons for killing of my favourite show, not moving to another station, were more mired in studio politics and had nothing to do with the numbers. But we'll know for sure in the coming months.
Everything has it's time to shine and then everything goes into decline. Star Trek had begun to do that with Voyager. But I still watch Enterprise and see a show that's coming out the other side of that. So much so, getting to Season 4, it feels like the shine is back, there are places left to go and explore. The plug is pulled, just when it's at its most colourful. And sure, I'll always want more of what Manny Coto might've had instore for Season 5, even if the fire has died down since the days when I was willing to push quite so hard for it.
