Before you ask, "Then how come DS9 and VOY ran seven seasons?" DS9 and VOY started off with TNG-level ratings. They could afford to lose ratings every year and still run seven seasons. ENT couldn't.
Spoilers Star Trek: Picard General Discussion Thread
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As much as I have lukewarm feelings on this episode I disagree completely. It reminds me of "Trials and Tribble-ations." Were people talking about the plot, as fun as it was? No, they were talking about the inserting of the DS9 crew in with the TOS crew and the fun achievement of that all. People don't talk about the deep stuff too much when it comes to episodes. This is just a feature I've observed over the years on this and other forums. If we hit deep it lingers not as long as other points because the deeper stuff usually gets glossed over for the fun fan stuff. Which I get, but I would not take this as a mark against the season. People like the fan feels. That's a feature, not a bug.
True points and fair enough.
I'm as ardent a champion of ENT as you'll find on this board and even I knew the series' ratings became anemic by the end. Even UPN saw them as mediocre and UPN probably would have renewed a looped video of spilled milk evaporating under the Sun if they had one to broadcast.
You mean like "Threshold"? Or "Sub Rosa"? Or "Take Me Out to the Holosuite"?
If the pressure was there, it didn't seem Berman and Co. were feeling it.
One of those was actually a good episode though.
UPN didn't want ENTERPRISE anymore by that point.
They were heading into the Wrestling and Teen Dramas direction.
ENTERPRISE wasn't going to fit with the demographic they were trying for.
Never mind that the guy at the top wasn't a Sci-Fi fan in the slightest.
Those reasons, too.
The ratings sucked and it didn't help Trek was no longer important to the network's "vision for the future." How'd that work out for you, Moonves? Oh. Right.
The ratings sucked and it didn't help Trek was no longer important to the network's "vision for the future." How'd that work out for you, Moonves? Oh. Right.
It's all about perception. Enterprise's ratings were often double Battlestar Galactica at the time. They were the critical darling, which is nice, but Enterprise was actually more popular.
Syndicated TV in the late 80s was complete trash, and the ratings significantly went up as the show improved, and they went down as the show got worse. What I said stands. Every episode was do or die.
It's my understanding is that they were more focused on the spin offs and movies by the time the seventh season rolled around.You mean like "Threshold"? Or "Sub Rosa"? Or "Take Me Out to the Holosuite"?
If the pressure was there, it didn't seem Berman and Co. were feeling it.
One way I measured perceived popularity of Star Trek is by the way Playmates did toys.
You could go into Toys R Us and get a lights and sounds Enterprise D, Vorcha, Romulan Warbird, Bridge set, Engineering, transporter room, etc at any time in 1990-1993.
Generations had a *huuuuge* toy merchanize boom, the Enteprise B, battledamaged Enterprise D, the Bird of Prey, etc.
After that it started fading.
Star Trek was all the rage in 1990-1996..
And then Star Wars returned.
Who doesn't want to see passive aggressive vulcans playing baseball
The Generations line were infamously cheap, quickly-produced pegwarmers that got shafted by the late change in costume design.
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Yeah, the figures were subpar, but the ships and instruments were cool.
(I still have them all in boxes around here somewhere)
Merchandising is probably the worst way to calculate popularity. It relies on so many other factors, such as production, logistics, promotion, how solvent the companies are, etc.
In dollars and cents perhaps, yes.
However I've noticed that as merchandizing diminishes, so does perceived popularity and such. Its happened with Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, etc.
It's a bit chicken and egg isn't it? Fewer merch is produced if people don't buy previous waves. The underperformance of the Generations line directly impacted future products.
Playmates tried to revive interest by switching to 6" for First Contact, but that was another kind of disaster, and the line really entered its death throes from that point on.
TNG was a merchandising juggernaut, but none of the later series or films ever managed to get anywhere near that level.
If you don't get your product to market and promote, you got Buck Rogers.
Star Trek appeals to the collector market, it has a niche there. It does steady business. It's like Old Faithful.
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