Enterprise Fate Uncertain

[Khephra]

Enterprise Fate Uncertain

Leslie Moonves, the CBS chief who also oversees sister network UPN, told the Scripps Howard News Service that the fate of UPN's struggling Star Trek: Enterprise is uncertain and will remain so for the next several months. Despite a change in the series' storyline and the addition of Star Trek to its title, Enterprise has seen its ratings languish without improvement from the previous season, UPN entertainment president Dawn Ostroff told the news service.

"We just picked up three drama pilots. We'll pick up a few more after that," Moonves said. "You see the new stuff, you see the old stuff, and you compare and say, 'What is the better schedule?' So it's not like, 'Gee, if Enterprise is up 10 percent between now and May, it will get picked up.' ... It's, 'All right. How do we build Wednesday better?' 'Does it include Enterprise?' Very possibly. 'Does it not?' Possibly as well."

more.......................

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2004-02/13/10.20.tv

[Loonman]

1. They gotta get some writers

Whiz-bang special effects can only go so far.

I'm almost hoping the Xindi will blow the Enterprise out of the cosmos.


Like how Nemesis could have been really good, but a sure thing like Trek was screwed up, and killed the whole movie franchise.

[Terwilliger]

2. Nemesis could have been good...

but so could Generations and Insurrection

I think that the franchise is weighted down with old ideas and stagnant creativity. They nearly screwed the pooch with "Enterprise" and now they're scrambling to make it last. I don't know if they can save it, and I've liked ST:E so far this season.

[Loonman]

6. It got off on a good start

Being an original Trek Purist. I can't watch without Spock, Kirk, Bones and Scotty, so I was glad for the new series for it's prequel connotations, until the abysmal writing started to drag it down.

I still watch Enterprise, religiously, too, and not only for T'Pol.

[jokerman93]

5. Where are they?

I was out of the country during the 90's so I'm playing catch up with Trek which I have loved since I was a kid.

I've been watching the DS9 on DVD (I'm up to season seven finally!). The writing is solid -- sometimes it even reaches toward brilliant. The ensamble of actors is first rate too.

Where was the formula lost?

I like Enterprise and watch it faithfully. The actors are working hard to intrerpret the scripts, and sometimes they manage to launch a good story, but yeah.

I don't care about the storyline as much as I want to.

Some people have suggested Rick Berman is among the culprits. I don't know the politics behind the franchise. What's been happening? Can anyone help me out with this?

[Shadder]

3. My thoughts exactly

You want better ratings for the show, get better writers. Give us a story line that we care about and can hold our interest.

[ursacorwin]

7. let it die!

and all the corporate whores who profit by destroying GR & MR's fine legacy.

like everything else in bush's america, enterprise is a horrifying perversion of a great set of ideals. i stopped watching at the second episode of the first season, and used to check in every so often to make sure i had made the right choice. there is a Nation article summing up everything i think about what's gone wrong with the franchise, but i suppose smart DUers already could give a list if we wanted to waste some time.

politically, it makes me angry because once upon a time, anything related to ST reinforced ideals like justice, peace, inclusion, equality and opportunity. they even touched upon current events and social issues thru metaphor. i own the DVDs of DS9, and when i recently watched a few episodes i was struck by how much deeper, more thoughtful, and more interesting it was that today's schlock. and people thought DS9 was the *weak* show of the four...

they took away one of the few franchises that a progressive like me could enjoy, and replaced it with CRAP. calling something ST doesn't make it so, and i'm glad GR isn't around to see what they've done in his name. don't even get me started on andromeda...

[Skip Intro]

4. If Enterprise goes, I'd like to see a new Trek series replace it

...a quality, well-thought series set in TNG/Voyager time or later, with the most advanced ship yet.

I don't want to go without any new Trek episodes, and I think there's a definite, large audience that would watch a new "good" Trek series. But Enterprise just isn't up to the job, imho.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Enterprise Was A Failure Waiting To Happen

I think they messed this up from the start. The idea of going back in time in sci-fi would only work if the storylines were monumentally good.

Once we've seen 100 years of technological advancement between STC and STNG/Voyager/DS9, going backwards and traveling shorter distances in longer time periods is a tough pill to swallow. Also, there is no drama with the current antagonists.

We already know that the Federation is the preeminent interstellar organization in this region of the Galaxy by the time STNG hits, and we know they were getting there by the time of STC. So, the enemies in this series are already ancient, defeated history by the timeline we already know. Where's the drama in that?

That's where the biggest problem lies. Without incredible interpersonal storylines, and acting talent to carry them off, the ship is rudderless. There is no serious antagonist that can be brought into the mix, since we know they DO NOT WIN ANYTHING. Otherwise, everything we already know is fantasy.

The prequel idea trapped them into this and they failed to see that all they had was the relationships. The cast and writers weren't up to that task.

Story over.
The Professor

[mouse7]

9. Oh well, Sci-Fi approved Galactica for next season.

There will still be a place to get your weekly space fix.

Dark BG looks like it might be fun, too.

[Stoker]

11. I liked the 2-hour episode...

Battlestar Galactica looked awesome!

I own the original series on DVD (got it for Christmas) - I had forgotten how campy and cheezy some of the original series was! Loved it as a kid. The new BG looks to be awesome. I like the realistic, dark tones.

Stoker

[Khephra]

13. There's also the new Lost in Space reworking

That's supposed to be somewhere between the movie and the series.

Sad thing is this: there's no Doctor Smith.

[mouse7]

14. Jon Lovitz as Dr. Smith

It could work.

[Newsjock]

10. They blew it with all the pro-war 9/11 crud

The Xindi tale is an extremely thinly veiled allegory about 9/11. Archer's change in personality, from meek explorer to angry warrior, is a parallel to Bush. The "let's blow things up first and ask questions later" mentality is pre-emptive war.

When Berman et al. decided to shift the storyline in that direction last year, they thought the polls were on their side, and America would eat up a series that satisfied their thirst for blood and revenge.

They were wrong, and their miscalculation might well kill off the venerable Trek franchise.

It's somewhat relieving to see that the great unwashed masses didn't fall for the ruse of Big Brother-approved plotlines.

(Yes, I'm aware that some individual episodes have been good, particularly ones that have deviated from the 9/11 storyline.)

[trogdor]

12. Enterprise was rushed to market.

Everybody knows what happens when you do that. In the auto industry, that usually means costly and embarassing recalls.

[Beetwasher]

15. I Know Everyone's Trashing It

But I still enjoy it. I'd be bummed to see it go...Oh well...Guess that leaves me with only the Simpsons and SG1, otherwise, my TV is pretty useless...

[BlueJazz]

16. I wish the hell that they would get out more.

I think some of the charm of the older Star Treks were the fact that they would visit other planets and cultures and (usually) have a fun
time.

Remember the episode of Star Trek where Jim, Spock and the whole crew went down to the "Recreation Planet" and got into all kinds of messes? (I think McCoy was killed be a jealous knight?)
Anyway, that type of fun stuff....not every week but as it is right now, it gets B-O-R-I-N-G.....