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'Star Trek: Enterprise' Cancelled?
Tycoon Guy writes "There seems to be no avoiding it this season: TrekToday is reporting that the Enterprise production crew has been told they will all be fired in March, after completing filming on another four episodes. If true, that leaves only very little time to participate in the Save Enterprise campaign. But even if Enterprise is cancelled, all may not be lost: Rick Berman said today he's working on a new Trek feature film that will have "a larger scope and budget" than ever."
I think I'm not alone in saying this, but if Rick Berman were to show up on my porch selling Star Trek cookies, I think I'd still slam the door in his face.
I'm sick of having the next "Trek thing" shoved in front of me as though I'm supposed to care. Enough already.
Would make a "Save Enterprise" campaign? It is horrible, awful, and bad.
I'd rather gnaw my arm off than sit through an episode of it.
In fact, I would gnaw my arm off to get OUT of sitting through an episode of it.
And Berman needs to be shot for what he's done.
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
It's done! Christ, how much more do they think they can squeeze out of it? God almighty, it's DEAD alreay!!!!
GAaaaaaaaah!
Asses are for crapping, not screwing.
Who'd a thunk that "Star Trek" at this time would be a dead horse, and "Battlestar Galactica" would be hot?
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I need to emphasize the parent. He is dead on.
As a Star Trek fan, call me a trekkie, trekker, whatever(and no I don't dress like a klingon), who's watched the original series, TNG, DS9, Voyager, this man(Berman), has simply destroyed this franchise.
I hope they cancel this show for good and Berman never works with sci-fi again. The man has no idea what he's doing. The storylines are so bad high school seniors can come up with better storylines.
Let some FRESH ideas from some FRESH new people make it to the screen/TV.
IIRC UPN moved enterprise to friday (from its original wednesday) up against the much stronger (in that slot) stargate. This means that Sci fi fans are competing on which show they will watch, as opposed to being able to easily watch *both* which would ensure better rating for the now much less crappy Enterprise.
Instead of dragging out ideas that were rejected for TNG, DS9, and Voyager (and we all know of more than a few stinkers that made it there anyways), they should just stop making the stuff for a while. Give the fans a chance to hunger again. Then, perhaps in 2009 or so, crank up the machine and have at it again.
But, as long as there's a buck to be bled out of the franchise, they'll probably instead just keep cranking out crap. That's a truism in our vertically integrated Hollywood these days. Heck, /.ers might like to pick on them, but the fact is that you don't even need B & B to ruin it anymore...
"Prepare for the worst - hope for the best."
This season has actually been really good. They are back to earth and doing missions around the neighborhood instead of crazy time travel crap. The biggest problem is Berman himself. He's an idiot.
Just when it was getting good. Speaking of Sci-Fi, maybe they should take it over. They've done it before. Shows used to go to sci-fi to die, but the last few have been doing pretty well.
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I know everyone loves to bash Berman, but to be honest, the problem isn't him. Rather, after twenty seasons of Star Trek, pretty much every plot had already been exhausted. If you think he was the first to recycle material, well- how many times did the crew get "trapped" in a holodeck world in ST:TNG?
There's a reason many call it Soap In Space. It's been formulaic and recycled for almost twenty years. The real problem is that the whole ST formula has completely worn out to the extent that no Vulcan sexiness will bring it back.
Please help metamoderate.
for the plotline comparing Vulcans to homosexuals.
You know...how the "bad intolerant Vulcans" wanted to oppress a minor group of Vulcans who couldn't help the fact that they could mind meld...they were just born that way!
The analogy was as clever as a knock knock joke as as obvious as a Mack truck sitting in your living room. It blew hundreds of episodes of Vulcan lore and mythology for a poor imitation of the Trek of years past.
Let's take a look at how the real Trek series handled controversial issues. TOS has the half-black/half-whites fighting the half-white/half-blacks. Still a classic and balls out the most in-your-face episode about racism I think I've seen in sci-fi. You could put the most inbred confederate-flag-waving Klan member down in front of that episode and he'd be the one who laughs and says what a ridiculous notion is was.
TNG was I think the first to tackle the issue of homosexuality where Riker visits that unisex planet and discovers that sometimes people are born with a sex, and have to hide it. The unisex angle was reallly smart because even a conserative Christian could understand what it would be like if they were stripped of their sexual identify (especially since they are very big on enforcing sexual identity, girls dress/act one way, boy's another). Even at a time where gay rights issues were barely on the map, that episode raised a very valid what-if that applied to any viewer.
DS9, while making it an obvious pandering to ratings by scheduling the episode during sweeps, also I think did good work with the Jax/lesbian episode. The issue was touched on earlier when Beverly Crusher fell in love with the first Trill/symbiote on a TNG episode, but at the end when the symbiote was put in a female host, it was a sad end to the relationship. DS9 took the other direction, where Jax still felt love despite the change and had a relationship with a woman. I don't know if this was the first lesbian kiss on television or not...but it wsa definitely something that riled people up. Still a little pandering tho...I mean, the symbiote could have just as easily been in an older less attractive female host...
Back to Enterprise. All Berman/Braga did was take the most generic tale of gay oppression and replace all instances of the word "people" with "Vulcan" and "sex" with "mind meld".
Somehow, I don't see this episode as becoming the theme song for the gay rights movement. What it did too was take all of the nobility and enlightenment of the previous four seasons worth of Vulcans and flush it down the toilet. The Vulcans who showed up on Earth back in First Contact were supposed to be these enlighted souls who had unified their planet after decades of war, who had turned away from emotion that let to nothing but conflict and embraced pure logic, who had conquered space and really owned the galaxy as far as it had been explorered.
Now, thanks to Berman/Braga, the Vulcan's are no better than humans, there's civil war, people getting high on emotions, racism/meldism, leaders using terrorism as a pretext for wiping out followers of another religion (cough cough, gee I wonder what analogy that is)
It's enough to make Sarak role in his future grave and make any Trek fan vomit in disgust. If there's anything that Trek fans would consider sacriledge, I have to believe it's turning the Vulcans into the squabbling mess that Enterprise depicts.
I'd rather watch a series that followed the life and times of the Voyager Borg kids than watch a single episode of Enterprise.
-JoeShmoe
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-- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
I hope they take a long, hard look at the new Battlestar Galactica before they make any move on a new Star Trek series-fanbois are drooling over it for a reason.
Enterprise has a really good cast, but the format or even the Star Trek genre is just stale and tired right now.
A popular theme here seems to be that Star Trek is worn out, tired, needs rest.
This is ridiculous. You got a space ship and an infinite universe, and you can't think of any original story lines? This is simply poor writing. Bring in good people and Star Trek could change tomorrow.
Lets see...
Voyager was about a ship lost in space, evading aliens and trying to get back to earth.
Battlestar Galactica is about...err..a ship lost in space, evading aliens and trying to get back to earth.
The reason only one of those sucks is the writing, producing, directing.
This series was dead to me from the get-go. They broke too much of the trek history that I came to enjoy.
If they plan to draw in a Trek audience with the promise of a glimpse into the Trek Universe's exciting past - they could have at least shown us the past that had been established by Trek.
Ugh. Vulcans and Klingons and Clones? Oh my...
Give me "Final Reflection: The Movie", or just let the frahchise die.
---on the other side of the playground--- *waves all the star trek fans over to the brand new battlestar galactica jungle gym*
I feel it may time to relegate the whole Star Trek universe to television history. For one, Gene Roddenberry was the best creative influence on the show and now he has past on. The creative heirs of the show are gradually running out of ideas as evident by the rehashing of heroes, villians, and themes from different spinoffs. The themes of paradise, egalitarianism, enlightment, and global peace seem absurd in this post 911 world. Shows like Battlestar Galactica have more parallel with today's reality. The human struggle to survive with little hope in sight reflects our struggle with hatred that now pulls our societies apart with little end in sight. Last, the only reason any studio would consider airing another series is to ring every drop of commercial gain from trekkies. This will eventually leave a sour taste and overshadow the shows' real sucess in tv.
You don't have to be smart to use a Mac, you just have to be smart enough to buy one
I know everyone loves to bash Berman, but to be honest, the problem isn't him.
You're confusing "honest" with misinformed/delusional.
I've been a Berman hater since 1991. Why? Because of a magazine article I have where he explains all that he thinks that is wrong with Star Trek. He basically lists all the reason why Star Trek became a phenomenon instead of a forgotten low-budget campy sci-fi show.
He hates the humanist message.
He hates the bridge cammaraderie.
He hates the para-military Starfleet mainly in charge of commercial space travel, exploration and self defense.
He hates the techno-eutopia of earth.
He hates the idea that humanity could grow and become better than it is now.
He hates the entire message that Gene Roddenberry gave us.
He then described how he thought Star Trek should be, and you know what it was? Exactly what the first 3 years of Enterprise was: Darker, lower tech, on-ship conflicts, etc.
When Gene Roddenberry died, they had a bust of him made. That bust was in Rick Berman's office, with a blindfold and earplugs on, because he damn well knew that Gene would not approve of what he was doing to his creation.
And you know what? The fans don't approve either, the commercial partners don't approve, the ratings don't approve.
The only reason his endaevours haven't COMPLETELY tanked is because of the recognizable brand-name. He's been riding the inertia of Star Trek's past quality, but he's been making nothing but crap since.
Rick Berman must die. Nothing short of this will save Star Trek: It's in the hands of am egomaniac who's been twisting something beloved by generations of sci-fi fans into his lame, insipid vision.
Had he made these shows from scratch instead of abusing a known setting, he would never had made it past a single season.
You can't take the sky from me...
Speaking of Sci-Fi, maybe they should take it over. They've done it before.
Both UPN and the Star Trek franchise are owned by the same company. So it will never go to a competing network.
It's like saying that the next Mario game should be on PS2.
You can't take the sky from me...
Oh, or better yet... a new warp drive has been invented that appears to be able to traverse interstellar space and they need a crew to test drive it---so they point it at M33 and... No, not invented, that one that was "discovered" in the Gamma quadrant by Janeway and her crew...
Of course something goes horribly wrong... etc.
Not suggesting this because I hate Mr. Wheaton, of course.. but wouldn't it be cool to get him a job again NOT to mention the fact that many geek fans LOVE him. Not the ST:TNG character, as much, because he was a kid playing a role the best that he could written by adults who didn't know what they were doing.
Hm. I guess we'd have to get rid of Berman for that to ever happen, huh??
Why not a season earlier?
Seriously. Enterprise is the wrost Trek series of all times, and that includes the future. The first two season were - though not exactly great - acceptable. But the third season was just unbearable. This whole Xindi thing was just plain stupid.
I for one would applaude the cancellation of this show. As others have said before, the franchise needs a break. Then, in perhaps 20 years time, we will see the likes of TNG and DS9 again.
If a train station is a place where a train stops, what's a workstation?
Not to mention fighting with studio execs of the 60's to have a multicultural crew, having a woman in a technical job, on the bridge, and a black woman at that!
He never did anything particularly impressive? sheesh.
You can't take the sky from me...
I say re-hire them all before they're dead, travel back in time, transport data right before the explosion & give him some eye-bag implants. Do another 7 seasons in the Starfleet Academy Retirement home.
I think a darker grittier Star Trek would be a good thing, but it needs good direction and writing.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
That fucking idiot has single-handedly destroyed the entire franchise. Why? Because he thinks he has talent. Even worse, he and his tiny little cadre of butt-buddies think they have so much talent that it warrants their writing almost every episode! Why was The Original Series so great? Because Roddenberry actively sought out fresh talent to do the scripts. The same goes for the bulk of The Next Generation. Just compare the list of writers for either of these two series with that continuing bylines of Berman, Braga, et al we've had to suffer throughout Voyager and Enterprise. The good of the many outweighs the good of the one. Time to let this show DIE and for Berman to be put to pasture.
Why would you tie the hands of a genius like Straczynski with the weight of too damn much shitty, contradictory continuity?
Justin Rye's commentary is a good place to start on it. At the bottom of most pages where it says "Star Trek does x wrong", it says "Babylon 5 did x right, and here's how".
For example, when the crew can beam onto the Borg ship, they can blast a few things with phasers, but don't think to bring, say, a five hundred megaton nuke into the center of the ship and set it to detonate as soon as they clear out. Babylon 5? (Spoilers for the end of season three here.) When Sheridan goes to Z'Ha'Dum, he brings nukes with him. Not "quantum torpedoes" or some treknobabble crap that doesn't sound ooh-we're-hippies-nuclear-scary, he brings a fucking nuke. (Well, two, for good measure.)
It suffers from the same problem that Xander's muscles did in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. How strong is Xander---does he get beat up by one regular vamp, or can he hold his own against an invading army of Turok-Han---"they are to the vampire what the Neanderthal is to humans"? It depends on how convenient it is to the plot.
The problem, in both cases, is giving someone way, way too much power, and having to nerf tham with stupidity because otherwise they'd be unstoppable. Which, incidentally, is why Batman rocks, and why Superman is a fucking tool. (For a list of Trek-tech which has to be ignored in subsequent episodes because they're overpowered, see here.)
Look, if you want brilliant SF, give JMS or Joss Whedon a fat check and a full season to prove themselves. Trek has become synonymous with SF. (I at least hope that 'Star Wars' has more of an association with fantasy than SF.) That needs to change. Netcraft Confirms---Trek Is Dying.
--grendel drago
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
look, the following is opinion. you may strongly disagree, so be warned.
that show has f*cking sucked since the 3rd episode. struggle after stuggle, from blalock's emotional bleed-through and crack whorage on the space-drugs, and scott bakula's transformation from an incredible actor into a stilted hack, this show was doomed from the beginning. they alienate the hell out of trek fans, especially the older ones, with their horrible inconsitancies and poor background research, piss-poor dialogue and incompetant directing.
it started when rick berman and brannon braga made the borg sexy. they were the scariest foe in trek history until they gave the borg boobs-- and big 'uns. with voyager, you could really see the beginning of the decline as the budget increased and the amount of fabric or jeri ryan's body decreased. they have trivialized everything that was meaningful about trek and change the whole concept of it. it used to be about peace and diplomacy and scientific discovery. confrontation was rare, but certainly necessary, but only when it was necessary was it used. now you see everyone blowing EVERYTHING up because that's what get's the masses of america to turn on and tune in: boobs and lasers and explody spacebourne objects.
the sad thing is that you can tell that some of the actors really tried hard to make the show better by acting better only to finally give up. poor john billingsly. theonly good actor on the show, and he has such a small presence.
let us not forget poor Mayweather (as it seems the writers have). why is he there? just to fill space? why would they cast a regular actor if they're never going to give him any meaningful involvment in but a few episodes?
if you ask me (which you didn't, but whatever), this show has only ber-maga and the writers to blame. the fans tried and tried to save it, but they were the only onse being ignored. HA! that's what u get.
ugh, and the theme song...
That's pretty interesting. Star Trek desperately needs a decline event of some sort to advance the (small-u) universe. There is only so much Starfleet can do. I wonder what the best plot to accomplish this would be...
"Hot lesbian witches! It's fucking genius!"