The last voyage of the ‘Enterprise’
Series goes off air Friday, leaving no new TV ‘Treks’
Friday, May 13, 2005 Posted: 7:53 AM EDT (1153 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — “Star Trek: Enterprise” is about to go where it has never gone before: off the air, taking the “Star Trek” franchise with it.
After the two-hour finale airs (8 p.m. EDT Friday on UPN) this will be the first time in 18 years that no first-run “Trek” series is on TV.
“Enterprise” lasted four seasons. It was the first “Trek” spinoff to last fewer than seven seasons. Plummeting ratings did what no Klingon battlecruiser or Borg collective could accomplish. And this time, network honchos didn’t bow to Trekker pressure to renew the series, as they did in the face of a write-in campaign that gave the original “Star Trek” a third year on the tube (1966-69).
In fact, many longtime Trekkers stopped watching long ago. There were gripes going back at least as far as the fourth incarnation, “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995-2001), about lame or retreaded plots, goofy aliens and the weak leadership of “Voyager’s” Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and “Enterprise’s” Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula).
Sadly lacking were the rules-be-damned machismo of James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner) or the class and thoughtful maturity of Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart).
You know, contrary to this article’s (click for full story) dry tone suggests, I liked both Janeway and Archer as characters. Janeway was a marvellous piece of characterisation, and in some ways more Kirk than Kirk. Archer was also interesting, but I must confess a strong bias, because it was Scott Bakula. I am saddened to see “Enterprise” go; I thought it was a good show.
I liked seeing the Federation without some of the technology of later shows. Also the show did get much better after the second season, and some of those episodes have been excellent.
It’s sad to think that there will be no new shows of any kind. However, I think that some clever person will find a way to make Star Trek relevant to a new audience. I think the shows need time to develop a cult status like the hokey ass original series.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Star Trek addiction… which will now turn into DVD collecting. It was a great time, and took me through my childhood and most of my adult life, so it’s a goodbye to a friend. I’ve had Star Trek dreams ya’ll, vivid ones!
Meanwhile, let the syndication begin!
Add comment