My how the months just go by...and this month was started off with some sad news: UPN in conjunction with Paramount Television Studios have agreed to cancel
Star Trek: Enterprise.
Now, before I start ranting, I want to preface all of this by saying that Enterprise is not the best Trek show ever. But I am currently enjoying it more than I ever enjoyed DS9 or Voyager. The show has finally seemed to find its footing. If allowed to continue on to seasons 5-7, we'd witness the beginnings of the Federation and the Romulan War. These are exciting times and the perfect fodder for a weekly television series!
It seems strange to me, from a business sense, that Paramount would choose to cancel a Star Trek spinoff. I understand it costs a lot of money to produce and air a weekly series, but the lasting damage a cancellation could do to the alredy floundering franchise seems far worse. When the next series or feature film comes out, does Paramount really want everyone to remember that the last Trek series was
cancelled?
Here's my theory. It's far-fetched, but it may be true. I thik the cancellation talk is a fake. Take the following into consideration:
The press release on Viacom's website uses some pretty interesting language. The title, for example, is ""Star Trek: Enterprise" To End Its Current Voyage On UPN In May." What exactly do they mean by
current voyage?
They go on to say that "this will be the final season of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE on UPN." Final season of Enterprise on UPN, eh? Meaning it might not be the final episode of Enterprise? You see where I'm going here.
Look, UPN is not some independent network and Paramount isn't an independent studio. They're part of Viacom - a huge corporation - and I'm sure they know what they're doing. Viacom owns a lot of things, including UPN, Paramount, CBS, MTV, SpikeTV, and by extension the Star Trek franchise. So...you can see how Trek reruns ended up on Spike.
Now we all know that UPN isn't actually the best fit for an intelligent science-fiction series like Enterprise. They're too busy hitting up the African American crowd and pushing silly reality shows like
America's Top Model. Not that there's anything wrong with these things, but it doesn't exactly create an environment that is very compatible with a show like Enterprise.
But think about it: CBS has a lot of shows that are intelligent and, while not necessarily science fiction, they are at least science-based. Yes, I'm talking about those endless procedural crime dramas, and they're a much better fit for Enterprise than anything that UPN currently has to offer.
As I said, it would be silly for Paramount - and Viacom - to deal a blow to the Star Trek franchise by cancelling a spinoff series. What they need to do is generate some interest in the show. What better way to do this than by cancelling the show. The same press release I quoted above also has the following: "We'd like to thank Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and an incredibly talented cast for creating an engaging, new dimension to the Star Trek universe on UPN, and we look forward to working with them, and our partners at Paramount Network Television, on a send-off that salutes its contributions to The Network and satisfies its loyal viewers." What a better sendoff than announcing after the "series finale" that Enterprise would be resume its run on CBS in the fall, perhaps partnered with an established lead-in (something UPN could never give it) that could increase viewership. Come on, how hard would it be for Viacom to move a show from one of their networks to the other? Heck, they took Buffy from the WB which they don't even own although perhaps that's not the best example.
Anyway, as you can tell I am saddened by the "cancellation" of Enterprise, whether it's going to really happen or if it's just a marketing ploy. My preference would be that Enterprise stay on UPN just as it is - after all it's just now getting good. And what show, I ask, is UPN going to get that will get better ratings than Enterprise? They've had so many flops I can't even remember them all. Give Enterprise another year, won't you?
