The Enterprise Debacle
By Matt Kutzner - 4/20/2006

I'd like to start off by saying that this is my first article for StarTrek2.com. The first of many, hopefully. I never considered myself to be much of a writer, but I'm willing to give it shot. With all that said, let me get down to business.

I remember seeing an Enterprise commercial for the first time. I was a big fan of Voyager at that point, and it was entering its last season. The commercial was talking about how the new series was going to take place before Picard and even before Kirk. I was thinking to myself...what the heck is this crap? I wanted a new series to move into the future...to boldly go where no one has gone before. Instead, they go back a couple hundred years to a time when the Federation doesn't even exist. I understand the urge to fill in some of the missing facts, but let's get realistic. Who wants to go back in time for a whole series?

I find it hard to believe that Rick Berman and Brannon Braga (the murderers of Star Trek, seen on left) didn't see this coming from the start. When we're used to seeing things happen in the 24th century, why on earth would we want to be watching something that happened 200 years earlier? I'll admit to everyone that I liked Enterprise. But I like anything that has Star Trek slapped in front of it. I'm writing this article with the casual fan in mind. Here's an example...I'm a big Brewers fan, and I watch quite a few games. Let's say there was an old Brewers game on ESPN Classic from 1970. Even if I don't know the outcome of the game, I still don't have much interest in watching it. It's something that happened years ago, and it has no bearing on current events. I hope that makes sense to at least some of you.

Let me take a moment to talk about Berman and Braga. They did very well with TNG. I think that series is far and away the best Star Trek. Then they moved on to DS9 and Voyager, which I enjoy, but both of the series had their share of criticisms. People started to realize that these guys were over the hill, and that new people needed to be brought in. Instead, they made Enterprise (not to mention Insurrection and Nemesis), and we all know what happened there. For Star Trek's sake, move on to other things and leave us alone. I have no doubt in my mind that with the right people directing this franchise, it will once again be as successful as it has ever been. And now, back to the point at hand.

Enterprise was doomed from the very beginning. The idea of going back in time turned a lot of people away from the show. Combine that with the first two seasons not being anything special, and that's a recipe for disaster. Sure, it got a lot better around season 3 (maybe because they upped the tempo of the theme song), but it was too late at that point.

Paramount could be on the verge of making the same mistake again. I've heard rumors about a possible 'Romulan Wars' movie, and I believe that would be a colossal mistake. It takes place sometime between Enterprise and The Original Series. It appears the idea has been shelved for now, but I'd like to hear someone within Paramount publicly state that that script will never see the light of day. Another movie bombing at the box office could mean that it will be a long time before we see any more Star Trek, if we ever see it again.

Some of you may be thinking, "Well, he's pointing out a lot of faults, but what would he do to correct things?" I'll tell you what Paramount should do to help fix the situation...in my next article.

I'd like to know what you thought of the article, so please email me at matthew911@startrek2.com.