Why Did Star Trek: Enterprise Fail?

Star Trek is a television phenomenon that promises to boldly go where no one has gone before. Ever since its creation, Star Trek has been the definition of science fiction. Star Trek gave us warp drive and the transporter and encouraged our top scientific minds to pursue their theory. Each television franchise had a unique feel, and each one (excluding the original series) did well enough to run for seven seasons. But when we look at the five television franchises, one of them stands out like a sore thumb. It's the last show to grace our small screens: Enterprise. This Trek franchise ran for only four seasons before being cancelled, leaving an unresolved plot element. It is perhaps the most unsuccessful and controversial franchise in the history of Trek. Why did Enterprise fail? I intend to answer this question in this article.

First, let's consider the official source. Rick Berman has been a prominent name in Star Trek ever since the 80's. He worked with Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek's creator) to create Star Trek: the Next Generation. He would go on to give us Deep Space Nine, Voyager, several of the movies, and even Enterprise. When asked about Enterprise's declining ratings, Rick Berman stated that he believed the entire Trek line was suffering from "franchise fatigue." Basically, we've seen so much of Trek that it's lost its originality.

Consider this. Enterprise debuted in the wake of the closings of both Deep Space Nine and Voyager. Both of these were very successful and acclaimed franchises. We had little time to sit back and actually grasp the conclusions of these shows, when Paramount gave us another ship, another crew, and another timeline. Too many irons in the fire.

I also think Enterprise's underlying concept led to its failure. Unlike the previous three franchises, all of which were very successful, Enterprise was a prequel. It was set in the 22^nd Century, nearly a hundred years before even the original series. The show took place aboard a primitive starship (compared to what we've seen since Next Generation), featuring chronologically the first crew. The problem here is quite simple. Enterprise took place in a time period that quite frankly Trek fans cared little about. The show featured early contact with many of our classic alien races, the Klingons, the Andorians, the Romulans, even the Vulcans weren't quite like the ones we were used to seeing. It was quite an adjustment to make for many of us solid Trek fans.

The elements unique to Enterprise were done well, mostly. Enterprise dealt heavily with something called the Temporal Cold War. Supposedly, in the distant future (Enterprise's future), someone was trying to take over our region of the galaxy. To do this, this person (and it is unclear exactly who this was - either a single individual or an entire race) convinced the alien races the Suliban, the Xindi, and an unnamed species to sabotage the workings in the 22^nd Century, dissolving what would be the United Federation of Planets. The story arcs concerning these races, what they did, and how Enterprise saved the day again were typically well-written and enjoyable. However, the exact nature of the Temporal Cold War and how it ended were never seen on screen or explained.

Concerning the show itself, we can make several observations. First and foremost is the theme song. Unlike every other Trek franchise, Enterprise featured a pop ballad with full lyrics. This was a sharp change of pace, one that many of us were not happy with. To be completely fair, the original series did originally have a theme song with lyrics, but the lyrics were dropped from the final production. The lyrics never made it to the screen. Enterprise boldly went where no Trek had gone before. Personally, I really like the song. In and of itself, it's all right. But it's not fitting for Trek, not that the message of "faith of the heart" isn't. It was just so different from everything we've seen. And quite frankly, I wanted another instrumental piece. Enterprise had a good score. The music played at the end credits was great (Archer's theme). That music would have been much better as opening music.

I read some reviews of Enterprise that something to this effect, "This show is just a bunch of characters we don't care about!" On one hand, I agree. The characters were completely new, and it took a long time before we really understood them. But isn't true of most new shows? I am willing to give Enterprise a break here. Yes, the characters weren't Kirk and Spock, Picard and Riker, Sisko and Dax, or Janeway and Seven of Nine. But in time, they were indeed developed. Well, three of them were fully developed: Captain Archer, Sub-commander T'Pol, and Commander Tucker. If anything, the show was worth watching just for Commander Tucker. He brought so much to the show.

Perhaps the greatest criticism is in the original elements. Enterprise presented us with new, major alien races, the Suliban in the premier and later the Xindi. The problem is quite simple. Neither of these races have been seen in any other Trek franchise (on screen), and Enterprise is set BEFORE everything else. If these races were the great moving influence on the fledgling Earth Starfleet, certainly we'd know something about them in the years to come. Well, some fans argue that we do. The Next Generation episode "The Battle" mentions the Xendi Sabu system and Xendi starbase 9. Many fans believe this refers to the Xindi, despite the spelling differences.

Further fan speculation has led to differing theories concerning the Suliban. Some believe their species just settled down between the days of Archer and Kirk. They're just not notable anymore. This would be in keeping with T'Pol's statement from the pilot episode, when she said the Vulcans had encountered the Suliban, but didn't think they were that important. Others believe the race simply went extinct. Still more believe they didn't belong in the 22^nd Century altogether. Owing their involvement in the Temporal Cold War, they may have disappeared into another time, their native time, following the war's end. The producers did hint that the Suliban's existence would have been resolved, but with Enterprises untimely cancellation in the fourth season, these plans never materialized. We are furthermore left wondering what ever became of the Temporal Cold War. Who won? Who lost? No one knows.

This seems like an awfully negative review, doesn't it? Well, quite frankly, I feel there was much that was not handled right in the show. Even watching it on DVD compilations like the Captain's Log set, I can easily see how very different it was from the other four shows. Suppose we were to strip away all the Trek references and elements. Let's change the Vulcans, Romulans, etc., to other races, rename Earth Starfleet, and change the ship's name. The show might have done well. It simply didn't feel like a Trek.

But on the other hand, there were a few things in the show that were decent. I mentioned Commander Tucker before. His character brought so much to the screen, despite a terrible production mistake in the first three episodes. Why they decided to make him pregnant is beyond me. Enterprise did answer one nagging question for me and other Trekkers. Why do the Klingons look so different in the original series and all other media? Enterprise gave us the Augment story arc and explained it as a genetic variation in the entire species, one that would only affect them for a generation or two. This would explain why Kirk and his crew had no problem when confronted the ridged Klingons in the movies after seeing the bearded Klingons in the original series. And somewhere along the way, we simply forgot. That's why Dr. Bashir didn't recognize them in the DS9 episode "Trials and Tribble-ations."

The third and fourth seasons were certainly the best, the third my favorite. The third season introduced the Xindi as the primary antagonists. The search for the Xindi superweapon gave the season an all-encompassing story arc. Enterprise entered a dangerous region of space, the Delphic Expanse, and searched high and low for the race that was planning to annihilate Earth. Archer and his crew finally did meet with the Xindi, only to find that they were being manipulated. Humanity wasn't the enemy, neither were the Xindi. The dark undercurrents of this season gave it a unique edge. The storylines were better, the characters were more developed here, and the battle sequences were interesting if not as technologically advanced as we've come to love.

The fourth season saw more good things. We went to Vulcan and found the Kir'shara of Surak himself, subsequently seeing Surak himself. There was the aforementioned Klingon explanation, plus more with the Augments and references to the Eugenics Wars and Khan Noonien Singh. We saw a wave of xenophobia on Earth and crushed it, and we revisited the Mirror Universe. Perhaps the greatest element to come out of season four was seeing Brent Spiner in Trek again. This time, he played Dr. Arik Soong, an ancestor of Data's creator. He played a more malevolent role, but he was still the same Brent Spiner that we've come to love.

In spite of these good changes to the show, Enterprise's ratings steadily dropped. This led to its ultimate cancellation. Fan reaction kept the show alive long enough to see a season four, but not long enough to see number five. A fifth season was indeed planned. Had it been green-lit, it probably would have furthered the Trek tie-ins. A revisit to Stratos was planned, the Kzinti were planned, Guinan was scheduled, even something with the origins of the Borg Queen.

The greatest criticism of the show comes from the one element of the time that we actually do care about: the Earth-Romulan War. This was an important event in not only Earth history, but of the Federation as well. This led to the formation of the Neutral Zone and years of mistrust between humanity and the Romulan Star Empire. Given Enterprise's time period, this event was a must. It should have been seen, I agree. But I would like to point out that the series was cancelled. Had it been allowed to finish its run naturally, I do believe we would have seen it. Toward the end of season four, the Romulans attempted to sabotage the Coalition by preventing the conference at Babel. This would have progressed until an all-out conflict erupted. The problem was simply that it didn't have enough screen time. So we are left wondering how much involvement Captain Archer and his Enterprise had in the war.

In spite of the many flaws, Enterprise maintains a faithful fan base (albeit a small one compared to the fans of previous franchises). Several online petition groups formed to prevent its cancellation. All of them ultimately failed. A few still manage to stay afloat, simply changing their cause. One group in particular is fighting to get another season or a made-for-TV miniseries released, just to tie up the loose ends. I think a new season is unlikely, though I would love to see it happen. For all its shortcomings, Enterprise deserves a resolution. We have questions left unanswered. I believe the made-for-TV option is a better bet. It might be easier to convince a studio to produce something for a one-time need rather than an ongoing series. Scott Bakula hated to see his show end. He may be easily persuaded to return. That only leaves the rest of the cast and the plot. As I stated in the above paragraph, we need to see the Earth-Romulan conflict. That would make a great miniseries, and we could tie up the Suliban situation at the beginning.

But that might still be a pipe dream. Plus, we have the new movie opening on Christmas Day. Given this new movie is a prequel to Kirk's days, elements from Enterprise may yet come into play.

In conclusion, can we really nail down one element and say that one element caused Enterprise to fail? I don't think so. I believe it was a chain of elements, beginning with the premise of the series, a prequel. It was a sad story, nonetheless. It certainly could have been something really great. It had its moments. Unfortunately, they were few and far between in the first two seasons, and too little too late in the last two. So this Trek fan has many questions, few answers, and all in all, a disappointing commentary.