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UPN Cancels Enterprise
Today, UPN and Paramount Network Television will announce that this is the final season of Star Trek: Enterprise on UPN.
Star Trek has been an important part of UPN's history, airing on this network virtually every week for more than 10 years. Enterprise has upheld the traditions of dynamic storytelling and high-quality production values that have become synonymous with the franchise.
All of us at UPN would like to thank Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and the incredibly talented cast for creating an engaging, new dimension to the Star Trek legacy on UPN. We look forward to working with them, and our partners at Paramount Network Television, on a send-off that salutes the franchise's valued contributions to UPN and satisfies its loyal viewers. We hope you will join us by helping to promote the final episodes of Enterprise and bring this series to a close in a big way.
As we look to the future, the UPN brand is stronger than ever. We have a clear vision and direction for this network. In just the past year, we've seen America's Next Top Model emerge as a bonafide, homegrown hit for UPN, and our two new dramas, Kevin Hill and Veronica Mars, have received more critical acclaim than any shows in UPN's history. As a result of this success, the creative community has responded by making UPN a key destination for their top projects, producers and talent. Now we're in the midst of another tremendous development season, and we pledge to continue to produce innovative, quality programming that will build on our momentum.
We appreciate your continued support as we work together to move UPN forward.
Sincerely,
Dawn Ostroff
President, Entertainment, UPN
This does, as the press release states, give the series an opportunity to wrap up the series. While some long time Trek fans will see this as a much needed rest for the franchise, others aren't quite ready to man the life pods just yet. The folks over at Save Enterprise remain committed to trying to secure another season for the series. In a statement on the website, the organizers of the campaign told supporters:
Other fans seem to think that the time has come to give the franchise a break. There has been a new Star Trek series on the air, either in first run syndication or network television, since the launch of Star Trek: the Next Generation in 1987. The United Paramount Network, aka UPN, launched with the two hour premiere of Star Trek Voyager and has had a Trek series on its schedule during its entire run.
According to a number of industry sources, the low ratings for this season of Enterprise have actually created a situation that some at Paramount have been hoping would happen for a long time. Rick Berman has one of the strongest contracts in the entertainment industry, having been given control of one of the most financially successful entertainment franchises in history after the death of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry, in 1991 and has also created some of the most . Under Berman's watch, the franchise continued to reach new lows creatively, resulting in the end of the film series that featured the characters from the original 1960's series and a set of Next Generation films that have had more misses than hits. Many behind the scenes disagreements resulted in major stars disassociating themselves with Star Trek, including ST:TNG star Patrick Stewart. Paramount insiders have indicated that, with Enterprise gone, all that stands in the way of getting Berman removed from the franchise completely is a cancellation of the film series, something that has seemed more and more likely, regardless of statements from Berman declaring that a film with "all new characters" is in the works.
"It's been an interesting day, as one might imagine," Berman told Kate O'Hare at Zap2It.com, commenting on the cancellation. "The final indicator is always the ratings. Although, from our point of view and from the point of view of a lot of fans that we're in touch with, qualitatively, the show has been better than ever. But the numbers have continued to drop... The vibe that we got was it was not looking great. Yesterday, it was no longer a vibe." Berman has always tried to shift the blame for the franchise's decline in quality to a theory that there's just no more stories to tell. "I've always believe that you can take too many trips to the well. I'm not saying that Paramount has taken too many trips to the well, but they've probably taken enough for the time being," Berman said, attempting to avoid any responsibility. "Since Next Generation began, we have produced 624 hours. It's been 18 years with Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise, and seven of them we had two shows on simultaneously." Berman failed to note that some of the best Trek produced during that time, the last four seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, were produced without his direct involvement.
One of Enterprise's major flaws was that it seemed to be the culmination of what appeared to be Berman's attempts to recreate Trek in his own image, an apparent goal since taking over Star Trek: the Next Generation. From the original removal of the words Star Trek from the title to the easy listening. top 40 theme tune, Enterprise represented everything that had gone horribly wrong with the franchise. The release of the Berman controlled Star Trek: Nemesis, essentially a poor man's remake of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan with ST:TNG characters, and its subsequent meltdown at the boxoffice only seemed to confirm that Berman's vision of Trek was not only poorly conceived but was no longer fooling even the biggest die-hard fnas. He'd revealed himself as a caretaker with little regard for the franchise or its fans, so long as it was bringing in money. Once the fans figured that out, there was nowhere for the franchise to go but down.
While Enterprise had ratings that made it a disappointment for a broadcast network, its name value and built in audience makes it attractive to local stations who would purchase it as a cash plus barter series, meaning the local stations would have to pay Paramount a fee to run the series in addition to Paramount putting some national ads into the shows. The local station makes their money by selling the ad time left over, approximately half of the advertising time. With most syndicated hour series coming in at just about 40 - 42 minutes, which means that the local stations would have to try and make a profit off of approximately 9 minutes worth of ads. Not impossible; TNG and DS9 made a lot of money for a lot of local stations, but difficult and, at this point, highly improbable.
One thing is for sure, the next season on UPN will be the first it has ever had without a Star Trek series on the schedule and we're probably at least 2 years away from seeing any new Trek project hit any screen, large or small. What that project might be will be the subject of rumor and speculation for months to come but one thing is certain, Star Trek will return.
Source: IGN
Star Trek has been an important part of UPN's history, airing on this network virtually every week for more than 10 years. Enterprise has upheld the traditions of dynamic storytelling and high-quality production values that have become synonymous with the franchise.
All of us at UPN would like to thank Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and the incredibly talented cast for creating an engaging, new dimension to the Star Trek legacy on UPN. We look forward to working with them, and our partners at Paramount Network Television, on a send-off that salutes the franchise's valued contributions to UPN and satisfies its loyal viewers. We hope you will join us by helping to promote the final episodes of Enterprise and bring this series to a close in a big way.
As we look to the future, the UPN brand is stronger than ever. We have a clear vision and direction for this network. In just the past year, we've seen America's Next Top Model emerge as a bonafide, homegrown hit for UPN, and our two new dramas, Kevin Hill and Veronica Mars, have received more critical acclaim than any shows in UPN's history. As a result of this success, the creative community has responded by making UPN a key destination for their top projects, producers and talent. Now we're in the midst of another tremendous development season, and we pledge to continue to produce innovative, quality programming that will build on our momentum.
We appreciate your continued support as we work together to move UPN forward.
Sincerely,
Dawn Ostroff
President, Entertainment, UPN
This does, as the press release states, give the series an opportunity to wrap up the series. While some long time Trek fans will see this as a much needed rest for the franchise, others aren't quite ready to man the life pods just yet. The folks over at Save Enterprise remain committed to trying to secure another season for the series. In a statement on the website, the organizers of the campaign told supporters:
Our campaign WILL CONTINUE. This will make our campaign head into a different direction, stay tuned to our website and forum for more information. But the fight is far from over! We're going to need to step it up!
One thing is for sure, the series is at least going out on a high creative note. The current season has been hailed by fans and non-fans alike as some of the best Trek to hit the airwaves in decades. While the ratings have continued to slide, some of the disenfranchised viewers that longed for a return to the Next Generation universe have found themselves interested lately, despite their initial misgivings. "I've really come to enjoy Enterprise," one long time fan told me today after hearing the news. "I really hated the series when it launched and stopped watching it completely during the second season but decided to try it again when I heard about the Brent Spiner appearance. From that episode, I was hooked. I've become an Enterprise fan since those episodes and I can honestly say it has become one of my favorite shows on television."
Other fan are having mixed reactions. In Trek newsgroups, message boards and chat rooms, the debate rages over whether or not it's time for the franchise to take a break. One fan noted that Paramount had stated that the company hoped to work on other series with executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, a development many fans seem to welcome just so long as, according to one fan, "they stop screwing up Star Trek."
Other fans seem to think that the time has come to give the franchise a break. There has been a new Star Trek series on the air, either in first run syndication or network television, since the launch of Star Trek: the Next Generation in 1987. The United Paramount Network, aka UPN, launched with the two hour premiere of Star Trek Voyager and has had a Trek series on its schedule during its entire run.
According to a number of industry sources, the low ratings for this season of Enterprise have actually created a situation that some at Paramount have been hoping would happen for a long time. Rick Berman has one of the strongest contracts in the entertainment industry, having been given control of one of the most financially successful entertainment franchises in history after the death of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry, in 1991 and has also created some of the most . Under Berman's watch, the franchise continued to reach new lows creatively, resulting in the end of the film series that featured the characters from the original 1960's series and a set of Next Generation films that have had more misses than hits. Many behind the scenes disagreements resulted in major stars disassociating themselves with Star Trek, including ST:TNG star Patrick Stewart. Paramount insiders have indicated that, with Enterprise gone, all that stands in the way of getting Berman removed from the franchise completely is a cancellation of the film series, something that has seemed more and more likely, regardless of statements from Berman declaring that a film with "all new characters" is in the works.
"It's been an interesting day, as one might imagine," Berman told Kate O'Hare at Zap2It.com, commenting on the cancellation. "The final indicator is always the ratings. Although, from our point of view and from the point of view of a lot of fans that we're in touch with, qualitatively, the show has been better than ever. But the numbers have continued to drop... The vibe that we got was it was not looking great. Yesterday, it was no longer a vibe." Berman has always tried to shift the blame for the franchise's decline in quality to a theory that there's just no more stories to tell. "I've always believe that you can take too many trips to the well. I'm not saying that Paramount has taken too many trips to the well, but they've probably taken enough for the time being," Berman said, attempting to avoid any responsibility. "Since Next Generation began, we have produced 624 hours. It's been 18 years with Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise, and seven of them we had two shows on simultaneously." Berman failed to note that some of the best Trek produced during that time, the last four seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, were produced without his direct involvement.
One of Enterprise's major flaws was that it seemed to be the culmination of what appeared to be Berman's attempts to recreate Trek in his own image, an apparent goal since taking over Star Trek: the Next Generation. From the original removal of the words Star Trek from the title to the easy listening. top 40 theme tune, Enterprise represented everything that had gone horribly wrong with the franchise. The release of the Berman controlled Star Trek: Nemesis, essentially a poor man's remake of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan with ST:TNG characters, and its subsequent meltdown at the boxoffice only seemed to confirm that Berman's vision of Trek was not only poorly conceived but was no longer fooling even the biggest die-hard fnas. He'd revealed himself as a caretaker with little regard for the franchise or its fans, so long as it was bringing in money. Once the fans figured that out, there was nowhere for the franchise to go but down.
Fans and some industry insiders have floated the possibility that Enterprise could be saved as a first run series for syndication, noting that the sales of the first four seasons have gone very well with over 95% of the markets in the United States being cleared as of this writing. Berman stated that he thought the series would be too expensive as a first run series but there is still a possibility. Star Trek: the Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine were both produced for first run syndication and the budget could be restructured to allow Enterprise to continue in that way. Stations that have already purchased Enterprise have expressed an interest in first run episodes but any decision would have to come soon as it would require not only restructuring the budget for the series but also the contracts with the stations. Also, the current market for first run dramatic hours has bottomed out, one of the reasons the final season of Andromeda wound up on the SciFi Channel. Stations just don't have the time slots or money to run first run series. Enterprise, however, could be an exception if it were offered.
While Enterprise had ratings that made it a disappointment for a broadcast network, its name value and built in audience makes it attractive to local stations who would purchase it as a cash plus barter series, meaning the local stations would have to pay Paramount a fee to run the series in addition to Paramount putting some national ads into the shows. The local station makes their money by selling the ad time left over, approximately half of the advertising time. With most syndicated hour series coming in at just about 40 - 42 minutes, which means that the local stations would have to try and make a profit off of approximately 9 minutes worth of ads. Not impossible; TNG and DS9 made a lot of money for a lot of local stations, but difficult and, at this point, highly improbable.
One thing is for sure, the next season on UPN will be the first it has ever had without a Star Trek series on the schedule and we're probably at least 2 years away from seeing any new Trek project hit any screen, large or small. What that project might be will be the subject of rumor and speculation for months to come but one thing is certain, Star Trek will return.
Source: IGN