In the current Star Trek fan environment, there seems to be a boundary between eras. Some fans say that anything beyond the end of the fourth season of Star Trek: Enterprise should not be considered canon. This includes the three J.J. Abrams “Kelvin” films and everything produced to air on CBS All Access (now known as Paramount+). Some fans are very vocal in their opinions regarding these “NuTrek” shows.
If you ask these fans why their favorite era of “Star Trek” ended in 2004, there are mixed answers. Some say “Enterprise” was simply “bad;” others say that it was inconsistent and a “missed opportunity.” Series executive producer Rick Berman chalked up Enterprise’s failure to “franchise fatigue.”
That being said, there is almost universal agreement that the series finale was done poorly. Fans of the show and those involved hated that last episode, which Season 4 showrunner, Manny Coto said was “a finale for the entire run of all their shows.” Coto was talking about producers Berman and Brannon Braga, who had been involved with Trek since “The Next Generation.”
The Fan Effort to Bring Back ‘Enterprise’
But now, there is a movement from the fan level to fix some of the decisions made in “These Are the Voyages…” and ‘finish’ the show’s run. A new petition is gathering momentum among Trek fans. The aim of these dedicated “Enterprise” enthusiasts would be to get Paramount+ to film a fifth season of the show.
“I personally believe that “Star Trek: Enterprise” should get a fifth season, as well as a possible sixth and seventh, because of the massive hole in the story between 2155 and 2161,” says Matthew Lang of New York. Lang, who is just 17 years old, started the petition (which you can sign here) in the hopes of picking up where the old show left off.
“You have the Earth-Romulan war, the Enterprise’s refit, and other stuff that never ended up happening due to the cancelation in 2005,” says Lang. “With ‘Discovery’ entering its fourth season soon, ‘Strange New Worlds’ starting up in 2022, as well as a possible ‘Section 31’ series, it is obvious that CBS is putting more work into the prequel series’ more than they ever used to, and bringing back ‘Enterprise’ should be part of this new trend.”
Lang says he doesn’t want CBS to restart “Enterprise” 20 years later as producers did with “Picard.”
“Sure, the actors have aged, but that is nothing a little editing and hair dye couldn’t fix,” says Lang.
Lang says that so far, he’s been heartened by the support of fans and feels that this effort is worthwhile.
“The outpour of support has been amazing,” says Lang. “Most [fans] think the same thing as me, bringing it back for Seasons 5 to 7 to fill in the 2155 to 2161 gaps, whereas others believe that a new series following the Columbia NX-02 or Archer after his time on Enterprise should be done.”
Fixing the ‘Mistakes’ from the Series Finale
The one point of contention which leaves a bad taste in the mouth of so many — even actor Connor Trinneer — is the death of Trip Tucker. Trinneer has said since that he thought Trip should have survived the explosion which killed his character.
Lang has a plan to fix that as well.
“Retcon — it was a holoprogram, so who is to say that it wasn’t simulated to help Riker with the whole Pegasus situation?” says Lang. “As the series would also continue in 2155, even if the death wasn’t just a custom part of the program, he would still be kicking about the engine room for the series.”
If Lang and his crewmates are successful, there are a lot of ideas for a fifth season of “Enterprise.” If Paramount+ really wanted to guarantee a mega-hit, they would accept William Shatner’s vision for a fantastic story arc with the Enterprise NX-01 crew.
This is not the first time fans have tried to get “Enterprise” back on the air. Efforts include a recent Change.org push, as well as a petition by British fans, started in 2015.
Will the Crew Return?
Then there’s the question of getting the crew back together. Since Scott Bakula’s CSI show was recently canceled, Captain Jonathan Archer could be available. Indeed, the other actors would likely come return — especially Linda Park, who can be seen in the Apple TV+ show, “For All Mankind.”
Who is watching @forallmankind_ on @AppleTV ? You should give it a shot — it's really good. And besides, if you saw last night's episode, you'd immediately recognize @realLindaPark as a TV anchor! #ForAllMankind #StarTrek #StarTrekEnterprise pic.twitter.com/S5QSMucwvc
— Trek Report (@trekreport) February 27, 2021
The big question would be if Jolene Blalock would return to her role as T’Pol. She has not appeared on screen since 2017 and is not known to be a big part of the “Star Trek” convention circuit — though she did appear in Las Vegas back in 2009.
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