Posted on 02/25/2003 11:14:23 AM PST by pabianice
After launching at warp speed in the fall of 2001, Enterprise, the UPN prequel series designed to reenergize the aging Star Trek franchise by attracting younger viewers, is limping along on impulse power. Midway through its second season, ratings are down 24 percent from last year. "What can you say?" executive producer Brannon Braga says. "We're bummed." And in clear violation of the series's prime directive, viewership is actually skewing older.
The news is even worse at the box office. Despite good reviews and generally enthusiastic fan response, Star Trek Nemesis, the most recent — and likely final — adventure to exclusively feature the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast (more about that in a moment), took in just over $40 million, making it the lowest-grossing Trek movie by far (translation: with production costs of $ 113 million, "Nemesis" was a financial disaster).
After five live-action series, 10 feature films, stacks of book titles and Q knows how many mass-produced trinkets, has the multibillion-dollar sci-fi franchise founded by the late Gene Roddenberry lived too long to prosper?
Corporate executives maintain that a warp core breach is far from imminent. Despite its ratings woes, Enterprise is still the top-rated drama on perennially struggling UPN and is in no danger of being canceled, says network president Dawn Ostroff. "Hit shows often take years," she says.
As for Nemesis, Paramount Pictures vice-chairman and chief operating officer Rob Friedman attributes the movie's flameout to tough competition from other holiday films. "I think we probably got 'Lord of the Ring'-ed," he says of the blockbuster Two Towers sequel that opened the following week. "Would we have preferred to have another $20 million at the box office? Sure. But that doesn't foretell any concerns about the future of Trek."
Maybe not. But it doesn't take a positronic brain to recognize that droves of fans have deserted in recent years. Movie ticket sales have declined from about 21 million for First Contact (1996) to 15 million for Insurrection (1998) to less than 8 million for Nemesis. On TV, the Trek audience has been shrinking since Next Generation's peak 11 years ago, when it averaged 17.7 million viewers a week in Season 5. Today, 4.3 million people watch Enterprise.
The series may be going where no man has gone before, but some Trek fans say the producers forgot the "boldly" part — those steamy decontamination-chamber scenes with Archer (Scott Bakula) and T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) notwithstanding.
"Enterprise has potential," says Jamahl Epsicokhan, a 27-year-old Web designer who has posted Trek episode reviews at Star Trek Hypertext Online since 1994. "But it doesn't take risks." Steve Krutzler, editor of TrekWeb.com, an Internet site that gets 150,000 visitors a month, says the series "was being hyped as a radical departure, [yet] everything feels like the same Star Trek we've gotten for 15 years."
Although Braga is not ready to divulge details, he says "epic challenges... that better exploit the sense of awe and danger" are ahead for the crew. "Let's just say there will be a slight revision in our mission, and a slight revision in the part of space that Enterprise is heading into," says executive producer Rick Berman, who has overseen the franchise since Roddenberry's death in 1991.
As to where the movies are headed, Berman is less certain. "I doubt because our box office fell off on Nemesis that it's going to be the end of Star Trek films," the producer says. "I can't imagine numerous other movies won't occur."
Though there have been no discussions as yet, Berman hints at one tempting scenario: combining characters from the various series in one grand adventure. "There are a lot of interesting possibilities," he says.
Berman's remarks suggest Trek is in an adjustment period; some fine-tuning is needed. "I don't think that there's any television franchise that people love to take potshots at as much," Berman says. In fact, he refuses to concede that Trek will ever run its course entirely. "Would anybody have guessed when the original series went off the air in 1969 that 34 years later it would still be part of the American mythos?" Berman says. "It's part of our lexicon."
Adds Braga: "You've got to keep an optimistic viewpoint. It's come this far, and it ain't goin' anywhere."
HOW TO FIX TREK
1. MAKE IT OBVIOUS It's cold and dark in space. Enterprise needs real peril, dread and fear so that characters are tested to within an inch of their lives. Introduce a chilling, powerful, wholly original threat that can't be vanquished in an hour. The Suliban aren't bad, but they're no Borg.
2 MAKE IT MORE REAL Let the crew make grave mistakes. Let them argue and be driven by less-than-moral impulses. Let the phaser beams rip through metal and bone. And let there be dangling emotional threads that weave through the lives of these otherwise bland characters.
3 LET CAPTAIN ARCHER BE HEROIC As written, Scott Bakula has as much commanding presence as Cap'n Crunch. Archer, like his beagle, is benign and a little too cute. He has an annoying tendency to second-guess, which trickles down to the rest of his whiny crew. Either light a fire under this laconic guy or kill him in a blaze of glory that explains why starships, planets and star systems should one day be named Archer. (And while you're at it, take out that annoying Ensign Hoshi with him.)
4 OPEN FIRE AND CLOSE THOSE PIE HOLES Enterprise should expand our belief about what is possible and transport us to realms unimagined with its ideas. But if it can't also be packed with action and adventure, move it to Lifetime. We're weary of the endless Trek babble on the bridge, the shuttlecraft, the crew quarters. Enough!
5 GET US ON THE EDGE OF OUR SEATS You shouldn't be able to figure out what the general direction and ending of any given episode is by the first 12 minutes. "Oh, here's where Hoshi overcomes her fear of failure..." "Well, it looks like Trip and that belligerent alien are going to work together to save both their hides..." Why not try some longer, unpredictable story arcs? Cliff-hangers, big and small, give a series purpose, poignancy and punch. Make us miss you this summer.
And at the movies...
It's no secret why Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (the whale tale) was a fan favorite. It had humor, nostalgia and intelligent cast interplay. Why did Nemesis leave us wanting? It zipped through the Riker-Troi wedding, a payoff fans had long awaited. Worse, the film didn't include a farewell scene for Picard and his crush, Beverly. The heart of Trek is heart, and Trek's best films tap into relationships.
Berman has been a pox on this franchise. Should read Shatner's (admitedly self-serving) book on making the movies. It's amazing at how close "Wrath of Khan" and "Undiscovered Country" came to being complete wretches.
Here's a good example at how a crappy producer can impact a movie. Remember that mechanical spider in "Wild, West West" (Will Smith movie)? One of the two producers (either Jon Peters Barry Sonnenfeld, I can't remember which) had a kid see a film on spiders in school, and came home and told pop about it. After that, he did what he could to get a giant spider into a movie he was involved in. One of the possibilities was to have this occur in the next "Superman" flick. Complete idiocy. This is Berman.
Enquiring minds want to know....
Actually, Buffy has a suprising amount of depth. Much of the show is written for 2 different audiences, both kids and adults, where each will take a different meaning from it. If you watch closely, you'll see some really funny stuff that someone who hadn't watched the past few seasons wouldn't even notice. The writers are much better on that show than many, including myself gave them credit for until I'd watched a few episodes. I watch 2 television shows every week, and one of those is Buffy.
That is a first rate idea.
Methinks the Majel Roddenberry social change party needs some major revisions.
I do appreciate the Vulcan.
Even better .... Star Trek: The Romulan Wars
THAT's a series people will like.
Paramount! You gettin' this?
1) Really kewl effects
2) People realize the energies involved in the starship combat and why captains are judicious with the weapons of one
3) WE GET TO SEE A DECENT WAR with a clearcut enemy that has no redeeming features at the time.
Until well after the Earth-Romulan treaty no human had even seen the body of a Romulan
Unlike some here, I never really enjoyed the origional series very much. Cheesy sets, bad acting (can you say Kirk?) and simplistic plots doomed it for me.
That being said, I sort of enjoyed TNG, even if Picard was as wimpy as overcooked Pasta. Voyager suffered from the same problems, but I did like certain elements, 7 of 9 for instance. Still, the series suffered from terminal PCitis IMO.
How to make Enterprise better?
# 1 Since there is no prime directive, act like it. If a pushy race comes along, looking for conflict, give it to them.
#2 Give us an enemy that is diabolical, mean and just plain bad ass. One that will not be defeated with a shield adjustment or some new gizmo that solves every problem.
#3 If I have to watch one more episode where they go throught he whole "shields are down to 10 % Captain" I am gonna SCREAM. Get a new way to add suspense!
#4 Gimme more of that hot Vulcan bootie. Sure I am a sexist pig? So what? Who do you think your audience is anyway?
#5 Weapons, I want weapons. The existing Phase Cannons are OK, but only for a start. I could never imagine sending a ship on a mission such as this without being armed to the teeth.
#6 If we have technology today that can do certain things, I would expect them to be much improved in the future. For instance, Enterprise is the first starship I have yet seen that has the same capability as any of the spy sattelites today. I was amazed to see Enterprise actually turn on a Telescope to look at a planets surface to try to ID a person. We can do this now, today. I would have expected this to have only gotten better in the future.
#7 Who is the Chef? I have been waiting since the first episode to meet him/her/it. Since the Chef is mentioned in nearly every episode, we need to know who or what it is. Be BOLD.
#8 I like the idea that the Transporters are very iffy. Too often in the past, it was a crutch that bailed the writers out by simply "beaming" them out of trouble. It is nice to see them have to think of new ideas.
#9 Trip is one of your best assetts, use him. He is a Texan (well Oklahoman anyway) a straight shooter and is the "everyman" we always look for in a Star Trek show. Highlight him and his straightforward approach every time Archer goes wobbly.
And finally...
#10 Fighting, Conflict and Battles. Deep down, we all know it is a savage world out there. Space would only be worse. PLEASE no more Aids PC episodes where we get beaten over the head trying to make some PC point. Real men are NOT PC.
But then agian, what do I know? I might be completely off base here.
Cheers,
knews hound
Hey it's still working.
Studio suit: "It's just that we think the title will deter some people from watching the show."
Joss Whedon: "Yes and they are very silly people and I don't want them watching my show."
Back to topic: All the Star Trek captains could take lessons in leadership from cute little Willow Rosenberg when she goes into Commander mode. Direct orders issued without hesitation, explanation, or any hint of uncertainty.
As my Minnesota friends say, "Ick." I still say that "The Trouble With Tribbles" was some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen.
Pity.
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