The institution had one purpose before it was abolished

Although the series has its fans, it’s hard not to point to the 2001 “Star Trek: Enterprise” series as a vague disappointment. Beginning in 1987, and continuing throughout the 1990s, “Star Trek” skyrocketed, enjoying the immense popularity of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, and the debuts of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Star Trek: Voyager”. “In quick succession. Several feature films were released in theaters, and merchandise sales skyrocketed. It was a wonderful, wonderful time to be a Trekkie.”

However, “Enterprise” debuted two weeks after 9/11It seemed that no one was in a good mood. The show’s creators seemed a bit tired, and post-9/11 audiences weren’t in the mood for a series about exploration, diplomacy, and making peace with your enemies. The previous three “Star Trek” shows ran for seven seasons each. “Enterprise” was canceled after its fourth run in 2005, so the glory days were officially over.

The premise of “Enterprise” to remind readers was interesting. Set a century before the original “Star Trek,” “Enterprise” follows the adventures of the first Starfleet ship launched from Earth. There was no Prime Directive yet, no shields, no photon torpedoes, or – most importantly – the Federation “Enterprise”, being abstract and skeptical, sought to recapture the “Wild West” atmosphere that existed. It was missing from the previous few “Star Trek” shows and fans might argue that it was a hit.

But since the series was canceled after Season 4, some of the more ambitious plans were never fully realized. Show co-creator and head of “Star Trek” at once Rick Berman spoke with StarTrek.com in 2011He lamented missed opportunities, including his inability to achieve his only central goal: photographing the formation of the union.

Some of the world’s most avid travelers will be able to tell you that “Foundation” is set in the mid-1950s, and also that the United Federation of Planets was founded in the year 2161. The Federation was founded by a quintet of species, respectively from Earth, Proxima Centauri, Vulcan , Teilhard, and Andoria. It’s possible that Rick Berman designated “Enterprise” when he did this to allow the events of the series to lead to the founding of the Federation.

But because the show was canceled after just four years, the union’s story couldn’t be told the way Berman, or his creative partner Brannon Braga, wanted. There was no specific plan for the Union story, but it was always in Berman’s mind. He said:

“We basically wanted to develop a show that would, by Season 7, get us to a logical, dramatic way to create the union. It was something that (showrunner) Manny Cotto and Brannon and I hadn’t specifically mentioned. But our goal was for this to be the place where Season 6 and 7 will go to him.

The finale of “Enterprise” highlighted small parts of the founding of the Federation, but in a way that many would say was truncated and unsatisfying. Instead of the crew of the USS Enterprise forming alliances and practicing diplomacy, the show decided to make the final episode of the series (Titled “These are the journeys…”) A 3D recreation of centuries after the fact, witnessed by William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Chancellor Troy (Marina Sirtis) from “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

Unfortunately, the show fizzled in the ratings before any such foundation could be laid. Yes, there were scenes of the Federation treaties being signed, but seeing the Enterprise characters as mere holograms didn’t have the same impact.

The cancellation of “Enterprise” came as a surprise to Berman, Braga and Cotto. They were still writing “Enterprise” in a largely episodic structure (considered old-fashioned by 2005), and were not looking forward to future seasons yet. As such, when news came that Season 4 would be the last, they had to work quickly to write a satisfying finale. When asked what the show’s unmade fifth season might contain, Berman was at a loss. He said:

“We had no idea. We hadn’t gotten that far. We were probably filming six or seven shows earlier at the time that it got canceled and we hadn’t really decided what the Season 4 finale was going to be. Maybe it was a cliffhanger or maybe it wasn’t.” “But we didn’t make this decision before we knew the plug had been pulled.”

The “establishment” has wrestled with the structure a lot. In the early 2000s, a lot of high-profile shows were shifting away from the syndication-friendly episodic model and toward the binge-friendly serialization model. Many shows told stories that took entire seasons to finish, while others kept individual stories running over many years. Previously thriving on the episodic model, “Star Trek” has begun to trend toward serialization only With “Deep Space Nine”. Enterprise pivoted to a longer serialized narrative with its third season, then had several mini-arcs (of three or four episodes each) in its fourth season. The show had to evolve as it went along.

This, unfortunately, may be what turned off viewers. It was not ambitious enough for a serial model, and had already exhausted its episodic model. Four years seemed to be all the Enterprise was destined for.