Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Enterprise (originally titled Enterprise until Season 3) is the fifth live-action TV series set in the Star Trek universe and the sixth in total. Created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and based upon Gene Roddenberry's classic Star Trek (and its subsequent spin-offs), Enterprise was a "prequel", set a century before the time of Kirk and Spock. The series followed the voyages of the first starship Enterprise and mankind's first steps into the "final frontier". Initially titled as simply Enterprise, the series ran an abbreviated four seasons. The series debuted in on the United Paramount Network. It was cancelled in.

As of, due to its status as a prequel series, Enterprise is the only Star Trek production whose continuity is not affected by the events of the 2009 film reintroducing the crew of James T. Kirk.


 * Where My Heart Will Take Me lyrics (composed by Diane Warren, vocals by Russell Watson)
 * (used in episodes and, composed by Dennis McCarthy & Kevin Kiner)
 * Where My Heart Will Take Me lyrics (composed by Diane Warren, vocals by Russell Watson)
 * (used in episodes and, composed by Dennis McCarthy & Kevin Kiner)

Summary
Enterprise was set in the 22nd century, at a time before the Federation and while United Earth was just becoming a player in interstellar politics.

One distinction from all previous Star Trek series, which used stardates to establish chronology via Captain's Log entries, was that Enterprise used Earth calendar references (days, months and years).

Enterprise, like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine before it, tended to avoid an episodic format and featured numerous story arcs throughout its run. Story lines included the Temporal Cold War and the Xindi arc that took up the show's entire third season.

Like its predecessor, Star Trek: Voyager, Enterprise aired on UPN, rather than in first-run syndication like TNG and DS9. Initially, the ratings for Enterprise were as strong as those for Voyager, but the new series steadily lost viewers, and was finally canceled after its fourth season.

Numerous factors contributed to the demise of Enterprise. Due to its setting, the show was perhaps doomed from the start to step on the toes of previous canon and fanon, provoking the ire of the core Star Trek fan base. Enterprise may also have taken a ratings hit because viewers that used then-new digital video recorders were not yet included in official counts.

Even so, Enterprise accomplished a number of technical firsts for a Star Trek series, including the first episode aired in high-definition,, and the first episode produced entirely with digital video equipment,. The series was also the first to be produced in widescreen format.

Basic plot
Launched in the year 2151, the starship Enterprise, (the first of United Earth's advanced warp five vessels) was at first on temporary assignment. Though years of preparation still lay ahead, the ship was unexpectedly put into service when a Klingon national crash-landed on Earth, putting the entire planet at stake should he not make it back to his people. Under the command of United Starfleet Captain Jonathan Archer, son of the famed scientist Henry Archer, the crew of Enterprise succeeded in their mission, but found themselves surrounded by deeper mysteries. Warranting the extension of their assignment into a full-blown mission of deep space exploration, the crew of the Enterprise set off into the unknown, taking with them a Vulcan science officer (or chaperone) named T'Pol and a Denobulan doctor named Phlox.

Enterprise's first years were rocky; while the ship made contact with such species as the Suliban and the previously mentioned Klingons, such contact was not peaceful. In its first two years alone, the ship's crew found themselves in armed conflict with a range of species from the Tholians to the Coridan to the Borg... and things only got worse. By its third year in space, an alien species known as the Xindi brutally attacked Earth, killing millions.

The NX-01 was dispatched to a remote and previously uncharted area of space known as the Delphic Expanse in order to prevent the Xindi from completing their ultimate goal of destroying Humanity. While the mission was successful, after nearly a year in the Expanse, the ship suffered severe damage and many losses.

Upon returning home, Enterprise served a more diplomatic role in the service of United Earth, easing relations between the Vulcans, the Andorians, and the Tellarites, and paving the way toward a Coalition of Planets, an alliance that would eventually lead to the founding of the United Federation of Planets. Though still often tumultuous, Enterprise continued its mission of exploration as well, bringing Humans in contact with even more new worlds and new civilizations.

Throughout its ten-year voyage, the events of Enterprise shaped the next generation of space exploration. Enterprise was truly the first to "boldly go where no man had gone before..."

Main cast

 * Scott Bakula (as Jonathan Archer)
 * John Billingsley (as Phlox)
 * Jolene Blalock (as T'Pol)
 * Dominic Keating (as Malcolm Reed)
 * Anthony Montgomery (as Travis Mayweather)
 * Linda Park (as Hoshi Sato)
 * Connor Trinneer (as Charles Tucker III)

Star Trek: Enterprise was the only live action Star Trek series to complete its run without a change in the cast. Star Trek: The Animated Series also didn't have a change in the main voice cast during its two seasons.

Recurring characters

 * Vaughn Armstrong as Admiral Forrest
 * Jeffrey Combs as Shran
 * Steven Culp as Major Hayes
 * John Fleck as Silik
 * Gary Graham as Ambassador Soval
 * James Horan as Humanoid Figure
 * Scott MacDonald as Commander Dolim
 * Randy Oglesby as Degra
 * Kellie Waymire as Crewman Cutler
 * Matt Winston as Daniels
 * Rick Worthy as Jannar

Production crew

 * Rick Berman - Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Writer
 * Brannon Braga - Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Writer
 * Chris Black - Co-Executive Producer, Writer
 * Manny Coto - Co-Executive Producer, Writer
 * John Shiban - Co-Executive Producer, Writer
 * David A. Goodman - Supervising Producer, Writer
 * Ken LaZebnik - Supervising Producer, Writer
 * Mike Sussman - Producer, Writer
 * Alan Brennert - Producer, Writer
 * André Bormanis - Executive Story Editor, Science Consultant, Writer
 * Alan Kobayashi - Graphic Designer
 * Dawn Velazquez - Producer


 * Gene Roddenberry - Creator of Star Trek

Season 1
ENT Season 1, 25 episodes:

Season 2
ENT Season 2, 26 episodes:

Season 3
ENT Season 3, 24 episodes:

Season 4
ENT Season 4, 22 episodes:

Proposed Season 5 stories

 * See: Undeveloped Star Trek: Enterprise episodes.

Related topics

 * ENT performers
 * ENT recurring characters
 * ENT directors
 * Composers
 * Undeveloped ENT episodes
 * Paramount Stage 8
 * Paramount Stage 9
 * Paramount Stage 18

Background
Perhaps the most controversial of all the Star Trek spin-offs, and certainly the most polarizing, Enterprise was created in the hopes of revitalizing the Star Trek franchise, ratings for the previous series, Star Trek: Voyager, having waned near the end. Intended to be more modern, with characters far from Gene Roddenberry's 24th century Utopian Humanity, Enterprise was situated in one of the least explored eras in the Star Trek universe and a time only 150 years from present day.

The producers - under the guidance of Roddenberry's successor, Rick Berman - sought to set the series apart from those that had come before, creating nearly every set, prop and costume anew and tending toward a more encompassing, "you-are-there" style of storytelling.

According to comments made by Executive Producer Brannon Braga in discussions with fans at TrekMovie.com, Berman's original idea for the series was to have the entire first season set on Earth as Humanity's first-ever warp starship was constructed. This was soon decided to be too far removed from the style of the franchise as a whole, and so the premise was redrafted.

The series was the first to incorporate lyrics into its opening theme song (unused lyrics did exist for the original series' fanfare); it also did not include the words Star Trek in its title until the third season episode.

Despite these departures, Enterprise producers also borrowed heavily from the classic series, using the triad of characters, Archer, T'Pol and Tucker in much the same way as Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

It was their intention to bring Star Trek back to its fundamental concepts of exploration and "cowboy diplomacy", with Scott Bakula as Captain Archer, a far more Kirk-like commander than previous Star Trek headliners.

Premiering on with a strong opening, the two-hour pilot  garnered a 9.9 overnight rating and a 15% share. Ratings, however, declined over the next few seasons, dipping to an average 2.5 million viewers an episode.

As early as the second season, rumors of the show's imminent cancellation pushed the producers to find new directions to take the series. Beginning with the series' third season, Enterprise adopted a darker tone and a more violent arc, in some ways mirroring the post 9/11 sentiment.

While many critics were impressed with the new pull of the series, ratings remained low, and the show was canceled at the end of its fourth season. Despite the protests and a hoped-for fan-funded fifth season, production of Enterprise ceased at the conclusion of the 2005 television season.

Enterprise's opening title sequence is notable, featuring the Enterprise OV-101 shuttle, named in real life in honor of Star Trek, an interesting paradox. Also used in the sequence: a clip of Zefram Cochrane's ship, the Phoenix, from Star Trek: First Contact, and the real-life animated footage of the Mars rover.

Enterprise was nominated for five individual Saturn Awards, won an ASCAP Award in 2002 for "Top TV Series", was nominated for seventeen Emmy Awards, winning four, and two episodes were nominated for Hugo Awards.

Enterprise was the first series to air in. It was produced with third-generation Sony HDTV cameras starting in Season 4; the first 3 seasons were filmed with traditional 35mm film cameras (which were then transferred to digital for broadcast).

The wrap party for Enterprise was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 7:00 PM. The notes "Dress Festive" and that cocktails, dinner, and a DJ are available are on the invitation. The introduction featured the following text: "This Mission May Be Over But Let's Get The Party Started! Paramount Network Television invites you and your guest to journey back in time at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and glimpse the future in the newly-launched Theodore Restaurant and Lounge. Let's commemorate the final voyage of Star Trek: Enterprise".

Brannon Braga revealed via his Twitter account that before cancellation there was some talk about setting the entire fifth season in the mirror universe. 

Video games
Only two official video games using the Enterprise-era have been released. They are: Star Trek: Encounters, and Star Trek: Legacy. However, these two games are not true Enterprise games. The two games cover all five Star Trek shows, not simply Enterprise.

Syndication
With four seasons, Enterprise reached syndication less than a year after its cancellation, in some markets airing multiple times a week. However, with the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, Enterprise was replaced in syndication by "remastered" versions of classic TOS episodes on.

Episodes are available on CBS.com and its sister site TV.com. Netflix online streaming subscribers can also view episodes.

The first three seasons are also available on the Xbox Live Marketplace (currently US only), a premium service offered with the Xbox 360. Each episode costs about two to three US dollars, and are available in both standard and high-definition widescreen. Two part episodes are broken up into two separate episodes and must be purchased separately.

All seasons are also available on the iTunes Store in both standard and high-definition widescreen.

Media

 * Star Trek: Enterprise on VHS
 * Star Trek: Enterprise on DVD
 * Star Trek: Enterprise on Blu-ray
 * Star Trek: Enterprise soundtracks