Star Trek: Enterprise

Controversy

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Even before it aired an episode, Enterprise was already one of the most controversial science fiction TV series in history. Many Trekkies were upset by Enterprise, claiming that it violated the canon which has been established in previous series and movies. Brannon Braga, executive producer of the series, has gone on record as challenging the fans who make such claims to prove it. However Braga does admit to having "bent" the rules. http://scifipulse.net/Trek%20Archive/August03/BrannonBraga.html See of examples of these concerns and the responses to them.

Related Topics:
Trekkie - Canon - Brannon Braga

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Even before the series premiered, it was controversial, with some vocal fans stating that a prequel to such a well-known and continuity-tight franchise should simply not have been attempted.

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Others were upset that a widespread rumor that the new Trek series would focus on Original Series veteran Captain Hikaru Sulu and the crew of the U.S.S. Excelsior (featured in ') also proved false.

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The final seasons of ' were also unpopular with many fans, and the fact the same production team of Berman and Braga were going to run Enterprise turned some Trekkies against the series before production began and continued to be the source of complaints throughout the show's run.

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Cosmetic aspects of the series were also points of contention.

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In order to make the series distinct from the previous Trek series, the producers chose not to put the words "Star Trek" in the title, in an effort to avoid overuse of the brand name and to make Enterprise stand apart from its many forebears.

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This idea backfired, with many fans rejecting the series based on this decision alone.

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Early in the third season, the series title was altered to include the words Star Trek. Rather than placating fans, this decision instead resulted in accusations of waffling on the part of the producers and there is little indication that it succeeded in winning viewers.

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The production style of the series also led to conflict amongst fans, with some criticizing the series for not replicating the style of the 1960s ' while others praised the show for not going for a retro look.

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Several episodes proved to be flashpoints for fan criticism, for varying reasons.

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The critically acclaimed first season episode, "Dear Doctor," was nonetheless controversial due to the ethics displayed by Dr. Phlox with regards to letting a race of beings die in order to save another.

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The season 2 episode "A Night in Sickbay" was a comedy episode widely derided by critics and Trekkies, although it nonetheless received a Hugo Award nomination and is often cited by the cast as one of their favorite episodes. These two episodes have often been cited on Internet message boards as "breaking point" episodes for fans who chose to abandon Enterprise due to one or the other.

Related Topics:
A Night in Sickbay - Hugo Award

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Another season 2 episode, "Regeneration", introduced the Borg and attracted wide criticism over its alleged breaking of continuity (although the previous series Voyager had already established that Starfleet was well aware of the Borg before the apparent first contact seen in the ' episode "Q Who?"). Some fans liked the idea of this episode as it explained why the Borg were in Alpha Quadrant (The Neutral Zone, The Best of Both Worlds); they were far from their home in the Delta Quadrant and it would have been impossible to travel to Alpha Quadrant from the Delta in one year.

Related Topics:
Regeneration - Borg - Q Who? - The Neutral Zone - The Best of Both Worlds

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The decision to introduce a romance between T'Pol and Trip Tucker in the third season also fanned the flames of criticism, as some critics regarded it as poorly executed or unnecessary. Jolene Blalock (T'Pol) also criticized the development.

Related Topics:
T'Pol - Trip Tucker - Jolene Blalock

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Supporters of the decision countered that the Trip/T'Pol relationship is generally better handled than similar relationships in past Star Trek series. This view is countered by those who feel Star Trek and romance shouldn't mix in any long-term fashion, due to the perception of poor results from similar romantic subplots in previous series.

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However, the pairing was also criticized by ardent fans who felt that such a relationship should instead have been established between T'Pol and Captain Archer, as had been hinted at several times during the first two seasons. T'Pol as a character was a magnet for criticism throughout the series, with complaints being heard regarding her mode of dress, her emotional nature (which the series explicitly established as a major facet of the character), and in particular a third-season story arc in which it was revealed that T'Pol had become addicted to a drug-like substance.

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Perhaps the largest point of contention, however, came with the season 2 finale, "The Expanse", which introduced a new species known as the Xindi, who launched a catastrophic attack on Earth that killed millions. This and subsequent events are never mentioned in any other Trek series, something many fans see as questionable, considering the huge impact of the event. Supporters of the series, however, counter that, in theory, every episode of Enterprise, if not the entire series itself, would fall into this category as well, creating an unfair creative burden upon the writers of the series.

Related Topics:
The Expanse - Never mentioned

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Enterprise polarized the Trek fan community and two "factions" emerged within fandom, particularly on the many Internet message boards devoted to the Star Trek franchise.

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Initially, the term "Gushers" was used to describe fans who enjoyed the series, while "Bashers" was applied to Trekkers who did not like the show. Each group tends to object to these titles. As the series progress, the terms were modified to usually refer to only the extreme fans on both sides -- i.e. those who reject any criticism of Enterprise are called gushers, while those who hate the show and refuse to be swayed are called bashers -- although in the wake of the show's cancellation the original definitions appear to be reestablishing themselves on Internet discussion boards such as TrekWeb and TrekBBS.

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The producers of Enterprise were faced with a controversy of another kind with the 2004 episode "Harbinger", which included a love scene in which T'Pol's buttocks were briefly shown. Aside from complaints from some fans that such nudity was inappropriate for Star Trek, the episode was also scheduled to air not long after the Super Bowl XXXVIII controversy in which Janet Jackson exposed a breast on live TV ? an event she and network officials claimed was an unplanned "wardrobe malfunction" ? leading to an upswing in censorship in America. As a result, when the episode was finally aired on UPN, the scene was censored. Viewers in Canada, however, saw the uncensored version and it is assumed that the uncensored version will appear on the upcoming DVD release.

Related Topics:
Harbinger - T'Pol - Super Bowl XXXVIII controversy - Janet Jackson - Censorship - Canada

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Controversy dogged Enterprise to its very conclusion when "These Are the Voyages ..." sparked heated debate and arguments over its appropriateness as a finale. Fandom was split among those who felt the episode was a poor conclusion, and others praising it as a fitting conclusion to the 18-year "modern Trek" franchise. Several Enterprise actors were vocal in either their opposition or their support of the episode.

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An ongoing debate among Trekkies is whether or not the cancellation of this series will mark the end of televised Star Trek. In an ironic twist to the years-long fight to bring Star Trek back to television in the 1970s and 1980s, there are a growing number of Trekkies who feel that the concept has worn itself out and should either be retired, or laid to rest for a number of years. A "Kill Enterprise" movement was created by Polish Trekkies in response to fan-based efforts to save the show (i.e. while the Save Enterprise movement raised money for a newspaper ad and planned rallies in the wake of the cancellation announcement, Kill Enterprise supporters threw parties and sent thankful e-mails to Paramount and UPN). Declaring victory, the Kill Enterprise site designers attempted to recast the site as a forum for discussing future Star Trek productions and a petition in favor of the next Star Trek series being made by J. Michael Straczynski.

Related Topics:
Trekkie - 1970s - 1980s - Polish - J. Michael Straczynski

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Enterprises producers, as well as Paramount itself, have stated that Enterprise will probably be the last Star Trek television series for some years to come, although it is possible the movie franchise may continue as there is already talk of an 11th Star Trek film. Manny Coto, in April 2005, announced that he was already prepared to pitch a new series idea to Paramount.

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