Enterprise — Page 4

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Okay... that's it for the DVD news today. As some of you can probably guess, the thing that's gotten me all worked up this morning is that UPN officially announced the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise yesterday. 10 more new episodes will air on the network with the series finale tentatively set for broadcast on 5/13 (right, of course, in the middle of the media furor over the release of the final Star Wars movie to theaters on 5/19 - which do you think will get more coverage?). I heard the news early yesterday and received hundreds of e-mails from angry Bits readers (who also happen to be fans of the show) overnight.

Look... I know not everyone is a Star Trek fan, and there were plenty of people who didn't warm to Enterprise. But come on! Look at the crap on TV these days. The same old doctor, lawyer and cop shows, crappy sitcoms and the most offensive batch of reality programming in years. The Biggest Loser?! Jesus. Mark my words, the cancelation of Enterprise bodes poorly for other TV science fiction. Sci-Fi costs more than regular programming by its very nature, and with its audience becoming ever more fractured (bickering over which is better - Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek or Stargate), do you really think broadcast and cable networks are going to continue to foot the bill with small and declining ratings?

The real shame of it is that the show, creatively, has never been better. Don't believe me? Bite the bullet and watch the rest of the season. If you tune in for the last 10 episodes, I think you'll be disappointed that there aren't any more coming. Star Trek, as a franchise, probably DOES need to take a good 10-year break. But there's just no reason Enterprise shouldn't finish out its full TV run. No reason that is, other than that UPN doesn't know what the hell to do with it. They've never promoted the show, which doesn't seem to fit with their goal of going after young urban or young female audiences... or whoever the hell they're trying to program for these days (I don't think the network even really knows).

As you can imagine, fans of Enterprise aren't taking this lying down. MSNBC is running a poll about the cancellation that's overwhelmingly in favor of the show continuing. SaveEnterprise.com and The Enterprise Project are organizing letter writing and boycott campaigns. There's talk of fan-sponsored advertisements in magazines and newspapers, and a rally outside the Paramount lot. Plus, there's always the DVD release of the show's first season on 5/3. We have Bits readers among the show's production staff, and we've learned that the DVDs may even include cast and crew audio commentaries in addition to deleted scenes and outtakes - pretty much everything we've been asking for from the studio for the discs.

Anyway, if you're a fan of TV Sci-Fi, we encourage you to go to the above websites and participate in some way. Who knows? Maybe the show can still be saved for another year. If not, we can at least send a strong message to the powers that be. Bastards.

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Speaking of BIG news, here's some: The effort to save Star Trek: Enterprise just got a huge boost. Three anonymous doners working in the aerospace industry have offered a combined contribution of $3 million. According to their official statement: "We think Star Trek and especially its latest incarnation, Enterprise is the kind of TV that should be aired more often. The people responsible at Paramount think this is just a show and we want to tell them, it is not. We are in the commercial space flight industry and would like to testify that at least one out of two of all the actual entrepreneurs involved in this industry has been inspired by Star Trek; and we are not only good at watching TV sci-fi , we are also good at writing checks, big checks. [EDIT] Enterprise needs to be renewed, for the sake of fan loyalty, for being quality TV, for bringing imagination and hope for a better future to our homes, but over all that, for inspiring us so strongly that we have fought all our adult lives to bring that future closer to our children and to us."

BRAVO! Congrats to everyone at Save Enterprise, The Enterprise Project and Trek United for keeping hope alive. Click here to read the complete statement at Save Enterprise. Eat that UPN.

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