Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled after season 4, but there were ideas from showrunner Manny Coto about what would’ve happened in season 5.
Summary
- Enterprise would have continued what worked in season 4, setting up the Romulan War and having Shran join Captain Archer’s NX-01 crew.
- Commander Trip Tucker wouldn’t have been killed off, while Enterprise season 5 would have expanded on season 4’s Mirror Universe story.
- Enterprise faced complications from franchise fatigue, frequent schedule changes, and network executive regime changes.
Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled by UPN Network after season 4, but plans were in place as to what Enterprise season 5 would have been about. Created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, Enterprise aired on UPN from 2001-2005, bowing out as the only Star Trek series produced by Berman not to run 7 seasons. This has caused fans to protest both at Paramount Studios and online forums with diehards even fundraising money so that the series can have one last go for a fitting finale. However, the campaign to save Star Trek: Enterprise ultimately failed even with a whopping $32 million worth of donations.
Admittedly, Enterprise had a rough voyage on UPN, especially in terms of piquing the interest of the general viewing audience. While Enterprise‘s series premiere was well received, the Star Trek prequel continually struggled in the ratings. Network mandates to save the show changed the title to Star Trek: Enterprise in season 3, as well as embracing a more serialized storyline. Enterprise season 4, led by a new showrunner, the late Manny Coto, turned out the series’ best-regarded run of episodes, but UPN canceled Enterprise near the end of season 4’s production.Enterprise concluded with a controversial and derided series finale that was an ill-conceived attempt at a farewell to Rick Berman’s era of Star Trek.
| Star Trek Series Produced By Rick Berman | Length Of Run | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | 7 seasons | 1987-1994 |
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | 7 seasons | 1993-1999 |
| Star Trek: Voyager | 7 seasons | 1995-2001 |
| Star Trek: Enterprise | 4 seasons | 2001-2005 |
Star Trek: Enterprise’s 20 Best Episodes, Ranked
Star Trek: Enterprise’s 20 best episodes use darker themes and moral ambiguity as Captain Jonathan Archer and crew explore the stars.
What Star Trek: Enterprise Season 5 Would Have Been About
Enterprise would have continued what worked in season 4
Star Trek: Enterprise executive producers Brannon Braga and André Bormanis made an on-stage appearance at the Star Trek Las Vegas convention in 2017 and revealed some of the ideas in the works for Enterprise season 5. As reported by TrekMovie, Enterprise season 5 would have dealt with changes to Vulcan after a conspiracy between the corrupt Vulcan High Command and the Romulan Star Empire was exposed and defeated by Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), T’Pol (Jolene Blalock), and T’Pau (Kara Zediker). Enterprise season 4 showrunner Manny Coto also would have set up the Earth/Romulan War, as well as planted further seeds toward the founding of the United Federation of Planets.
If Star Trek: Enterprise wasn’t canceled, the popular Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) wouldn’t have been killed off since his death was intended to add tragedy to Enterprise ‘s series finale, “These Are The Voyages…”
Manny Coto was a diehard fan of Star Trek‘s Mirror Universe, and he would have followed up Enterprise season 4’s well-regarded “In A Mirror, Darkly” two-parter in season 5. Another idea Coto would have implemented in Star Trek: Enterprise season 5 was Commander Thy’lek Shran (Jeffrey Combs) becoming a series regular and likely joining the crew of Captain Archer’s NX-01 Enterprise. The Andorian Shran was a frequent guest star who was popular with fans and Enterprise‘s producers. Braga told Combs he would have been part of Star Trek: Enterprise‘s cast in season 5 during a 2012 roundtable filmed for the Enterprise season 2 Blu-ray release.
Why Star Trek: Enterprise Was Canceled By UPN
A series of complications and bad decisions doomed Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise was intended to run for 7 seasons, and there were even hopes to transition Enterprise to feature films just like Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, multiple factors led to Enterprise’s ratings erosion and ultimate cancelation. Enterprise premiered just 4 months after the end of Star Trek: Voyager, a decision Scott Bakula called “stupid,” since there were already signs of Star Trek franchise fatigue from the fan base. Executive producer Rick Berman fought against launching a new Star Trek show so soon after Voyager but was overruled by UPN. Enterprise was also often preempted or moved around the schedule in many markets, making it difficult for fans to watch the show in the pre-DVR and pre-on-demand streaming era of the early 2000s.
Given everything Star Trek: Enterprise was up against, the prequel was lucky to get 4 seasons.
While Star Trek: Enterprise wasn’t ‘different enough’ from Rick Berman’s previous Star Trek shows despite initial plans for the prequel to be more rough and tumble – and even have Enterprise season 1 be set on Earth – perhaps a bigger issue was turmoil at UPN. A regime change at the network saw the executives who were advocates of Star Trek ousted. The incoming bigwigs now running UPN neither understood nor liked Star Trek and were looking to dump the expensive-to-produce Enterprise. Given everything Star Trek: Enterprise was up against, the prequel was lucky to get 4 seasons. Although Star Trek: Enterprise season 5 might not have saved the show if it happened, it would have continued what was working in season 4.
