Star Trek: Enterprise, the fifth incarnation of the Star Trek franchise, was created by Brannon Braga and Rick Berman.  The story revolves around humanity's first Warp 5 starship, Enterprise, ten years before the formation of the United Federation of Planets.  The series premiered in September of 2001, but was cancelled after four seasons due to low ratings.

In the year 2151, the NX class starship known as Enterprise was launched, due to a sudden emergency.  It was at first given a temporary duty, as it needed years of preparation for it to be completely ready.  However, Enterprise's services were beckoned unexpectedly, when a Klingon national crashed straight into Earth.  The safety of the whole planet was put at stake, especially if the Klingon is unable to return home.

The crew of Enterprise then embarked on their mission, headed by United Starfleet Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula).  As they are pulled deeper into space, they find themselves engulfed in even more dangerous mysteries.  They continue to be confronted by foreign threats, like the Suliban and other Klingons.  Worse than that, the Enterprise team gets involved in armed conflict against a range of species, including the Tholians, the Coridan, and the Borg. 

Taking part in the expedition is the Vulcan science officer T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), chief engineer Trip Tucker III (Connor Trinneer), armory officer Malcolm Reed (Dominic Keating), communications genius Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) and helmsman Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery).  Also joining the crew is chief medical officer Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley), a Denobulan doctor who is brought aboard the ship to care for their Klingon passenger. 

Along the way, the members of the Enterprise team find out that their home planet was in jeopardy.  They head back, serving a diplomatic role in the service of United Earth.  Star Trek: Enterprise served as the basis of origin for some concepts in the Star Trek universe that were taken for granted.  It also marked several milestones for the franchise, as it was the first to be produced in widescreen and broadcast in HDTV.  Its fourth season was also noted as the first to be filmed on digital video. 

In 2005, it was announced that Star Trek: Enterprise would no longer be airing on UPN.  The final episode was released in May, and the decision to cancel the series was confirmed in April. 


-Maria Gonzalez, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: UPN, Startrek.com
(Image Courtesy of UPN)