Set in the year 2151 in the original Star Trek universe created by Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek: Enterprise followed the adventures of Enterprise, humanity’s first Warp 5 starship.  Star Trek: Enterprise was the brainchild of Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, ten years before the United Federations of Planets was formed.

Premiering in September 26, 2001, Star Trek: Enterprise debuted with an episode called “Broken Bow” halfway between the 21st century events as witnessed in the movie Star Trek: First Contact and the original Star Trek television series.

Four years later, UPN canceled Star Trek: Enterprise due to low ratings yet still allowed it to finish its fourth season.  After its 98th episode, it became the first Star Trek franchise to be canceled by its network rather than by its producers.  It is also the last in an 18-year run of back-to-back new Star Trek shows that started with Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987.

Star Trek: Enterprise stars Scott Bakula as Enterprise captain Jonathan Archer, Jolene Blalock as Archer’s loyal friend T’Pol, Connor Trinneer as Enterprise chief engineer Trip Tucker III, Dominic Keating as armory officer Malcolm Reed, Linda Park as communications officer Hoshi Sato, Anthony Montgomery as helmsman Travis Mayweather, and John Billingsley as the chief medical officer Dr. Phlox.

The first two seasons of Enterprise went into explaining the origins of some Star Trek-specific concepts, such as Lt. Reed’s force fields, things that are taken for granted in the previous franchise. It also delved into the exploration of interstellar space thanks to the breaking of the Warp 5 barrier.  Because of low ratings, the showrunners played out a storyline where the Earth is put in danger, something formulaic and has worked in the past. Pretty soon, the Enterprise was retrofitted into a warship after a deep trench mysteriously appears from Florida to Venezuela.

By the third season, the continuously declining ratings caused the series to be finally canceled after its fourth season, with the last episode airing on May 13, 2005.

-Glenn L. Diaz, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Startrek.com
(Image Courtesy of Startrek.com)