It may be old news to some but I posted anyway just in case others(like me ) missed this news.


From:

http://www.startrek.com/production/s...s/051701a.html



05.17.01 UPN President Introduces Enterprise

Describing it as "TV history in the making," United Paramount Network entertainment president Tom Nunan introduced Enterprise, the fifth installment of the Star Trek franchise starring Scott Bakula, to the world at a presentation this morning in New York.

The new one-hour drama will air in UPN's 2001-2002 primetime schedule on Wednesdays at 8:00. "You all are witness to a show that guarantees instant attention, recognition, anticipation and most importantly, success," Nunan told a gathering of advertisers and affiliate representatives. That is because "Star Trek is the most popular science fiction franchise in the world."

"Set in the 22nd century, nearly 150 years before James T. Kirk and only 100 years from now, Enterprise introduces us to the pioneering days of space exploration, when interstellar travel is in its infancy, and a universe — and the unknown — portends both danger and awe," Nunan said. "Appropriately, the crew of Enterprise exhibits a sense of wonder as well as a little trepidation about the strange things and beings they will encounter. Being among the first to explore deep space, they will have to prove they are ready for life among the stars."

"Leading the crew is Captain Jonathan Archer, to be played by Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap and 'American Beauty' fame," he continued. "Captain Archer is the prototype for Starfleet captains to come. He's bold, intensely curious and eager to venture where no man has gone before. He possesses all of the traits that any NASA astronaut today would need to lead a crew into heavens they had only read about or studied before."

"The final frontier has a new beginning"

Nunan then ran a promotional video recounting the history of Star Trek and introducing Enterprise with the tagline, "The final frontier has a new beginning." No footage from the new show — which started production on Monday — was shown, but the video did include an Enterprise title treatment (as now seen on STARTREK.COM). Portions of interviews with executive producer Rick Berman and other crew members were interspersed with clips from the previous TV shows and movies.

"Star Trek has been sort of imbedded in people's minds. It's been around for 35 years now," Berman said in the video. "There's nobody out there who hasn't heard of a photon torpedo or a Klingon or 'Beam me up Scotty' or warp speed. It's part of our culture, and I think the familiarity of it is something that is very comfortable to people."

"What's important about Enterprise is, it's a ship of exploration, and space travel — interplanetary space travel — is a fairly new thing in this era," said Marvin V. Rush, director of photography on the new show. "Warp drive has been around for a while, but not very long. Transporter technology is also fairly new, and while it's proven, not everybody in the world trusts it."

Regarding the interior of the new 22nd-century starship, Rush said, "The controls are more tactile, mechanical. The buttons — you have to push them, I mean, they're not all touch-screens." He added, "Mankind is learning about other cultures, other spacefaring societies. It's a time of discovery, of who we really are, where we fit in, into the cosmos."

Production Designer Herman Zimmerman reiterated, "This is a hundred years from now, and a hundred years before Kirk and Spock. The Enterprise that we're watching now is going to be much more hands-on for the crew." Of the show's premise, Zimmerman added, "Basically we're getting a lot of information about what's outside our [region of the] galaxy from the Vulcans."

Berman concluded by saying, "Star Trek has always represented a very positive, hopeful outlook of the future, and a lot of science fiction doesn't. And I think that means a great deal to a lot of people."

During the rest of his presentation, Nunan pointed out that each spin-off of Star Trek has launched with very impressive ratings. "Every version of the Star Trek franchise takes off the launching pad at warp speed, with thrusters on full, blasting away the competition, living long and prospering." He said that UPN's decision to run Enterprise at 8:00 on Wednesdays was based in large part on the competing lineups announced by the other networks. That time period "is the perfect spot to stake a claim to the young adult audience that is vastly underserved by the other networks."

Please note: All production information is subject to change.

Robo, my good and dear friend!

Yea, I read scifi wire just about everyday. I caught it. I will probably tune in, but I'm not optimistic about it. Somehow, when you have to get a known actor in the genre to fill the lead role, I think it starts off as a VERY bad sign.

Heeeelllooo My Dear!

I don't know, I see MANY here writing it off before they've seen anything.

I think I'll reserve judgement.

A year from now people MIGHT be singin' a whole new tune.....

Won't there be a huge disparity between the quality of the sets and FX of this new show and TOS?

Let me say that I absolutely hate Star Trek, and have all my life. Every time they've put out a new show I've rolled my eyes, given it a try and moved on. And, I'm not really any kind of Scott Bakula fan, I think he's pretty overrated.

However, this new show actually sounds pretty dang cool. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what they do with it. The first ship to take off and really explore. It has a lot of promise, IMHO.

I'm there. Voyager and Deep Space Nine left me cold. Expect for 6 of 9, and she made my pants go crazy. I think it's a great idea for a show. I wonder if the Klingons will look like they did on the original series?

Whats teh deal with the captain? the last three shows have given us a "politically correct" pattern...White Male, Black Male, White Female....

isn't it the Black Females turn? I'm thinking that the captain will be gay. That should settle all the gay fans calls for a gay character and will follow their politically correct trend.

Robo - Yea, well, I know someone who worked for them. I know some of what goes on behind the scenes and that's why I'm not optimistic. If they waited a few years and changed some of the staff, I'd be more optimistic. I will check it out and I would like to be pleasantly surprised, but definitely not expecting to be.

This is a show with lots of promise and I would like to say that I like Star Trek and never stopped watching it, until Voyager. Really don't like that show. But having the promise and having someone who fulfills it well are two different stories. I'm not a huge Berman/Braga fan. So, I'm keeping my expectations low.

The next show after this one will feature an Asian Female Lesbian Captain with Downs Syndrome.

they better or their interest group will complain

Well I think the potential for this show is BIG.

They COULD use this show to explain MANY things seen in all the series.



I think alla uze guys and gals will like it once you give it a year to GROW and TWEAK.

i think it should be a Retarded Hermaphrodite, who is also a Quadruple Amputee.

Yes, and actually thats its biggest downfall as well, since so many Trek fanatics speculate on things like, "The first encounter with Klingons that goes wrong and leads to war". Well, if they show that on the new series and it doesnt match up to fans expectations/imagination of that event, then it could doom the series. i think it has the potential to lose those die hard Trekkies who theorize on all the early years down to the tiniest minutia. (Luckily i'm not one)

i look forward to the limited technology so they cant use tractor beams, deflector dishes, scanners, and transporters to bail them out of every situation.

i look forward to the limited technology so they cant use tractor beams, deflector dishes, scanners, and transporters to bail them out of every situation. [/B][/QUOTE]


I agree!

I think the writers for the frnachise get lazy and fall back on TIME TRAVEL to solve every problem.

I hate that!!!! VOLUNTARY time travel should remain waaaaaaay in the future( although that statement alone brings up many time travel questions )


VOLUNTARY OR AT WILL TIME TRAVEL IS THE CRACK COCAINE OF STAR TREK WRITERS!!!!

Once this new captain starts traveling back in time whenever he wants to fix the week's problem it's over!!!!

I agree, that plot device was WAY OVERUSED in the entire franchise. Considering though the first incident of it was supposed to be in the original series if the writers stick to the canon it shouldn't be allowed... Right there's always hope

I dunno, I'm a bit disappointed that they are going backward in the Trek universe. I think there might be a kind of "been there, done that" quality to the show.

For example, we'll KNOW that he Federation won't ever be in any real trouble since we've already seen the future

Seeing them struggle with technoloy that we are later accustomed to in Trek might seem a little backwards.

I would have liked to see them go further in the future, maybe 100 years after Next Generation/Voyager/Deep Space 9 time.

"The controls are more tactile, mechanical. The buttons — you have to push them, I mean, they're not all touch-screens."


I know this goes along with the star trek time line, but come on, we have touch screens now, shouldn't they have more in the future? I think this is why ds9 tried to have a 3d hologram instead of the viewscreen but i guess fans didn't like it

Gee, I don't know if they can write Star Trek stories anymore that don't involve a malfunctioning Holodeck or time travel.

I have high hopes for this. Voyager went waaay to far with the techno nonsense. Maybe we'll get a war with the Klingons. That would be sweet.

You see, Star Trek has nothing to do with reality. It is fantasy. No, but seriously, thats my favorite kind of fantasy mythology misconception, when people blur the lines too much and start referrring to it like it has some place in the here and now. Hell, according to Trek arent we right now supposed to have colonies on the Moon and Mars, and be in the middle of World War 3? Well, look around, we dont have any of that. Its the same kind of thinking that would say, since i'm a Buffy fan, i should stay away from graveyards at night for fear of being attacked by a vampire.



[Edited by iaido on 05-21-01 at 03:07 PM]

I understand its a fantasy but the whole premise of Trek has been to give us a "better" view of the future. Although it has strayed from this a lot (especially after roddenberry died) i think having a prequel series just diminishes from this idea.

Well, actually, I think Next Generation vastly improved after Roddenberrys illness kept him from having a heavy hand in the show. Up until that point, its early seasons were kind of wishy-washy with some bad attempts to clone original series plots. But, yeah, stepping back will be awkward, but it is still in the future. Theres no reason it cant show the struggle to become a better society. And, of course Trek makes its (bettering of society) points by addressing the relevant problems of today, so that provides and endless number of possibilities, since theres always room in humanity for improvement.

I would say that Trek makes its "bettering of society" points by turning every damn villian into a misunderstood victim or potential ally race within four recurrent episodes...

Fortunately for continuity's sake, the Klingons and Romulans will have to stay bad for the duration of this series...

Well, in FIRST CONTACT it was interesting to find out how Humans on Earth aquired WARP DRIVE.

So I must admit that IF they do give some background on technology I for one will be VERY happy.

I love ORIGIN stories.

I for one NEVER liked the whole "WE ARE THE WORLD, WISHY WASHY" aspect of THE NEXT GENERATION.

Cap'n Kirk went in, had sex with all the women and fired a proton torpedo at the planet to show who's boss!!!!

Damn_Straight!

But Shatner vs Stewart?

As actors, Stewart blows Shatner out of the water.
The 1984 episode where Picard was captured and Tortured was astounding.

I don't think Shatner and Stewart even belong in the same category, in relation to thier ability to act. I'd like to see Shatner try to pull off Moby Dick, actaully that would be pretty funny :0