Berman: Trek Needs A Rest

Rick Berman, executive-producer of Star Trek: Enterprise, told SCI FI Wire that he believes the decline in ratings that led to the series' cancellation was the result of an oversaturation of the franchise. "There are a lot of people who criticized us for saying what I'm about to say, but I do believe that there was some degree of fatigue with the franchise," Berman said in a conference call interview. "I think that we found ourselves in competition with ourselves. Enterprise in many markets was running against repeats—whether it be cable or syndication—of the original series, Next Generation, Voyager [or] Deep Space Nine. And I think that after 18 years and 624 hours of Star Trek the audience began to have a little bit of overkill with Star Trek, and I think that had a lot to do with it. And I think if you take a look at the last feature film we did, Nemesis, which I still believe was a fine movie, it did two-thirds the business that the previous films had done. So I think it's, again, another example of the franchise getting a little bit tired."

Berman said that he and the other custodians of the franchise plan to give it a rest for a few years, but are keeping a possible future Trek movie on the back burner. He also rebutted recent statements made by Enterprise star Scott Bakula that plans for a film based on the show were scuttled after its cancellation. "I think that perhaps when Scott first took the job as the lead on Enterprise four and a half years ago there was probably a sense that the show was going to run seven years, as the others had, and that it very well might become the next movie franchise, and it right now seems to not be the case. But I don't think there was ever any formal discussions dealing with an Enterprise feature." Bakula had told SCI FI Wire that any plans for an Enterprise movie were scuttled after the show was canceled.

Berman said that he and co-executive producer Brannon Braga are looking forward to moving on, but will miss the creative team with whom they've formed a bond over the years. "For us, it's a very bittersweet time," he said. "We have dozens of people who we have worked with for 10, 15, some 18 years. And it's become like a family. It's a very rare thing in our business, and we've spent a lot of time working together and learning together, and that family, for the first time, is going to be splitting up. So there's a lot of sadness connected with it. On the other hand, and I think I can speak for Brannon, both of us are looking forward to getting on with writing and producing new things that will take our careers in hopefully positive directions. As far as the next iteration of Star Trek goes, as to whether we'll have anything to do with it, I think it's way too early to tell." Star Trek: Enterprise ends its four-season run May 13 on UPN at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel