Berman: 'Enterprise' Film Wasn't In The Cards

Star Trek executive producer Rick Berman recenly denied claims by Scott Bakula (Jonathan Archer) that Enterprise was originally intended to be the next Trek movie franchise.

"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," Berman told the Sci-Fi Wire. "But I don't think there was ever any formal discussions dealing with an Enterprise feature."

Scott Bakula had said during the Enterprise wrap party that "there was always the idea that [the Enterprise crew] would be the next movie cast and movie ship. But all the people who were interested in that are gone." (Story)

In his Sci-Fi Wire interview, Berman repeated his assertion that Star Trek oversaturation led to the cancellation of Enterprise, and specifically pointed to the detrimental effect of Trek reruns. "I think that we found ourselves in competition with ourselves," he said. "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."

Berman said that he wants to give the franchise a rest for now, and he wasn't even sure he'll be around for a possible future Trek series. "[There's] a lot of sadness connected with [the end of Enterprise.] On the other hand, and I think I can speak for [Brannon Braga], 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."

For more from Berman, including his thoughts on why the end of Enterprise is so sad, and the disappointing performance of Star Trek: Nemesis, head over to the full Sci-Fi Wire interview.

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