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2. The history of "Enterprise" - as experienced by fandom
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The following chronology marks the most important events in the course of the gradual revelation of series V and its pilot episode, beginning with March 2001. It will be still continued. Included are not only facts and information, but also some personal notes and links by me to describe the mood in the different phases and add some "real life" to the history lesson. Enjoy!
March 2001
| Mar 3rd, 2001 |
Rumors appear that suggest series V to be titled "Enterprise". As well as most other rumors this year, this eventually turns out to be completely true! The producer's plan probably not to include the words "Star Trek" in the title is known as well, as hinted by Rick Berman, but it seems that the final decision has not been made. |
| Mar 4th, 2001 |
The probably most important event in the series V history (at least for us fans!): the now infamous casting sheet of the series leaks (see original fax copies page 1 and page 2). It gives a detailed decription of all main characters as well as the pilot guest characters, announces the begin of shooting (May 8th) and confirms the 22nd century setting (though the series is believed to play after the birth of the Federation due to the mentioning of a "Starfleet officer"! Nobody at that time could have known that "Earth Starfleet" was meant...) as well as the main enemy (the Suliban). The most funny (or sad) thing is, after hot discussions the sheet is believed to be a fake, being dissected and ridiculed, but in the next weeks, more and more other rumors and official facts will reveal that it's indeed the real thing (with some minor things to be changed, like the captain's first name and Charlie Tucker's nick name). The similarities to the TOS cast seem intentional in order to "recapture the original Star Trek", and the many oddities (characters named "Tos", "Admiral Leonard" etc.) are deliberate "gestures of respect" (call it in-jokes) for the first Star Trek series. |
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My first Star Trek Dimension column "True or false?", published 8 days later, deals with these rumors and reflects my own feelings and the general mood at that time fairly realistically - rejecting the sheet as a bad, bad hoax. Of course, the problems I pointed out then are still valid; I still think the crew is far much too testosterone-driven and too American, contradicting with Trek's principles of equality and multi-culturality. Knowing the exact goals of the series now, however, I can at least understand the decision to include so few aliens and so few non-Americans in the crew. |
| Mar 16th, 2001 |
While not commenting on the leaked casting sheet, Rick Berman officially confirms the different time setting of series V and the constitution of the cast (7 characters, 5 human, 2 not) which seems to verify the infamous sheet. He also hints on the shows' mission (closer in tone to TNG and TOS) which is, as a "starship Trek", basically again "to boldly go where no one has gone before" and announces dramatic changes in production design as well as many new "voices" (directors, writers). While this sounds very promising at that time, we'll finally find out that it's only partly true; many production crew members as well as design elements have been taken from the former series. |
| Mar 19th, 2001 |
Scott Bakula, the famous star from "Quantum Leap", is rumored to be in negotiations concerning the series V leading role. At this time, this sounds as fantastic as Arnold Schwarzenegger having a role in the next Star Trek feature film ("regular news" before details on a new movie are announced). While indeed, the negotations themselves soon appear to be true, due to the upcoming rumors that he might have rejected the role and accepted the lead in another series (seemingly confirmed in late April), we won't know of Bakula's (positive) final decision until Paramount's official announcement almost two months later! Further rumors on this day suggest that James L. Conway might direct the pilot of the "Enterprise" series (the title has been underpinned by many sources at that moment), another true fact that won't be officially confirmed until early May. |
April 2001
| Apr 2nd, 2001 |
After all sources pretty much agree on the series' general premise (a starship exploring the 22nd century, shortly after the foundation of the Federation), first detailed rumors concerning the series V initial two-parter appear, (correctly) suggesting that Klingon first contact may be the pilot's theme. On the same day, Majel Barrett Roddenberry announced that series V would be set on a ship named "Enterprise" in a time before TOS, the most official comment on these rumors up to that moment. According to the producers, an official announcement will be due in a few weeks (now that everything has anyway been revealed, one might think), but despite another impending announcement rumor in late April we still won't see any official confirmation until the middle of next month. |
| Apr 10th, 2001 |
Speaking about series V look and "personality", Rick Berman states that the new show will be a dramatic departure from the last three series, foreshadowing both the prequel premise and the "recapturing of the original idea behind Trek" maxim of "Enterprise". |
| Apr 13th, 2001 |
Rumors appear that suggest that series V will not only play in the 22nd century, but follow up on some of the events depicted in Star Trek: First Contact, showing the building up of the Federation. Of course, we will finally find out that the latter information is not to be taken literally... |
| Apr 21th, 2001 |
The second most important event in the series V rumor history: a very extensive review on the series V pilot, rumored to be titled "Broken Bow", appears, which also gives away many general facts on the series and was seemingly written by an official who wanted to promote the new series, being anxious because of the negative fan reaction on the prequel rumors. For the first time, the setting of the series is correctly announced (shortly before the foundation of the Federation, not after, as the "Birth of the Federation" rumors would suggest!) Almost all general and pilot information have been backed up since then (though still not before May and June!), impressively showing the massive leak which (fortunately for us!) Paramount is obviously unable to seal. |
| Apr 22th, 2001 |
A magazine report reveals that the Enterprise design will be much "rougher" and blockier, with many hull protrusions and devices mounted on the hull. At least the top view of the "Enterprise", as revealed two and a half months later, does not show the promised "primitiveness" of the ship that would have made the ship fitting into the starship design lineage. |
May 2001
| May 8th, 2001 |
The big test for the final validity of the series V casting sheet doesn't take place - production of Enteprise does not start today, as announced in the sheet, but not because it's a fake (there were far too much confirmations up to now anyway), but because shooting is postponed by one week to Monday, May 14th. It is believed that the hesitation of Scott Bakula regarding his decision pro or con the Enterprise leading role might be the reason. However, before we finally learn if the revised shooting date is true or false, all questions (especially the two "Is the casting sheet true?" and "Are these mysterious negotations with Bakula true?") will become obsolete when finally, the major event happens we have all expected for nearly two and half months. |
| May 10th, 2001 |
They couldn't have waited any longer - Paramount finally announces "Enterprise", the fifth Star Trek series, together with the name of the leading role and its actor, thus confirming that the casting struggle with Bakula had really lasted so long that they couldn't announce anything until three days before the start of the shooting of the pilot! Interestingly, not the official UPN site, not the official Star Trek site, but the independent general news sites were the first to publish the announcement from Paramount network television (see original press release).
To the joy of some people and the gripe of others, the most important rumors and speculations from the last months were confirmed - the title is "Enterprise", the captain "Jonathan Archer" who is played, of course, by Scott Bakula. With the name of the Captain and the announcement of the further members of the cast, the casting sheet has finally been officially confirmed. With the press release focusing on the captain and his streaks as well as the leading actor and his comments show that Bakula indeed seems to have made a favorable deal; it seems he has also gotten the rumored creative input and others options to participate in the production of the series as well. |
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The inevitable Star Trek Dimension column on this important event, that is completed a week later, turns out to be my most extensive article on a ST event I've ever written (well, at least before the review the Voyager finale two weeks later ;-). The comment pretty much summarizes the upheaval before the announcement, without concealing my own disbelief concerning all the rumors and speculations finally revealed as true. Of course, a large part of the text is devoted to the announcement itself, how it happened, and what the consequences of the now official 22nd century setting (though not part of the release, no one doubts the prequel premise anymore at that moment) will be, predicting problems with continuity as well as a risk that Trek would be "dumbed down", but also great chances to recapture the original sense of wonder for the exploration of space that has been lost as space travel is pretty much an everyday task in the 24th century. Fittingly the column is titled "Enterprise - Quo Vadis?" |
| May 15th, 2001 |
The first description of the "Enterprise" uniforms that turn out to be 100% correct (of course only when the first footage is released nearly two months later!) leaks, describing a navy-blue jumpsuit with a black turtleneck, a yoke and shoulder piping in the division color and a arm-patch showing the starship the officer is assigned to. |
| May 17th, 2001 |
The announcement of the full Enterprise crew by Paramount reveals a few changes in comparison with the casting sheet: beside the change of the captain's first name already known (from "Jackson" to "Jonathan"), the Vulcan first officer is now called T'Pol (removing the reference to TOS which the original "T'Pau" name had) and "Joe Mayweather" now carries the name "Travis" and has been "demoted" to Ensign ;-). Furthermore, for the first time the 22nd century setting is mentioned directly by an official source - but everything different would have been more than a surprise. |
| May 18th, 2001 |
The first press conference on the new show since its announcement, the UPN upfront presentation, is held today, revealing a lot of new information on "Enterprise". The (original) tagline and the "Enterprise" logo is introduced, as well as the basic concept of the show, which is intended to focus on the pioneering first steps into deeper space (as proposed at the end of "Star Trek: First Contact) and the experience of exploration of the unkown for someone who's not as familiar with space and aliens as the later Trek crews are. The UPN officials even cite the "magic words" (sense of wonder) and emphasize both the new chances and dangers with early (interstellar) space travel, thus clearly making one of the greatest American dreams, the new frontier set by Kennedy in the sixties, the major topic of the fifth series. Only the exact time of "Enterprise" remains a mystery, as both the UPN president and production designer Herman Zimmerman (deliberately?) get it wrong, incorrectly implying that the new series will be set only 100 years after our times (in the early 22nd century). Additionally, the rather primitive level of technology in the show is described, hinting that most Trek tech will be seen "in it's infancy" - something that will be described in more detail a few weeks later. |
| Late May 2001 |
Continuing the promotion of "Enterprise", Rick Berman tells various newspaper more about the series V concept - emphasizing the need for a change, the need to recapture the original Trek spirit in an effort to go "back to the roots", the need for a further development of the "Star Trek" formula, and describing how the new series will show us more contemporary character, without the restrictions of the 24th century characterization of human beings, while mankind will still be on its way to the better, to this perfect Utopian state of development (something that very well fits the the setting of the series - before the foundation of the Federation and its ideals, but also a long time after the chaos of World War III). Judging from that and earlier reports ("Humanity has to prove that it is ready for life in space), it seems to me that just like the technology, also the social evolution to the mature Roddenberry humans will be in its infancy and developing over the course of the series, as the humans go out there for the first time, explore space and meet alien cultures. |
June 2001
| Early and mid June 2001 |
With these newspaper reports, the hype around the official announcement of "Enterprise" abruptedly ends and for the first time since the time before the Paramount confirmation in March and April, we get only very rarely new - or mostly quite unimportant - information (like the UPN premiere date of the show on Sept 26th) from official channels, with many of the earlier rumors which had revealed almost the entire pilot still not backed up. Of course, with enough information on the concept and the cast being published or confirmed, fans are especially yearning for the first pictures on the starship and the first footage from the show. As the shooting of the pilot was scheduled from May 14th to mid June, footage was expected to be released as early as in the week after the announcement (when Voyager's finale aired), but just like with the announcement of series V, the audience has to wait and speculate for a rather long time, being given only small "tidbits" like John Eave's revelation on June 4th that the new ship will resemble the Akira (if we had known at that time how literally this statement has to be taken... thanks god we had no idea of the impending uproar) or the very short look at the Enterprise sets in the upfront presentation of June 17th. A pretty unpleasant experience. |
| June 17th |
The opening scenes of "Broken Bow" are revealed, at least making the time of waiting for the first pictures (no matter if from the "Enterprise" pilot or the "Enterprise" ship) a bit more interesting. They are expected to show a scene from captain Archer's youth, something which has yet to be officially confirmed. However, another rumor appears 8 days laters that describes a "video message" for the "Enterprise" launch featuring the one and only Zefram Cochrane, with James Cromwell (from Star Trek: First Contact) in a special cameo appearance, will be indirectly verified by Rick Berman one month later - not a bad move if one considers that every new series has gotten a "send-off" by a character from its predecessor series, something that isn't possible that easily here due to the prequel premise of "Enterprise", but can nevertheless be realized if Star Trek chronology rather than production chronology is used for the cameo decision. And of course, "Star Trek: First Contact" and its central character, the inventor of the warp drive Zefram Cochrane, are the only ones set before the fifth series at the moment (in the mid 21st century, in contrast to the 22nd century). Not to forget that the special role the eighth feature film will take regarding the background of "Enterprise" (mentioning the first steps that will be shown in the new series), it's really a very good idea... |
| June 25th |
A new review on the Enterprise pilot (or, more correctly, a very old draft from autumn 2000) reveals many new facts while it backs up most of the already known ones, like miraculous skeletal structure abilities of the "Enterprise" adversaries, the Sulibans. Beside many interesting features, the allegedly emphasized action-orientated "down-to-business" style ("more phaser shooting than ever before" to say it straight to the point) of the pilot and the apparent lack of sentimentality, philosophy, human emotions and the issue-driven storytelling, all things that are unique aspects of "Star Trek" (which can be summarized as "social" or "human" science fiction) making it stand out in comparison with ordinary science fiction series, revive old fears of a "dumbed down Action Trek" and only increase the desire for some more definite facts that - no matter if they confirm or reject these alarming rumors - at least give certainty. |
| June 27th |
Finally, someone ends the old debate on the exact time of "Enterprise" - it's Scott Bakula himself who states that Enterprise is set in 2151, roughly 100 years before Kirk and exactly 150 years ahead of our times. A day later, a tidbit on the still not released Enterprise ship design is published, stating that the "Enterprise" will be a vertically flipped version of Kirk's one. Interestingly, while we have seen the ship in the meantime, we still can't say if this is true, as the bottom and side views of the ship are still unknown. |
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Summary of the events in July soon! |
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