I wasn't really sure where to put this, but:

a new Shatner album.

Oh, god. There aren't words.

I've heard a song Shatner recorded with Ben Folds called "In Love" from an album called "Fear of Pop". It's actually a neat song that plays to his strengths. The man's reputation is to cover existing songs in his spoken-word form with hilarious sincerity, or to make parodies of the same. But when a song is written to his style, he can make some interesting music.

Also, I'm interested if Ben Folds is the producer. That song from "Fear of Pop" is kind of neat.

The Futon Critic names "Impulse" #29 on their weeklong countdown of the top 50 episodes of 2003. I can only assume the absense of "Twilight" from the list is because the top 10 come out this afternoon.

Kirk and Spock, together again.

Thought you might find this amusing.

Do you suppose that was intentional?

I certainly hope so.

Even better. You can watch the commercial (Credit due to rosiebloom in the Commercial Thread)

Sorry for the DP, but it's been a few days, and it's a wholly new topic.

Apparently there's some concern about the fate of Enterprise. Apparently, UPN promised that both Enterprise and Jake 2.0 were safe for the season, but now that Jake's been cancelled, some folks are concerned about the quality of UPN's promises.

So far it's just gossip about people on-set being worried about their jobs, and I know that at my job any little thing can make us all worry for no reason, but it's still interesting.

You know, I must have Stockholm Syndrome because I would be really, really sad if this got cancelled. They deserve as many chances to bore the audience as Voyager got.

I agree with Keckler Hearst. I actually think the show has gotten better of late; it would be a shame for them to cut it off now.

I have to admit I'd miss the show too. It has been better lately and I will remain perpetually hopeful.

You know, I'm not going to miss it because I think it's that good but it's become comfortable to me.

I've become accustomed to Quantum's furrows.

You'll have to get used to telling a whole new character to "Shut up, [blank]." ( Although Trip hasn't required that nearly as much as he used to.)

I'm with akg- it's not great, but it has gotten better. (And TNG started getting consistenly good in its 4th season, so Enterprise should get that same chance.) And on a purely selfish note, I don't want to have to find another place to get my Connor Trinneer fix.

Mmm, I hear you on the Connor Trinneer fix!

I would be sad just because it would mean the first time in years and years with no new Trek on a weekly basis. That's what I'm accustomed to. But that's also part of the problem. Countless editorials over the years have extolled the virtues of the Phoenix plan: let Trek die for a decade or so and then people will care more when it starts up again, reinvigorated.

Yeah, but I'm worried that killing this show just as it's starting to get better might be a serious deathblow to the franchise. More serious than, say, a movie that bombed at the box-office. I was all for the "Phoenix plan" (great name, by the way) back before this show started, but now I think it would be more harmful.

Personally, I think this season is the best Trek's had since DS9 ended. Granted, that's only two years of Voyager and two of Enterprise, but still, four years is a long time for most TV series. Anyway, it would be a shame to kill it off just as it's showing signs of coming back to life.

Keckler Hearst! Bwah!

I feel rather conflicted about any reports of the show being cancelled. I want to see if it can fulfill its potential, but on the other hand, I think the Trek franchise as a whole needs time to heal and regenerate itself. Hmmmm...

I totally agree with you, Cleo. Now all they'll remember is the negativity from this show and if it's cancelled earlier than seven years, I don't think they'll ever bounce back with another series.

Heh. Is Henry Higgins there with you?

You know it!

Do you there would be a huge fan write-in campaign if it did get cancelled? I am a die-hard Trek fan, but sadly, I don't know that I care enough about Enterprise to bother.

I think the fanboys were dead-set against this show from day one. I don't know that that hurt it, but it would probably mean no write-in campaign.

That said, I recently read a great online article about how fan campaigns to keep shows on the air simply never work, or at least not in today's environment. I remember the advice given was to hit the companies in the pocketbook in other areas (since money is the reason shows get canceled anyway): Angry at The WB? Cancel your AOL. Angry at UPN? Do something to Viacom. But I doubt that would work either. No one watching means no one's watching.

The only comfort I take is that it's still UPN's top show. Doesn't that leave them no choice but to keep it on?

There has been a write-in campaign for some time now. At least a year, AFAIK. I believe this is the same group that bought the ad in Variety.

Is it really? This somehow surprises and depresses me. It doesn't seem like they treat it like their top show.

Roswell was saved twice, and the Firefly folks got a DVD set. I think Angel got its fifth season in small part due to a huge postcard/email campaign (but mostly due to the addition of James Marsters). I think a write-in campaign might help, and it couldn't hurt.

I thought WWE was the top show/program on UPN.

Wasn't Firefly planning on putting out a DVD anyway? That's what I read.

There seems to be some hint in one of those articles that they'd consider switch networks...that would be interesting.

They could also try their luck back in the syndication market. I think they still run new episodes in weekly syndication (those weekend reruns we all seem to have. That ain't UPN doing that), in addition to the network airings, so it wouldn't be that huge a shift in their business model. Plus, Trek has a history (TNG, DS9) in first-run syndication.

Keckler, the day that Joss and company were informed of Fox's decision to put the show on "hiatus" they were also told that a DVD set would be eventually released.

So...did that have anything to do with a write-in campaign?

Distinct possibility. There was quite a bit of fan support including an ad put in Variety. Here's a link to one of the sites involved -Firefly: Immediate Assistance

I asked the question about the Firefly DVDs (did the fans get it produced or was it already in the works) in the Firefly thread, but haven't gotten a response. I think the success of the DVDs plus fan support will lead to a Firefly feature film; at least that's what Joss Whedon is saying.

ETA: I doubt Enterprise could be sold to another network. It's part of the huge Star Trek franchise, which has pieces in multiple Viacom divisions (e.g, the books are published by Simon & Schuster, which is also owned by Viacom). How could they break it up? The only option would be for Paramount to sell it in syndication, unless they struck some sort of Stargate- or Andromeda-type deal with the SciFi (or other) channel.

Above all, shows are saved by higher ratings. Roswell switched networks, I think- so, essentially, it was canceled and revived by someone else immediately after.

As to moving off UPN, that's unlikely. Viacom owns both Paramount and UPN, and I doubt they'd let another network get it. This is their cheapest and most lucrative option.

These rumors really aren't based on anything but the fact that Jake 2.0 got cancelled out of left field, right? And thus UPN might be a bit more trigger-hapy than we once thought? Other than that, it's all speculation and slight paranoia, right?

Aren't CBS and UPN related somehow?

Since paranoia is somewhat negative, let's just say speculation, yes? Is there something wrong with the speculation?

Just stick Enterprise on Showtime. Braga and Berman can add the steamy romantic elements they want, show full nudity, and Showtime gets something else to try and tap into that major cable, edgy drama market that HBO has cornered right now.

Plus, that would give them an excuse to add a gay character to the show, as was rumoured earlier.

The main problem with UPN is that Enterprise is woefully out of place. Everything on the network is a reality show or a sitcom, except for Enterprise and Jake 2.0 (I consider WWE a form of reality show, although it often resembles a sitcom). For Paramount and the Star Trek franchise, it would make more sense to get Enterprise placed on another network (the WB comes to mind) or go back to the old syndication model (which worked pretty well).

I don't think Sci-Fi is an option, as the weekly production costs of Battlestar Galactica seem to have scuttled that series; I don't see how they could afford Enterprise.

Another option would be to sell Enterprise to Spike TV. They seem to be doing pretty well running TNG. But they may not be able to afford the weekly costs involved with a major sci-fi series.

Well, I wouldn't be able to recap it then. Family budget doesn't extend to those channels.

I think this place might be what we're looking for, if we want a write-in campaign to keep the show on the air:

The Enterprise Project

Someone linked to it on my livejournal's friends list.

They are both owned by VIACOM.

I've been talking to my Trek Throat and the news around the set doesn't sound happy. They were almost cancelled last year -- as we've heard -- and now the ratings have been even worse. No one really knows anything at this points but that's just like last year when all these firings were announced the season wrapped.

Trekweb ran an article about Wednesday's ratings, noting that Zap2It declined to actually print Enterprise's numbers. The debut of American Idol blew everything away that night (and had a bigger effect on Smallville since a considerable percentage of its audience is female), but it looks like Trek barely treaded water this week.

With American Idol nesting in the same time slot, UPN can't expect much from Enterprise for the rest of the season. Can they try to move it? (what nights are open?) Or will American Idol be the nail in Enterprise's coffin?

There's always syndication.

does anyone have any idea what each episode costs? I know some of the first season episodes were around a million apieace, but the bulk came in lower. Is Enterprise any cheaper than NG or DS9?

My friend swears that Enterprise is getting better ratings than Voyager ever got. I haven't seen anything about that so I can't really comment. But if they want to keep it on Wednesdays, I hear there's an open spot when Jake 2.0 used to air!

It's not true. I checked the Futon Critic about that sometime last year and while there was an initial spike when the show started, it's definitely down below the numbers Voyager was drawing in its final season.

It's not entirely the show's fault. The increasing loss of viewers to cable, the higher competition on Wednesdays, there's a lot of factors Enterprise has to contend with. But a lot of people, some of them network suits, just look at the raw numbers.

I should add that I haven't checked the numbers for this year yet, but the news I've heard isn't great.

5 million per ep.

I think the suits know about cable at this point.

The biggest problem Enterprise has now is that it doesn't belong on UPN anymore. It's the only sci-fi show on the schedule (at this point, I believe it's the only drama) and it's clear that the network is finding more success on other nights with sitcoms and reality T.V. UPN needed Star Trek back in the day so they could pull enough audience to survive against the WB, but now they've found an audience and don't need any name-brand shows. They dumped Buffy last season and it looks like Enterprise is next.

The Star Trek franchise is dying. Paramount went to the well too many times. Each movie that comes drops further down the chart (the Next Generation movies have been a failure. While First Contact did okay box office, when you correct for inflation, it's still in the bottom half of the Star Trek movie ranks. and it cost a buttload of money).

Where did you get 5 mil per episode? That's a pretty hefty price to pay for a TV show, especially one with such lackluster ratings.

I'll admit Enterprise has been improving, but TPTB didn't have the luxury of pissing off die-hard fans and rolling out a mediocre product three years ago. Television's changed a lot, especially UPN, and they probably won't have a home next season. Can they transistion over to syndication? I think it's a long shot. They'll be starting over at square one, trying to build coverage across the nation. And if UPN stretches out their decision on whether to bring Enterprise back, it may be too late to hit all the trade shows and sign syndication deals.

A few shows have done alright being moved to cable, I am hoping that Enterprise would get moved instead of dropped. I know that is probably wishful thinking, but cable does offer more freedom of movement for writers, etc.

I think the show has improved, sans the Quantum morality ranting...

They did? I thought Sarah Michelle Gellar dumped Buffy. They did just dump Jake 2.0.

Enterprise budget info from here - imdb

It was also brought up a little while ago in this thread - link

Well, SMG said she didn't want to come back to Buffy, but if the network and ME had wanted her bad enough, the money could have been arranged and everybody would be back for an eighth season. Unfortunately, Buffy was kind of where Enterprise is. Once Buffy moved from WB, the show just wasn't the same. A lot of fans dropped out when Buffy died (again) and the series kind of reset for UPN, sort of like what's happened with Enterprise.

That said, the writing's on the wall: UPN wants out of the genre business. They've never been able to make it work. Buffy sputtered along on name recognition. Enterprise was sputtering along without name recognition, and the addition of the words STAR TREK to the title hasn't brought any of the old viewers back. (sure, Star Trek fans didn't know it was a Star Trek show because the words Star Trek weren't in the title)

Jake 2.0 was a pretty good show which could have developed nicely along side Enterprise. Since UPN decided to pull the plug, I'd say Enterprise is dead in the water. Is UPN going to try to develop yet another sci-fi/fantasy drama to pair up with Enterprise?

Let's face facts: there's no room in the UPN universe anymore for a little starship called Enterprise.

I'm not sure that's a "fact". Until I see a press release, it is just your opinion.