Enterprise Appearance Would’ve Been Too Late To Save Series
Star Trek: Enterpriseseason 4 hoped to have William Shatner guest star, but even if it had happened, it still would have been too late to save Scott Bakula’s Star Trek prequel series. Star Trek: Enterprise was canceled by United Paramount Network (UPN) in 2005 after only four seasons.
William Shatner and writers Judith and Garfield Reeve-Stevens hatched an innovative idea for Shatner to appear in a Star Trek: Enterprise two-parter set in the Mirror Universe. Instead of Captain James T. Kirk, who Bill last played in 1994’s Star Trek Generations, Shatner would have played the evil Tiberius Kirk from Star Trek: The Original Series season 2’s “Mirror, Mirror.”
Star Trek: Enterprise would have explained that the Tantalus Field in Star Trek: The Original Series sent Tiberius time-traveling to a pocket dimension in the past. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and the NX-01 Enterprise would have encountered Tiberius in that dimension, and the first Captain of the Enterprise would have battled Captain Kirk’s malevolent Mirror doppelganger.
Appearing on TrekMovie‘s All Access Star Trek podcast, Star Trek: Enterprise writer-producer Mike Sussman revealed new details about William Shatner’s rejected guest spot, and how, in the scheme of things, not even Shatner appearing in season 4 could have saved Star Trek: Enterprise from cancelation.
William Shatner Appearing In Season 4 Would Have Been Too Late To Save Star Trek: Enterprise
As Mike Sussman told TrekMovie, Star Trek: Enterprise season 4 showrunner Manny Coto wanted to do a two-parter set in the Mirror Universe. Sussman says Enterprise had “been holding in reserve these two episodes for [Shatner],” but when it fell through, Enterprise shifted to what became the “In A Mirror, Darkly” two-parter.
Even if William Shatner had appeared in Star Trek: Enterprise season 4, it would have been much too late in the season to save the show. “In A Mirror, Darkly” was episodes 18 and 19 of Star Trek: Enterprise season 4’s 22-episode order. By then, UPN had already decided to axe Enterprise due to low ratings.
The cast and crew of Star Trek: Enterprise learned the show was officially canceled during production of “In A Mirror, Darkly.”
Since ratings were Star Trek: Enterprise‘s Achilles heel, the prequel could have used the boost from William Shatner’s star power earlier in the series’ run. Longtime Star Trek fans didn’t flock to Enterprise, and its audience was far smaller than Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s was a decade earlier.
William Shatner appearing in Star Trek: Enterprise would have been a must-see event had it happened sooner. Unfortunately, the very idea came too late in Enterprise’s run, and the prequel’s fate was already decided by UPN.
Tiberius Kirk played by William Shatner in Star Trek: Enterprise would surely have led to the highest-rated episode of season 4, if not the entire series, but it still would’ve been too late to garner Star Trek: Enterprise season 5.
Why WIlliam Shatner’s Star Trek: Enterprise Appearance Didn’t Happen
While Star Trek: Enterprise’s executive producers were excited about the idea of William Shatner guest-starring, UPN said no. Regarding whether Shatner’s asking price was too high, Mike Sussman told TrekMovie:
“I don’t think he was [asking for too much], but I think from the standpoint of the studio—had it happened earlier—maybe in season 3—they would have been more likely to go for it. But by this point [in season 4], I think the writing was on the wall. So the feeling was, well, why spend the money?”
Sussman’s evaluation of UPN saying no to William Shatner opens up the question of what would have happened if the idea of Shatner on Star Trek: Enterprise had been presented in an earlier season.
Besides being a prequel that retconnedStar Trek canon, Enterprise had other issues with attracting the hardcore Star Trek audience. William Shatner guesting on Enterprise early on would have given Scott Bakula’s show “the rub” and a green light for hesitant Star Trek fans to give Enterprise a chance.
Even if he played the evil Tiberius Kirk and not the heroic Captain Kirk, William Shatner hadn’t appeared in a live-action Star Trek TV series after Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled in 1969. Shatner on Enterprise would have been, and could have been promoted as, a major TV event and a milestone for Star Trek.
Mike Sussman also told TrekMovie that UPN used market research in Las Vegas to gauge audience interest in William Shatner appearing in Star Trek: Enterprise, but he doesn’t know the results of the testing. Nevertheless, the network said no.
Star Trek: TNG Guest Stars Couldn’t Save Enterprise
Whether William Shatner appearing on Star Trek: Enterprise could have saved the show is conjecture, but iconic actors from Star Trek: The Next Generation couldn’t reverse Enterprise‘s fortunes.
Several actors from Star Trek: The Next Generation era shows appeared on Enterprise, most playing characters very different from who they are known for in Star Trek. One of the most significant was Brent Spiner, who joined Enterprise not as Data, but as Arik Soong, the ancestor of Data’s creator, Dr. Noonien Soong.
Star Trek: Enterprise brought in Jonathan Frakes as Commander Will Riker and Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi to star in Enterprise‘s ill-fated series finale, “These Are The Voyages…” However, this backfired with Star Trek fans, and TNG icons in the series finale couldn’t have saved Enterprise, regardless.
What Star Trek: Enterprise could have used to grab Star Trek fans’ attention was a Captain-level guest star, which would have included Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko, or Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway.
Still, of that group, only Patrick Stewart truly had the stature and cache that William Shatner would have brought to Star Trek: Enterprise. It’s just unfortunate Star Trek: Enterprise and William Shatner didn’t strike upon the idea of guest-starring sooner, because who knows what would have resulted?
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