Star Trek: Enterprise: Creators originally thought finale was cool

Star Trek: Enterprise holds the dubious distinction in the franchise for being the series with the most-hated finale.

For four years fans followed the adventures of the crew of the Enterprise 100 years before Captain KIrk’s time. Led by Captain Jonathan Archer, the ship started out as a vessel of exploration, but, of course, it ran into many troubles along the way and even managed to save Earth. Star Trek: Enterprise might not have been the most popular series in the franchise, but it certainly held its own in the eyes of the fans…that is, until the series finale fifteen years ago.

Showing the final voyage of the Enteprise crew as a holodeck simulation watched by Commander Riker and Counselor Troi wasn’t the producers’ most shining moments even though Brandon Braga, the series co-creator, originally thought the concept was cool.

"“I thought it was the coolest thing ever when we were writing it, the idea of doing a ‘lost episode’ of The Next Generation, but they’re going to the holodeck to look back at Enterprise.”"

Season 4 of the series, which had struggled in the ratings, was led by showrunner Manny Coto, and it turned out to be the strongest of the four seasons. In fact, Braga admitted that “Manny had finally found voice of the show, and season 4 should’ve been season 1, and I think that the show should have continued.”

Still, originally, he and the other series co-creator Rick Berman thought the series finale was “a great send-off” to Enterprise. Of course, everyone knows by now that they were sadly mistaken, and Braga admitted it was a huge misstep that neither the cast nor the fans liked.

"It was a kind of a slap in the face to the Enterprise actors. I heard it from everybody, it was the only time Scott Bakula was ever mean to me. I regret it."

And I don’t think there’s a Star Trek: Enterprise fan that would disagree with him. Now, fifteen years later, some of them are still wanting a better resolution for the crew they’d come to love.