$$Major Enterprise Spoilers$$ and Interview with Manny Coto

Tommy J · Post by **Tommy J** » 2004-12-23 02:29pm

The enclosed article and interview with Manny Coto was featured in today's Chicago Tribune.

Some of my observations:

*Looks like they're finally getting their act together with some decent story arcs

*Season 5 looks more likely despite lower viewer ship

*I'd like to see the formation of the Federation Story arc -- that's a potentially excellent opportunity to bring the franchise back to its roots.

*Much greater adherence to the canon of TOS

*Rumor has it that Shatner will be featured in the Mirror Universe Episode

Curious on your thoughts?

JUST KEEP TREKKIN': Last season, "Star Trek: Enterprise" hit a creative high point with the lengthy Xindi arc, and there's been just as much energy this season, which has so far featured a zingy guest stint by "Next Generation" star Brent Spiner and a swell three-parter set among battling Vulcans. Yep, there's plenty of life left in the old spaceship.

According to executive producer Manny Coto, the next upcoming mini-arc will focus on Capt. Jonathan Archer's attempts to forge an alliance among the cranky Andorians (they're the blue guys with wiggly antennae on their heads, whom the Enterprise has already met several times), the Vulcans and a species called the Tellarites, in a bid to thwart the wily Romulans.

"The Tellarites are a species who basically interact through insults. So there's some fun stuff there," Coto says. "After that, we'll be doing a two-parter with Klingons, which will begin to explain why the Klingons in the original [`Trek'] series are different than the Klingons in the later series," though the Klingon two-parter deals with much more than just the fierce race's appearance.

Coto says that at this stage, there are still no concrete plans to bring William Shatner to "Enterprise" this season, though he'd love to make that happen if possible. "I'm not sure what's happening there, it's probably a combination of money and scheduling and all that," Coto says of Shatner, who just received a Golden Globe nomination for his work on "Boston Legal."

Could Spiner return before the year is out? Coto says he wouldn't "rule it out."

Season 5 of "Enterprise," if there is one, will explore the founding of the multi-planet Federation, Coto says. But will "Enterprise" come back next year, given that fewer total viewers are tuning in to see the show now that it's been moved to Fridays?

"Enterprise's" renewal won't be decided until May, UPN head Dawn Ostroff says, but she adds that "We've gotten great feedback from fans. … The show is at a great place [creatively] and we're very happy with the ideas and execution."

Coto talks more below about where the show is now and where it's headed:

On whether having Brent Spiner on the show was partly a bid to bring "Trek" fans back to "Enterprise": "Absolutely. We had Brent coming in and that was a great opportunity to get people who hadn't tuned in a while to come back. And a lot of those people stuck around for the Vulcan arc, from what I've read on fan sites."

On feedback from UPN regarding ratings this season (on its new night, "Enterprise" has fewer total viewers than it had last season, but UPN is now getting higher ratings than it was last year on Fridays): "I don't even know the answer to that. I haven't spoken to anyone at the [ratings] performance, so I'd be talking in the dark. I don't know if they're happy or not. It's still pretty much up in the air [whether there will be a season 5]."

On his goals for the show: "We consciously set out to make this season a real prequel, to really embrace the prequel concept. We've got a great stories coming up, and I think there's a whole seasons' worth of great stuff, the founding of the federation.

"That's not something that can happen in three episodes at the end of the season – but we'll be headed toward the founding of the Federation [toward the end of season four]. I would love to make that a season-long arc, what's great about it is that it's a positive arc, instead of a story of pure conflict [like the Xindi arc]. It becomes an arc about trying to bring different cultures together.... which is a really resonant idea for our time. I would love to come back and we would do some serious research on the founding of the UN, how that came together."

On the final multi-episode arc of the season: "We'd like to bring our sights back to earth, to feature areas or landscapes of Starfleet we haven't seen, the Martian colony, the moon colony, our own solar system. The final story [of the season] will be mankind overcoming its own prejudices, to begin this process of [founding] the Federation. The last challenge will be our own solar system. The final obstacle will be ourselves."

On Trip and T'Pol's romance: "We are going to revisit that and scale it back so it won't be so prominent. I will say that they're heading toward an interesting culmination to their story this season."

On working with Jeffrey Combs, who plays Shran the Andorian (as well as several other memorable characters on various "Trek" series): "Jeff as Shran and Archer are so great together. [Shran] quickly became a favorite character on the show, so we knew we had to bring him back. [On set, Combs] has this incredible energy, he's like a pit bull with antenna."

On an upcoming "mirror universe" episode: "We're really excited about that one. It'll be as if you changed the channel to `Enterprise' and you get the mirror universe version of the show. We're even going to change the title sequence. People will be wondering, what show is this?"

Other tidbits:
"We'll see the return of the Orion slave girls. We're going to find out something very interesting about Orions and who rules their society. [Will this episode will include a love interest for Archer] Perhaps."
"The heart of the [upcoming] Klingon story features a conflict between Archer and [crew member Malcolm] Reed and the beginnings of [covert Starfleet intelligence group] Section 31."

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2004-12-24 03:09am

Hmm. Interesting. Again, it may be too little too late, but we'll see. I'm not sure, however, what to think about bringing in the Mirror Universe or Section 31, but as I said, we'll see.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » 2004-12-24 08:25am

No doubt that they are going to have the Federation founded before the existing recognised date, reading that article. (If they get to continue the series at all, that is)

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2004-12-24 08:45am

Sing it's praises all you want the best thing that can happen to it is that it'll be upgraded from shite to gold plated shite.

Putting Shatner, i man who claims to hate the fan boys, in it is at best a mistake.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2004-12-25 05:12am

Given season 1 and 2, it can't seriously get any worse

Dark Primus · Post by **Dark Primus** » 2004-12-26 04:39pm

If only season 3 of Enterprise was the first season then it could have been better.

Post by **Kuja** » 2004-12-27 12:13am

On an upcoming "mirror universe" episode: "We're really excited about that one. It'll be as if you changed the channel to `Enterprise' and you get the mirror universe version of the show. We're even going to change the title sequence. People will be wondering, what show is this?"

Sounds like a desperation tactic to me.

Tommy J · Post by **Tommy J** » 2004-12-27 09:17am

Kuja wrote:
On an upcoming "mirror universe" episode: "We're really excited about that one. It'll be as if you changed the channel to `Enterprise' and you get the mirror universe version of the show. We're even going to change the title sequence. People will be wondering, what show is this?"
Sounds like a desperation tactic to me.

I disagree. Coto is trying to return some of the continunity of TOS to Enterprise from the disaster that Berman and Braga created. The Xindi/Nazi story arc was Star Trek at its very worst.

I think the creation of the Federation plus the formation of Section 31 have an excellent opportunity to explore the darker/positive message side of Trek as seen on DS9 w/o the 15 Episode plots.

The Silence and I · Post by **The Silence and I** » 2004-12-27 01:38pm

It has been a long time since I have anticipated anything in Startrek--this article made me hopeful for the series and that is more than I have expected in while

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-12-27 03:01pm

What is it with fanboys and Section 31? They practically salivate at it and want to see it at every chance. Ugh.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2004-12-27 03:06pm

I just don't think its possible to bring back viewers with the horrific experiences they have endured with Enterprise. I gave up after two episodes (Trip pregnant storyline told me all I needed to know about what direction this turd was going) I know friends that have desperately held on, hoping against all hope. They would regail me with how scary good the Xindi arc in Season 3 was only to cry as I laughed like Nelson in their faces when the Nazi stroyline came out. Sorry. It's dead Jim.

Oberleutnant · Post by **Oberleutnant** » 2004-12-27 03:15pm

The "Nazi storyline" lasted for only two episodes. Coto did what he could with the Season three cliffhanger.

Tommy J · Post by **Tommy J** » 2004-12-27 03:31pm

Stormbringer wrote:What is it with fanboys and Section 31? They practically salivate at it and want to see it at every chance. Ugh.

I wouldn't describe myself as a 'fan-boy' what so ever. I agree with many of Mike Wong's criticisms of the series and franchise.

The reason I happen to find Section 31 interesting is for once, ST was willing to go back to the boldness of its roots and explore the darker side of humanity as opposed to the endless lectures of Picard et al. about what a Paradise the Federation had become. That mindless dribble was never realistic.

TNT's Tag line for the series Law In Orders hits it right on, 'Conflict creates great television....' ST is no different and when the darker side of humanity is explored in the series, it actually becomes more enjoyable and realistic.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2004-12-27 04:34pm

How the hell can they have Kirk in the Mirror-Universe? Who's he gonna play, Kirk's grandpa?!

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2004-12-27 04:47pm

LadyTevar wrote:How the hell can they have Kirk in the Mirror-Universe? Who's he gonna play, Kirk's grandpa?!

Elf magic, obviously.

Quite frankly, this reeks of the same fetid stench of the rest of Enterprise. 'Crap! We've lost the Trekkies.. Quite, throw in some cheap name-drop in leiu of continuity, shit on other people's work, and do some cheap sensationalist crap!'

What's mildly disturbing is how the fanboy quotient pops back up each time and is optimistic. I really don't get it.

Tommy J · Post by **Tommy J** » 2004-12-27 04:59pm

LadyTevar wrote:How the hell can they have Kirk in the Mirror-Universe? Who's he gonna play, Kirk's grandpa?!

One possibility obviously is like in Voyager's 'Course Oblivion' they have an alternate time-line and include an older Kirk in the miror universie and then push the reset button at the end of the episode.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-12-27 05:02pm

SirNitram wrote:What's mildly disturbing is how the fanboy quotient pops back up each time and is optimistic. I really don't get it.

It's easy to understand when you've seen it enough.

It's the last vestige before one realizes that the series is crap. The constant want and justification one does to convicne oneself that they are not wasting their time and/or money.

Take X-Men for example.

After some Claremont's better material it began to suck but people kept claiming the large stuff was to build upon larger material that kept with the past. Unfortunatly one doesn't notice that none of the new material is any good and believes it's just as good because it adheres through good times. In essence it becomes osmotic good. It's really crap...but since it touches upon something good, the last fans cling to that must mean there is some good in the object regardless of the fact it only good because of what it's attaching itself too.

The other property is comparison. This is really simple. After enough crap, one's views and expectation become lower so when someone sees something a ten year old could do instead of a five year old. They cling to the thought it's better then before, thus must be good. Not seeing in reality it's still shit...just a rosier shade of pink.

As for Storm's bit about Section 31. Real easy and sad. The TNG Federation is this rosy pile of horse dung that to imagine there is even a hint of evil in it...it attracts people because lots of people enjoy seeing a dark side to things. It adds dimensions and character. Unfortunatly Section 31 adds none of this but grants the illusion of such, so people take the illusion in lieu of the fact it's basically a badly done version of SPECTRE.

Tommy J · Post by **Tommy J** » 2004-12-27 05:02pm

SirNitram wrote:That's mildly disturbing is how the fanboy quotient pops back up each time and is optimistic. I really don't get it.

I'll say it again I'm not a 'fan-boy'. ST wasn't ever supposid to be SW and vice versa. Other than the vs. arguments for the shear fun of it -- they are vastly different SCI-Fi.

I see nothing inherently wrong with having a positive view of the future; where it becomes annoying to me is when it becomes as unrealistic as depicted on Next Gen, DS9 and to a lesser degree, Voyager.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2004-12-27 06:26pm

Tommy J wrote:
SirNitram wrote:That's mildly disturbing is how the fanboy quotient pops back up each time and is optimistic. I really don't get it.
I'll say it again I'm not a 'fan-boy'. ST wasn't ever supposid to be SW and vice versa. Other than the vs. arguments for the shear fun of it -- they are vastly different SCI-Fi.

Oh will you fuck off. Why don't you take your oversensitive, paranoid ass somewhere else, please. You bouncing up and down screeching 'I'm not a fanboy!' whenever someone makes a comment regarding Trek's copious fanboy population is not making you look like less of one.

I see nothing inherently wrong with having a positive view of the future; where it becomes annoying to me is when it becomes as unrealistic as depicted on Next Gen, DS9 and to a lesser degree, Voyager.

These futures are about as possible as any of this proposed shit being pulled off decently and having actual continuity.

VT-16 · Post by **VT-16** » 2004-12-28 07:34am

Was it not theorized that Enterprise doesn´t really offer continuity but simply "canon name-dropping"?

This theory seems valid, judging by all the names and organizations mentioned here. Not to mention the "Klingon forehead controversy"-brain bug being at the forefront again.

Oberleutnant · Post by **Oberleutnant** » 2004-12-28 08:01am

Actually, no other Trek series has ever before demonstrated as good intra-series continuity as ENT has.

Tommy J · Post by **Tommy J** » 2004-12-28 09:55am

VT-16 wrote:Was it not theorized that Enterprise doesn´t really offer continuity but simply "canon name-dropping"?

This theory seems valid, judging by all the names and organizations mentioned here. Not to mention the "Klingon forehead controversy"-brain bug being at the forefront again.

I'm kind of pissed off about the forehead thing though. Supposidly they are actually going to try to come up with some logical reason that the Klingon ridges/non-ridges/more distinct ridges occured. Something to the effect of different clans within the Klingon Empire.

That is where ST fails horribly -- a completely unreasonable and absurd explination for this occuring.

I don't know why they couldn't have just left it alone with Worf's joke in DS9 of , 'we don't talk about that....' which was really meant as a joke between the writing staff and the fans.

When Trek tries to 'explain' the aforementioned it becomes the absurd and everyone comes out laughing at the explination except for the hardcore Trekkie geeks who then spin doctor it 100 different ways to the even more absurd.

VT-16 · Post by **VT-16** » 2004-12-28 05:12pm

Oberleutnant wrote:Actually, no other Trek series has ever before demonstrated as good intra-series continuity as ENT has.

Just because they´ve got good internal continuity (and I admit, loose continuity has been a problem ever since the first series

), doesn´t mean the stories themselves are good. Or make sense.

Raxmei · Post by **Raxmei** » 2004-12-28 08:15pm

I could easily imagine a plotline that involves the current Shatner reprising his role as mirror Kirk in the Enterprise era. Our Kirk was known to travel through time on occasion, so why can't the mirror Kirk? When Spock started to reform the Terran Empire, Kirk got disgruntled but was unable to challenge Spock directly so he and a picked crew went back in time with a stolen ship to set things right. Either by accident or design this puts them in the desired time period. They are directly responsible for the budding Federation turning evil and becoming the Terran Empire. Somewhere along the line have our Enterprise crew stumble upon a way across. They meet their mirror counterparts, who are not evil because Kirk hasn't had enough time to corrupt everyone yet. They try to stop Kirk, but his modern technology overpowers them. One of the main characters dies and is replaced by his mirror self, and mirror Enterprise sacrifices itself to give ours the chance to escape. Archer's report to Starfleet warns them that the mirror universe is too dangerous to confront, and has its existence made secret so that when Kirk discovers it in the future it's a surprise.

Burak Gazan · Post by **Burak Gazan** » 2004-12-28 08:29pm

The scary thing is, that's no less plausable than some of the stuff they been cooking up....oy!

I figure before it's done, you'll see guest appearences by Cardassians, Bajorans, Jem'Hadar, Founders, etc etc.....

It's sad to be so cynical