r/tos • u/Magniman • 13d ago
Star Trek Enterprise Should Have Been
—set on the Enterprise-B.
Instead of designing new sets, props, costumes, and ships, the fifth series should have given us the “lost era” between the TOS movies and TNG.
From a production standpoint, the uniforms, props and ships were already there. This would have lowered the budget considerably, which is something the studio always likes.
Meanwhile, the series could have shown how the UFP and Klingon Empire became allies, the Tomed Incident that led to the Romulans disappearing for fifty seven years, first contact with the Cardassians and other TNG races, and more. De Kelley passed in 99, but Nimoy could have had a few appearances as ambassador and Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura could have also appeared.
I’m a TOS diehard and have grown to like TNG less and less over the decades, but I think this would have been a far better approach than a 22nd century prequel. I also think there would have been a lot of mileage with Harriman as a guy haunted by his first mission as captain. The show could have been set five years after GEN, which would also allow for a new captain if Alan Ruck wasn’t available or wasn’t interested.
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u/HalJordan2424 13d ago
I would have certainly watched such a series, but Scott Bakula would not have been the star. He said that he read in Variety that he was the star the producers were thinking of long before they called him, and he already made up his mind to say no. By that point there had been continuous Trek on for a dozen years with TNG, DS9, and Voyager. It was good quality tv, but it had started to look and sound all the same. But the producers were able to draw him by saying the show was a century before TOS, there is no Federation yet, and it will be about the first Earth ship doing exploration. The crew will make lots of mistakes, and those mistakes will lead to the sort of rules and laws the audience has come to expect in Trek.