Boston Herald: Don't Spike `Enterprise' just yet!
By Dean Johnson
Friday, March 4, 2005
There may yet be voyages left for UPN's sci-fi series ``Star Trek: Enterprise.''
On Spike TV.
``It would definitely be something we would look at, and we know how devoted the show's fans are,'' said Spike TV spokeswoman Debra Fazio.
The ``Star Trek'' spinoff (tonight at 8 on WSBK, Ch. 38) is slated to air its last episode in May. But die-hard fans hope to pull off something new: Raise enough money to fund its fifth season.
The price? Nearly $30 million.
Don't laugh. According to Bay State resident Tom Moore, one of the co-founders of the TrekUnited.com project, his group has raised more than $3 million in just a couple of weeks.
The project moved into warp speed this week when ``three anonymous donors who work in the aerospace field made an official pledge of $1 million each to help fund the show,'' Moore said.
The donors weren't just ``Trekkies'' (hard-core fans of the series); they had their own motives for the contributions.
``They are people who want to explore space and privatize the space program, and they feel that `Enterprise' is an inspirational show that benefits that goal as well,'' Moore said.
How did a Bay Stater who works as a network administrator for a $60 million-a-year building supply company (he wouldn't name his employer) suddenly end up heading an international campaign to save the Paramount series?
``I'm a longtime science-fiction fan, and not just `Star Trek.' I even like all those shows on the Sci Fi Channel that are on opposite `Enterprise,' '' he said.
``I've been on different (online) `Star Trek' message boards for a while, and when I found out they were trying to save the show, I decided to jump on board.''
But can his group save the series? Moore said several Fortune 500 companies also are interested in the project and that ``more help is on the way.
``I don't know how a company can ignore over $3 million in pledges to bring back a show,'' he said. ``No one has ever done that before. The only one like it I know of was a drive to bring back `Farscape,' and that raised $375,000, I believe. We've raised almost 10 times that amount already.
``All we want is for Paramount to find a way to bring the show back,'' he said.
A UPN spokesperson said yesterday the network's decision to cancel ``Enterprise'' is final. A Sci Fi Channel spokesperson said it has no interest in the show at this time.
But Spike TV might hold the dilithium crystals to keep the show going. The channel already holds the rights to reruns of ``Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and ``Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.''
Boston Herald: Don't Spike `Enterprise' just yet!
