Star Trek, Behind The Scenes

A new prequel TV series, Enterprise, set before the original series, was produced after Voyager ended. Enterprise did not enjoy the high ratings of its predecessors and by the series' third season, UPN threatened to cancel it. Fans launched a campaign reminiscent of the one that saved the third season of the Original Series. Paramount reacted by renewing Enterprise for a fourth season, but moving it to the "Friday night death slot". Like the Original Series, Enterprise did not fare well during this time slot. UPN announced the cancellation of Enterprise at the end of its fourth season, and its final episode aired on May 13, 2005. Fan groups, such as "Save Enterprise", again attempted to save the series and even announced a drive to raise $30 million to privately finance a fifth season of Enterprise. Though the effort garnered considerable press, the fan drive was unsuccessful in saving the series. The cancellation of Enterprise ended an eighteen-year production run of Star Trek programming on television. This, along with the poor box office performance in 2002 of the film Nemesis, cast an uncertain light upon the future of the Star Trek franchise in general.
Berman, who had been responsible for many of the franchise's commercial successes, was relieved of control of the Star Trek franchise upon the cancellation of Enterprise.