I'm Against Scott Bakula's Star Trek Enterprise Sequel Pitch. Here's Why

It's the 60th anniversary of Star Trek, and for the first time in a decade, there are no active shows in development. The cancellation of Starfleet Academy has seemingly left the door open to new ideas, and one of them has received a fair amount of traction lately. There's a community of fans who really want to see Scott Bakula return as Captain Archer for a pitch tied to Enterprise, and as a fan, I can't get behind it.

As franchise veterans like Jonathan Frakes talk about the future and how the sci-fi series will bounce back, there's a real question being asked about what will bring new fans in. Well, if there's one thing I can say with relative certainty, it's not going to be this project, for a litany of reasons.

What Scott Bakula's Enterprise Follow-Up Pitch Is

It was reported a while back that Scott Bakula and writer Michael Sussman had a pitch for an Enterprise follow-up they called Star Trek: United. Sussman, a producer on the original Enterprise, described the pitch of a show centered around Captain Archer and his work as the President of the United Federation of Planets.

The idea, according to Sussman, was for the series to be a more mature form of science fiction. Similar to what Andor did for Star Wars, the idea of this project was to offer Star Trek: United as an option for fans who wanted tense diplomacy, politics, and mature conversations. I'll candidly say now, it feels like a solution to a problem Trek never had, at least in the same way Star Wars has, but my issues with it extend far beyond that.

Paramount Took Meetings For The Pitch

What made this pitch stand out more than other ideas, such as Michael Dorne's Klingon series, was that Paramount actually held meetings to discuss the pitch. I'm not surprised that it happened, of course, seeing as Scott Bakula is a household name and one of the former Star Trek captains who had yet to appear in the new era.

Obviously, things didn't work out, but I still see the occasional post or comment online trying to encourage Paramount Skydance to shift in that direction. I'm sure there are a good number of Star Trek fans who would love to see this series come back, and we get a return to the Enterprise era. Five years ago, I would've been on board, but right now it's a terrible idea.

This Project Would Do Nothing To Entice New Fans To Franchise

Recent shows, like Starfleet Academy and movies like Section 31, were attempts by Star Trek creatives to try to entice a new and younger audience into the long-running franchise. It's reported that the belief within the franchise is that the fandom is "dying," and not because people are leaving. Rather, a lot of Trekkies are older and actually dying.

For this franchise to continue, we need a younger generation to get into Trek, so tell me what about a revival of Enterprise puts their butts in seats? I think a lot of people heard the pitch of "Star Trek, but if it were Andor," and got so excited, many forgot that Star Trek was Andor before Andor even existed.

I also love Scott Bakula, to be clear, but I don't see what his starring does to bring in a younger audience. I'm not sure how many in the Gen-Z crowd routinely tuned into NCIS: New Orleans, and I doubt many of them have caught up with his episodes of Quantum Leap on streaming. I do know of an audience that would eat that up, and unfortunately, they're the older crowd that Star Trek already has hooked.

The Series Sounds Landlocked, Which Presents More Issues

Based on what we've heard, the series was set to be primarily set on Earth. It makes sense, considering the President of the United Federation of Planets would not make a regular habit of flying around in space and putting himself in harm's way, given his important position.

Logical as it may be, I don't think a landlocked Star Trek series would be nearly as thrilling as how the franchise usually does things in space. At this point, it might as well be called The West Wing with aliens. Maybe once Paramount Skydance's merger with Warner Bros. Discovery is complete, someone can make that pitch.

That's not to say there aren't workarounds. Starfleet Academy made the school a working ship as well, making it possible for the characters to also have space adventures. I'm less worried about this compared to other issues with Star Trek: United, but I also think that the next series certainly shouldn't be one in which characters don't trek through the stars.

Why Revive A Series That Also Struggled To Find An Audience?

While I think Star Trek: Enterprise managed to find more of an audience and appreciation thanks to being available with a Paramount+ subscription, I'm not sure I see the value in reviving one of the most polarizing entries in the Rick Berman era. The series frequently struggled with ratings during its run, and was the death knell of Star Trek until it was resurrected by the Kelvin timeline movies.

Granted, I get that the original Star Trek series was not a runaway success and also had struggles in the ratings. At the same time, I can't imagine Star Trek: United bringing in a big enough audience to instill faith that the franchise is back on track. Even if I, personally, would love the idea, it just doesn't feel mainstream enough to be the answer for what Trek should do anytime soon, if ever.

I hate to rain on fellow fans' parades, or be a Debbie Downer, but I feel these are the conversations we need to be having during the gap period for Star Trek. Fans were what saved this franchise so long ago, and let's be honest, it might be on them yet again to save it during this time.

I continue to wait to see what the future holds for Star Trek. That is, unless it's the United pitch, in which I'll have a lot more questions. Here's hoping there are others with ideas out there!