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Enterprise loses 60% of viewers from start to finish
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Posted by: net114

Well, its true. Hate to be the one to say it, but those who have been saying they do NOT like Enterprise, now have the facts to back themselves up. :)

Enterprise started with 12.5 million viewers, and ended with 5 million or so. Averaged 6.7 million. Dropping 58% in viewership by season's end.

Compare this to other scifi shows-- Smallville dropped 32% I think it was from start to finish. This doesn't say whose ratings are better overall, just how many people left the show who were once watching.

(Overall ENT gets #3 spot in the scifi category in terms of ratings-- and most shows averaged 30% drop in viewers or so. Enterprise doubled the number of viewers who left to the show.)

Boreman and Braggee are really driving Trek into the ground...of course, ENT is NOT Trek, right? They took away the title...

Here's the link: (it's like 9 pages of info though...)

Enterprise ratings

PS: I still like ENT, mainly because of Bakula...but I really, really want to be MOVED by an episode...like "The Inner Light" on TNG....

Posted by: stormsweeper

Can't say I'm surprised.

Posted by: net114

quote:
Originally posted by Pan Chun
Is that show STILL ON?!? :confused: ;)

LOL...guess they deserve that.

Posted by: spartanstew

I'll admit, so far the show is not as good as the original, TNG or Voyager, but it's much better than DS9 and is better than about 90% of the other crap on television. I find it entertaining, and will keep my SP for it.

Stew

Posted by: ClutchBrake

It's been a while since I gave Enterprise the heave-ho but it was the episode where they go to some sort of Vulcan "temple/sanctuary". That was quite possibly the lamest episode of any show ever.

Posted by: rexdart

Hmm, not as good as Voyager? i wasn't sure there was any show that fit that category. I tried, Lord I tried, but I just couldn't get myself to care about Voyager.

I like Enterprise. Just like. I enjoy watching it but if I miss an episode its no biggie (that of course is no longer an issue...thank you TiVo!)

Must admit to being a little surprised at the remark from Spartanstew placing Voyager (and apparently a great deal more) above DS9. While I will admit the first part of the run was on about the same level as Enterprise, I really enjoyed those last few seasons as the war heated up (despite the fact that I could never disentangle the show from B5 concept wise in my mind -- all that about the great Paramount ripoff and what not). Nonetheless, if I had to choose, I would take DS9 over Voyager in a heartbeat.

Bah, maybe I should have given Voyager more of a chance, I am big enough to say that. I probably missed something!

Posted by: GregF

I thought it started great, but boy they had a couple of real snoozers toward the end. And someone reported here that troubled UPN slashed the budget early in the season (shades of the last season of the original Trek series?) Still, the season finale was really cool.

Posted by: phone1

OK - I guess when it comes to Enterprise I'm a koolaid drinker. We really *tried* to like it. Some good episodes and the characters are starting to come to life. We'll keep our SP for next season and hope it improves. Unfortunately, if Scott Bakula continues sleepwalking his way through the role of Captain Archer, it's doubtful.

Is this the end of Star Trek?

Posted by: MrGadget

So what? How many people didn't even watch the original Startrek the first time around. As I understand it, it was much more popular in re-runs than it was the first time round.

I know that I for one didn't even get in to it until it had been in re-runs for many years.

Anyway, I like Enterprise and don't really care about the stats. Just like the movie critics, they don't really mean anything to me.

Posted by: GregF

That's kind of true, the audience grew and grew in syndication, obviously a lot of us weren't even born during it's airdate that grew up practically worshipping the reruns. However, the show was supposedly partially what spurned the obsession with demographics. NBC practically killed the show because despite healthy ratings they just didn't understand it, so they moved it to a bad timeslot and slashed the already miserable budget. That's why the last shows often wound up on an old western or gangster movie lot, they were penniless and had to use existing studio backlots. Anyway long story short after the cancellation of the show someone analyzed the ratings and discovered the show was #1 most-watched among 14-29 year-old males (don't quote me on the exact age range), and we all know now that's the most sought after demographic by advertisers.

Posted by: ClutchBrake

So if I archive some episodes I might enjoy them in 20 years?;)

Posted by: Zirak

Dunno how this will turn out, but has anyone actually recently watched first year episodes of TNG? Painful.

They had a lot of slack due to pent up demand. 5th series = no slack.

Posted by: MrGadget

quote:
Originally posted by Zirak
Dunno how this will turn out, but has anyone actually recently watched first year episodes of TNG? Painful.

They had a lot of slack due to pent up demand. 5th series = no slack.

Yes, I hate to say it, but I have to agree with you.

Some of the original shows were pretty bad by todays standards. You have to consider what the alternatives were back then. Lost in Space is the only other Sci-fi series that I can think of and it turned out to be more of a comedy.

I still find myself attracted to watch many of TOS episodes though.

I also find that my viewing habits of The Next Generation have been about the same. When it first came out I watched a few episodes and then bailed out on it. I am just now begining to record and watch the shows in reruns.

In fact, Enterprise is the first Startrek since the original that I have watched since its beginning. Perhaps this is due to TiVo, that is certainly part of it. Perhaps my lack of envolvement with TNG, Deep Space 9, Voyager etc is why I am able to enjoy Enterprise.

I like the idea of a modern animated series. I'd snap a SP on that ASAP. Something computer animated like Max Steal. Heck, maybe they should come out with a roll your own Startrek kit so some of these critics could write their own episodes.

Posted by: arkham999

I never really liked the original Star Trek (blasphemy!). It was just too 70's for my taste. I really liked TNG though in high school and college. I have never managed to really get into any of the other series, although I did watch Voyager on occasion and it looked like it was a good show. So that is 3, and Deep Space 9 makes 4, which I never saw. I watched the first episode of Enterprise and it was kinda lame.

I do like Scott Baccula though, or at least I liked him back in Quantum Leap years ago. That was a fun show.

Posted by: doom1701

You know what's really sad? Like Zirak said, the first season of TNG was aweful (until about the last 3 episodes). Why? Because Gene had his way with it. He wanted the "Everybody's happy in the future, there is no God, everybody has wild and crazy sex". When did the show really pick up? Season 2. When Berman took over.

Problem is, Berman isn't too creative. He's been pounding the same lame storylines into the ground ever since season 2 of TNG. DS9 (not a favorite of mine) was unique because of the different production team. Voyager and Enterprise are Berman's babies, though, and it shows.

Trek's savior is currently killing it. How's that for irony...

BTW, back on topic, I've still got my SP for Enterprise, but I've stopped watching it. Never did catch the season finale. Just like my Junkyard Wars SP (darn you Tyler!), I've stopped making the time.

Posted by: Hoffer

I watched the show the first half of the season. I got really bored with it and quit watching it. I guess I'm part of the 50% that left.

Posted by: Ereth

I disagree with Doom1701.

I think the problem with TNG was the "we want to avoid the cast splintering that occurred on TOS, so rather than have 3 main characters and everyone else subordinate, we'll rotate the focus every week so each character gets a show built around them". "Oh look, it's Troi week on TNG" was a common phrase (that and "Counselor Cleavage"). They kept that up for the entire run, but at least by season 3 they had established the characters enough that the writers had a handle on them and they didn't have stupid things like Troi interrupting the captain during combat to warn him that "The crew is feeling apprehensive, Captain".

After Gene died, TNG went downhill and the last year was easily as bad as the first (in fact, I argue that "Clues" is the worst episode of ANY version of Trek, EVER, taking the title from "The Way to Eden" handily, though the "warp drive is bad for space" episode, who's title I forget, comes close). On the other hand, in spite of awkward writing, the first season has much promise. Continuity from episode to episode, a first for Trek. Creative use of the Holodeck to show solutions to boredom in space (though this devolved into the Holodeck Show, it didn't start that way). Characters with personality quirks (Picards dislike of children, that all but disappeared later). There is much promise in season one. Plot threads showing up in one episode that are resolved much later.

In fact, if they hadn't shown all the "Wesley Crusher embarasses the crew by being better at their jobs than they are" episodes in a row, even the first season wouldn't be held in as low regard as it is usually described.

It is interesting that "The Measure of a Man", my personal favorite Star Trek episode of all time (it is so much the ESSENCE of Trek) is a second season episode while "Clues", the worst episode ever, is season 4. I think that says more about variable quality of writing on a production TV show than it does about Roddenberry or Berman.

Posted by: stormsweeper

Well, if Paramount didn't own the network, Enterprise would likely have been cancelled. It's the flagship show of the network.

Posted by: Uther

Ok Ereth, what was your problem with "Clues"? I don't see what's wrong with that episode. :confused:

Posted by: Numanoid

quote:
Originally posted by Uther
Ok Ereth, what was your problem with "Clues"? I don't see what's wrong with that episode. :confused:

I have to agree with Uther (great name, btw)..."Clues" is bad?? No way! That's one of my favorite episodes. Are you sure you're talking about the one where the aliens wipe everyone's memory and only Data remembers visiting the alien planet? Great, great episode. I'd really like to know what is so bad about it myself. :confused:

Posted by: JYoung

While TNG's first season wasn't as strong as say Seasons 3-5, it was certainly better than Enterprise's first season. I'd have to say that Enterprise has the weakest first season of all the series.
My ranking of just the first season of each series:

In order:
TOS - Strong pilot and stand out episodes like "The Naked Time", "Errand of Mercy", "Balance of Terror", "The Devil
in the Dark".

TNG - Weak pilot but had stand outs such as Where No One Has Gone Before", "11001001", "Heart of Glory",
"Conspiracy", "The Big Goodbye" (which won a Peabody award)

Voyager - Strong pilot and had a couple of stand outs with "Parallax", "Faces", and "Jetrel"

DS9 - Strong pilot but only had a couple of stand outs with "Battle Lines" and "Duet" . However "Duet" was a very
strong episode, A+ level.

Enterprise - so so pilot with no stand out episodes. I can't think of any episode that comes close to the ones I
cited above. No creativity and a distinct lack of powerful performances.

Posted by: ahartman

quote:
Originally posted by Pan Chun
The only problem I had with "Clues" was the fact that Picard immediately surrenders, no questions asked. No defensive stance, no ANYTHING.

And that's different than in every other episode where Picard punks out... how? Captain with no teeth.

Show would've been much better with Riker killing Picard and taking over (ala Klingons). The Riker with the beard, though, not the bald-faced schoolboy Riker. They should've kept Wesley around just so they could stuff him in the many hull breaches they had.

DS9 was pretty good until they played that whole Prophet thing with Sisko. Voyager was unbelievable crap. I watched the finale just to convince myself that turd of a show was really over. Enterprise is pretty so-so.

Posted by: ADent

Watched some TOS episodes and the Kirk, McCoy, Spock thing has so much over the other series. Spock was logical, but not stone cold boring - like most later Vulcans.

Voyager had some lame stuff going on (remember the Shuttle of the Week that was lost), but I thinks it real downfall was the cast. No standouts, except the EMH.

DS9 held my interest off an on until the final episode. It was such a let down an a whole waste of arc that I have not watched a single episode since. Sisko came alive in a couple of the later episodes and Quark, Odo, Dukat, Garak all had good episodes (though a couple of these should have been killed off at some point).

TNG was real stiff in the beginning and at the end the whole cast loosened up. Once Wesley left, and after the season they seemed to spend a lot of time on the ship I liked it a lot more. (But doing a quick review of S6 & S7 apears to be the best of times, the worst or times - some greats, some clunkers).

Enterprise is just bland, boring, and slow - though not really bad. The doctor had a couple of good gigs though.

Posted by: NFLnut

I haven't enjoyed ANY of the ST series, except TOS! Of course, TOS comes off as extremely-camp by today's standards, but what it lacked in special effects, it made up for in imagination, and Captain Kirk was the best Captain of any ST series! True .. some of those latter eps started to look a little silly, but ..

I gave TNG a chance, but I lost interest after a coupla eps! Captain Milquetoast and the gang seemed to sit around that conference table an awful lot, and it just was too PC to use the phasers after all. You also had "Number One" who had the acting range that was described by more than one trade as "with-beard, and without.."

After TNG, I had no use for any more Star Trek series. But my wife seems to enjoy "Enterprise."

Posted by: stormsweeper

quote:
Originally posted by ahartman

And that's different than in every other episode where Picard punks out... how? Captain with no teeth.

You must be confusing Picard with Archer. Picard's the guy that beats up Klingons in street fights.

Posted by: MarkofT

Those were Nassicans.

Posted by: CaptainRotundo

Two words: "Time Travel". No one ever has been able to do a convincing time travel plot that wasn't severely limited in scope. Time travel made Voyager's mediocrity embarrassing, some of those episodes were below the unwatchable level.

And now we have a totally ridiculous plot with time travel central to it.
Its a "Cold War" yet they seem to be actively fighting to me.
The Suliban are bumbling idiots that can't seem to start Archer and gang from doing anything.
Oh and the insanity... lets see the suliban violate the time line, so instead of going back far enough to stop them we'll just take a man totally unfamiliar with their tech give him an over night crash course and have him go steal the evidence. Great idea but what about the colonists that were killed out of sync with the proper time-line we just let them stay dead?

While we are at it, T'Pol isn't remotely logical she's just a bitch. No other way around it. Berman has completely devastated anything remotely likable about vulcans.

oh and how about the crazy episode with the doctor refusing to treat patients out of some absurd illogical moral code. I mean you encounter a sick person but refuse to cure them because of some speculation on how it will help another person if they die! I was so confused by that argument I totally didn't understand what the hell was going on in that episode.

I didn't even bring up the poor writing and absurd characters.

Posted by: stormsweeper

quote:
Originally posted by Pan Chun
Nausicaans, to be precise. :) They were the ones who pierced the young Picard through the heart in a barfight (they'd been cheating at Domjot)...which is why the adult Picard has an artificial heart.

Yes, but he also gets in a fight in an alley on Kronos. He wins.

Posted by: stormsweeper

quote:
Originally posted by CaptainRotundo
oh and how about the crazy episode with the doctor refusing to treat patients out of some absurd illogical moral code. I mean you encounter a sick person but refuse to cure them because of some speculation on how it will help another person if they die! I was so confused by that argument I totally didn't understand what the hell was going on in that episode.

There was some grumblings, but his major issue was that they were enslaving the other race. He also was giving Archer the "don't hand them the keys to warp tech" speech at the same time.

As I've stated a few times, Dr. Phlox is the only character on the show I care about.

Posted by: Chandler Mike

Not that it may matter to a lot of you, but I think Enterprise was much more enjoyable than Voyager, just from a standpoint of it being a prequel type series, so I enjoyed seeing things they used to have to use, like shuttle crafts, etc.

I did find the episodes a little on the borish side, but Voyager was the same. I could NEVER get into that series at all.

And by the way, Clues was one of my favorite TNG epsiodes. Other good ones are Future Imperfect and Yesterday's Enterprise.

And of couse, the final episode was great as well.

Mike

Posted by: CaptainRotundo

quote:
Originally posted by stormsweeper

There was some grumblings, but his major issue was that they were enslaving the other race. He also was giving Archer the "don't hand them the keys to warp tech" speech at the same time.

As I've stated a few times, Dr. Phlox is the only character on the show I care about.

Well if I remember correctly they went to great pains in that episode to emphasize that the people were treated fine, Phlox even pointed out to other crew members that whatthey percieved as abuses were just cultural diferences.

Yes I love Dr. Phlox, its the first time ever that a side comic relief type character is actually done really well, and he is the only character (save for that episode) that seems real, and capable of performing his job!

Definately no Neelix...hehe.