Who needs Branon Braga...Ira Behr, Ron Moore and Robert Wolfe will open door to experimentation and possible star trek revival.

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Hardcore trekkie; a endangered breed.

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Everyone was asking him for them during Voyager and he said something to the effect that he didnt think people would be able to understand long stories and it would hurt syncication?


"We thought, 'We've done two years on the show, let's really shake things up, really take some risks." he told Zap2it.

Why has this taken so long.
They thing I hate about Braga is that accoustomed to lazy generic storytelling and thats why the franchise is in the toilet.

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I don't understand why everyone seems to hate B&B so much. It seems like most people hate them without even seeing what they're doing. An episode of season 3 hasn't even been written and already people are saying how much it sucks and how B&B suck. Berman has given us some of the Best Trek ever! I'd gladly put the worst DS9 episode up against the best TOS. Everyone holds TOS and TNG up like it's the best thing since sliced bread, but DS9 and VOY and even ENT has had the same amount of great episodes as TOS and TNG have had. No wonder everybody thinks people who post on message boards about Star Trek are losers, how can you judge something without even seeing it. People are so blinded by how much they hate B&B that they haven't even bothered to take "Year of Hell" or "Regeneration" at face value and see how good those episodes were. Most of ENT's best episodes have had to do with the Temporal Cold War so why wouldn't they expand on it and make it a prime focus. People hate ENT because it takes place in the past, so the producers try to bring a little taste of the future into it and now people hate it because it's throwing away Trek cannon. Just admit that you hate B&B and if they changed their name to Smith and Johnson and wrote the same exact episodes then ENT would be a great show. I'm not saying that there is nothing wrong with the way Star Trek is being handled, I'm just saying that it's not being handled so badly that Paramount needs to fire everybody and start over. Why are people so upset? The producers want to take chances and do things differently to keep things fresh and new, but the fans don't like them no matter what they do. Take Nemesis, a flawed but good Star Trek Movie, but watch out B&B did it, so it totally sucked. Get a life! I'm a die hard Star Trek fan and I love ENT. Yes it has some problems, yes there are some bad episodes, yes I miss the sleek look of TNG era starships, but it's still given us some great shows. So B&B if your reading this (which you'd have to be pretty bored) then I'm letting you know, not all of the fans hate you, just the ones who still live with their parents. If I don't like a show it doesn't mean I hate the people doing it. I don't like Smallville, but if I met Greg Beeman (Producer) I wouldn't hate him just because of his work.

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I think it would be a great idea if B&B took more risks in Enterprise, as long as they are able to keep to Gene's Star Trek timeline.

To say that we've seen the Romulans too much is obsurd and should also be realized that the Romulan/Starfleet war won't be declared until the 5th season.

No matter how many times we've seen the Romulans, it would hurt to make them a grow threat up yo the 5th season by having the Romulans in two or more episodes.

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Did anyone else think that the whole "tired of Romulans" thing might be based on the box office failure of Nemesis? I can easily see him rationalizing the flopping of the film not because of story, release date, or what have you and just coming to the conclusion that the fans just don't like Romulans.

Is it just me?

Matt

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All right, I brought up this subject somewhere else, and added in the notion that the Xindi attack on Earth is analagous to 9-11, which would make the Xindi the 22nd Century equivalent of al-Qaeda. The idea was floated that perhaps the Romulans will end up being the 22nd Century equivalent of North Korea, or perhaps, God forbid, the People's Republic of China, meaning that whatever conflict NX-01 is about to wage will pale in comparison to the next war.

An interesting idea, but my faith in B&B is so low after this interview that I doubt it will come to pass.

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My friends and I used to be a hardcore Trek fan up until about DS9, and as everybody seems to agree, the Trek franchise pretty much went to hell after that. I originally attributed it to me just getting older and my tastes changing, but after much discussion and soul-searching, I sadly conclude that Trek now just sucks.
I was so excited about Enterprise originally but it's the same recycled TNG crap poorly executed with little dramatic tension and bland and superficial social commentary, if any. Enterprise feels like a trek documentary of the 22nd century. And they think that a bunch of CGI aliens punching Earth in the face (a la 9/11) is going to get the blood moving? I bet (if they follow their previous pattern) is that they're going to make a big deal with it in the beginning and then it will just fade just like the premise of the Temporal Cold War which really never materialized except in small little hersey squirts and some character named Daniel who would fit better on Barney than on a serious Sci-fi show.

What I see is a lot of talent and creativity being clamped down and restrained by B&B megalomania and nothing is going to change unless they take a bottom-top management structure and let some real talent speak and bring some life into the show. We don't need more naughty aliens. If the show was strong on its own merits you wouldn't need to pull such stunts to capture an audience. any audience, hard core, general or Buffy. What we need is compelling story-telling, better background music, less obsession with crossing over elements from other future shows (this is a prequel right?) and a re-examination of humanity on its first space legs, that same optimism and kick-ass spirit from TOS, and the utilization of some new sci-fi concepts not recycling the same crap from before. And NO to time travel.

Sigh. So much potential...so much waste.

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...is all but forgotten seven episodes into the new season, if not sooner.

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It sounds as through Braga has taken a creative page out of the books of Joss Whedon and JJ Abrams. One reason "Buffy" and "Angel" are so well-regarded is that they seem to do a new overall arc every season while inserting a smattering of standalone episodes along the way. "Alias" has changed its premise three times in the last two seasons. "Angel" and "Alias" are two of the better shows on TV, so I suppose Braga could do worse.

Maybe they can do the Xindi in season three, and then the Earth-Romulan war in the next few seasons. I'd also like to see more about how Earth went from being the new kid on the block to the leader of peace-loving species in the Alpha Quadrant. I'd also like to see the Andorian-Vulcan storyline developed and resolved. So, yearly arcs could work well. I'm glad they're trying something and taking some risks.

Yeah, Braga's an arrogant SOB. So what? He did get Jeri Lynn Zimmerman (I mean Ryan) to marry him. So he obviously talks a good game with the ladies.

I hope for the best.

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From what I remember of TNG's initial run, his scripts were always the worst, and if he co-scripted with Ronald D. Moore, you can bet the worst lines of dialogue in those episodes belonged to Braga. The few episodes I've seen of VOY and ENT that he's written just aren't suspenseful, witty or smart. I'm convinced he's just a POOR writer. Sure, the IDEA of the Expanse/Xindi may intrigue some fans, but I'm willing to bet the ranch that these episodes will undoubtedly stink to high-heaven in the end, both in style and execution. Are there ANY episodes that Mr. Braga wrote that should convince me he's even halfway decent...? Please enlighten me.

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Look at this "That won't meant that we won't continue to see familiar species involved in this epic mission, but the main foe, we wanted to be new." It sounds like the plan is to have this arc, and this foe last a season. But with long term effects. Oh and I believe Brannon did not work on DS9, so he is saying HE has not done a arc before.

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While I can't deny I'm a little nervous, I'm also excited and hope for the best. These people are talented! The success however depends how fans react to it, and Trekkies are an extremely difficult crowd to understand. I don't have ANY trust to fans, sorry.

But hopefully the arc is going to be a lassoe around our feet, to pull us back in front of the TV. The CGI aliens will be a nice touch, though it also needs another approch to the stories. Of course it shouldn't be action in front, but characters reflecting on what's going on. I look forward to some unpredictable aliens with whom we can badly communicate.

It sounds good except the line about T'Pol. That seems like the opposite of a sensible decision, but it wasn't a quote from Braga, so lets hope it was just babble.

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I've never seen such contempt for the fans in his words. He has to know a majority of the fan community want to see the Romulan War on ENT and saying something like this is bound to alienate whatever fans left that he hasn't alienated. You really have to wonder what he was thinking by saying this. I would hope that disgruntled fans make their displeasure with this kind of idiocy known...by boycotting "The Expanse." Hit him where it hurts. I know I will.

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"But haven't we seen the Romulans for the past 15 years? Do we really just want to keep seeing the Romulans? No. We've got to do new stuff."

Well, funny to read this after seeing Romulans, Klingons, Ferengi, Nausicans, Terralites, Andorians and Borg. :D He realizes this now?

I do wish Brannon had realized this with Voyager, when we had 8472s then very little else that was new. Even those being out in the delta quadrant should have provided the opportunity for very different things.

But I think season two of Enterprise has been a lot better than season one. I never thought they could keep, or try to keep, the style of the more laid back TNG days. It just doesn't work like that anymore.

I do look forward to see what they have in store. It seems they've got a bit of a boot. I don't beleive that it's just "one of those things" as has been claimed for one minute. I think low ratings are providing more than a bit of a boot.

Let's wait until season three to see what turns up.

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Lydia: "I've never lost at mortal combat yet."
Diana: "Idiot. If you had, you'd be dead." -- V, "The Champion"

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It's about time that they realized that the only way to improve the quality on the show is to take serious risks to make it better. Dull episodes through the first two seasons don't make for a successful series. Negative reviews and low ratings only tell the truth. Granted, Enterprise has had its share of good episodes in the two years thus far, but like any series it needs to get better and get a serious direction to it that forces the series to grow.

DS9 took risks continually and paid off with the most daring Star Trek series thus far. Enterprise needs to take risks in order to succeed. And the hints of more sexiness throughout the show isn't the way to go.

As for Braga's comments about not wanting to refer to the Romulans again, ultimately they have to realize that by setting this series in the time frame just before the Earth-Romulan Wars, they're eventually going to have to lead in to that. The episode "Minefield" is a good start, and more needs to be done by series' end to lead in to the Earth-Romulan Wars. There's no other way around it, particularly if the series is going to go seven seasons.

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Yep, this is par for the course. If he hasn't done it before, it hasn't been done. Although he's kind of right in one regards. He's never done an arc that might last a whole season. Wow, can you imagine the thought process that went into that one. I mean its not like DS9 where pretty much the last 2+ seasons were devoted to an arc. You have to remember that this is the guy who said that in Voyager he didn't want to do arcs because this tended to confuse the viewers. At that time I thought he was writing to the lowest common denominator. Now I realize he is the lowest common denominator simply because he can't come up with any ideas on his own. I had high hopes for Enterprise and really did think we'd get to see the Romulan War done on the scale of the Dominion War. Guess they just weren't up to the challenge. Where is Ira Steven Behr? Where's my DS9 follow-on? When will respectible, thought provokeing Trek return to the air waves or better yet, the big screen (NOTE TO ANYONE FROM PARAMOUNT WHO READS THIS. RICK BERMAN AND BRANNON BRAGGA MUST NEVER HAVE ANTYHING TO DO WITH A NEW DS9 PROJECT UNLESS YOU INTEND FOR IT TO FAIL.) Well until then, I've got my Babylon 5 and Deep Space 9 DVDs.

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Re: doing an arc - they haven't tried it before. There was this small project called Deep Space Nine he may have heard of...

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Nemesis had all the right buttons there waiting to be pressed, but like Data on a Reman keypad Paramount seem to have pushed the wrong ones. :/

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"But haven't we seen the Romulans for the past 15 years? Do we really just want to keep seeing the Romulans? No. We've got to do new stuff. We've got to keep pushing the boundaries."


I DO WANT to see the Romulans!!!

Why is it necessary to make a PREQUEL when there is everything new?!
Usually I refused just to just bash Braga and Berman, but here, Braga has entirely disqualified himself.

More known species, please!

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I'm sure the Romulans and even Remans will eventually be caught aiding the Xindi - and I still think Future Guy is a Romulan.. if the expanse is this really dark and inhospitable place then I'd expect to see a few Remans wandering about with their Romulan Masters in the shadow like Sela was ;)

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The Xindi idea sounds like something from the Shiban/Black camp. I don't mind this alien idea so much, even if it's not all that original, but I am very disappointed that there won't be any Romulan wars for the foreseeable future.

I saw Scott Bakula on the Craig Kilborn show, and Craig was making subtle references to the chatter on the internet, but the overall tone of what I got was that the people at Paramount don't want to acknowledge what the fans are saying in any kind of public statement. Basically, their position is that the internet is irrelevant. Clearly, they are paying attention to the voices raised on the internet, but they're also trying to do something different as well.

For the time being, I'll settle for the Xindi, but they better wrap the series up with the Romulan wars, I can't think of a better lead-in for a movie release. I'd see an ENTERPRISE movie that dealt with the Romulan wars, even if the Ferengi are in it;)

They really need to concentrate on being original and creating stories that make you say "that was a cool episode" and not by virtue of special effects or cheap gimmicks alone.

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"When the world is running down,
you make the best of what's still around"

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"That won't mean that we won't continue to see familiar species involved in this epic mission, but the main foe, we wanted to be new."

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Yeah, the Earth/Romulan wars are canon... Why would we want to bother with canon now as we enter our third season? Want a preview of our third season shows? Just wait until Archer orders Phlox to develop the Pon Farr virus for use on T'Pol on Captain's orders. We're also penning an episode where Archer and T'Pol shuttle down to planet Porno where the leaders welcome them with lap dances. Hilariously sexy fun ensues!

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You know, his comments probably wouln't piss so many people off if he just admitted that this idea is not "new", and that creating a story arc for Star Trek isn't unexplored territory. And if he just acknowledged the existence of DS9 and it's overwhelming critical praise. I'm looking forward to the changes, since ENT can't get much worse. But I just wish B&B will just say "Ok, DS9 got it right, so we're gonna try that".

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Could you imagine Janeway in the same position? Phew... - Siroth's author

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Is this guy a total prick or what? I mean...can he be more insulting?

Christ.

Here's something new: how about an alien species which begins with a Z...no, wait! an X! But we'll say it like a Z! And..uh...and they can be...reptillian! YEAH! Brilliant!

You turd. Just make them all have apostrophes in their names, huh? Does "Xindi" mean "Cliche" in their language, you arrogant prick?

Asshole.

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"Risk. Risk is our business. It's what this starship is all about. It's why we're aboard her."

-- James Kirk, Return to Tomorrow

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Why not try new things? Keeping the same old crap is just going to get the same old complaints from the same old Trekkers who have totally given up on Star Trek anyways.

Really, there's nothing to lose- except the audience that is planning on leaving anyway.

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You know, the only thing I want to see him push right now is the front door to Paramount Studios while he's carrying his pinkslip.

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is this idea that if an alien species or planet was not mentioned in the existing shows that it could not exist in the past or on Enterprise. Here is an example: Raiders of the Lost Ark takes place in 1936 and features the Nazis. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1935, and no mention of Nazi, or even Germany at all! I guess Germany could not of existed in 1935 than! Get my point!
More specifically in TOS,TNG,DS9 or VOY we never really hear about many members of the UFP. Yet by FC there are more than 150. Who knows the Suliban or the Xindi could years down the road become Federation members. So maybe you don't hear about them for the same reason you don't hear about the Andorians as a political force or government of their own in the other series. Just an idea. Not to say we should not see familar species too.

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We've been seeing Klingons for the last 15 years too.

Star Trek has done insterstellar war before(DS9) and most likely will do it again.

But there IS something fresh about this: we're getting a Trek-ification of Joseph Conrad's Heart Of Darkness(the basis for Apocaypse Now) something TPTB promised for Star Trek: Insurrection but didn't deliver on. The Expanse is like the jungle and the Xindi are like Kurtz.

Plus, it's good to see a storyline that takes up more than just two episodes a season.

But we better start seeing some ready for war Romulans by season 5.

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I'm all for ethnic diversity but this is just pandering. -Lisa Simpson

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... called Star Trek: Deep Space Nine? Braga talking like they're breaking new ground when Babylon 5, the Buffyverse series and, yes, Deep Space Nine have all gone in this direction years ago.

Hell, even VOY's premise was based on the same basic principle as Battlestar Galactica and that was in 1979-80.

Here's some ground-breaking news for Brannon... New Kids on the Block broke up.

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"It's my duty... It's my duty as a complete and utter bastard."
- Rimmer (Timeslides, Red Dwarf)

"Your gangly attempt at being clever has been futile."
- Dieter (Dieter's Dance Party, Sprockets)

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Sure, we could have made it the Romulans that attacked Earth," he admits. "But haven't we seen the Romulans for the past 15 years? Do we really just want to keep seeing the Romulans? No. We've got to do new stuff. We've got to keep pushing the boundaries."

Dude, there is something called continuity too. Like wake-up and realize that you are doing a prequel and you have to follow the orginal established history. You cant really do much new stuff in here because DUH its a prequel;To boldly go where all the other star trek series have gone before
And than they wonder why star trek is on its death-bed

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"Optimism Captain"-Enterprise

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didn't pretty much the last few seasons of DS9 really have an overall purpose? yeah, not every episode was about the dominion, but i highly doubt enterprise will go more than 2 episodes before they have an episode where the xindi aren't the main plot.

yes, we would like to see the romulans. personally, i was promised romulans for some sort of star trek movie that was supposed to come out, but instead i saw a movie about a lex luthor lookalike and a bunch of those super-scary vampires from blade 2. but then again i wouldn't trust enterprise with romulans, i just think what happened with the borg on voyager. so, maybe it's better that the xindi are there: i can start out hating them and if they suck then i'm not disappointed.

oh well, enough nerd-bitchin' for one night.

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IIRC, seasons 5, 6, 7, and even 4 were all initiated with the producers relatively certain of the direction in which they wanted to go, as in heavily complex arcs involving the Dominion and the Klingons. This was the first time a Star Trek series even attempted an arc longer than three episodes.

Berman simply will not admit that DS9 has been there and done that. He wants to take all the credit for "revolutionizing" Star Trek and introducing such a "new direction" for the first time.

And yes, let's just forget the Romulans for now and bring in the Cindy. Never mind the fact that the Romulan wars are, by the Star Trek Chronology, supposed to occur during Enterprise's seventh season. But then, I suppose that is another aspect of important Trek continuity, so it has no real importance.

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The White Wizard approaches...

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Cause, if this the situation, B&B may have given up on the biggest thing that happened in Trek history since The Motion Picture.

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"Being A Jackass Is Not A Talent, It's A Science"
...Quoted By Me While Passed Out Drunk

"Live Hard, Die Young, And Leave A Good Looking Corpse!"
--Kindred: The Embraced

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