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Cancellation of Enterprise after four seasons in 2005 was one of the worst days for Star Trek fans. Fans petitioned day and night to salvage the series from the chopping board, but Enterprise was cut down as it was declining in ratings, corporate realignment of the UPN's network, and the increased cost of production. The cancellation was too abrupt, and there was so much left on the plate, especially about a pivotal plot that would have retold the history of Star Trek—Earth-Romulan War.
Placed in the 22nd century, Enterprise was well-positioned to tackle this turning point, and its series finale left one with one of the greatest "what ifs" in franchise history. The Romulan War was a continuity history within Star Trek, at least one glanced at briefly in previous series. In The Original Series, the event was mentioned in passing during the episode "Balance of Terror," and its ramifications rang throughout the franchise.
But before Enterprise's fourth season of portraying it, it had never been seen on television. The potential for an honest exploration of this previously unvisited conflict was likely the most intriguing of Enterprise's fifth-season options. But as would happen, series cancellation abbreviated such an undertaking at its earliest planning stage, with viewers left to wonder what could have been.
Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's opinion.
One aspect of Star Trek history is the Romulan War
The Romulan War, a major conflict in the Star Trek universe, is significant for several reasons. While never outright named in earlier Star Trek series, the war was the formative period that would determine the destiny of the Federation. It was mentioned throughout the various series and movies, usually in the shadows for the conflict and turmoil of war that arose in the decades that followed.
Specifically, the Romulan War was the background drama for the complicated history of Federation-Romulan relations that served as the standard against which most of Star Trek's subsequent future was measured. With the fourth season of Enterprise having decided to use this era of historic change as the period covered by the show, it was during the reign of Manny Coto, the showrunner, that writers started constructing scripts alluding to tensions between Earth and the Romulan Empire escalating.
The tensions were building, and the timing was just right for the Romulan War to be introduced as a theme of the series. The sudden cancellation of the series, however, robbed the audience of the excitement of watching this war unfold.
Enterprise's unique position in the Star Trek timeline
In Enterprise's unique position in the Star Trek timeline The Enterprise was such a good fit to battle during the Romulan War due to its special positioning in the Star Trek timeline. A prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, The Enterprise was set in the 22nd century, when humanity was just starting to explore the galaxy. The series had already set up the establishment of the Federation and first contact with other civilizations.
If Enterprise had taken place in continuity with the Romulan War, then it would have been a great look back at the dawn of the Federation and how it started to come together and gather a million-plus species under one banner of purpose.
The Romulan War was such a turning point of Federation history in Star Trek
The Romulan War was exactly that crossroads moment of Federation history on Star Trek. It was the first large-scale war man had ever encountered with a powerful galactic empire, generating deep hatred in Romulans and Earth. The tale might have lent depth to Enterprise's understanding of how space flight came about.
The conflict might have been morphed into survival, diplomacy, and the beginnings of the Federation's moral conflicts as it grappled with defining itself in a sea of galaxies so immense and callous. Although no scripts were ever written, this foundation had already been established in Season 4. Episodes like "In a Mirror, Darkly" and "Demons" created the tensions that were building between Earth and the Romulans, and the show was about to explore this aspect of the show in darker, more political ways.
If Enterprise hadn't been cancelled, the Romulan War would have been the force behind the show. The Romulans were already a strong and intriguing foe by the time the series established it, and the concept of war itself would have been a grimy, nasty war that would have added depth to the Star Trek mythology.
The impact of Enterprise’s cancellation on Star Trek
The cancellation of *Enterprise* in 2005 was felt within the Star Trek franchise. It not only provided the audience with incomplete storylines but also brought an end to almost 20 years of continuous Star Trek television. Following the cancellation of Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery was released in 2017 as the next TV series of the franchise.
Star Trek fans were particularly incensed by the cancellation of Enterprise, which in season four was at last pushing the boundaries of more creative scripting. The show had at last found its legs and was tackling more serious, advanced themes.
The Romulan War narrative, one of the largest storylines, is one of the most epic "what ifs" of the Star Trek universe. The Romulan War might have been the episode that took some of the show's nascent themes and brought them together to form an adult, compelling story worthy of being part of the Star Trek universe.
A lost chance for Star Trek fans
The intended Romulan War epic of Enterprise's fifth season is one of the greatest of the greatest lost possibilities for the franchise's history in Star Trek. Bittersweet as it was when the show got cancelled, not only being robbed of this very narrative stings even up to this point the most. The Romulan War would have added to the millennia-long conflict between Romulans and the Federation, added dramatized political scheming for war, and added to early history in the Star Trek universe.
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Enterprise's cancellation was a sad ending to a show that otherwise had so much more to offer, leaving fans to question what could have been and robbing the series from being able to play out this juncture of Star Trek history to its full possibilities.
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