Quote:Producer/co-creator Brannon Braga is on the horn again today, in new interviews with several newspapers around the country. Speaking with the Baltimore Sun, Braga reiterates remarks made all summer long that putting Earth in jeopardy--like STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME--should lead to success.

"We're making very dramatic, and hopefully, effective changes to the show because they are creatively stimulating and because we're trying, of course we're trying, to generate viewer interest," Braga told the Sun. "A lot of people are like, 'Are you doing this because of the ratings?' Well yeah! What television show in the history of television doesn't try to get better ratings?"

The director of the cited top-grossing TREK pic, Leonard Nimoy told the Sun he's not sure if the formula is so simple.

"It just doesn't seem to me to start out on a premise that if Earth is in trouble we'll have a success," Nimoy says. "I just don't get it. We had an enormous number of wonderful episodes in the original classic series where Earth was not in danger. I thought the episodes worked very well."

Braga continues with the Salt Lake Tribune: "The challenge we face is ourselves. But, you know, it doesn't mean that we're not still having fun and feeling very creative about the show. And we believe very strongly that 'Star Trek' is still a very viable franchise."

Quote:Added to the music are some new flourishes that would only sound good to Billy Murray's old lounge singer character from Saturday Night Live. I half expected to see someone in a puffy shirt brandishing some maracas to come out and cha-cha to the theme. I screamed at my television screen as the "new" theme droned on in all of its Dolby surround sound glory. I think a little piece of me died as I listened to that music. I found myself wishing for the previous version. Or the original Trek theme on a kazoo, any freaking thing but this.

Quote: As we first reported last week, a scooper contacted us with what they claimed was inside information about the mood of the crew on the set of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE. The UPN series, the fifth in the TREK franchise, has had a number of rumors circling it like dark clouds, some of which were confirmed and others dismissed by Paramount and ENTERPRISE brass.

After we ran our first scoop about ENTERPRISE, and after the weekend of the Television Press tour, the same person contacted us again with what they claimed was more inside information about the production. We will present what they told us with the caveat that the following report is unconfirmed and should be treated as gossip right now, for reasons that will become clear in a moment:

"It would seem the lackluster support of ENTERPRISE by Les Moonves and Dawn Ostroff at this weekend's UPN press junket has gotten the attention of Garry Hart, President of Paramount Television Productions. Quiet for some time regarding the dismal performance of his division's most important moneymaker, it has been rumored that Hart may be planning as early as March to make concessions to UPN to help keep ENTERPRISE on the air. From an insider in John Wentworth's office at Paramount Television's Marketing and Media Relations Department, a memo has been spotted suggesting Hart may be waiting until after ENTERPRISE's February sweeps performance to announce the possible replacement of some of the show's production staff, to possibly include longtime TREK Executive Producer Rick Berman. There is no word at this time of any possible replacements."

As you can see, the information our scooper sent to us is riveting but also extremely next to impossible to verify -- and that is why we are stressing that it should be taken as speculatory at this stage.

Hours before the annoucement of this week's shuffling of ENTERPRISE to its 9 PM timeslot (beginning in March), we were sent another message from the same scooper. Again, we present what they had to say to us as they sent it:

"The mood at ENTERPRISE, however, is mixed. Some fearing a dreaded Friday time slot are relieved the change is minor. Others, however, are less than optimistic considering the lead in shows of GAME OVER and THE MULLETS and think this may be a setup for disaster.

And as I reported earlier, the set is still awash with concern that within a month or two, there may be a new 'captain' in the Executive Producer's chair. There is concern that Rick Berman's future with the beloved TREK franchise may be coming to an end, making less certain than before the future of ENTERPRISE and a possible fourth season."

The reason we are choosing to now publish the scooper's two reports, even though we cannot confirm if this is truly the mood on the set of ENTERPRISE, is the mention of the timeslot change slightly ahead of the time the news broke online. Whether there are definitive plans for Paramount to remove producer Rick Berman from the STAR TREK franchise or a "memo" circulating in their offices remains unknown, but we still felt that it was necessary to print what was being told to us at this time. Fans reading this article are again stressed to keep this in mind; these are rumors right now and not known facts, and until our scooper chooses to show us hard proof of their claims or we discover another means to confirm what they are telling us, an open mind should be kept.

It may simply take time to determine if what we are being told is an accurate portrayal of events happening to ENTERPRISE or some individual crying wolf. With February around the corner and sweeps imminent, the final answer to these speculative questions should be known soon.

[Anonymous]