BERMAN SAYS IT ISN'T HIS FAULT

SyFy Portal reports that Rick Berman, among other things, says UPN didn't help the "Enterprise" (ENT) series stay on the air.

He blames UPN for shifting from dramas to reality shows that cater to young women like "Beauty and the Geek" and "America's Top Model."

I'd say UPN's change in priorities didn't help, but if he and Brannon Braga had produced episodes that relied on character, dialogue, new plots, etc. rather than had the actors slather ointment on each other in their underwear, give neural pressure therapy while half-dressed, recycled old Trek stories, etc. to get ratings, ENT could've gone a full seven years like its predecessor series.

What studio would say "no" to making money?

Paramount's trying to revive the franchise after all with a young Kirk
story for Trek XI that I suspect will be a one-off at best. After seeing how "Alias" got canceled and "Lost" really begin to lose it in the current third season, I can't say I've got a lot of confidence in anything with JJ Abrams' name attached to it. Too bad Paramount passed on Bryan Singer ("X Men 1 & 2"; "Superman Returns") and a Romulan War prequel trilogy pitched by Eric Jendreson ("Band of Brothers") to settle on Abrams. I wonder if the current Paramount studio heads'll try recasting Picard and gang next?

It seems to me that with some financial sense, ENT could've been continued on cable with a reduced budget. Who's complaining about the SG1, Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica production quality?

Boris