History WhatCouldHaveBeen / StarTrekEnterprise

* The Suliban, a not-so-subtle reference to the Taliban and terrorism in general, have a complicated history. According to internal documents, the Suliban were conceived as early as the 6th season of ''Voyager'' (''Enterprise'' was originally to air alongside Voyager), and were slated to originally appear in VOY, complete with a backstory which explicitly explained why they never appeared in any other ''Trek'' series despite being slated as major villains; the explanation involved being assimilated by the Borg in the 23rd Century, and a few being rescued via time travel. Braga and others wanted the Klingons to be the main villains in the early concept pitch, however neither that nor the Suliban foreshadowing in ''Voyager'' happened, and as such the Suliban appear out of nowhere in the franchise with no explanation as to why they're in ENT, until just being dumped for good with no explanation by the last season. A confusing chapter in thr history of this franchise, which didn't endear itself to fans.

* Manny Coto also wanted to devote considerable time to Earth's history in Trek, and how it became the post-scarcity near-paradise bragged about in the other series.

* An episode titled "Kilkenny Cats," featuring the ''Star Trek'' version of the Cat-like race of the same name that is seen in Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'', was in the works. The episode as intended as as a {{prequel}} to the [[WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries TAS]] episode "The Slaver Weapon". It was the product of Jimmy Diggs, an intern on TNG and later freelance writer on [=DS9=] and ''Voyager'', who had tried to pitch a Kzinti episode for TNG in 1994, and then later on [=DS9=] and VOY. He was so adamant in his pitches that Brannon Braga referred to the Kzinti as "Jimmy Diggs crazy cats". No one else involved in the franchise at the time were interested in their return, so he later wrote a script for a proposed CGI film starring Captain Sulu of the ''Enterprise''-B fighting an invasion of the Federation by the Kzinti, titled "The Lions Of The Night". It too never got off the ground; however, he finally got his luck when ''Enterprise'' got new management in its final season, with Manny Coto expressing interest in the return of the Kzinti. Working with Neal and Jana Hallford, he wrote a new story about the NX-01 bringing a Kzinti child on the ship. Designs for a 22nd-century Kzinti spacecraft were made, and models of re-designs of the Kzinti were made as well. There's every indication this episode would have been made if not for ''Enterprise'''s cancellation. Indeed, Diggs was so confident after meeting with Coto that he believed at least three Kzinti episodes would be made, and that they would become major villains in the fifth season.

* The Suliban, a not-so-subtle reference to the Taliban and terrorism in general, have a complicated history. According to internal documents, the Suliban were conceived as early as the 6th season of ''Voyager'' (''Enterprise'' was originally to air alongside Voyager), and were slated to originally appear in VOY, complete with a backstory which explicitly explained why they never appeared in any other ''Trek'' series despite being slated as major villains; the explanation involved being assimilated by the Borg in the 23rd Century, and a few being rescued via time travel. Braga and others wanted the Klingons to be the main villains in the early concept pitch, however neither that nor the Suliban foreshadowing in ''Voyager'' happened, and as such the Suliban appear out of nowhere in the franchise with no explanation as to why they're in ENT, until just being dumped for good with no explanation by the last season. A confusing chapter in history of this franchise.

* In very early stages of planning the show, Berman and Braga considered setting the entire first season on Earth and focusing on the lead-up to the mission, and only actually launching ''Enterprise'' in the season finale (which would make the title ''Enterprise'' a bit of a pun, in fact). The idea was to do "The Right Stuff" in the ''Trek'' universe. There was an ExecutiveVeto, and they were told to get exploring space from the start.
* The villains originally considered for the first season were xenophobic human terrorists who didn't want the NX-01 to reveal Earth's location to thousands of alien species. After the plans to do the first season on Earth were scrapped, so were these villains. This concept eventually resurfaced, ironically enough, in the series' final two-parter "Demons" and "Terra Prime."
* The first season was planned to end with a Klingon attack on Earth which would force the NX-01 out into space to find and neutralize the Klingon threat. Essentially, imagine "The Expanse" but with Klingons and not Xindi.
* The show was originally to feature a far more dangerous mission, where not only hostile aliens but spatial anomalies and unexplained phenomenon prove deadly for Earth's first deep-space mission. Executives hated the idea, and as such the first two seasons are some of the safest in ''Star Trek'' (even StarTrek.com criticized this by pointing out the NX-01 mission seems considerably less dangerous than the ''Enterprise''-D mission 200 years later. When the official website of the franchise criticizes the show, you know there's a problem). This probably explains why, when allowed to shake things up, ''Enterprise'' gets a massive beating in Season 3, with several crewmembers dying.
* The Temporal Cold War plotline was introduced at the behest of executives worried that ''Enterprise'' didn't have sufficient ties to the previous series, to make it less of a {{prequel}}. The concept originated from a TV pitch made in the 90s by Brannon Braga that had nothing to do with ''Star Trek'', which explains why the plotline feels so awkward and forced. Braga, Berman, and the rest of the writers have admitted to having no resolution or clear concept for the plotline, and even called it "strangulating," which explains why when given the chance, it's completely dumped in the fourth season, never to be mentioned again.

* The Suliban, a not-so-subtle reference to the Taliban and terrorism in general, have a complicated history. According to internal documents, the Suliban were conceived as early as the 6th season of Voyager (Enterprise was originally to air alongside Voyager), and were slated to originally appear in Voyager, complete with a backstory which explicitly explained why they were never in any other Trek series despite being slated as major villains in the prequel (the explanation involved being assimilated by the Borg in the 23rd Century, and a few being rescued via time travel). Braga and others wanted the Klingons to be the main villains in the early concept pitch of doing the first season as "The Right Stuff in Trek", however neither that nor the Suliban foreshadowing in Voyager happened, and as such the Suliban appear out of nowhere in the franchise with no explanation as to why they're in Enterprise, until just being dumped for good with no explanation by the last season. A confusing part of the series that certainly didn't help endear the show to fans.

* According to documents posted by [=TrekDocs=] on Twitter, Archer's backstory would have had the character spending a year on Vulcan as a young man, meeting T'Pol beforehand (with a sexual relationship strongly implied), learning about mind melds (which would have been common Vulcan practice right from the get-go) and feeling a close connection to Vulcan culture. Of course the series upon release did the exact opposite, with Archer being a barely constrained racist toward Vulcans, with pretty much every human sharing this same view until the last season.

* Mike Sussman pitched another ending for Enterprise, which would have featured Leonard Nimoy returning as Spock. It was have started with Spock in the 24th Century giving advice to a young Human/Vulcan officer in Starfleet, telling a story about how in the beginning of the 23rd Century, he received consul on his life and career from T'Pol, who is a legend by the 24th Century. The story would have featured the entire NX-01 crew returning in aged makeup, involving them stealing the NX-01 Enterprise to go on one last mission. No doubt this would have been seen as a far more proper "passing the torch" and finale than Berman and Braga's attempt to make the finale a TNG episode, and Mike Sussman is still frustrated his idea was not picked up.

* Shran would have become a main character and joined the NX-01 in an [[SixthRanger advisory capacity]]. Creator/JeffreyCombs had been pushing to become a ''Trek'' regular since the eighties, and compared his perpetual b-status to watching a baseball game from the outfield.

* An episode titled "Kilkenny Cats," featuring the Kzinti from ''[[WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries TAS]]'' and serving as a {{prequel}} to the TAS episode "The Slaver Weapon," was in the works. It was the product of Jimmy Diggs, an intern on TNG and later freelance writer on [=DS9=] and ''Voyager'', who had tried to pitch a Kzinti episode for TNG in 1994, and then later on [=DS9=] and VOY. He was so adamant in his pitches that Brannon Braga referred to the Kzinti as "Jimmy Diggs crazy cats". No one else involved in the franchise at the time were interested in their return, so he later wrote a script for a proposed CGI film starring Captain Sulu of the ''Enterprise''-B fighting an invasion of the Federation by the Kzinti, titled "The Lions Of The Night". It too never got off the ground; however, he finally got his luck when ''Enterprise'' got new management in its final season, with Manny Coto expressing interest in the return of the Kzinti. Working with Neal and Jana Hallford, he wrote a new story about the NX-01 bringing a Kzinti child on the ship. Designs for a 22nd-century Kzinti spacecraft were made, and models of re-designs of the Kzinti were made as well. There's every indication this episode would have been made if not for ''Enterprise'''s cancellation. Indeed, Diggs was so confident after meeting with Coto that he believed at least three Kzinti episodes would be made, and that they would become major villains in the fifth season.

* Creator/RussellTDavies, who was writing ''Series/DoctorWho'' at the time of ENT, was putting out feelers for a possible [[IntercontinuityCrossover live-action crossover]]. This was assumed to be an unfounded rumor, until Brannon Braga confirmed it. Doctor Who and Star Trek would eventually cross over via a comic book miniseries, however it was the TNG crew who'd end up meeting the Doctor.

* There exists an interview with Scott Bakula conducted in the run-up to the release of ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'' in which he says, with utmost confidence, that the next ''Star Trek'' movie would be about him and his crew. Come 2008 (later delayed to 2009, but close enough), after what would have been the customary seven years, we did indeed get [[Film/StarTrek a new film]]...about [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Captain Kirk]]. Presumably, if either ''Nemesis'' or ''Enterprise'' (most likely both) hadn't bombed, we would have seen Captain Archer on the big screen instead.

* J.G. Hertzler lobbied for his Klingon defense attorney, Kolos, to join the NX-01 crew. "They could use an old curmudgeon like me to balance all the hot young men and women on the show!" ([[BestKnownForTheFanservice Fat chance.]])

* Tensions with the Romulans would have escalated as a prelude to the forthcoming Earth-Romulan War. The Romulans, furthermore, would have been explored more culturally than they had been in previous shows, and the writers planne to incorporate aspects of Creator/DianeDuane's ''Literature/{{Rihannsu}}'' novels into the worldbuilding.

* Tensions with the Romulans would have escalated as a prelude to the forthcoming Earth-Romulan War.

* According to documents posted by [=TrekDocs=] on Twitter, Archer's backstory would have had the character spending a year on Vulcan as a young man, meeting T'Pol beforehand (with a sexual relationship strongly implied), learning about mind melds (which would have been common Vulcan practice right from the get-go) and feeling a close connection to Vulcan culture. Of course the series upon release did the exact opposite, with Archer being a barely constrained racist toward Vulcans, with pretty much every human sharing this same view until the last season. Whoever decided to change Archer from an understanding, cultured man into a bubbling asshole racist is anyone's guess. The NX-01 was also supposed to be a joint Earth-Vulcan project, which makes more sense continuity wise.

* After the series was cancelled after four seasons, a fan-driven effort was launched to raise money to pay for either a fifth season or a wrap-up TV movie. Dubbed The Enterprise Project, the effort did manage to raise more than $150,000 before it was shut down, with Paramount and other authorities saying it was a waste of time, effort and money to attempt this. This was in the spring of 2005, before the concept of Kickstarter or crowdfunding was widely understood and before there was actually an online infrastructure to support it. Had this happened only a few years later, it might have been possible for fans to, if not raise enough for a full-length season, at least raise enough for a movie. Ironically, only a few years after this failed attempt, fan of a fellow cancelled UPN series, ''Series/VeronicaMars'', successfully made use of the then-new Kickstarter to partially fund a theatrical movie.

* After the series was cancelled after four seasons, a fan-driven effort was launched to raise money to pay for either a fifth season or a wrap-UP TV movie. Dubbed The Enterprise Project, the effort did manage to raise more than $150,000 before it was shut down, with Paramount and other authorities saying it was a waste of time, effort and money to attempt this. This was in the spring of 2005, before the concept of Kickstarter or crowdfunding was widely understood and before there was actually an online infrastructure to support it. Had this happened only a few years later, it might have been possible for fans to, if not raise enough for a full-length season, at least raise enough for a movie. Ironically, only a few years after this failed attempt, fan of a fellow cancelled UPN series, ''Series/VeronicaMars'', successfully made use of the then-new Kickstarter to partially fund a theatrical movie.

* Rick Berman and Brannon Braga wanted to allow ''Franchise/StarTrek'' to rest from what they felt was "franchise fatigue." However, Creator/{{UPN}} wanted them to make a new series quickly enough to air alongside ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'''s last season. Berman and Braga agreed to make the series, but only if it aired after ''Voyager'' ended. One wonders what would have happened if UPN got its wish (or if Berman and Braga had gotten theirs).

* According to documents posted by TrekDocs on Twitter, Archer's backstory would have had the character spending a year on Vulcan as a young man, meeting T'Pol beforehand (with a sexual relationship strongly implied), learning about mind melds (which would have been common Vulcan practice right from the get-go) and feeling a close connection to Vulcan culture. Of course the series upon release did the exact opposite, with Archer being a barely constrained racist toward Vulcans, with pretty much every human sharing this same view until the last season. Whoever decided to change Archer from an understanding, cultured man into a bubbling asshole racist is anyone's guess. The NX-01 was also supposed to be a joint Earth-Vulcan project, which makes more sense continuity wise.

* "Future Tense" was originally supposed to involve the Tholians capturing the USS ''Defiant'', which had traveled back in time after the incident in TOS's "[[{{Recap/StarTrekS3E9TheTholianWeb}} The Tholian Web]]." This was shot down for continuity reasons, but the idea resurfaced in the Mirror Universe two-parter in Season 4.

* "These Are the Voyages...": Mike Sussman had originally pitched an idea which was a take-off of "Shadows and Symbols" ([=DS9=]) and "Pathfinder" (VOY). It opens with Robert Picardo's EMH treating a patient inside a holographic re-creation of the NX-01. The patient, also played by Scott Bakula, is totally convinced that he is , in fact, ''the'' Jonathan Archer, and he needed the Doctor's help [[NapoleonDelusion to get back to his own century]]. So the finale was originally going to be a glorified ''Voyager'' episode was opposed to a glorified [=TNG=] one. Sussman even admitted it wouldn't have worked as a finale, and it would have given ''Enterprise'' a sort of GainaxEnding). It would likely have received even worse reception than what we eventually got.

* According to documents posted by TrekDocs on Twitter, Archer's backstory would have had the character spending a year on Vulcan as a young man, meeting T'Pol beforehand (with a sexual relationship strongly implied), learning about mind melds (which would have been common Vulcan practice right from the get-go) and feeling a close connection to Vulcan culture. Of course the series upon release did the exact opposite, with Archer being a barely constrained racist toward Vulcans, with pretty much every human sharing this same view until the last season. Who's genius idea this was, the Executives or Berman/Braga, who knows. The NX-01 was also supposed to be a joint Earth-Vulcan project, which makes more sense continuity wise.

* According to documents posted by TrekDocs on Twitter, Archer's backstory would have had the character spending a year on Vulcan as a young man, meeting T'Pol beforehand (with a sexual relationship strongly implied), learning about mind melds (which would have been common Vulcan practice right from the get-go) and feeling a close connection to Vulcan culture. Of course the series eventually did the absolute opposite, with Archer being a barely constrained racist toward Vulcans, and pretty much every human as well until the last season. Who's genius idea this was, the Executives or Berman/Braga, who knows. The NX-01 was also supposed to be a joint Earth-Vulcan project, which makes more sense continuity wise.

* The Suliban, a not-so-subtle reference to the Taliban and terrorism in general, have a complicated history. According to internal documents, the Suliban were conceived as early as the 6th season of Voyager (Enterprise was originally to air alongside Voyager), and were slated to originally appear in Voyager, complete with a backstory which explicitly explained why they were never in any other Trek series despite being slated as major villains in the prequel (the explanation involved being assimilated by the Borg in the 23rd Century, and a few being rescued via time travel). Braga and others wanted the Klingons however to be the main villains in his concept of doing the first season as "The Right Stuff in Trek", however neither that nor the Suliban foreshadowing in Voyager happened, and as such the Suliban appear out of nowhere in the franchise with no explanation as to why, until just being dumped for good with no explanation by the last season.

* Creator/RussellTDavies, who was writing ''Series/DoctorWho'' at the time of ENT, was putting out feelers for a possible [[IntercontinuityCrossover live-action crossover]]. This was assumed to be an unfounded rumor, until Brannon Braga confirmed it.

* The Suliban, a not-so-subtle reference to the Taliban and terrorism in general, were originally planned to appear in Star Trek: Voyager, for a similar reason that the Maquis appeared in TNG and DS9 first. Voyager was even to give an explanation on why they do not appear in the rest of Trek, that they're assimilated by the Borg by the 23rd Century, but a few survived via time travel and "Future Guy". They were also to be apart of a cabal of several alien races. However, Braga and others wanted the Klingons to be the main villains, which was eventually dumped for being "too familiar", and the Suliban became the main focus, never appearing in Voyager and getting a totally new backstory for Enterprise.

* Early in ''Enterprise'''s development, it was hinted at by producers and writers that an explanation as to why the Suliban are never seen or mentioned in any other ''Trek'' series would be provided, but none ever materialized. The Suliban are totally dumped by the fourth season with no explanation.

* The Suliban, a not-so-subtle reference to the Taliban and terrorism in general, only exist because the idea of the Klingons being the main alien threat was rejected by executives for being "unoriginal," despite being more fitting for the prequel setting.
** The above isn't entirely true: internal memos have shown that the Suliban were planned as antagonists for the next series as early as Voyager Season 6, when it was originally planned to first use them in Voyager to establish them in advance of Enterprise, similar to the Maquis being established in TNG to set up the crew division in Voyager.

* The EM Pistol shown in the pilot was supposed to be the main weapon of Starfleet, but executives felt it wasn't "''Star Trek''" enough, so phase pistols were introduced as a replacement within the pilot.

* An episode titled "Kilkenny Cats," featuring the Kzinti from ''[[WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries TAS]]'' and serving as a {{prequel}} to the TAS episode "The Slaver Weapon," was in the works. It was the product of Jimmy Diggs, an intern on TNG and later freelance writer on [=DS9=] and ''Voyager'', who had tried to pitch a Kzinti episode for TNG in 1994, and then later on [=DS9=] and VOY. He was so adamant in his pitches that Brannon Braga called referred to the Kzinti as "Jimmy Diggs crazy cats". No one else involved in the franchise at the time were interested in their return, so he later wrote a script for a proposed CGI film starring Captain Sulu of the ''Enterprise''-B fighting an invasion of the Federation by the Kzinti, titled "The Lions Of The Night". It too never got off the ground; however, he finally got his luck when ''Enterprise'' got new management in its final season, with Manny Coto expressing interest in the return of the Kzinti. Working with Neal and Jana Hallford, he wrote a new story about the NX-01 bringing a Kzinti child on the ship. Designs for a 22nd-century Kzinti spacecraft were made, and models of re-designs of the Kzinti were made as well. There's every indication this episode would have been made if not for ''Enterprise'''s cancellation. Indeed, Diggs was so confident after meeting with Coto that he believed at least three Kzinti episodes would be made, and that they would become major villains in the fifth season.

* Mike Sussman pitched another ending for Enterprise, which would have featured Leonard Nimoy returning as Spock. It was have started with Spock in the 24th Century giving advice to a young Human/Vulcan officer in Starfleet, telling a story about how in the beginning of the 23rd Century, he received consul on his life and career from T'Pol, who is a legend by the 24th Century. The story would have featured the entire NX-01 crew returning in aged makeup, involving them stealing the NX-01 Enterprise to go on one last mission. No doubt this would have been seen as a far more proper "passing the torch" and finale than Berman and Braga's attempt to make a finale TNG episode, and Mike Sussman is still frustrated his idea was not picked up.

* There were plans for a story with Q. However, this was dropped after John de Lancie did not want to reprise the role due to how it would not fit in with Q's chronologically later appearances in the series.

* An episode titled "Kilkenny Cats," featuring the Kzinti from ''[[WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries TAS]]'' and serving as a {{prequel}} to the TAS episode "The Slaver Weapon," was in the works. It was the product of Jimmy Diggs, an intern on TNG and later freelance writer on [=DS9=] and ''Voyager'', who had tried to pitch a Kzinti return in TNG in 1994, and then later on [=DS9=] and VOY. No one else involved in the shows were interested in their return, so he later wrote a script for a proposed CGI film starring Captain Sulu of the ''Enterprise''-B fighting an invasion of the Federation by the Kzinti. It too never got off the ground; however, he finally got his luck when ''Enterprise'' got new management in its final season, with Manny Coto expressing interest in the return of the Kzinti. Working with Neal and Jana Hallford, he wrote a new story about the NX-01 bringing a Kzinti child on the ship. Designs for a 22nd-century Kzinti spacecraft were made, and models of re-designs of the Kzinti were made as well. There's every indication this episode would have been made if not for ''Enterprise'''s cancellation. Indeed, Diggs was so confident after meeting with Coto that he believed at least three Kzinti episodes would be made, and that they would become major villains in the fifth season.

* "Future Guy," who disappeared after Season 2, was to be featured as a future Archer involved in a plot to correct the "timeline"...or something, at least according to Braga. Others claim he was planned to be a Romulan agent.