The Broun Blog

As I write this, a rerun of Saturday Night Live from 2000 is airing on "E!" and one of its previous skits was a doozy. Guest host Kate Hudson was playing a college coed, home from school when her parents discover her indecent behavior in a "Girls Gone Wild" video.

And a 60 Minutes expose on spring break debauchery. And a episode of Cops.

While watching TV by her parents, she was wearing a shirt that quite clearly said, "The University of Alabama."

Lovely. Just lovely.

I don't have much time with class an hour away, but I just noticed that Star Trek: Enterprise has been cancelled.

(Hat tip to the Corner at National Review Online. Yes, I found this news at a conservative website.)

UPN and Paramount today jointly announced the show's cancellation. "Star Trek has been an important part of UPN's history, and Enterprise has carried on the tradition of its predecessors with great distinction," UPN Entertainment president Dawn Ostroff said. "We'd like to thank Rick Berman, Brannon Braga and an incredibly talented cast for creating an engaging, new dimension to the Star Trek universe on UPN, and we look forward to working with them, and our partners at Paramount Network Television, on a send-off that salutes its contributions to The Network and satisfies its loyal viewers."

Paramount Network Television president David Stapf added, "The creators, stars and crew of Star Trek: Enterprise ambitiously and proudly upheld the fine traditions of the Star Trek franchise. We are grateful for their contributions to the legacy of Trek and commend them on completing nearly 100 exciting, dramatic and visually stunning episodes. All of us at Paramount warmly bid goodbye to Enterprise, and we all look forward to a new chapter of this enduring franchise in the future."

TrekToday sources report that CBS president Les Moonves himself yesterday reached the decision to pull the plug on Enterprise. Most Enterprise crew members only found out about their show's cancellation this morning.

Enterprise only barely qualified for renewal a year ago, but was given a final chance by UPN to prove itself after Paramount agreed to drastically cut the show's license fee. The show underwent several major changes this year, including a move from Wednesday night to Friday and the appointment of new showrunner Manny Coto, but the most important thing didn't change - the show's low ratings. Last week, "Babel One" set a new series low for Enterprise, attracting just over 2.5 million viewers. [link]

I can't say I'm heartbroken, and I think a rest for the nearly 40-year-old franchise is in order, especially considering that first-run Trek has been on television for eighteen consecutive years.

I know this isn't precisely typical fare for the blog, but I figured at least Jason and Rich would be interested.

And I'll try to blog a little more regularly, but I can't make any promises for the time being.