10 Star Trek Facts You Probably Didn't Know
4. Enterprise Was Supposed To Take Place On Earth
Enterprise is a polarizing Star Trek show amongst fans and it was the first series since the original that was canceled. There has been much talk of if studio meddling was the cause of poor reception with viewers. Executive producer Brannon Braga has spoken about how the original first season of Star Trek: Enterprise was supposed to take place entirely on Earth.
The season would have followed the building of the first warp ship, and ended with the launching of the Enterprise. Jonathan Archer would have worked as a test pilot. Human-Vulcan relations, the Klingons crash landing on Earth, and the process of choosing and assembling a crew for the Enterprise would have been over-arching stories in the season.
A show focusing on the experiences of characters who were in a near future from its viewers taking place on Earth was, as Braga put it, "too off-concept" for the studio. It was at UPN and Paramount's insistence that the first season took place in space. It's curious to imagine if Enterprise had been given more creative liberties to stray from the then-current expectations of the franchise what might have become of the series.