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John Billingsley wishes Star Trek: Enterprise would have continued “making it up” as they went along

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As a devoted Star Trek: Enterprise enthusiast with years of fandom under my belt, I wholeheartedly agree with John Billingsley’s sentiments about the series. Dr. Phlox was a delightful character, and his wit and wisdom added depth to the show that could have been further explored.

John Billingsley portrayed one of my beloved characters on Star Trek: Enterprise for a span of four seasons. Dr. Phlox, his character, was a Denobulan known for his witty remarks and profound insights. Despite limited screen presence, he utilized it effectively. Unfortunately, the series was unexpectedly terminated, despite the fact that season four saw a significant improvement in storylines under Manny Coto’s leadership.

Prior to that, while there were still some great stories, certain aspects were either left out or not fully explored which could have significantly impacted the series. Billingsley, in an interview with Trek Today, expressed his opinion that the show should have had a more improvisational feel, suggesting a “winging it” approach.

“Wish we’d stayed with the sense of ‘making it up as we go along = terror’ for [the] first couple of seasons. [It] might not have made a difference, but I thought too many episodes were wan, [and] indistinguishable in many ways from the iterations of Trek that had come before. I would have liked more overlapping dialogue, for instance, more of a sense of cacophony, which would have echoed (literally) the kind of claustrophobic aspects of our ship and its more cramped quarters, its more ‘submarine-y’ feel. I dunno.

John Billingsley

The actor’s idea seems plausible since the original Starship Enterprise was relatively small, and if the series had focused on these restricted spaces, it could have led to compelling narratives, including potential disputes among the crew. However, even in such a scenario, the Enterprise might have adhered to Gene Roddenberry’s rule of no internal conflicts.

Even though the crew had been trained on the ship prior to launch, there may still have been areas where they were learning and making mistakes. Additionally, there was a great deal of uncertainty when exploring uncharted territories. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed Star Trek: Enterprise, but like any other series, it could have benefited from some improvements. In hindsight, this is one of those situations where we can only speculate about what could have been. Regrettably, Enterprise was canceled prematurely, preventing any changes that might have enhanced the show from being implemented.

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2024-09-02 22:23

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