The Real Reason William Shatner Didn't Return As Kirk In Star Trek: Enterprise

For the uninitiated, "Star Trek: Enterprise" debuted in late September 2001, shortly after "Star Trek: Voyager" ended its seventh and final season. "Voyager" ended a 14-year hot streak for "Star Trek," beginning in 1987 with the debut of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." That show, set in the 24th century, was such a hit that the curators of "Star Trek" — Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor, and Brannon Braga highest among them — created two spinoffs that continued within the same timeline. They debuted "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" in 1993, and "Voyager" was added in 1995. At the same time, the franchise continued its run on the big screen, seeing the release of four feature films in that same 14-year release window. It was a long road, getting from there to here. 

"Enterprise," however, was met with skepticism. The new series was set in 2151, a full century before the events of the original "Star Trek," and followed the adventures of the very first starship to leave Earth on a mission of exploration. The technology on the early Enterprise wasn't as slick as the previous "Trek" shows, and wondrous machines like tractor beams, shields, and human-safe transporters didn't exist yet. Notably, there was no Prime Directive yet. Although a "primitive" rendition of "Star Trek" was a novel idea, the audience seemed burned out on the franchise.

"Enterprise" was ultimately a fine show, but it flagged in the ratings from the start, lasting only four seasons (the previous three "Trek" shows lasted seven years each). By the third and fourth seasons, the stories became far more ambitious, but it wasn't enough to snag a new audience. 

According to Rick Berman, speaking on "The Shuttlepod Show," "Enterprise" was presented with a wonderful opportunity that may have snagged the attention of Trekkies whose interest was flagging. It seems that William Shatner, Captain Kirk himself, pitched an idea for an "Enterprise" story wherein he would reprise his role. Berman would have done it, but the price tag was too high. 

The last time audiences saw Shatner in "Star Trek" was during the climax of "Star Trek: Generations," released in 1994. That film saw Kirk and Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) meeting for the first time, thanks to some time travel rigmarole. Shatner and Picard teamed up to fight a mad scientist hellbent on destroying stars. Kirk, however, was killed in the process, plunging to his death when a catwalk beneath him collapsed. Picard buried him under a pile of rocks, and that was presumably the last we'd ever see of Kirk. Shatner has not returned to the franchise proper since. 

But in the early 2000s, he might have. Berman recalled that Shatner, wanting to get back into the action, had a meeting with the producer to discuss a possible crossover event. Time travel, of course, would have to be involved, seeing as Kirk wasn't born yet in the "Enterprise" timeline, but that's an easy enough feat in "Star Trek." Shatner's guest spot would warrant a two-parter, and Berman was open to the idea. He said: 

"I had a meeting ... I knew Bill pretty well because he'd been in the movie 'Generations' with us. He called me up one day and said, 'Let's have lunch.' So I brought ['Enterprise' showrunner] Manny Coto and Brannon, and we went and had lunch ... with Bill ... What happened was Bill had an idea. Or Bill's people ... Somebody had an idea. And it was a two-parter, and it was relatively clever: It was a two-part episode that [Shatner] was going to appear in." 

And it wasn't a bad idea, from what Berman recalls. It was when he presented the idea to Paramount and they started to turn the production gears a little that the proposition became dicey. 

Perhaps astonishingly, Paramount also liked the idea. Berman continued: 

"We sketched it out. We brought it to the studio. The studio looked at it, just in broad strokes. They said, 'Great.' And then either agent, lawyer, someone from Bill's team called up ... And I will not even mention the numbers. But the number was probably eight times more than the studio had any interest in [paying]."

Shatner, it seems, felt he was worth a hefty price, and was likely unwilling to take a cut just so he could be in two episodes of "Enterprise." And, yes, Shatner had every right to ask for a large paycheck, seeing as he had always considered himself the central star of the franchise. It seems, though, that Paramount didn't want to spend that much money to restore "Enterprise." Berman also doesn't say when in the show's life this offer came. Had it been near the start of the series, Paramount likely wanted to hold off having a high-profile guest star. Had it come near the end of the series, though, then prices on the would have been slashed, not expanded. 

Whatever the timing, Shatner did not appear on "Enterprise." Notably, however, the show's final episode featured extended guest spots for Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis from "Next Generation." They interacted with the "Enterprise" characters via holodeck. Frakes and Sirtis, it seems, didn't ask for as much money as Shatner. Also, no one liked that episode.