“Star Trek” fans waived the white flag in their fundraising campaign.
The goal of keeping the long-running sci-fi franchise on the air through a fan-funded a fifth season of UPN’s “Star Trek: Enterprise” is over. The folks behind TrekUnited, which was both the leader of the campaign and the butt of many jokes, said last week that they’ll start refunding money pledged to the effort.
“[D]espite the significant sum being offered to produce a fifth season … [‘Enterprise’ producer] Paramount turned down the offer,” a statement on TrekUnited’s web site reads. “Paramount has reinforced its stance that it cannot and will not take money contributed by fans, even though TrekUnited became incorporated over one and a half months ago and technically any money offered would not have to be regarded any different than from a corporate sponsor.”
That phrase “cannot and will not take money contributed by fans” has been a point of contention for many fans, who have been engaged in a running flame war with TrekUnited on several “Star Trek” message boards.
The campaign reportedly raised more than $140,000 in fan contributions and received a pledge of $3 million from anonymous investors in the “space flight industry,” according to TrekUnited. After an initial rush of donations, money was slow to trickle in.
“Enterprise” will end its four-year run on UPN with two episodes Friday, May 13.
Credit: Zap2It
