The Plot to Save Enterprise

What do you do when your intergalactic starship almost crashes and burns? After UPN came thisclose to canceling his space opera, Enterprise executive producer Rick Berman wisely reached back into the Star Trek franchise's glory days for inspirational fuel. And you won't believe what he dug up. Hold on to your phasers, Trekkers...

Remember the Eugenic Wars that spawned the evil Khan (aka Ricardo Montalban) and his followers in the camp classic Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan? That ancient conflict is back. And for an extra bonus, so is Next Generation star Brent Spiner, who not only played the adorable android Data, but also his genius creator, Dr. Soong.

In a three-episode story arc this season, Spiner will play Soong's great-grandfather, "an almost Hannibal Lecter-like bad guy," Berman previews. "He's a brilliant and dangerous scientist who messed with some genetically enhanced and outlawed Eugenic embryos. He's in prison. All of a sudden, he's needed, and he's going to have to be allied with Archer (Scott Bakula).

"This is the first time we managed to lure Brent back onto the TV screen in Star Trek since Next Generation ended 10 years ago," Berman crows. "He's really excited about it."

As previously reported by TV Guide Online, negotiations to land the biggest Trek catch of all — Boston Legal star William Shatner — hit a snag over money issues. Should a deal be made, Berman says Shatner would play "an incarnation of Captain Kirk, in a sense. It would have to do with an alternate reality."