Trekkies' support for 'Enterprise' is out of this world! - By Gary Levin, USA TODAY

Never underestimate the passion of a Trekkie.

"Can that contraption do anything to keep us on the air?" : Enterprise was the top vote-getter on USA TODAY's Save Our Shows poll.

Paramount

Star Trek: Enterprise won enormous support in USA TODAY's seventh annual Save Our Shows survey, as a record 70% of respondents (in part reflecting a coordinated effort) urged UPN to keep the latest edition of the long-running franchise, which next month completes its third season. Fox's Arrested Development - a critics' favorite but a ratings laggard - also won solid backing: 36.5% of voters wanted to save it. It was followed by Fox's Tru Calling with 28%. More than 43,200 ballots were cast in the survey, most of them online. This year's total is down from last year's record 57,000. The lower turnout might reflect the fact that of 12 shows hovering "on the bubble" between renewal and cancellation - the smallest group yet - most elicited tepid support. Just four (Star Trek, Arrested Development, Tru Calling and CBS' The District) won more votes to support than to dismiss them. The majority of voters said they didn't care what happened to nine of the 12. And fewer than 10% of voters were eager to see four comedies return for second seasons, including NBC's Happy Family and ABC's It's All Relative, another sign of the cooled interest in TV sitcoms. The shows readers most want dropped? NBC's Whoopi, which was given the thumbs-down by one-third of respondents, followed closely by UPN's Rock Me Baby. The Save Our Shows survey asked viewers to vote for those that actually have a shot at being renewed when the networks unveil their fall lineups May 17-20 in New York. The survey results rarely determine the fate of the shows, though they do indicate pockets of loyal support. Far more important are Nielsen ratings and creative, scheduling or financial concerns. But that didn't stop readers from offering eloquent, though futile, appeals for other series, apparently through organized campaigns.

Continuing a long tradition of get-out-the-vote efforts for sci-fi/fantasy series, a large group backed Angel, though WB has steadfastly maintained it has no plans for renewal. "Just because the WB has said that it isn't going to change its mind doesn't mean that the question of 'wanting' it back isn't relevant," wrote Kathy McLaren of Chicago.

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