Enterprise crew: Facing old new technology

It had sold the terrestrial rights to the earlier series Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager to the BBC.

But this time, Sky did not approach the corporation, a BBC spokesman said.

It is not yet known on which platform, or platforms, Channel 4 viewers will watch Enterprise.

What is clear, however, is that viewers will not get a chance to see the new episodes until the second half of next year - after Sky One has itself begun screening the series.

The new shows travel back in time to follow Captain Jonathan Archer, played by Scott Bakula, in the pioneering days of space travel.

New series predates original Star Trek

Enterprise is set in the year 2151, 100 years before the original voyage of Captain James T Kirk, played by William Shatner in the first Star Trek series.

The technology Kirk operated with such aplomb is in its gremlin-prone infancy - Captain Archer is even afraid to use the famous transporter.

The first episode of Enterprise screened in the US on the UPN network at the end of September and has already established itself as one of the channel's strongest shows.