Bakula: Enterprise Was The Wild West

[TrekToday]

For Scott Bakula, the time setting was what attracted him to Star Trek: Enterprise. The actor shared his thoughts on the series ten years after the last episode aired. “The reason I did the show was because it was before,” he said. “I think if they had said ‘It’s going to be two hundred years […]

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[gblews]

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What a gentlemen.

 

[Willow]

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What a gentlemen.

Indeed! In all the things I've read about him, and all that I've seen of him over the years, he has always come across as a gentleman. A very nice guy. I don't think I've ever read a negative word about him.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Agreed. His costars (Gary Graham and Dean Stockwell in particular) have always said he's one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.

Although in this interview he forgot to mention the one episode in which ENT was *literally* the wild west.

 

[Melakon]

"North Star" was probably fun for him and the cast getting to be cowboys. The big reveal when they step out of the shuttle in the middle of the street is one of the most powerful 'take me to your leader' moments in the franchise.

 

[ChristopherPike]

I love Enterprise and will always want just that little bit more from it - 5th Season, TV Movie, mini-series, whatever to cement its 22nd Century setting in Star Trek history... see the Romulan War, Birth of the Federation etc onscreen. That still fascinates me the most out of the usual post Voyager ideas where Trek could go next.

But, if I'm honest the gritty Wild West forerunner series, still hasn't been made. Accepting Enterprise in the canon, that has to be pushed back to the late 21st Century. We're probably talking a show about Zefram Cochrane leaving Earth behind because the Vulcans aren't the benevolent aid workers WWIII survivors thought. He joins a band of colonists off to see what Alpha Centauri is like. A place where living on the surface of Proxima colony is quite literally saloon bars, rapidly assembled towns around dilithium mines, warp scientists getting by in a lawless society and a mysterious native dying race who pre-date the Vulcans.

 

[eyeresist]

I'm glad Bakula's hope that people would rediscover the series later was well-founded. Just goes to show how open-minded Trekkies are. It only took, what, 10 years?

I also like that he appreciated the legacy of working with a crew that had grown with the show since TNG. Must be nice to belong to that "Star Trek Family".

 

[hux]

The premise does have a Wild West spirit to it and even some of the episodes feel like they're exploring that whole genre but it doesn't excuse the lack of quality. Enterprise was too slow in getting to the point and didn't respect the audience enough to commit to any kind of originality.

Hearing him say "if it had been set 200 years after Voyager" did make me wonder what that show might have looked like. I think it might have better than he realised

 

[bbailey861]

I, for one, would have certainly been happy to see the remaining three seasons play out. The quality certainly picked up; it was just on a really shitty network.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Hearing him say "if it had been set 200 years after Voyager" did make me wonder what that show might have looked like. I think it might have better than he realised

There was going to be a new animated series with that kind of setting, but it never got off the drawing board.

Although there is a reference to it in one of Christopher's DTI novels:

Spoiler: DTI

'Watching the Clock', page 464. Daniels is arguing with the freshly-captured Future Guy:

"Improve it?" Daniels snarled. "One of your experiments in the twenty-fifth century led to a cataclysm that tore the Federation in half and left much of the quadrant impassable to warp travel! It sparked a new Romulan war that lasted for decades! If we hadn't been able to isolate that timeline..."

 

[Reanok]

Nice interview with Scott I always liked him on Quantam leap and Enterprise. It's nice new fans are discovering the show.

 

[Thenerd101]

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What a gentlemen.

He does always seem like a gentlemen. Seems like a nice guy to meet.

 

[Keith1701]

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What a gentlemen.

I AGREE.

 

[Thenerd101]

I, for one, would have certainly been happy to see the remaining three seasons play out. The quality certainly picked up; it was just on a really shitty network.

Not just that, but UPN shut down the same year and merged with the WB to make the CW. I, for one would love to see the CW do an Enterprise Mini-series.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Man, I love Scott Bakula. Such a class act.

As an Enterprise fan but also a fan of nice people getting the things they want in life, I'm also glad that the show has proven it has sturdier legs than people thought possible while it was on the air.

 

[Long Syntax]

Scott Bakula did an awesome job portraying Capt. Archer. I was initially skeptical when I learned he was the new lead. I think I failed to see him in the Capt. role because of Quantum Leap, but I'm glad I was wrong.

God I miss this show! There is such crap on TV today.

 

[Willow]

Scott Bakula did an awesome job portraying Capt. Archer. I was initially skeptical when I learned he was the new lead. I think I failed to see him in the Capt. role because of Quantum Leap, but I'm glad I was wrong.

God I miss this show! There is such crap on TV today.

I think we are the minority of those who actually like Bakula as Archer. I found The character to be wonderfully flawed. Even when Archer was at his worst, I still liked him, probably because Scott comes across as such a likable guy .

And agreed about the state of television these days .
In the whole televised universe, I only regularly watch two shows. One of them happens to be Bakula's.....

 

[2takesfrakes]

I like Scott Bakula, but he doesn't have Sir Patrick Stewart's acting chops, unfortunately. He seemed to struggle, quite a bit, when Captain Archer had to be a prick and, rarely, it would actually leap me out of the scene he was in. And he could not handle those aweful and many speeches he had imposed on him, either. He seemed much more comfortable, natural and realistic when the scenes were about friendship, or trying to reach a mutual understanding, that sort of thing.

 

[Long Syntax]

Agreed Willow. I like flaws in characters - I want them to have more than one dimension. Some of the most interesting people I've ever known were flawed

 

[Willow]

I like Scott Bakula, but he doesn't have Sir Patrick Stewart's acting chops, unfortunately. He seemed to struggle, quite a bit, when Captain Archer had to be a prick and, rarely, it would actually leap me out of the scene he was in. And he could not handle those aweful and many speeches he had imposed on him, either. He seemed much more comfortable, natural and realistic when the scenes were about friendship, or trying to reach a mutual understanding, that sort of thing.

I would agree with you there...Bakula may not be the best actor around, and I admit he isn't in the same league as Stewart. Stewart DID have the ability to make me see Picard as a pretentious prick at times (more times than I care to admit) Bakula doesn't quite have that ability to carry off the "prick" persona. But then, I've never been one to admire/follow actors, or shows , because of great "acting" (or great "writing" for that matter). What usually draws me in is the "relatablity" aspect.

Which is why I love Enterprise so much. I probably enjoy the interpersonal dynamics as much, or more, than any single plot line. I KNOW people IRL who remind me of all these characters. Heck, I'm kind of a cross between Hoshi/Malcolm myself, which draws me in the characters.

And IMO, Scott Bakula has a certain...charisma , or "energy" , that just doesn't work as well for certain character types. It works well enough as Archer. And , in my lifetime of witnessing all types of "command styles", Archer is one that I would follow.