Bakula: Enterprise Was The Wild West

[2takesfrakes]

Yes, Captain Archer definitely has professional boundaries, no doubts there, but he also seems to have an "open door" to his bridge staff, certainly - that would include Tucker, of course. I can see Captain Kirk's eyebrows shooting up in the air, for example, if Mr. Sulu turned to him and said, "Captain, I have to talk to you ... Man-to-Man." But Archer always seemed to be available for that type of discussion.

As for his "charisma," he was definitely likeable and I feel that he fit in with the cast very well, look-wise and personality-wise. He just seemed to belong to the same group. But with women ... that's something else. His charisma seemed to fall short with Captain Hernandez. These two characters certainly got along ... I can't remember if they slept together, or not. But they were definitely romantic with eachother and at the same time, though ... the actors playing them had no chemistry.

I was kind of bored, really, when they went hiking or mountain climbing, or whatever they were doing out in the wilderness. I welcomed the nightmare sequence with the Xindi, I was hoping that was supposed to be "real" just to shake things up, a bit. Give their time together some LIFE!!! But yeah, Scott really gave Archer a good heart and a kind soul and even though it hurt him to hurt others, he'd steal a warp drive and maroon its owners in the middle of nowhere, if that's what had to happen to get the job done. I give him an "A" for effort, even though he didn't always deliver ...

 

[eyeresist]

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 agree that the scenes when he had to get shitty with the Vulcans were some of his worst. But he was good when speechifying - if you allow that he is playing a character who really hates public speaking (which is how I saw it).

I agree the romance in Home was not very convincing. Maybe that's why I don't like the episode, because there's that, plus yelling at Soval.

Archer is best when palling around with Trip, or messing with Malcolm, or angsting about having to go to the dark side.

 

[Willow]

I agree that the scenes when he had to get shitty with the Vulcans were some of his worst. But he was good when speechifying - if you allow that he is playing a character who really hates public speaking (which is how I saw it).

I agree the romance in Home was not very convincing. Maybe that's why I don't like the episode, because there's that, plus yelling at Soval.

Archer is best when palling around with Trip, or messing with Malcolm, or angsting about having to go to the dark side.

Aw, c'mon...we know that Soval gave as good as he got!
And I know you love him as much as I do....but it made the reconciliation scene all that much better...to see how they had both grown.

I believe that Archer and Hernandez were an item, until he became her superior officer. Because. Fraternization. They did give off more of a friends than lovers vibe though.

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

Forever fan of Bakula here. I loved him as Archer. A lot of the qualities that drove some people nuts - Archer's sacrificial tendencies, for example, and his missteps as he learned and grew - just endeared me to him all the more. I thought of him as an explorer first, which worked for me. The writing of his character was a little schizoid at times, but I just chalked that up to Archer having a bad day now and then.

Bakula awed me with the way he played Archer's descent into darkness in Season 3, his struggles and self-loathing and inner strength as he did what he had to do to save Earth and the galaxy. "Similitude," the way Archer seemed to age decades before our eyes as the weight of his decisions bore down on him, awesome. The whole Xindi arc, I think that's some of Bakula's best work.

And "Observer Effect" is my favorite episode. The interaction between the characters was so great.

"North Star" is one of my favorites too. Bakula inhabited the cowboy persona well, and the interaction between the Big Three was a lot of fun.

It's just icing that the actor is respected by his peers, and that no one has a bad thing to say about him. I remember Dean Stockwell, when he won his Golden Globe I think? for Quantum Leap, praised Bakula to the heavens, quite a tribute from such a fine actor.

 

[Willow]

Forever fan of Bakula here. I loved him as Archer. A lot of the qualities that drove some people nuts - Archer's sacrificial tendencies, for example, and his missteps as he learned and grew - just endeared me to him all the more. I thought of him as an explorer first, which worked for me. The writing of his character was a little schizoid at times, but I just chalked that up to Archer having a bad day now and then.

Bakula awed me with the way he played Archer's descent into darkness in Season 3, his struggles and self-loathing and inner strength as he did what he had to do to save Earth and the galaxy. "Similitude," the way Archer seemed to age decades before our eyes as the weight of his decisions bore down on him, awesome. The whole Xindi arc, I think that's some of Bakula's best work.

And "Observer Effect" is my favorite episode. The interaction between the characters was so great.

"North Star" is one of my favorites too. Bakula inhabited the cowboy persona well, and the interaction between the Big Three was a lot of fun.

It's just icing that the actor is respected by his peers, and that no one has a bad thing to say about him. I remember Dean Stockwell, when he won his Golden Globe I think? for Quantum Leap, praised Bakula to the heavens, quite a tribute from such a fine actor.

Thank you for so eloquently phrasing my similar thoughts. I was just rewatching parts of Damage today. When he returns to,the ship and asks about casualties, and then eyes the body bags....that just gets me every time

All the Captains had their strengths and weaknesses , but Bakula's Archer was the only one that could get me emotionally invested.

And Similitude..gawd yes...he seemed to have aged SO much!

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

Bakula's third-season performances are definitely what I remember most poignantly. I'm not up to the Xindi arc yet in my rewatch, but that's something that's stuck with me since the original airings. I can't wait to see it all over again.

I'm about a third of the way into Season 2 right now, actually, and you know, while a lot of people cite the show's offerings post-"Dead Stop" and up through... um, well, somewhere... as the "worst streak" of episodes, one thing that's really clear to me in a positive sense is that Archer is beginning to click all the more so. He's got fire and passion brimming in him not just for star-charting and handshaking, but for doing the right thing, leaving a positive impact, wherever the NX-01 happens to trek.

However intentional or unintentional it was on the parts of the production team, this show is such an awesome conduit for seeing the birth of the principles and charisma of the Federation, and Bakula's a huge part of why. Over the course of 98 episodes we really do get to see something of every Federation era, every Federation doctrine, every Federation reaction, through Archer's transformation.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I agree the romance in Home was not very convincing. Maybe that's why I don't like the episode, because there's that, plus yelling at Soval.

All Archer really needed Captain Hernandez for was to hit his own RESET BUTTON, as it were. I cannot see him going to T'Pol, "I lost something and I don't know to get it back," in reference to the "growth" he'd had in Season 3, especially, but before that, too.

It's always as simple as getting laid, putting characters back on track, even in STAR TREK, isn't it? But, I mean ... it kind of made all of that time out in the woods with her seem even more stupid. Yes, he needed to get away from it all, too, but the outdoors sequences don't entertain or illuminate. They're just killing time, which I don't appreciate. These writers get paid ... work them.

As far as yelling at Soval went, that was just cringe-worthy, for many reasons. Not the least of which was that it looked like Archer was fronting for Hernandez, so he didn't look like Soval's whipping boy in front of her. It really came off that way! The whole thing seemed so forced, anyway ...

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

The lady apothecarist (is that a word?) in "Civilization," she was a great match for Jon. I wish the ship had swung by that planet again and we could see her and Jon get all bashful and googly-eyed over each other again.

Soval and Archer really clicked in the Vulcan arc when they finally found something in common - their regard for the lost Admiral Forrest. I would have loved to see their relationship evolve over 3 more seasons, into a human/Vulcan version of the grudging, grating respect Archer and Shran had.

I did enjoy the evolution of Archer and T'Pol, from adversaries to reluctant colleages to Archer championing T'Pol once he had accepted her as part of his crew. Their partnership was, I thought, a really effective symbol of the evolving relations between Earth and Vulcan.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I loved it in TATV when Archer is about to go deliver his speech and T'Pol stops him to point out that he looked "... very heroic." It was really a sharp contrast to how their journey began. And he gives her that hug and she doesn't know what to do with it, but she looks at him with the same affection he tried to show her ... it was good stuff. I know it was the Holodeck characters, but I'd still find that exchange between them perfectly acceptable. Even when Archer gave her that ancient maritime compass to keep her pointed "in the right direction" and she seemed touched by that, you could see how far they've come ...

 

[Disco]

I loved it in TATV when Archer is about to go deliver his speech and T'Pol stops him to point out that he looked "... very heroic." It was really a sharp contrast to how their journey began. And he gives her that hug and she doesn't know what to do with it, but she looks at him with the same affection he tried to show her ... it was good stuff. I know it was the Holodeck characters, but I'd still find that exchange between them perfectly acceptable. Even when Archer gave her that ancient maritime compass to keep her pointed "in the right direction" and she seemed touched by that, you could see how far they've come ...

Yes. As always the friendships make Trek.

 

[Willow]

I loved it in TATV when Archer is about to go deliver his speech and T'Pol stops him to point out that he looked "... very heroic." It was really a sharp contrast to how their journey began. And he gives her that hug and she doesn't know what to do with it, but she looks at him with the same affection he tried to show her ... it was good stuff. I know it was the Holodeck characters, but I'd still find that exchange between them perfectly acceptable. Even when Archer gave her that ancient maritime compass to keep her pointed "in the right direction" and she seemed touched by that, you could see how far they've come ...

On the same note-on a rewatch of Azati Prime yesterday, I realized I had forgotten the scene where T'Pol actually shed a tear after Archer left on his suicide mission.

Those two came a long way, considering what their first scene was like in Broken Bow....I'm SO glad they dropped any ideas of a possible "romance" and made it a friendship instead.

 

[Richard Baker]

My favorite Archer moment was a simple one in the first season show 'Unexpected'.
Gravity failure while he is taking a shower..

<Weird whoosh as gravity fails, he floats up into the shower unit and the water drifts around, forming larger blobs>

"Archer to the bridge."

"Lieutenant Reed, sir."

"What the hell's going on?"

"We are having a little trouble with the gravity plating on E Deck.
I hope it hasn't caused you any inconvenience."

"Oh, no, no, no. Not at all."

"Any idea when you might get it back online?"

"Commander Tucker says it should be any minute now, sir."

<Electronic whoosh as the gravity kicks back on, dumping Archer on his ass with all of his shower water.>

"Thank you."

===============

Aside from having a thing happen I always wanted to see- that perfect world inside the hull having some problems occasionally- the way he dealt with it impressed me. I cannot imagine Picard or Kirk acting the same way.

This was also the moment I decided I liked the series- 'Broken Bow' did not impress me much- I did not care much for the new aliens and the show seemed stiff and preachy. I knew him from 'Quantum Leap' (and as a guest on 'Murphy Brown'), but this was the moment I knew I was going to enjoy their adventure...

 

[Ghost]

I don't really agree that Star Trek Enterprise was like the Wild West, it had 'glimpses' of that but it was way to civilized.
Personally I would more see a situation in which many civilizations are competing with each other, some most fiercely through wars.
Orion pirates and slavers raiding colony worlds that are barely able to defend themselves, the Klingons and Romulans expanding unopposed, civilizations who only have one or two systems who are paranoid of any new aliens they encounter as these could be their next big enemies, non warp capable civilizations that are exploited by more advanced ones (situations we have seen on Enterprise).

A bit of a depressing situation perhaps but it would show what good the Coalition of Planets and later the Federation did in the Alpha Quadrant.

 

[Willow]

I don't really agree that Star Trek Enterprise was like the Wild West, it had 'glimpses' of that but it was way to civilized.
Personally I would more see a situation in which many civilizations are competing with each other, some most fiercely through wars.
Orion pirates and slavers raiding colony worlds that are barely able to defend themselves, the Klingons and Romulans expanding unopposed, civilizations who only have one or two systems who are paranoid of any new aliens they encounter as these could be their next big enemies, non warp capable civilizations that are exploited by more advanced ones (situations we have seen on Enterprise).

A bit of a depressing situation perhaps but it would show what good the Coalition of Planets and later the Federation did in the Alpha Quadrant.

Good analysis. I found it interesting how, after Broken Bow and the Klingon and Suliban dangers, Enterprise embarked on their mission with the crew seemingly wearing "rose colored glasses". They travel for weeks, I think, without making any contact..and then they finally make contact with a ship, and Archer is giving a very cheery greeting. They really had NO idea of the dangers out in space. (You'd think the Vulcans may have warned them with specifics, rather than a generic "you're not ready yet.")

I always found it laughable that they would leave for deep space without their full compliment of weapons. Archer was quite arrogant at that point. So it was interesting for me to watch how the crew grows and becomes more experienced over time. When Enterprise first left, it was all about "exploration and making friends". But they found it that the "new frontier" had a lot of dangers. So, yea, I can kinda see how they can compare it to the Wild West in that regard.

And Ghost, your signature had me LMAO.
#redshirtproblems!

 

[2takesfrakes]

On the same note-on a rewatch of Azati Prime yesterday, I realized I had forgotten the scene where T'Pol actually shed a tear after Archer left on his suicide mission.

I didn't put too much stock in what T'Pol's crying meant beyond an addiction to Trellium-D injections. During this time, she was becoming emotionally unstable which she had trouble hiding (but made every effort at doing so). And I do have to wonder how her addiction affected her relationship with Trip. Would it have been more than casual sex, occassionally and the peculiar bond that came with it?

Even before that though, T'Pol was curious about Human customs, more than any other Vulcan we saw before. Spock would bullshit aliens, occassionally, to get the job done (like when the Organians wanted him to lie about who he was so the Klingons wouldn't hurt him). But T'Pol always took to it a little too easily, it seemed. Was her father supposedly Romulan? Whatever was going on, one does have to wonder how her relationships would've played out without her addiction. It might've actually helped her friendships with the crew, in the end ....

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

T'Pol's mother said T'Pol's emotions were always closer to the surface than for the typical Vulcan. And that toad Tolaris who assaulted her with her first mind-meld in "Fusion" noticed almost at once that she was different, curious about emotions - that's how he coerced her into doing the meld in the first place, he tempted her with her own curiosity about emotions.

I always thought T'Pol's affinity for emotions, despite what was probably rigorous training in childhood to control them, was what enabled her to live on a human ship, surrounded by illogic and emotion, without going batty. And the trellium enabled her to overcome her training and experience emotion, and a natural progression of that would be Trip, since Sim had basically told her point-blank that he was in love with her. But then she couldn't control her emotions because Vulcans don't train their people to manage them, but just to quash them.

So the trellium storyline totally worked for me, since I thought the emotions are what really enticed her.

I think T'Pol's tear in Azati Prime was an expression of her regard for Archer (no matter how you defined that regard - I saw it as close friendship and trust), filtered through her addiction and her lack of control over her emotions. Same with her tears shed when her mother died.

I remember Blalock not being pleased at all with the trellium storyline, but I thought it was a great way to position her to be a Vulcan struggling with emotions - like Spock's duality, which was so intriguing. But they jettisoned it in the 4th season. One of many storylines drop-kicked outta there when they realized they had to cram 4 seasons into 1. Character development is always the first to go. Too bad, since I think this show did character interaction so well.

 

[Willow]

T'Pol's mother said T'Pol's emotions were always closer to the surface than for the typical Vulcan. And that toad Tolaris who assaulted her with her first mind-meld in "Fusion" noticed almost at once that she was different, curious about emotions - that's how he coerced her into doing the meld in the first place, he tempted her with her own curiosity about emotions.

I always thought T'Pol's affinity for emotions, despite what was probably rigorous training in childhood to control them, was what enabled her to live on a human ship, surrounded by illogic and emotion, without going batty. And the trellium enabled her to overcome her training and experience emotion, and a natural progression of that would be Trip, since Sim had basically told her point-blank that he was in love with her. But then she couldn't control her emotions because Vulcans don't train their people to manage them, but just to quash them.

So the trellium storyline totally worked for me, since I thought the emotions are what really enticed her.

I think T'Pol's tear in Azati Prime was an expression of her regard for Archer (no matter how you defined that regard - I saw it as close friendship and trust), filtered through her addiction and her lack of control over her emotions. Same with her tears shed when her mother died.

I remember Blalock not being pleased at all with the trellium storyline, but I thought it was a great way to position her to be a Vulcan struggling with emotions - like Spock's duality, which was so intriguing. But they jettisoned it in the 4th season. One of many storylines drop-kicked outta there when they realized they had to cram 4 seasons into 1. Character development is always the first to go. Too bad, since I think this show did character interaction so well.

The character interactions are what kept me going through some of the worst of the plots.
And I was going to state something very similar to what you said about T'Pol and emotions, but you stated it much more eloquently, so I "second" your analysis.

 

[eyeresist]

Even before that though, T'Pol was curious about Human customs, more than any other Vulcan we saw before. Spock would bullshit aliens, occasionally, to get the job done (like when the Organians wanted him to lie about who he was so the Klingons wouldn't hurt him). But T'Pol always took to it a little too easily, it seemed. Was her father supposedly Romulan?

I would argue that Vulcan civilisation at that time was "fallen" due to the loss of Surek's teachings. T'Pol was happy to escape the corrupt, hypocritical, chauvinist culture of Vulcan at that time, and may have felt that Earth culture had more integrity, even if it was primitive and irrational.

My favorite Archer moment was a simple one in the first season show 'Unexpected'.
Gravity failure while he is taking a shower.

I agree - that was a great scene: understated, humorous, totally science fiction but also totally human.

I don't really agree that Star Trek Enterprise was like the Wild West, it had 'glimpses' of that but it was way too civilized.

There was actually a lot of civilisation in the "wild" west. Books, schools, farms, churches. The difference in ENT is that the heroes aren't some powered-up peace keeping force, representing a generally acknowledge legal system. No-one knows or cares who they are, they have no authority, and they frequently have to enter dangerous situations as the underdog.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I remember Blalock not being pleased at all with the trellium storyline, but I thought it was a great way to position her to be a Vulcan struggling with emotions - like Spock's duality, which was so intriguing.

I'm inclined to agree with Jolene in this matter. Fifty years ago, "they" seemed to be concerned that the alien Spock might be too "evil" looking and unrelatable, but the STAR TREK format demanded he be there every week. So to remedy that, they naturally made him half Human. Twenty years later, of course, none of that's a problem. Emboldened, Shatner presents audiences with Sybok who, quite simply, chose to be emotional. The implication there seems to be that he might've been manipulated by the god-creature the whole time. Spock repeatedly asserted that Sybok was a genius, perhaps his instability came with that, as it often seems to here on earth? To me, T'Pol's being compromised sort of negates her Sybokian emotionalism and simply presents her as a victim. I would've put a quick halt to that, myself if I came onboard as the new showrunner ...

I would argue that Vulcan civilisation at that time was "fallen" due to the lost of Surek's teachings. T'Pol was happy to escape the corrupt, hypocritical, chauvinist culture of Vulcan at that time, and may have felt that Earth culture had more integrity, even if it was primitive and irrational.

I did not care for the "corrupted" teachings angle to justify ENT's insistance on playing fast and loose with the Vulcans, to make it easy for its writers to write. "Oh! But it's so hard to write drama for people who have no emotions." Get out of Hollywood and go be a plumber, then. And when we DO get to see Surak's people living the "right" way, T'Pau's treatment of Archer & T'Pol doesn't coincide. Nor does Syran's for that matter ...

 

[Ghost]

There was actually a lot of civilisation in the "wild" west. Books, schools, farms, churches. The difference in ENT is that the heroes aren't some powered-up peace keeping force, representing a generally acknowledge legal system. No-one knows or cares who they are, they have no authority, and they frequently have to enter dangerous situations as the underdog.

I am not saying that there should not be civilization, but when it came to dangerous situations Archer and Co often seemed to go in all starry-eyed and 'We are going to be best friends forever'.

Let the guy go in with the intention of making friends but not like someone who is all surprised that the nice alien he just met turns out to be someone who wants to use him and his crew for its own end or just easily stabs in the back because it really doesn't like any competing species.