captain archer / scott bakula - can't stand his acting

[2takesfrakes]

Bakula had no chemistry with Ada Marentes, whatsoever. I never bought their romance, because of it. I also hated Scott's delivery on all those stupid speeches. Yes, they were boring and they were stupid, but he could've tried to ham it up, with them, or do something to make them seem more interesting. Instead, he'd make the unfortunate acting choice of making like he was reciting Shakespeare. There's no question that Bakula was given some pretty bad material, often times, but his acting range isn't especially broad, either.

 

[Emperor Norton]

Reed: "Captain, Klingon ship off the port bow."
Archer: "Ohhhhh boy."

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Bakula had no chemistry with Ada Marentes, whatsoever. I never bought their romance, because of it. I also hated Scott's delivery on all those stupid speeches. Yes, they were boring and they were stupid, but he could've tried to ham it up, with them, or do something to make them seem more interesting. Instead, he'd make the unfortunate acting choice of making like he was reciting Shakespeare. There's no question that Bakula was given some pretty bad material, often times, but his acting range isn't especially broad, either.

A cornerstone of classic Trek thought was the Captain and his Doctor as the confidant. Roddenberry tried out two doctors before getting to the McCoy character. They tried it again with Pulaski on TNG. It wasn't really used past the original series but it was formative material in the franchise. I mean, you had Sam and Al in Quantum Leap. That was chemistry. Scott Bakula could clearly have fit that mold if they gave him a grizzled old doctor in the Roddenberry mold countered by this "gee whiz" Sam Beckett Captain.

 

[Long Syntax]

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A cornerstone of classic Trek thought was the Captain and his Doctor as the confidant. Roddenberry tried out two doctors before getting to the McCoy character. They tried it again with Pulaski on TNG. It wasn't really used past the original series but it was formative material in the franchise. I mean, you had Sam and Al in Quantum Leap. That was chemistry. Scott Bakula could clearly have fit that mold if they gave him a grizzled old doctor in the Roddenberry mold countered by this "gee whiz" Sam Beckett Captain.

I think you're focusing on the Sam Beckett role soo much that you seem to have pigeon-holed Scott Bakula into a permanent typecast role.

 

[Syd Shanshala]

I watched ENT on tv with my dad when I was a kid and I loved Archer. I thought he was a flawed character with depth who struggled with stuff where as the other captains (from what I’d seen then) seemed to be the good guy hero types who always knew what to do and always had a handle on things. I just viewed the nx crew as ramshackle explorers barely getting by cause that’s how dad explained it to me. These days I’m much more critical of ENT as a whole but I’ll always have a soft spot for what Bakula brought to the character

 

[Catarina]

He's likable, talented, and I'll just say it- he's pretty to look at. I quite enjoyed hearing him speak at one of his panels. The show didn't help elevate these traits. And yes I'm speaking from only watching 4 episodes. So take my opinion with a grain of salt I guess

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Is there anyone else out there who found scott bakula to be very 2 dimensional as an actor (always the same expressions & none of the qualities you see of a decent actor who plays a captain well), to a point he was irritating to watch? There are so many scenes where he came across as smug & foolish (down to the way the actor played the part).

No, I can't agree with you. Captain Archer was awesome in my book.

 

[trynda1701]

I liked Scott as Archer, although I too am probably coloured in my thinking by Quantum Leap. LOVED that show.

I like him in NCIS:NO as well. His accent seems to have been dialled back a tiny bit, I thought it was stronger in the NCIS episodes that served as the New Orleans backdoor pilot.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I totally loved Bakula as Archer. I think he was one of the best things about the show. Loved the journey his character went through--from perhaps overly optimistic explorer to a captain who had to learn things the hard way, got knocked around both physically and emotionally, and got the scars to prove it.

"I look at you, and I see the person I was three years ago. The explorer that my father wanted me to be. I lost something out there--and I don't know how to get it back..."
-Archer to Captain Erika Hernandez

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Hopefully in the future the world won't revolve around Eurocentrism

This video shows why that won't be happening a lot as the years pass (at least in America.)

 

[Hopeful Romantic]

^^ To reiterate what I said in an earlier post: please leave RL politics out of this forum. It is off topic. Thanks.

 

[STEPhon IT]

I totally loved Bakula as Archer. I think he was one of the best things about the show. Loved the journey his character went through--from perhaps overly optimistic explorer to a captain who had to learn things the hard way, got knocked around both physically and emotionally, and got the scars to prove it.

"I look at you, and I see the person I was three years ago. The explorer that my father wanted me to be. I lost something out there--and I don't know how to get it back..."
-Archer to Captain Erika Hernandez

I agree. I think despite how I felt about the quality of the Berman trek shows; I thought his casting team were outstanding. Bakula was the finest actor for Berman's last ride along with that supporting cast. The chemistry between Bakula and the cast were instant from the start despite the show's constant need to prove they did everything before Kirk did, he was a good lead to spearhead this series. He (nor the cast) weren't the problem of ENT, it was writing, the production design, and the producers who failed that series.

 

[Vger23]

I like Bakula and I really like Archer. Star Trek needed a different kind of captain to go with the different era that was being portrayed, and the actor pulled that off nicely. I'm glad we didn't get yet another righteous Picard clone.

 

[RPOW0614]

For full disclosure I have to say right off the bat that ENT is my second favorite Trek after TOS.
I agree with someone further up the thread that Bakula\Archer was a dope that got slapped around way too much in seasons 1 & 2, both literally and figuratively. But "Airlock" Archer in season 3 was great acting by Scott as the reluctant hero forced by events into making morally questionable decisions. Season 4 had great episodes where he was pivotal and had great roles. For example; The Vulcan arc, the augment arc and the mirror episodes. The less said about the final episode, the better.

 

[Riker'sMailbox]

I just finished season 1. I think he does an adequate job. I just don't think the writers gave him meaty dialogue nor did they give him much of an identity. Honestly, the show seems kind of directionless and most of the acting does too.

But, he is not in my top 3 for bad acting on that show. T'Pol is easily the worst, Malcolm Reed takes second, and Phlox is 3rd. But, I feel this will likely change based off the non-storylines given to Hoshi and Travis.

 

[DarKush]

When I first heard that Bakula was going to play the captain I was pleased. I really liked him in Quantum Leap. I did enjoy the pilot a lot, but man, I quickly soured on Bakula's performance. He just came across as stiff and he looked constipated all the time. As mentioned above, it could've been an issue of lack of direction-not from Bakula, but from the creatives in what kind of character Archer should be. From what I read, he was supposed to be more of an Indiana Jones-type, which I felt was the characterization in "Broken Bow" but then they dialed it down, way down after that. Not sure why, because Bakula had more of a pulse in the pilot than he did in other first season episodes I saw.

I only got the character in Season 3, when Dark Archer emerged. In Season 4, when he was dealing with the aftermath of that, I still thought the character was interesting. By Season 4, it was more plot-driven for the most part, and I perhaps had just accepted Archer by then. But overall he's the weakest captain IMO.

 

[DarKush]

I like Scott Bakula. He has an innate likability. I don't think he's wooden at all. However, I don't think he has a commanding voice which makes it hard to play certain characters. He's perfect for playing a character who loves exploration and flight and is genuinely awed by the majesty of space. His weakest moments are when he has to be a be a be authoritative or intimidating. Overall, I think his acting ability is on par with all of the other Trek captains outside of Patrick Stewart.

Oddly enough, I think Bakula would have been great as Trip. You would need to drop the pointless southern accent, of course. Bakula as Trip with Keith Carradine playing A.G. Robinson as the Captain, maybe? I don't know.

I never thought about that before, Bakula as Trip, but that it's been said, I'm gravitating towards it. That works. Despite my issues with Bakula as Archer, he seems like a good cheerleader for the show and a nice guy overall. I will say though, I'm not a fan of his Southern accent on the NCIS show. It sounds painful. I'm from NC, which isn't LA for sure, but still, I think Trineer pulled off a Southern accent much better than I've seen Bakula do it.

As for Trip's accent, I see it as Berman & Braga seeking to evoke McCoy as they wanted to give the fans a Spock-Kirk-McCoy trinity with T'Pol-Archer-Trip.

 

[Lucky]

I thought the writing for his character could be flawed at times, but I thought Bakula always did an outstanding job. I think he was the perfect choice for Archer.

 

[Draculasaurus]

Trip and McCoy are the only characters in Star Trek without an accent.

 

[plynch]

He's just too affable, almost dopey, for me.

 

[Damian]

When I first heard that Bakula was going to play the captain I was pleased. I really liked him in Quantum Leap. I did enjoy the pilot a lot, but man, I quickly soured on Bakula's performance. He just came across as stiff and he looked constipated all the time. As mentioned above, it could've been an issue of lack of direction-not from Bakula, but from the creatives in what kind of character Archer should be. From what I read, he was supposed to be more of an Indiana Jones-type, which I felt was the characterization in "Broken Bow" but then they dialed it down, way down after that. Not sure why, because Bakula had more of a pulse in the pilot than he did in other first season episodes I saw.

I only got the character in Season 3, when Dark Archer emerged. In Season 4, when he was dealing with the aftermath of that, I still thought the character was interesting. By Season 4, it was more plot-driven for the most part, and I perhaps had just accepted Archer by then. But overall he's the weakest captain IMO.

I tend to agree. I like Bakula as a person. He has a great attitude. He's appreciative of Star Trek and his part in it, he doesn't have a big head or a bad attitude. And he's just a likable guy. He's got such a great attitude that I wouldn't have even minded a brief cameo in one of the Abrams movies as a proper send off for Bakula since TATV was, well TATV.

But yeah, in the first two seasons his acting was quite a bit stiff a lot of times. It seemed he wasn't totally comfortable and was trying to force things. He got much better during the Xindi arc and he did start to grow on me. Season 4 was much improved. He seemed more relaxed in the role and his easy going personality started showing more. Maybe part of it was the expectation by then that Enterprise was likely to end that season. Maybe he just figured, screw it, he's going to just enjoy his time on the show.