Canadian TV Guide | May 18-24, 2002 ::.::.:..

Celebrity Chef

18th - 24th May 2002

by Barbara Binstein 

Food Fit for A Captain

One giant step for man, another quantum leap for Scott Bakula. The former time traveller recently landed in the well-warmed Captain's chair of the starship Enterprise (Wednesday, Citytv/UPN, Sunday, Space).

As seeing every Trekker has their favourite Captain, Bakula has some big britches to fill but he is very comfortable in Capt. Jonathan Archer's threads. "[The uniforms are] very cool - they're kind of jumpsuity, but with pockets," says Bakula, adding that when Jonathan Frakes [Cmdr. Riker, Star Trek: The Next Generation] saw the outfits he was jealous because they had pockets and a zipper, unlike those worn on TNG. "We have those things [on Enterprise] so we're feeling pretty cosy in them. But they're not leotards, which is great. Again, that's another idea of bringing it closer to today, as opposed to the futuristic thing," he says.

According to Bakula, Archer is most like Kirk, a hundred years before there was Kirk. "He's also bold and brash, not afraid to buck authority... not afraid to say what he thinks."

Bakula warns, however, that although Archer resembles Kirk, he must be careful not to adopt too much of Kirk's knowledge when playing the new captain. "Since [the characters on Enterprise] are the first pioneers going into space and [the cast is] so familiar with what Star Trek has been, we have to unlearn all that and start from scratch."

The St. Louis, Mo.-born Bakula doesn't have to travel far when it comes to refuelling. In fact, he only has to venture into his own backyard to fire up barbecue. "I've just been getting into some great barbeque ribs lately and homemade barbeque sauce. It's my sister's secret sauce."  He would only reveal that "it's a marinade.  I just made some chicken fajitas last night for an engagement party. I've made them a few times."