Star Trek Communicator | #139 ::.::.:..

"Reflections on the Maiden Voyage"

by Larry Nemecek and Dan Madsen

 

While he has yet to slate a convention appearance and has made only limited public appearances so far, it's no secret how Scott "Captain Archer" Bakula feels about his new character, crew and franchise – and the care with which he is approaching the whole endeavor. Bakula has already spoken of how, at least for now, he is firmly placing family ahead of the "extra" demands of the role, and his interviews have been few and far between. In a unique move for us, your editor and founder teamed up for a rare two-on-one with Scott during a filming break in his Paramount trailer – decorated with artwork from his children! – as the season wound down last spring.

Scott, with the first season now over, what has been, for you, the key episode for Captain Archer?
I'm not sure if I can put my finger on one episode. I think the Suliban threat has been kind of unraveling over the season, and that's been framing a lot of Archer's behavior. We have been playing that out, and it will obviously get a lot more time in the future. But I think what has been nice about this season, overall, is that there hasn't been a defining moment for Archer yet. It's really been a learning process for everybody. We've taken two steps forward and three steps back, and that's what the show was intending to do. I think that the writers have really done well in laying the character development out slowly.

I keep saying this because I have done the "regular" network show [Quantum Leap, et al.], but the joy of this place is that they get to do what they want to do in their own time. There isn't somebody high up telling them, "We need to know it all right now, because we're not sure if your series is going to be on for very long. You need to tell everybody everything right now!" The joy of Enterprise is that I look at the elements in each of these episodes and I realize that there are new realizations, there is new understanding, there is the continuing growth of my relationship with T'Pol – which has been a big part of the season – and that also includes her understanding of my character. The episode where I came to understand her and the Vulcans more was a big show ["Fusion"]. But that couldn't have happened if it wasn't for the episode before that, where I picked her up and carried her off ["Shadows of P'Jem"]. Actually, the monumental event of the season, for me, was the pilot, and it has just been a learning process for everybody ever since.

Have the writers surprised you in any way with the character of Archer?
We actually talk a lot, so there haven't been a lot of surprises. We have had great communication between the writers and myself about what's coming up. But we were on the same page to start with. It hasn't been that kind of nightmare that you can have on a new series where, all of a sudden, you find out that you're a serial killer or something. You know: "We forgot to tell you that piece of information when we hired you!" (He laughs.) The biggest surprise to me is that hey haven't forced me to give Archer all away. They have let me have my say in each script and the let me approach each script with my ideas. They never once called up and said, "This is how we want you to do this episode."

Do you have a lot of input into each story?
Well, I'm not in creative story meetings, or anything like that. But, when the script comes out, they definitely want to hear how I feel about it, or if I have a problem with it. You can interpret a scene 20 different ways. I have made some choices that have surprised them at times, hopefully in a good way, and vice versa. But the episode we are shooting now, which takes place on Risa ["Two Days and Two Nights"] – originally I was going to show up and get laid. That was a big thing you know: "It's time for the captain to be intimate!" You know, we have to make sure that the ghost of Captain Kirk, or the pre-ghost, is served! But as this script evolved, that part went away. Ultimately, the script is much more interesting. That just becomes one journey: I'll meet an attractive woman, stay a couple of days and then they have to say good-bye. They got rid of that. There is an attractive woman still, but they got rid of all that other stuff and added new [Suliban] things and made it much more dense. It has a nice flow to it now, and I'm happy with the changes.

Tell us about your old Quantum Leap pal, Dean Stockwell, and how he was brought on the show.
Well, he's playing a character that they can definitely bring back in another episode. We're dealing with the Tandarins already and we didn't kill him off, so he could definitely come back. It was fantastic – we just had a ball!

Actually, Brannon Braga just called me and said, "We've got a great episode coming up with a great part and it is all scenes with you. We would love Dean to do it." It was the first time we have worked together since Quantum Leap. Being with him again was really great. Dean and I have always had a relationship and energy that is kind of infections, and we just slipped right back into that. Everybody was excited that he was there – not just because of Quantum Leap, but also because of who he is. When Dean shows up on any movie set it is a big deal, because he's such a big actor. He's got a lot of feathers in his hat.

Did you enjoy doing the physical work on the show? It seems Archer gets beat up in almost every episode!
(He laughs.) Yeah, I do enjoy that. They wanted the show to be more physical and more action-based, and I know that the studio wanted that. They are really the ones that have been pushing it, more than Brannon and Rick. But I like doing it. It's a nice change of pace. I love it because each episode is different, and it gives them a different flow. You can go through and single out things that captivate you as an actor in each episode – things that grab you. That's what keeps it interesting when you are doing a long-running series – things you can't wait to get into. It can be something inconsequential or it can just be a great scene you want to do.

Looking back on the season, what has been the most "alien" aspect for you in playing Archer?
I think probably the notion of command, and that – as others have said many times – it's lonely at the top. Even though as close as Archer is to Trip, I think there is that notion that he is basically out there having to be separate, to a certain extent. That's not my nature. I am a team person – I like team sports, I like the whole nature of show business as a team working together to create something. So there is that little something of having to be separate, which is probably the most alien thing for me to play. I think that that may be part of Archer's nature anyway. I'm not sure if he's an only child or not, but he strikes me as someone who has spent a lot of time living, working and watching his dad – and not necessarily having a lot of friends. He maybe did the sports things growing up, but I think he has always been somewhat of a guy on his own – not a loner, but something like that. And that's just not my nature. You could say he was one of those people who were groomed for command. Those guys who are commanding nuclear submarines today and have all that responsibility are different from many of us. They have to be. These guys who are running aircraft carriers and battleships who go all over the world – they just have a different quality to them.

Has there been any attempt to really explain Archer's backstory in a little more depth?
There was a recent episode in which Archer is quoting a poem where he says something like, "I went  out into the field by myself," and so on. You can play those words in any way you want, but I am always looking for ways to build the character. I have done several of these sci-fi shows, and you want the fans to be with you and make the journey and ask the question, "What does that mean? "That's all part of the joy of doing this kind of franchise – not just Star Trek, but science fiction in general. I always try and invest things with hidden meanings and ask myself, "How will it play out?" I like the ambiguity of the moment. I give them something and hope that the viewers will say, "I wonder what that means?" That's happened a couple of times this season and we’ll see where they go with it.

We know you did the PSRs for the U.S.S. Enterprise aircraft carrier last fall, and there were several sailors that visited the set and had cameo roles this spring. Is that connection to the Navy through the producers, or someone else?
My understanding is that they have had that connection all along, just because of the U.S.S. Enterprise. It has blossomed, though, because of September 11. There has been this desire from the "stay-at-home" folks to get the message out to all the kids and men and women who are out there. There has already been a connection developed there, but I am now developing one as well – especially with the U.S.S. Enterprise. Having those sailors here was really fantastic as well.

How important is continuity to you? As you know, Star Trek fans are famous for demanding continuity between the various Star Trek series.
I think all bets are off. My thing all year long has been, "Please try not to pay attention to that stuff. " Why do we have to do it that way? You know, some would say the doors are supposed to close on their own. Well, I say, "Why?" Let's punch the buttons on the doors and make the doors open and close. All that is stuff that I know fans are following where they say, "Hey, he's not supposed to punch that button, that's not right." I know all about that, but again, that's the fun stuff we can play with. That's the partnership that we have with the fans.

Where do you think Archer's mistrust of the Vulcans comes from?
I think that it's primarily the relationship his father had with them. I think Archer sat at the dinner table with his father every night and heard him say, "We can accomplish this but we can't do it because the Vulcans are holding us back." And he watched his father's frustration and anger as a kid. His father was everything to him. He grew up and formed his own opinions, and they were not very good ones. I think what's been fantastic about this first year is that we're portraying the Vulcans in a very different light than they have ever been portrayed before. Now, what my sense is telling me is that the fans are totally digging that. I'm not even sure that the writers knew that this is the route they were going to take, but Archer's distrust of them kind of created these other opportunities – this notion that they are looking over our shoulder.

The P'Jem events ["The Andorian Incident"] were beautifully done as well, and then me getting scolded back in the office later on, with the Vulcans saying, "They've only been out here a few months and they're turning this whole corner of the universe upside down!" – that is great stuff. I love that we are not sure of the Vulcans right now. It gives them [the writers] somewhere to go, which has always been the great dilemma of writing for the Vulcans. The best Vulcan, Spock, was written in the '60s, because he was a mix [of human and Vulcan]. And he had all that great stuff to play with, and he got teased, and everyone on the crew could work with him – all that back on the original Star Trek was beautifully done. So now, what do we do? I think we're seeing some brilliant stuff this year with regard to the Vulcans.

What is up with the sexual tension between T'Pol and Archer?
Actually, I think that that is the classic "perception" thing in that the audience is seeing what they want to see. I don't see it. To me, It makes no sense. I think it makes more sense for someone like, say, Dominic's character, when they were trapped in "Shuttlepod One" and he is fantasizing about her.
That works. I don't see that between T'Pol and my character. It is interesting, though, because I get asked about it all the time. My standard answer is: She is an officer on Archer's ship and that's that. We even have a line in one of the episodes where we talk about fraternizing, and all the rules, and T'Pol is telling us, "I know you are not allowed to fraternize among your crew." I just don't see anything between T'Pol and Archer. I don't know the other series that well, but fans keep asking me, so I am assuming that people have been sleeping together on other shows like Voyager and Deep Space Nine!

Can you speak briefly about your feelings regarding Archer and each of his crew, and how they have been developing over the course of the season?
Sure. There has been a close chemistry with Trip and that has only gotten better, I think; there are still episodes to plumb about their friendship. We have a lot of things to find with that history. I think that T'Pol's relationship is growing nicely. It's gotten comfortable to a certain extent; I think it can always turn in a second, and she can bug me. I know the writers don't want to lose that – they think that's great. The relationship with the doctor is fantastic – I can't wait to do more scenes with John Billingsley. "Dear Doctor" was just outstanding. Dominic's character is great, too. I don't think Archer knows him that well; he's a littler bit quicker on the trigger than Archer would like him to be. He is certainly good at his job and Archer appreciates that. Travis Mayweather is just a kid. But Travis is the guy who will run into the wall for you – which you like to have. There is still a lot to do with Anthony – he is so likeable and has a great personality. Linda Park, like Anthony, has so much we can still do with her. There have been some nice glimpses of her character, and the episode we're filing now ["Two Days and Two Nights" in which studious Hoshi has an amorous weekend] will knock people's socks off with regard to her.

The water polo ball that is seen from time to time – is that your idea and your sport?
No, one of Rick's son's friends is a water polo player and that's how it got added. We've now had references to lacrosse and water polo on the show.

Scott, in conclusion, is there something you have come away with from this show that you didn't know about Star Trek before you began?
I think you get caught up in it pretty quickly. There is a weight to it that you don't really get from the outside, but when you get into it, you discover the lore, the characters and the other actors who have come through this way. Having The Next Generation movie shooting at the same time here on the lot, and the TNG cast wandering through our sets, and meeting Patrick [Stewart], was amazing.
I have now met them all. Patrick and I chatted for a little bit, but you could tell that there was already this kind of established relationship. There is a quality about this franchise has that makes you feel good about it. In an odd way, especially with what happened on September 11^th – and not to make this show more important that it is – but the notion that we are putting out this positive image of humanity 150 years from now at a time when the worst parts of mankind have come to the surface, and one of the worst catastrophes that we could imagine in this country, has been uplifting. It's been interesting to be involved in a series that's about putting the good parts of humanity out into the universe. That's whole positive message of Gene Roddenberry's that Rick and Brannon have carried on is amazing. I think they have done a phenomenal job of keeping Roddenberry's dream and keeping it fresh. I think the show feels fresh!




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The Captain and the Toy

by Jim Brumbaugh

 

It seems inevitable that every captain on a Star Trek television show will eventually become immortalized in plastic. Now that it's Captain Archer's turn, Scott Bakula share some of his thoughts on the subject during the annual Toy Fair trade show.

"It's crazy.  It's not something you ever think about, like it's going to you," he confesses, gazing at his prototype likeness from Art Asylum. "But I never thought I'd be a captain on a starship either, so..." Now that Bakula's alter ego will be portrayed as an action figure, it's uncertain as to whether or not he and his family will become collectors. "I haven't - I traditionally don't, [but] I'm certainly going to go out and look at them," he said of the new collectibles. "I imagine my kids will start getting into it more, now that they have the figures to play with and have. It will be interesting to see their reaction, really, because I have different-aged kids. My daughter is 17 - I don't imagine she'll go out and start - but I have three boys, ages 11, 6 and 2, so they're going to be heavy into it.

And what about the new Gentle Giant scanning process that created such an accurate representation of the actor? "It's bizarre," he confides. "I'm sure, somewhere, they'll be able to replicate me now. If they ever have that ability, they'll have all the dimensions.!"