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Bakula Excited To Explore Archer's Character

By Caillan
December 19, 2001 - 7:12 AM

The crew of the Enterprise NX-01 are excitedly exploring the universe, but Scott Bakula is enjoying just getting to know his character, Captain Jonathan Archer.

"There are many unknowns about him," Bakula said in the December issue of Starlog magazine (via the Scott Bakula Fan Forum). "We keep discovering them as the show evolves as we decide how we're going to approach these different encounters and experiences, because the natural instinct for the writers has been to approach them as they've done in the past. But there's a different spin on this show, because there's no Federation. There's just a different weight to the project."

The actor has had many conversations with Enterprise's creators about the issue of exploration. "When I talk to Rick [Berman] and Brannon [Braga] about it, their caution continues to be, 'Let's not get too weighed down by the seriousness of our reality.' There is a weight that comes with being the first people out there, and the first people representing humanity in the universe. What I'm excited to explore, each episode, is how Archer will deal with that weight. It's sometimes going to be fun and exciting, but it's also going to be dangerous. Each episode presents different challenges for Archer and, so far, that's what has made it very interesting for me to come to work every day."

Every line in the series must be delivered as scripted, according to Bakula. "The pen is mightier than the sword. But you know what, I respect that. I have to say, in the beginning, it was 'OK, it was "back" instead of "backs."' There was so much going on then, that it was just an extra little thing to factor in the specificity of the dialogue. But I've taken it as a challenge."

Executive producers Rick Berman and Brannon Braga are very open to feedback from the cast. "I respect Rick and Brannon," Bakula said. "If I haven't agreed with something that's on the page, I've picked up the phone and said 'I don't know why I'm saying this' or 'Could you explain this?' or 'That doesn't feel right to me.' And they've been tremendous about that. That's maybe the other side of the coin that people don't talk about. Rick and Brannon are very open to hearing what you're thinking. But once it's down on paper and everyone says 'OK,' they want to hear the words they write."

The full interview with Bakula, in which he also talked about the Trek franchise and fan reaction to T'Pol, can be found in the December issue of Starlog magazine, available for online ordering. Alternatively, scans from the article can be found here at the Scott Bakula Fan Forum. Thanks to Trudy and Bakula News for this!

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