Bakula Talks To Fans And Press

Scott Bakula (Jonathan Archer) continued promoting Enterprise this week, focusing not only on large mass media organisations, but also taking the time out to talk to his already established fanbase. Below you will find information on recent and upcoming articles about the Enterprise lead actor:

• While Bakula will soon be embraced by Trek fandom, he's not forgotten his original Quantum Leap fans, and wrote them a personal letter explaining why he joined another science-fiction franchise.

  "For eight years I’ve had it on my resume," the actor wrote in the letter, which has been published at Project Quantum Leap. "[Right] there under 'Specialties,' right after ping pong... ready and able to Leap... but alas, no takers. I had virtually given up hope when out of the blue, two old friends ([Paramount's Kerry McCluggage and Garry Hart], remember them??) made me an offer I suppose I could have refused, but hey, when you get right down to it, I mean scientifically speaking, how much difference is there between 'Leaping' and 'transporting' (assuming we get it working right...)."

  When he looked at the actual concept for the show, Bakula decided to 'leap' in. "Feeling this was probably the closest I would get to fulfilling the void left by Q.L., I met with Mr. Berman and Mr. Braga, and finding them to be accessible, dedicated, easy-going gentlemen; finding the character, J.A., to be challenging, emotional, loyal, and brash; and finding the pilot script to be delightful, intricate, rich, spooky, and full of promise, I thought: 'well, what the heck, might as well take the...; Of course, you know the rest!"

  Bakula ended by inviting his Quantum Leap fans to join him for his new series. "Will you get on board and make the journey with me? I hope so! All you need to know is that the year is 2151 and you’ll be flying with the first Captain on the first Starship and I promise to take good care of you! See you out there!"

  For more from Bakula, please read the original letter as published at Project Quantum Leap.

• Moving on from the casting process, Bakula spoke to TV Guide about his first day on the Enterprise set.

  "You definitely felt like there was an energy," he told the magazine's Michael Ausiello. "Everyone's just standing around to see how everybody would react to being on the bridge, kind of vibing that thing out. And everybody waited to see when I was going to sit in the chair and if I was going to sit in the chair... There was a whole thing going on."

  "It's kind of bizarre," he said, "knowing that you're going in with all of this history. It also feels good, because we're not following - we're the first. It just feels fresh. We're kind of discovering something each day."

  In the full interview, Bakula commented on William Shatner (James T. Kirk), the similarities between his character and Kirk, and being the first starship captain.

• Bakula made a short appearance on UPN News in New York yesterday, speaking about the sense of discovery that Enterprise will contain. "It's not going to be like 'there's another, seen that, been to that planet 4 times," the actor said, while shots of NASA exploration and astronaut John Glenn were shown. "The idea is to keep it wide eyed. [It's] the last frontier and we're the explorers and we're, you know, the right stuff, we're those guys."

  A full transcript of the newscast has been posted here on the discussion board of Scott Bakula Appearances & News.

• Finally, more chances for American fans to see and hear Bakula speak will come over the coming months, as the star embarks on a publicity tour for both Enterprise and his upcoming Showtime film, 'What Girls Learn.' According to Project Quantum Leap, Bakula will appear on the following shows:
  • Monday, September 24 - CBS's The Early Show
    
  • Monday, Sep 24 or Tuesday, Sep 25 - Comedy Central's The Daily Show
    
  • Tuesday, October 2 - CBS's The Late Late Show
    
  • Friday October 12 - ABC's The View

  In addition, TV Guide will also feature Bakula on the cover of their August 27 issue, releasing two separate covers.

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