Bakula Talks Trekking, Leaping, and Life After

Scott Bakula (Captain Archer) chatted at the BBC on Monday about Star Trek: Enterprise, Quantum Leap and his other roles, telling fans that he knew of no plans to resurrect either of the series for which he is best known.

At BBC News, Bakula answered questions for Star Trek's 40th anniversary, calling himself a fan of William Shatner (Captain Kirk) and saying that the Star Trek fans have treated him very well.

"The character wasn't based on anyone in particular," Bakula said of Archer. "The opportunity to be the first captain outweighed everything." His feelings upon learning of the show's cancellation were of "great disappointment", he added: "I felt that we were really hitting our stride as a show and that we were poised to make a greater impact on the franchise."

Offered an opportunity to express unhappiness with series finale "These Are the Voyages...", Bakula said that he believed the fact that it was the last episode was the principal cause of regret, not the script itself. "You are being cancelled... so that overshadows everything," he said. "It was a pleasure to have Jonathan [Frakes (Riker)] and Marina [Sirtis (Troi)] on set. They were very positive and very supportive of our series."

Bakula said that he was not worried about being typecast after being successful in two science fiction series. "Captain Archer read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (in French) and Time Machine by H.G. Wells, to name a few," he noted. "When I have the time, I like to read the sports page!" He cited his stage work and movie roles as evidence of his diverse career and said he would like to do a musical in London's West End.

Asked whether he believed the Star Trek franchise was having a mid-life crisis at 40, Bakula said he believed the franchise was important enough to Paramount that it would not be allowed to die of old age. As for his own future fate, asked whether he would like his ashes blasted into orbit like those of James Doohan (Scotty), Bakula replied, "I haven't really thought about where to scatter my ashes, when the time comes, but I doubt that it would be in space."

The full Q&A is here.

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