LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Friday (May 11), the morning after his casting had been announced, Scott Bakula (pronounced "BACK-you-la" ) strolled around the sets for "Star Trek: Enterprise" with a couple of old pals -- Paramount Television Group chairman Kerry McCluggage and Paramount Network TV president Garry Hart, who he's known since he worked on "Quantum Leap."
"We go a long way back," says Bakula. "It felt great. Of course, it's interesting starting a new series with them after 13 years. The last time I started a new series for them, I was looking for change."
Not to mention, he was but a child. "That would be nice," says Bakula with a laugh. "Do the math. It feels good, and boy, they're nice people there. They've made me feel very welcome. They're all very appreciative of me. Now let's go make the darn thing."
While the details of the fifth "Trek" spin-off are being kept under wraps -- likely until UPN presents it schedule to advertisers next Thursday (for that matter, the official announcement of UPN as the show's home has not been made yet) -- the studio has shared a bit of information about Bakula's character, Capt. Jonathan Archer. He's described as "physical and intensely curious captain with a bold personality" and a "bit of a renegade" in the Capt. James T. Kirk vein.
One thing that remains secret is his middle name, but Bakula has an idea. In "Quantum Leap," he played Dr. Sam Beckett, a scientist who traveled through time by "leaping" into the bodies of different people.
"The best way to please everybody would be to make my middle name Beckett and just let everybody put it together. I threw it out there. It wasn't met with a lot of response. It's a possibility. It would certainly get people to talking. Who more logical, right? You would think that's where the Beckett genes would land, at some point."
Bakula respects the studio's secrecy mandate ("They'd shoot me," he says), but he does reveal that he's not displeased with Archer's uniform. "I have had fittings. I look like a guy in a uniform. I look pretty darn good."
One thing that's certain is that "Enterprise" will not be set at Starfleet Academy, a "teens in space" premise that has outlived frequent and vigorous denials by "Trek" executive producer Rick Berman.
"That wouldn't be me," says Bakula. "Casting me kind of blew that idea out of the water."
Does he think that his "Quantum Leap" fans, called "Leapers," and the more-established "Trekkers" can all get along? "Oh, I don't think there'll be a problem. I have been greeted by people all over the country already with a lot of elation and excitement. We're already getting faxes from Leapers around the planet, who are excited."
"Hopefully they can put aside the roles and just be happy to see me once a week again."
What about a guest appearance by Bakula's "Quantum Leap" co-star, Dean Stockwell?
"I thought about that," says Bakula. "Wouldn't that be fun?"
