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Bakula Talks the Modernizing of STAR TREK for 'Sophisticated' Fans

PROMENADE

Posted: 18:37:51 on May 04 2003
By: AntonyF
Dept: Enterprise | stenterprise.com

Scott Bakula ('Archer') has spoken about the modern approach with ENTERPRISE, and how the show's creators have dealt with it in relation to the original series.

In particular, he addressed Enterprise's design and the show's approach to counteract the "visual sophistication" of the ship. "We are still pushing buttons, the doors aren't opening at our voice commands," he said. "We have a lot of computer technology and other wonderful technology, but the ship doesn't work perfectly. It's still a ship that has to be flown, it has to be manoeuvred by hand, and we're not just sitting around talking and having the ship run itself. ... We've tried to make the ship seem smaller, we've made my ready room more cramped and smaller than the original ship, and those kind of things are all a homage to Roddenberry and what he created.

Bakula said he was also pleased that the stories weren't undermining the original series either. "Rick [Berman] and Brannon [Braga] are so good about paying attention, and so careful about what has gone before. Obviously they've had to mess with it somewhat, but overall they bend over backwards to keep the faith and not disrupt the fans' sense of the overall scheme of the STAR TREK world. I think because of that, the fans have been okay, they were suddenly not jarred into thinking this can't be, that's wrong.

"There have been a couple of little things that have gotten people excited, edgy kinds of choices in terms of timelines and things, but they haven't violated things and I think the fans appreciated that... they're smart about it, and I think that this is stuff that the fans love. At the end of the day, they love it. People are loving the Andorians and things that they haven't seen and haven't met since the original series�it's fun to see them again."

The full interview can be found in issue 104 of Star Trek Monthly.

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Season Two (2002-2003)

Prod #	Title	Airdate
128	Shockwave, Part II	9/18/02
127	Carbon Creek	9/25/02
129	Minefield	10/02/02
131	Dead Stop	10/09/02
130	A Night In Sickbay	10/16/02
132	Marauders	10/30/02
133	The Seventh	11/06/02
134	The Communicator	11/13/02
135	Singularity	11/20/02
136	Vanishing Point	11/27/02
137	Precious Cargo	12/11/02
138	The Catwalk	12/18/02

139	Dawn	1/08/03
140	Stigma	2/05/03
141	Cease Fire	2/12/03
142	Future Tense	2/19/03
143	Canamar	2/26/03
144	The Crossing	4/2/03
145	Judgment	4/9/03
146	Horizon	4/16/03
147	The Breach	4/23/03
148	Cogenitor	4/30/03

149	Regeneration	5/7/03
150	First Flight	5/14/03
151	Bounty	5/14/03
152	The Expanse	5/21/03
Season One (2001-2002)

TREKWEB TALKBACK
(18 comments)

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Sophisticated Fans??
By Cinepixel ( cinepixel@mail.ev1.net) at 14:27:32 on May 08 2003
URL: | User Info

Where are these sophisticated fans?

Heh! Yeah, like the ones who tune in just to see T'Pol's catsuit.

That's some sophistication, let me tell ya! LMAO

Cinepixel

---

"See this? This is my BOOMSTICK!!!"
Ash from ARMY OF DARKNESS

[ Reply to This | Parent Comment ]

RE: Sophisticated Fans?? by Aussie @ 08:15:38 ET on 9 May

Bakula has a point
By Grand Admiral Thrawn ( ) at 06:16:21 on May 07 2003
URL: | User Info

The show definetely is less sophisticated than previous modern trek shows. The ships looks clunky, the bridge and general technology looks even older than what we currently have in modern naval ships. FX most of the time look fake as they rely overly on cgi as compared to mix-max real models with cgi. The ship crew and the captain himself mostly sound like either rednecks(Trip..he is the chief engineer ya know over the yonder) or bumbling fools like the Captain or plain pussy cats everyone can mostly beat the heck out of them in personal combat or ship to ship.
Ya man...make the show click else its 'hasta la vista baby' for you soon

---

Please visit my new message board @ www.scifoasis.com/forum

[ Reply to This | Parent Comment ]

Bakula is not the problem
By bingobaby ( madpoet@operamail.com) at 10:29:44 on May 06 2003
URL: | User Info

Just my 2 cents: regardless of what Bakula thinks and says, the first season of Enterprise was good, so he's not the problem. The fact that John Shiban joined the writing team is. He's responsible for the lowest rated X Files eps. and to my knowledge hasn't written a good episode ever. Ask any X Files fan what they think of him. Bad writing is always the undoing of a tv series, there's not much actors can do if the scripts are dull, repetitive, don't respect continuity, etc. I'd be sorry to see Enterprise go as it used to be a really great show :(

[ Reply to This | Parent Comment ]

the reality Mr. Bakula is right here
By Eke ( ) at 10:06:48 on May 05 2003
URL: www.sillyhood.com | User Info

maybe someone should point Mr. Bakula to some of the webboards discussing ENT episodes...

wake up and smell the humus. B&B are the reason for low ratings.
even badly acted but well written shows would result in 10 times better ratings.
mind you, the acting isnt that bad on ENT, imho, apart from Blalok, who should go try Baywatch instead.

Eke.

[ Reply to This | Parent Comment ]

Hey, Bakula...
By Jadziamidala ( ) at 22:35:00 on May 04 2003
URL: | User Info

I have a better idea. How about, BOOBYPRIZE NEVER HAPPENED!!! >:(

---

"Who is the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?"

[ Reply to This | Parent Comment ]

Sophisticated????????!!!!!!!!!!!
By Jadziamidala ( ) at 22:25:19 on May 04 2003
URL: | User Info

Yeah, sure. That's why we have garbage like Boobyprize and Voyajerk polluting the airwaves.

---

"Who is the more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows him?"

[ Reply to This | Parent Comment ]

RE: Ummm Ok Scott.. by Scorned @ 22:45:04 ET on 4 May

RE: Ummm Ok Scott.. by Jadziamidala @ 07:13:00 ET on 5 May

RE: Ummm Ok Scott.. by Corran_Horn @ 22:38:36 ET on 5 May

Rotten world.
By Hbasm ( ) at 21:02:00 on May 04 2003
URL: http://home3.inet.tele.dk/huas/st_enterprise/ENT-page1.htm | User Info

I remember he said last season that he would be personally dissapointed if the ratings didn't get a lift in season 2.

I guess he must be dissapointed by now. I somehow hear him say, he realised this is just another ST series to the fans. We get "a little bit excited" when we think the continuity of the series suffer, and we're "having fun" when we see the old species from TOS again. That's true, and for a lot of people, this is all there is to it. With the exception of those who have a passion for the show. For the rest, he jumps around all day, just to hear us babble about how it's all going to be cancelled.

This is sad. I enjoy Enterprise. I really do. The world is just rotten.

[ Reply to This | Parent Comment ]

Scott Likes To Push Buttons
By LarenRo ( ) at 20:17:16 on May 04 2003
URL: | User Info

�It's still a ship that has to be flown, it has to be maneuvered by hand, and we're not just sitting around talking and having the ship run itself.... We've tried to make the ship seem smaller, we've made my ready room more cramped and smaller than the original ship, and those kind of things are all a homage to Roddenberry and what he created.�

Scott has never watched the other Star Trek series.

If so, how could he make a comment implying that the other series are 'sitting around letting the ship run itself' - LaForge and Torres were always busy - and Data and Paris certainly didn't 'talk the ship' around the Galaxy.

It's amusing really, as if pushing a few more buttons and having a few more manual controls somehow truly makes the series better. Enterprise is not a flight simulator which is catering to airplane pilot wannabees and flying geeks.

So, Scott, let's get the stories to say more, be more and try more. The props are great, but it's all very surface stuff. I want to see stories which speak to us and put the characters you and your fellow castmembers inhabit through some real paces.

Scott, pay more attention to pushing our buttons, and let the prop guys worry about the other stuff.

---

Laren Ro

[ Reply to This | Parent Comment ]

Oh Scott... stop it!
By Deslok ( hammond_ecks@hotmail.com) at 19:06:27 on May 04 2003
URL: http://40eridani.bravepages.com/welcome.html | User Info

"Obviously we had to admit that we couldn't got to a 150-year pre-version of the communicator, okay?" he told Star Trek Monthly. "Because everybody has got flip phones that are the size of a quarter. You can't back up the technology that much. ANd if we backed it up technologically, we'd be shooting 1950s B-movies again with the ships on strips. The audience is too sophisticated now."

This is really lazy thinking on their part. I think that there is a substantial difference between a cel-phone and a SUB-SPACE RADIO! The field radios from wars of the past were the precursors of the cel-phones and they were quite bulky. However, I do like seeing the TOS style communicators and hearing the sound effects. I would have expected the communicators to be a little smaller than a TOS tricorder.

Bakula said he was also pleased that the stories weren't undermining the original series either. "Rick [Berman] and Brannon [Braga] are so good about paying attention, and so careful about what has gone before. Obviously they've had to mess with it somewhat, but overall they bend over backwards to keep the faith and not disrupt the fans' sense of the overall scheme of the STAR TREK world. I think because of that, the fans have been okay, they were suddenly not jarred into thinking this can't be, that's wrong

WHAT?!?! Does Bakula even know anything about Star Trek? And why should B&B have to bend over backwards to keep the overall scheme of the Star Trek world. I don't have to bend over backward to know what fits and what doesn't, and I'm not being paid to write the show.

People who have watched the show for years and know what's going on have been upset to varying degrees. This release by Mr. Bakula is simply more damage control, and it's ill timed. They really need to have a little more courage and let the show speak for itself. ENTERPRISE has actually shown a little improvement lately.

Most Star Trek fans are quite sophisticated, with the exception of those who find absolutely nothing wrong with the show. There are many different types of sophistication in the world. From a writerly standpoint, I think that B&B's handling of ENTERPRISE has been anything but sophisticated, especially given the fact that they've both worked on Star Trek series before.

And actually, I find it hard to accept that the NX-01 has to be flown by hand when planes exist that practically fly themselves. The vocal computer technology exists right now too, as do pocket bay doors that can seal themselves.

Berman and Braga simply didn't spend enough time thinking through their approach to creating ENTERPRISE. It really could have been (and should have been) an excellent show from the start.

---

Know Future = no future

[ Reply to This | Parent Comment ]

Just a small contridiction... by AX @ 14:37:54 ET on 5 May

RE: Just a small contridiction... by Deslok @ 09:41:49 ET on 6 May

RE: Just a small contridiction... by AX @ 14:15:10 ET on 7 May

RE: Oh Scott... stop it! by LockAndLoad @ 19:45:32 ET on 4 May
RE: Oh Scott... stop it! by Deslok @ 19:13:55 ET on 4 May