Scott Bakula calls this new role as SCOTT BAKULA Personal: “Born Oct. 9, 1954, in St. Louis. Married to Krista Neumann, 1981-95: one daughter, Chelsea, 17; one ‘son; Cody, 10. Current companion of Chelsea Field: twosons, Wil. 5, and Owen, 2. Television: Includes /Man, 1986; Designing Women, 1986- 88; Gung Ho, 1986-87; Quantum Leap, 1989-93; Murphy Brown, 1993-96; NetForce, 1999; MeanStreak, 1999; ie the People, 2000: What Girls Learn, 2001; Enterprise, 2001 Romance, 1988. dream assignment. “It’s a longterm commitment,” says Bakula. “And I'm still allowed to do other projects.” How does he get along with the producers and the writers? “They listen to me," he says. “The writers are ver: Trek and its various sequels have been among the most enduring franchises in TVhistory. And even before this latest incamationofStarTrek. titled Enterprise, began its first conscientious guys.” Throughhis own BPI Productions, he starred with Elizabeth Perkins ina TV movie for Showtime called What Girls Learn, season on UPNthis fall. I got to talk withits star, Scott Bakula, Howdid Bakula, as “Capt. Jonathan Archer,” andtherestofthe which aired last month. He also starred in the film Role of a Lifetime, a cast and crewfeel about their voy- age andtheirvehicle? “It’s an exciting showthat has a sensuality “There's a lot of excitement on the set. [wasn'ta Trekkie myself at first, but then in the early "70s t hooked whenI wasincollege. We'd all get togetherin our dormroom and watch.” Asaprequel, Enterprise takes placein an earlier era of space travel. So, s the sci fi hardware less high-tech, more primitive than on Star Trek? “Thetelevision technology is more advanced,” said Bakula. Theater: aa Enterprise a HE ORIGINAL STAR Include Sibling Rivalry.1990; Necessary Roughness, 1991; Cats Don't Dance(voice), “But the ship is muchsmaller and 1997; American has a submarinefeeltoit. So much Beauty, 1999; Lurminarias, so that [the producers] went to San 2000;Life as Diegoand spenttime on a sub. House, 2001 The hardware is more hands-on, We'te talking less to computers, Includes Marilyn: andthere’s morepulling oflevers. An American Fable, 1983; Captain Archer on I think the audienceis going to feel, since this is set not that far intothe future,that there’s more a contemporary love story set in London, “It’s completed, and now we're sense ofthe possible. It’s wagon train time,like the Old West, and much closerto the essence of Roddenberry [Gene Roddenberry, whocreatedthe showbackin the *60s). We're notin leotards butin jumpsuits madeofcotton and with pockets.” Then Bakula added witha laugh: “We're thefirst Star Trek crew ever to have pockets.” Bakula(the name is Czech Bohemian) appearedinthe 1999 Oscar-winning film American Beauty. “From day one, when I first read the script of American Beauty, | wanted tobe a part of it,” he said. “Obviously it wasn’t everyone's cupoftea, but it was about what's going on behind the Captain Kirk, Captain Picard, Captain Janeway—and now Captain Archer. Scott Bakula, as Archer, takes us inside the new Star Trek series, Enterprise. closed doors of America.” He also wasin the film Life as a House with KevinKline,released last month, but Bakula maybe best known forhis 4'/: years on TV in QuantumLeap,a sci-fi series that earned him four Emmy nominations as Best Actor and wonhim a Golden Globe. He and Chelsea Field—his ate,” as he calls her—live in Los Angeles with four children between them. Are the kids Trekkies? “The 5-year-old and 2-year-old are too young,” said Bakula, “and my 17-year-old looking for a buyer,” he says. There’s yet another facet to Bakula’s talent: The guy cansing, which he has done at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, the Kennedy Center—and even as the voice of “Danny the Cat" ina Warner Bros, animated musical, Cats Don't Dance. daughteris a Star Wars and XFiles fan, but my 10-year-old son will lovethis. PAGE 18 NOVEMBER 25, 2001 - PARADE MAGAZINE