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Other Choices for Captain Archer?

RookieBatman

RookieBatman

Commodore
Commodore
I was watching a YouTube video of Scott Bakula on the Late Late Show right after Enterprise first came out, and Craig Kilborn asks him who he beat for the roll, and that starts listing off a bunch of names from a cue card. Based on the context, the assumption would be that these were people considered for the role of Archer (except the last one, which was obviously a joke). The list was...


  • Timothy Dalton
  • Robert Urich
  • Brian Benben
  • Richard Dean Anderson
  • Emeril
Now, the first three could've all been interesting choices, but Anderson seems iffy since he was already doing Stargate, and Emeril was clearly a joke, which begs the question of whether the whole list was just idle chatter. Has anyone else heard anything along these lines?
 
I think Scott did a good job on the show. He did grow into the role -- as Archer would have had to do.

As for the list: Anderson is the only one I can even imagine playing Archer.

Other possibilities:
Connor Trinneer
Mark Harmon
Nathan Fillion
Joe Flanigan
Gillian Anderson
Jeri Ryan
 
I thought Scott Bakula was a great Archer. Besides, the lists you guys give means that Firefly (Nathan Fillon), Trip in Enterprise (Connor Trinneer), Stargate (Anderson), etc. wouldn't be the same. That doesn't make any sense. I think each one did a great job in their specific show.

I always got the impression Bakula wasn't Berman or Braga's first choice, but Gary Hart thought he'd be perfect and worked out a deal.
 
There was an Actor who was probably either too old or dead, Brian Keith, who would have made one Hell of an Archer. He looked like one tough Captain. confident, capable, no nonsense and daring. woulldn't look for a fight but wouldn't back away from one. also wouldn't second guess himself. Kind of Captain that would inspire confidence and willingness to follow.
 
I'm still not 100% sure Scott was the right actor to play Archer - sometimes wonder if he was cast because of his following with Quantum Leap (in which I thought he was fantastic). But think there was definitely something lacking in his portrayal of Archer and a bit too much over-acting at times! Richard Dean Anderson is a very interesting alternative, Jack O'Neill in the hot seat on Enterprise - might have worked although then we wouldn't have had that fantastic character in SG-1.

Connor was just so Trip that I can't imagine another actor playing that part so wouldn't really have wanted him to be anything else. And also think he might have been too young for the role. How about a Brit, Dominic Keating?
 
I think everyone here has overlooked Vaughn Armstrong (Admiral Forrest) who I've always felt, even before 'In A Mirror Darkly,' would have made a terrifically strong captain - no matter the character. That man can act.

Failing that, Keith Carradine, or even Gary Cole (as long as he doesn't ask for TPS reports - then again, maybe especially if he asks for TPS reports. :lol:)

My love for Bakula evaporated circa season two, and I've never been able to look at him the same way since the gazelle speech...
 
In the show's bible, Archer is described as:

Early 40s. Physical. Intensely curious. Unlike the Starfleet Captains in centuries to come, he exhibits a sense of wonder and excitement, as well as a little trepidation about the strange things he will encounter. Although he has a strong sense of duty, he's a bit of a renegade--he's not afraid to question orders or even disobey them, if he feels in his gut that he's right.
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Some of these suggested actors might fit the character...others, not so much. Especially that "sense of wonder and excitement" about exploring.
 
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Praetor said:
I think everyone here has overlooked Vaughn Armstrong (Admiral Forrest) who I've always felt, even before 'In A Mirror Darkly,' would have made a terrifically strong captain - no matter the character. That man can act.

Failing that, Keith Carradine, or even Gary Cole (as long as he doesn't ask for TPS reports - then again, maybe especially if he asks for TPS reports. :lol:)

My love for Bakula evaporated circa season two, and I've never been able to look at him the same way since the gazelle speech...
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Ah, no fair. It's not like Scott had a choice about giving the gazelle speech. Don't hate the messenger.

I think that really kinda sums up how I felt about Bakula's performance as Archer. Quantum Leap proved that he's a fantastic actor, but it seemed in ENT like they just didn't give him enough to work with. I'm not trying to bash the show in general, but it just seemed like the writers didn't really have a clear mental picture of who they wanted the Captain to be, so his characterization was never consistent, and Scott just never had anything to sink his teeth into, so to speak.
Keith Carradine would be interesting; I thought "First Flight" was great. But I still love Bakula and I'm glad he got to be a Captain, even if he wasn't necessarily used to his fullest potential.
 
RookieBatman said:
Ah, no fair. It's not like Scott had a choice about giving the gazelle speech. Don't hate the messenger.
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I think Bakula is an OK actor, not a great one. Imagine what Patrick Stewart would have done with that bizarre gazelle speech; maybe something a bit better, as he's a better quality actor dramatically but it's still an example of ridiculously bad writing. I remember yelling at the TV when I first heard it.

Having said that, I think Bakula looks physically perfect for the part of Archer. He's a mature man in the absolute peak of physical fitness. He looks very much what an experienced and highly trained astronaut would look like, in my opinion. But, as you say, the writers don't seem to have had a clear picture what Archer was - is he an experienced astronaut, or a submarine captain or a Captain Kirk template?

It's hardly Bakula's fault. He does his best with the attributes he has. And he's the practically the only man who looks as though that ugly gas station uniform flatters him.
 
RookieBatman said:
Ah, no fair. It's not like Scott had a choice about giving the gazelle speech. Don't hate the messenger.
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I absolutely agree! No matter who was standing on the bridge of the NX-01, Bermaga would have still written the gazelle speech.

I think that really kinda sums up how I felt about Bakula's performance as Archer. Quantum Leap proved that he's a fantastic actor, but it seemed in ENT like they just didn't give him enough to work with. I'm not trying to bash the show in general, but it just seemed like the writers didn't really have a clear mental picture of who they wanted the Captain to be, so his characterization was never consistent ...
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Yup. Archer was written all over the place. It's like he was bi-polar or something. :wtf: He's a rude snot to T'Pol at Starfleet Medical and again when she arrives on Enterprise for the mission in Broken Bow. Then at the end of the episode, because thanks to her he still has a job, he asks T'Pol to stick around. Mind you, he still hates Vulcans and rags on her about her people so the rudeness hasn't gone away....

So in episode 3 his "you invited her to stay" science officer advises Archer to check out the Strange New World before sending down any personnel and he ignores her. After all, it looks just like Earth, so it must be perfectly safe. :rolleyes: Nevermind the storms, poisonous plants and predatory animals that make life on Earth so exciting. (We don't need no stinking probes!)

... and Scott just never had anything to sink his teeth into, so to speak.
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Actually, he wasn't always inexplicable. I thought the writing for his character was consistent in Desert Crossing, Unexpected, The Andorian Incident, Silent Enemy, Acquisition, Minefield, Dead Stop, Singuarity, Precious Cargo, The Catwalk, Stigma, Cease Fire, most of season 3, especially good stuff is found in Anomaly, Twilight, Similitude, Azati Prime, Damage, Countdown, Zero Hour and almost all of season 4 (the only real low point re: Archer for me was Deadalus).

Keith Carradine would be interesting; I thought "First Flight" was great. But I still love Bakula and I'm glad he got to be a Captain, even if he wasn't necessarily used to his fullest potential.
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Keith Carradine was great in First Flight. But frankly, I think the arrogance (not the actor, the character) would have been really hard to take week after week after week.
 
Keith Carradine was great in First Flight. But frankly, I think the arrogance (not the actor, the character) would have been really hard to take week after week after week.
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Agreed. I also agree with HR.

Besides, I think the fact Bakula is going to be a main character in a major motion picture coming out with Matt Damon and has been in a host of television shows inside and outside of science fiction shows. The guy's got some talent. I thought he was great as Archer. Archer is my second favorite character in all the Treks, right after Mr. Spock.
 
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Gary Grahm would have made a great Cap'n Archer IMO. The steely gaze I think . . .
 
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HopefulRomantic said:
In the show's bible, Archer is described as:

Early 40s. Physical. Intensely curious. Unlike the Starfleet Captains in centuries to come, he exhibits a sense of wonder and excitement, as well as a little trepidation about the strange things he will encounter. Although he has a strong sense of duty, he's a bit of a renegade--he's not afraid to question orders or even disobey them, if he feels in his gut that he's right.
Click to expand...
Some of these suggested actors might fit the character...others, not so much. Especially that "sense of wonder and excitement" about exploring.
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The thing about that, to me, is that the way they depicted him didn't even always match this description. As others have said, he was all over the place. (By the way, where does one find more of the Enterprise Bible? I'd be interested to watch it.)

Vaughn Armstrong was also born in 1950... I'd hardly call that too old, with a simple number change. :)
 
Dunno about Archer, but I always thought James Woods would have made for a killer Starfleet captain in one timeline or another.
 
As NX01'er states, David Morrisey would be a good choice.
Other than that I would go with Keith Carridine.
 
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