’Star Trek: Enterprise’s’ Bakula Contemplates Ripples in Space

When the announcement came down Friday, Feb. 13, that The WB’s "Angel" would not be returning for a sixth season, word quickly spread from the show’s sets on the Paramount lot in Hollywood to the neighboring stages that house UPN’s "Star Trek: Enterprise."Considering that the future of the "Star Trek" prequel series beyond its current third season is very much in question, it made for a strange afternoon.

Star Scott Bakula, who plays Capt. Jonathan Archer of the starship Enterprise, says, "When ’Angel’ went down, you get that ripple effect when a show goes down on the lot. They were our neighbors. The crew guys are all looking around and all of a sudden, everybody has that extra few days of being extra grateful that they’ve got a job and they’re on a show that’s still going.

"But at the same time, everybody gets even more nervous about what’s going to happen. You look around and say, ’We’re so fortunate to make a living the way we do.’ I believe we provide a valuable service to the world, and at the same time, we’re not brain surgeons here. We just fly a spaceship for a living."

It’s a tough time in general for genre shows on the broadcast networks. The cancellation roll call this season includes The WB’s "Tarzan" and "Angel," UPN’s "Jake 2.0" and, most recently, FOX’s "Wonderfalls" and CBS’ "Century City," neither of which finished out its midseason run.

FOX’s "Tru Calling" remains on ratings life support — although teen numbers may be "Tru’s" salvation — as does ABC’s "Kingdom Hospital."

Even the seemingly indestructible "Smallville" has suffered a bit from a switch from Tuesdays to Wednesdays, and the general ratings erosion at The WB. Only The WB’s sturdy "Charmed" and CBS’ freshman hit "Joan of Arcadia" seem to be defying the odds.

"Star Trek: Enterprise" returned with new episodes last week, and continues on Wednesdays through its season finale, "Zero Hour," on May 26. While many critics agree that this has been its strongest season creatively, the final decision about a fourth season likely won’t come until the UPN upfront presentation to advertisers on May 20. At that time, UPN president Dawn Tarnofsky-Ostroff and her boss, CBS Television president and CEO Les Moonves, reveal the new fall schedule.

"Not much I can do about it," Bakula says, "so I don’t think much about it. I’ve learned from knowing Les as long as I’ve known him, that you can’t anticipate him. He always plays it very close to the vest. That’s his nature.

"It’s been a really exciting year. It’s going to end brilliantly, and it would be a real shame to see it go. But I don’t think, even if it left UPN, that it would be gone. There are other network options — we have a lot of options open to us. It’ll be interesting to see what happens. It always is."

With times as uncertain as these, Bakula has the advantage of long experience in the ups and downs of television. He had a five-season run on NBC with the science-fiction series "Quantum Leap," created by "JAG" producer Don Bellisario. But Bakula knows the other side of the coin as well, since his 1996 series "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," an espionage romp co-starring Maria Bello ("The Cooler"), didn’t make it to 1997.

"[My experience] helps with conversations with my other cast members," Bakula says. "Philosophically, I believe that you have to focus on the task at hand, and you have to delight in that. If you get caught up in all the other stuff, in the end, it gets you. It beats you.

"We have such a great group here. We’ve had such a creatively wonderful season, great crew, everybody gets along. Some people don’t understand that that’s not the norm in our business. We’re all working at home, not on planes flying to different places in the world. It’s been a great gift for everybody.

"We’re hoping we can continue, and at the same time, a lot of it is not in our control."

Whatever happens, Bakula had the chance to do something rare in season three — take an established character to places he’d never been before. In the season-two finale, unknown aliens called the Xindi dispatched a test version of a weapon to Earth, killing millions. Almost all of season three has been devoted to exploring the mysterious Delphic Expanse in hopes of finding the Xindi and preventing the ultimate destruction of Earth.

Along the way, the easygoing Archer has been forced to make difficult and sometimes-questionable decisions, all of which have taken their toll.

"It’s been fun," Bakula says. "I’ve maintained from day one that I was looking for a character that would be interesting to play in season three and four, not just fabulous out of the gate, and there you are, stuck in the same thing for several years.

"How often do you get to have such a great new arc to play with in the third season? This obviously will change Archer forever. When this is over, he’ll go back to his old life, but with a whole new perspective.

"As this season has unfolded, my relationship with the Xindi has changed dramatically. In the last four episodes, it changes again exponentially. We’re giving maybe some people what they’re not expecting, which is always the best thing to do."

For his cast and crew, which have suffered for three seasons smelling the wonderful catered meals down the row at "Angel," Bakula has a treat in mind.

"You turn the corner," he says, "and it’s ’Oh, man, they’ve got the barbecue going.’ In the absence of ’Angel,’ I’m going to be bringing some barbecue. We’ll have our own barbecue going."

CYBERSPATIAL ANOMALIES: Many endangered shows have their Internet cheerleaders. For "Star Trek: Enterprise," it’s www.saveenterprise.com, which actively is campaigning for a fourth season.