Scott Bakula says it was a great privilege to play Captain Jonathan Archer

Scott Bakula played Captain Jonathan Archer, the first captain of the starship Enterprise, on Star Trek: Enterprise for four seasons. Though his time in the role was short, there are many fans still devoted to the show and to Captain Archer. For a while, Bakula was quiet about his time on Star Trek, but he's recently been speaking out more as he did when in an interview with Guardian. [via Trekmovie]

"It was a blast. It was a great privilege. The icing on the cake is to get to know [William] Shatner and Patrick [Stewart] and and Kate [Mulgrew] and everybody. They’re all really fun and different people. There’s a burden in that sci-fi fans have a very high standard. If they don’t like you then it’s not good but when they do embrace you, it’s a lovely marriage."

- Scott Bakula

Enterprise struggled out of the starting gate with its theme song, and it lost viewers after its pilot episode. Those numbers continued to dwindle as the seasons past until the series was cancelled, ending on a note that left many fans unhappy.

"There were a lot of challenges with it. We had a theme song that was different and some people hated that. I had a dog and some people hated that. People are very possessive about their their experiences within sci-fi and they like a certain captain or they like a certain Doctor Who. ‘I don’t like that Doctor Who, the next person I don’t like, I’m not gonna watch it,’ whatever. You have to be willing to tough some of that stuff out but overall that was another great experience and continues to this day."

- Scott Bakula

There are a lot of challenges with any new Star Trek show as evidenced by the current Trek era. Many fans don't like changes to what they've known for fifty-plus years. For some, Star Trek: The Next Generation is the go-by and straying from that outline wasn't welcome.

Fortunately, more people have discovered Enterprise on streaming now, and it's picked up a steady fan base. And with Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating hosting The D-Con Chamber Podcast, it keeps the series in the spotlight, giving even more viewers a chance to see it.

What the dedicated fans want now is more acknowledgements to the series and opportunities to see these characters again, even if in animation. For far too long, Enterprise has been left out of the new era, and it's time to bring these Starfleet officers, Dr. Phlox, and T'Pol back into the universe. As many challenges as the series' stars faced, they deserve far more recognition for continuing on in the face of adversity.