Archer played porlly by Bakula ?

[Shakabutt]

In season 2 and 1 Scott didn't have problems in my opinion ,but like i said,in season 3 he does a very poor job, the shouting scenes and anger scenes and barking order scenes seemed lame to me ,very fake ,Scott can't do angry dark captain ,a flaw of the actor in my opinion ,not writers .

Though I generally agree with the observation that ¡Stupidly!Super¡Archer! occurs with frighteningly stupid frequency on the show, one of the few episodes in which I think he SHOULD be ¡Super! is Kir'Shara.

But he came of as an ignorant ass to me in Kirshara .

[Rigil Kent]

Though I generally agree with the observation that ¡Stupidly!Super¡Archer! occurs with frighteningly stupid frequency on the show, one of the few episodes in which I think he SHOULD be ¡Super! is Kir'Shara.

Uh ... no, it doesn't. Look at how McCoy was flat out breaking down 'cause he had Spock's katra, yet Archer is beating up on Vulcan commandos like he's suddenly Das Ubermensch. Just because Archer has Surak's memories and all that doesn't mean he's suddenly more capable of surviving on a high gravity, low oxygen content, very hot planet. He's still human. There was absolutely no reason for him to be running around like a Kryptonian on a planet of Vulcans.

If you ask me, it would have been a far more interesting story if he'd been basically worthless on the planet (can't breathe, suffering from dehydration/exhaustion/sunstroke) so the two Vulcans with him had to carry his butt. It being the "Vulcan Arc", after all. Instead, he might as well as have donned tights and a cape.

[blacknblue]

I could have seen, say, a sudden change in Archer after picking up Surak's katra. For example, I could have swallowed having Surak suddenly use his discipline and training to access Archer's biochemical reserves and help him cope. I could see Surak using his discipline to control Archer's autonomic system and help him regulate his body temperature and autonomic functions somewhat. So yeah, I might have bought a sudden improvement in Archer's ability to tolerate Vulcan conditions after he picked up the ghost.

But a sudden increase in strength? Rigil is right about that. Not without using up his supply of adrenaline. Which would drain his reserves and lead to total collapse.

[evcake]

I didn't consider it bad acting, just weird mannerisms. Kind of like William Shatner's odd phrasing! That kind of stands out to me, as I rewatch OS episodes now--not that we'd ever want to change Shatner's performance! Archer is a littly goofy-looking/sounding, but I prefer that to too polished/generic. I like him (Archer).

I like him too. And if we're actually talking about Bakula's acting here, not simply rehashing over again how awful Archer is, I'd say he and Shatner are about equal as actors. Make of that what you will. I had a little trouble getting used to him, but Captain Doofus (as I used to call him in the first season) has taken his place with Captain Eyeliner (because of the awful '60s makeup) in my affections. After Our Favorite Couple, of course. And Soval. And Phlox. And Malcolm.

"Take your Vulcan cynicism and bury it with your repressed emotions!"

"I'll hold you in irons if you don't shut up!"

Hmmm...maybe the writing's not all that different either. Have to think about that.

[JadziaKathryn]

Well, I've seen very little of season 3 and not so much by way of Angry!Archer episodes, but in all I think Bakula did a good job with some of the rather stupid stuff he had to work with.

[CoffeeCat]

IMOHO, Bakula ROCKS. He did an awesome job playing the role he was given. I could never fault him for that (and you guys know my distain for the character he played.)

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

I also think that Bakula's performance as Archer wasn't all that good, especially when he was in angry mode and yelled a lot. That felt so forced and unnatural. I think Bakula would've done better with understated anger, but for whatever reason TPTB didn't allow much for that.

I haven't really seen Bakula in anything elese so I cannot compare with what his strengths are. I cannot fault him for the fact that Archer was so inconsistently written. That's all B&B's and the script writers' fault. As professionals they should've figured out what Bakula's strengths were and used that.

And for a man his age, it was a disservice to the Archer character to make him this wide-eyed, naïve and innocent person, frequently displayed staggering amounts of ineptitude (not to be confused with inexperience). That also felt very forced and unnatural.

[blacknblue]

I remember reading in an interview early in ENT first season, where he mentioned that he wasn't allowed to ad lib any at all in ENT. Apparently he did a lot of ad libbing in Quantum Leap and other past work. But in ENT, the actors were held to a very strict control. They had to follow the script PRECISELY. They had to obey the direction PRECISELY. No ad libbing, no real flexibility for personal interpretation allowed. They had to do it EXACTLY the way TPTB wanted it done, and that was the law of the land. He said in the interview that it was difficult for him to get used to working like that.

[Rigil Kent]

That may actually explain why I liked Sam Beckett so much, but disliked Jonathan Archer... more of Bakula was shining through with Beckett...

[CoffeeCat]

I remember reading in an interview early in ENT first season, where he mentioned that he wasn't allowed to ad lib any at all in ENT. Apparently he did a lot of ad libbing in Quantum Leap and other past work. But in ENT, the actors were held to a very strict control. They had to follow the script PRECISELY. They had to obey the direction PRECISELY. No ad libbing, no real flexibility for personal interpretation allowed. They had to do it EXACTLY the way TPTB wanted it done, and that was the law of the land. He said in the interview that it was difficult for him to get used to working like that.

That does explain a lot. He's probably relieved it's all over...

And Sam Beckett was an awesome character. Scott did so good on that series and I miss it so much.

[enterprikayak]

perhaps not quite so super as he ended up....I'm just saying it's one ep of only a very few where superness is semi-justified....and quantum leap kicked so much ass!