Oh Captain, My Captain… Take a Seat and I’ll Explain My Adoration for Scott Bakula

So it’s quite obvious if you read back thru my posts that I basically have no shame.  I mean… one of my earliest posts shared that I grew up crushing on Wil Wheaton and Marc Singer– who, by the way, could not be more different. And let’s not forget that in order to celebrate our success, I threw a costumed karaoke party. Shameless. Alright, probably not as shameless as my friend Jacqui– ask her, she’ll tell you she has absolutely no shame.

Wait… wait… I’m off topic. When I sat down I had a single goal in mind- to share my love for Scott Bakula. I know- you want to know why this is something I need to share- I’ll be honest, it’s because I’ve been immersed in all things Scott Bakula recently because I realized not too long ago that I hadn’t finished watching Star Trek: Enterprise. Ever. So… I marathoned the series. Which reminded how much I loved Quantum Leap. Oh, and how much I loved Scott on Murphy Brown and Designing Women, oh, and on the Mr & Mrs Smith spy series from the 90’s (by the way, recently rewatched that one too… why did it get cancelled? Such fun!). See? Immersed.

Or obsessed.

Eh, same thing.

So let’s discuss- I’ve made a list of the fabulousness of Scott Bakula (with some help from my dear friend Brenna because she shares my love)

• The man can sing.

[youtube http://youtu.be/c1Hlk-6RJ_w] [youtube http://youtu.be/lKk7Uv1NV8g] [youtube http://youtu.be/dQq-GALNN0Y]

Also of importance… he can play the guitar. And piano. And who knows what else… And he writes music, too. *swoon*

• He looks like the guy next door- who can also be a bad ass.  Brenna gave me that statement, but it’s definitely one of the reasons why I love him. He just looks like the guy who would offer to help out if you were stranded on the side of the road… but then there’s this other side… ya just know he’d cut a bitch! (see the 3rd season of Enterprise as Archer spirals into bad ass conflicted hero)

• He’s a very believable performer– “He is the type of actor that no matter what his dialogue is, I always believe what he is saying. Whether its techno jargon in Star Trek or something silly like him playing a woman in Quantum Leap” ~ Brenna.

Yes. That’s it, right there. As any character, he has never given me a performance that I didn’t buy into completely. Pregnant teenager going into labor? By god, I believed it. And then I wondered where the baby was gonna come out of. But that’s just me and my effed up head. Curious explorer? Believe it. Jewish lawyer? Yup. Man whore? You better believe it! Consistently  Scott Bakula is an actor that has provided me with performances that I’ve believed. A true rarity.

• Diversity as an actor. In one series, Scott Bakula was able to play more roles than I can count, from test pilot to doctor to elderly African-American to a chimpanzee. This goes with the believability of his performances but, honestly, not just on Quantum Leap but in all of his performances, he has played a wide range of characters. There is no type casting. I mean, I love some of favorite actors, but honestly they spend a lot of time playing the same character over and over, in whatever the project is. And OK, it makes me happy to see them working, but every now and then it would be nice to see them play something new. Even when playing non scifi/genre roles, there’s always something about each character that makes them different. Just as an example, take the character in American Beauty, one half of a typical boring suburban couple- they even wear matching clothes! Except they aren’t exactly typical in this manner (or at least at the time the film was made they weren’t associated as being a typical suburban couple) because instead of being Ozzie and Harriet, it was Jim and Jim. Just another role, in a lifetime of performances, that was different from the ones before and after.

• Scott Bakula is a passionate person. The man himself has been quoted as saying that you have to be passionate to be successful. Considering this a performer who I cannot remember not being a fan of, I’d say he’s been pretty successful. Which is one way he demonstrates his passion for what he does.

Indeed, if you take the time to research Scott Bakula (as I ended up doing after I sat down to write this piece…), you’ll find that he is often described to be someone who doesn’t take themselves very seriously even though they are very serious about their craft. Which is a genuine quality that is missing from so many people (not just celebrities). It shows not merely a passion for their work but also for life- if you are someone who takes themself too seriously, then you miss out on the fun of life because it’s too hard to “let your hair down”. I can definitely respect someone who knows the difference.

• He’s charitable. He attends and participates in charitable organizations- which at the very least puts that organizations into the view of his fans. This is similar to how I became attached to Equality Now, because Joss Whedon talked about and supported them. Life changing for me. So, even just having his name attached is a positive because it may lead to one of his fans learning about an organization that they can support.

During San Diego Comic-con 2011, Scott joined former castmate Zach Levi at Nerd HQ- Nerd HQ was providing support to Operation Smile, an organization that provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, palette, and other facial deformities to children around the world. This is just one of many organizations that Scott can be linked to.

• He’s just pretty. His attractiveness appeals to all ages and genders. He’s just plain pretty.

Tags: Actors, Enterprise, FanGirl Squee, Friends, Geekery, Movies, Nerdtastic Ramblings, Personal, Quantum Leap, Scott Bakula, Star Trek, Television, Theatre