Keating On 'Enterprise's' Appeal

[Neo]

Enterprise has been a ratings success since it premiered in September, and Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed) has a theory why viewers are tuning in week after week.

"Our show definitely appeals to an audience now because it's close enough in time where you can get a concept of what it might be like," Keating told Sci-Fi Wire.

The actor cited the fallibility of the Enterprise crew as a reason for the series's appeal. "We live like spacemen in those suits a lot of the time, and we mess up," he said. "We don't get it all right the whole time. It's kind of like Lewis and Clark. We're explorers, and it's the first expedition into deep space for humankind. There is an earthy quality to it, even though it's SF drama. It's [also] funny, and it's sexy and altogether more human."

As for Enterprise's predecessor, Voyager, Keating said that the series may have lacked spark. "I never watched Voyager, but Voyager got a huge pilot figure, even bigger than ours, dare I say. Why they dropped off? I don't know. It probably got a bit sterile, and that's why [Rick Berman and Brannon Braga] brought Enterprise back to be a prequel and [brought] it closer to some sort of sense of human drama."

 

[Dave]

Enterprise's Jolene Blalock (T'Pol) and Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed) appeared on BBC Radio Five Live last weekend to promote the series to British audiences.

Getting the ball rolling, Blalock explained what the series was all about. "Gene Roddenberry had a concept for Star Trek," she said, "which was not to be the good guy versus the bad guy, it was more about characterisation, it was about our relationships with each other, and what we can learn from each other and what we can accomplish together; send them out into the middle of nowhere and learn from each other, and not only that, but learn, like Gene Roddenberry would say, from the polka-dotted people, the polka-dotted aliens. That's what I believe that Enterprise is doing."

Enterprise has tried to break the Star Trek mold, the actress explained. "They have crossed some lines that they haven't crossed before. It's nice to push an envelope that Star Trek hasn't done previously. You're going to see more skin, you're going to see more body, you're going to see more relationships but it's all in good taste, and more about the story than the flesh, of course."

Keating talked about his experiences meeting the fans at conventions. "I've done three," he said. "I know, I'm the convention queen already! The fans are great - devoted, discerning they know what it is they're listening to. I have seen my 350-pound Klingon, him with his gaggle, then you get the mother of two who grew up with the original and her kids just adore it now, and it's a family thing, they sit down and watch it together. They're fun."

Blalock is yet to take the plunge into the convention pool. "I'm scared!" she said, laughing. "Dominic hasn't briefed me yet on what exactly it entails, so I guess I'm waiting for that."

"I do impressions of Jolene at my convention appearances!" Keating quipped. "I do impressions from the Maxim spread, and they go down very well!"