MARK STEINES: So you're taking over the controls of the Enterprise.

SCOTT BAKULA: I am, I am the first captain of the first Starship to go out into space.

MARK: Explain that, because there's been some before you.

SCOTT: That's right. This is 150 years from today; this is 2151, 100 years before Kirk and Spock. So we are the first. We've just figured out how to use the propulsion system and we are going out in warp speed for the first time.

MARK: So you have the whole beaming thing taken care of?

SCOTT: Oh no, I can't tell you about the beaming thing.

MARK: Oh, there's no "Beam me up, Scotty"?

SCOTT: No, there won't be that for me. That would be redundant. There will be surprises. What's really fun about this is, because it's ahead of Kirk and Spock, there are references to things that, if you've seen the show, you'll get a kick out of. They're kind of inside things that people know what the outcome is, but we're still in the developmental stage of that. So you'll see some things and say, "Oh, it's the first time they ever did that; it's the first time they thought of that." There's that kind of fun stuff, which I think will be fun, not only for the people who know the show really well, but also for newcomers.

MARK: Are you a newcomer to the show, or did you watch while growing up?

SCOTT: I watched while I was growing up.

MARK: How long has it been? What, 30-something years ... 35?

SCOTT: Yeah, Kirk and Spock were in the '60s, so it's been around a long time, and then there've been 21 years of new shows since the "Next Generation" went on.

MARK: How do you feel about carrying on that legacy? That's a lot to shoulder, isn't it?

SCOTT: Well, when they called me and said, "Do you want to be the first captain," I don't know that I would've if they said, "Do you want to be the next captain of ..." in whatever century they were heading into after "Voyager." I don't know that I would've done that, but to be the first captain, and kind of kick it off. And the script is fantastic. It's unlike a lot of the other "Star Trek" scripts and pilot.

MARK: Three of the four shows preceding this have been on the air seven years. Are you ready to hang on for that long?

SCOTT: You know what, I'm too superstitious, I never count anything. Everybody says, "Oh, how are you going to feel after seven years?" I'm like, "Well, let's get through the pilot, and see if we can get through the first 13, and then see where we are."

MARK: There is a lot of techno-babble in a show like this. Are you getting it down? Can you give me a few? Do you know a few that I can work on in my off time?

SCOTT: What did I say today that I had terrible failure at? (laughs) It's terrible because you're thinking about things, and 30 million kilometers per second, you just don't really relate to what that is. When you're talking about it, you have to think about what that is but that's how fast we're going. When you say it four or five times, it just doesn't mean anything. We've been having trouble with "ventral plating" -- "ventral plating" versus "venting ports." We were stumbling over that today. You know the difference, of course.

MARK: Well, you're amateurs at this. See, at Entertainment Tonight we talk about ventral plating all the time. So, a novice, I could understand making that mistake.

SCOTT: (laughs) Well, thank you, you're very considerate.

MARK: As you look around, this is a lot more advanced than the '60s, even though you're earlier in time.

SCOTT: It's kind of a tricky thing because we obviously have more technology now at our disposal in terms of the shooting of it, but we had to go back and make it look like it was before. So this has more of a submarine type of feel to it. You go in the submarines of today and there are a lot of similarities to their kind of stations and things. So projecting that ahead and still making it seem like it's before Kirk is complicated.

MARK: Do you have to wear a spacesuit?

SCOTT: We have very cool -- they're kind of jumpsuit-y, but with pockets. JONATHAN FRAKES came by and was almost in tears, "We would've killed to have pockets! And a zipper?" We have those things, so we're feeling pretty cozy in them, but they're not leotards, which is great. Again, that's another idea of bringing it closer to today, as opposed to the futuristic thing.

MARK: Have you called any of the former captains? Have you talked to Mr. SHATNER or anybody?

SCOTT: No, they've all been calling me.

MARK: And what knowledge did they impart to you?

SCOTT: Well, because I was the first, they're trying to get some corrections.

MARK: Don't crash the ship!

SCOTT: That's right, "...or we'll never be!" Wait a minute.... (laughs)

MARK: That's too much "Quantum Leap" stuff in there.

SCOTT: Yeah, I feel like I've been there before. (laughs)

MARK: The legacy of this whole "Star Trek" series -- tell me about it.

SCOTT: Well, it has been over three decades, and I go back to the very beginning of it and have a very serious relationship with that first "Star Trek" show. To be able to be a part of that, to continue that and yet be the first at the same time is pretty intriguing. Again, we have all this new available technology so we can set it up in a new way and give it a new look.

MARK: There's a whole new fan base for you. There are a lot of very dedicated people who watch this show.

SCOTT: There are. They're all around the planet. As are a lot of my fans from "Quantum Leap" and other things, and many of them are the same, so that's nice, but yes, there's a huge following with this show -- serious, serious fans.

MARK: Any feedback on how they felt about you taking over?

SCOTT: I've only heard good things, but you don't always hear the bad things. (laughs) Just from meeting and seeing people, I've been traveling a little bit, and people are talking, "We're so excited you're going to be the new captain!" It's very cool.

MARK: Your mission is...

SCOTT: ...peaceful exploration. I have a line in the pilot, which, I don't think is giving it away, but at one point I say -- we encounter some trouble, as you can well-imagine, and I say to my engineer, "I hope that's the last time anybody takes a shot at us," seriously.

MARK: Foreshadowing?

SCOTT BACULA: We want to, we're out there peacefully exploring.

MARK: Picking up litter as you go?

SCOTT: Exactly.

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