By Captain Pyke | October 9, 2011 - 8:53 pm

It's been a long road, gettin' from there to here... Okay, many of you are probably groaning by now, so I'll spare you the rest of the song, but who out there doesn't love the captain of the NX-01? I remember hearing about Enterprise shortly after the demise of Voyager and learning that Sam Beckett (AKA Scott Bakula) would be taking the reigns as the next captain (or first) of Starfleet's flagship. Oh man, I was stoked. You see, I absolutely loved Quantum Leap and remember thinking that Scott was the perfect choice. Through the unfortunately short run of Enterprise, Scott surely didn't disappoint. So, why not say happy birthday to the man who brought life to the first captain, Scott Bakula. He turns 57 today.

We've heard nothing but glowing compliments from Scott's former co-stars. Like, How he's the nicest guy in show business, or how "He's the calm voice of reason" according to Anthony Montgomery. Enterprise director LeVar burton had this to say about Scott; "His leadership is absolutely vital to the life and health of the show." Jolene Blalock continued; "I can go to him with any problem. He, I know, will have my back no matter what. " It's not often that you hear this kind of praise from other actors in the business we call show.

According to Wikipedia, Scott started off in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Sally and Stewart J. Bakula, a corporate lawyer. He graduated from Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri, in 1973. During high school, he was active in soccer, tennis, and theatre (unfortunately no water polo). Also during high school, he had the lead roles in Godspell and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at First Presbyterian Church in Kirkwood. He also played Tevye in an Independent Theatre Production of Fiddler on the Roof at Kirkwood High. Scott attended college at the University of Kansas until his sophomore year. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta while attending the University.

Scott has had a very diverse career in Hollywood, from starting off in Canada Dry & foldgers commercials to landing the leading role in his own series, Quantum Leap. From there he starred in several films including American Beauty & Major League: Back to the Minors. More recently he has worked on Chuck and his new critically acclaimed series Men of Certain Age.

While his time on Enterprise was shorter than fans would have liked, we would like to thank Scott for bringing a new dimension to the Captain of the Enterprise and, of course, wish him a very happy birthday.