INTERVIEW: Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating sound off on legacy of ‘Star Trek: Enterprise’

Photo: Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating will take place in a special virtual fan experience. Photo courtesy of Creation Entertainment / Provided with permission.

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Star Trek: Enterprise, starring Scott Bakula, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Linda Park, Anthony Montgomery, John Billingsley and Jolene Blalock, was the fifth overall series in the franchise (not counting the animated series) and continues to gain fans almost 20 years after its initial release. Although the series only lasted four years, the characters on the show are much beloved by fans and still championed at conventions, including Creation Entertainment’s annual Trekker soiree in Las Vegas.

Trinneer and Keating, playing Charles “Trip” Tucker III and Malcolm Reed respectively, continue to keep the Enterprise flame alive, constantly interacting with their fans, answering questions about their time on the iconic series and offering behind-the-scenes tidbits on what it was like to work in the Star Trek universe.

Although their appearances at conventions have been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, Trinneer and Keating have signed up for Creation Entertainment’s new virtual experiences. They recently completed a fan Q&A, and now they’re set for an exclusive meet and greet Wednesday, May 20 at 3 p.m. PDT / 6 p.m. EST. Tickets are currently sold out.

Recently Trinneer and Keating jumped on the phone to talk about a bunch of topics, including their hope for a fifth season of Enterprise and whether the show’s cast members seem themselves as a family. Here’s Part II of that conversation (click here for Part I) …

On whether they were disappointed the series ended after four years …

Keating: “We thought we were going to get it all, mate. We thought we were going to be the next cast to do the movies, you know. We had Scott Bakula.”

On whether Trip would be revived for a reboot of the series …

Trinneer: “It would the Bobby Ewing thing. He’s in the shower, and he wakes up.”

Keating: “Over my dead body.”

Trinneer: “They clone him. I think they clone him. They’d have a clone of Trip. That’s the easiest answer.”

On whether they would cameo on Star Trek: Discovery …

Trinneer: “I still have the jumpsuit. I’m not sure I can fit in it, but I still have it.”

Keating: “I was the only one that didn’t take one. I can’t believe it. One fan bought most of mine at some extraordinary expense.”

Trinneer: “She spent a fortune on you.”

Keating: “She did spend a fortune on me. God bless her. I can ask her to lend me one. I’m sure that would be the one she never washes again.”

Trinneer: “I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

Keating: “Yeah, I would, too.”

On them catching their stride in seasons 3 and 4 …

Trinneer: “All the shows took a couple of years to find their sea legs to find out really what the show was about. Our show changed dramatically in terms of its tone, I believe, because you can’t really watch our show and not recognize that 9/11 happened.”

Keating: “That changed everything for season three, didn’t it? Yep. By season four, Manny Coto had taken over. … No disrespect to Mr. [Brendan] Braga and [Rick] Berman, but they had been doing this for 17 years or something. … Manny was ideal. He was a talented writer, a huge Star Trek fan and someone that was getting his first major leg-up as a Hollywood writer. It was a perfect fit.”

On whether the Star Trek: Enterprise cast are still close …

Keating: “We’re close with Anthony, and we see John Billingsley. We’re all close. We don’t see Jolene because she doesn’t do any of this. … She lives a very different life from this 20 years ago, and Scott is too busy. We’re all tight when we see each other, but … I know The Next Gen lot they rent a house every year [laughs].

Trinneer: “Don’t they live together?”

Keating: “Yeah, they do a MTV live-together show.”

Trinneer: “The Real Fake World.”

Keating: [singing] “Up in the atmosphere, up where the air is clear. I don’t believe a word of it. I think they’re all … Anyway, we’re pretty close. Connor and I are what we would term actual friends that see one another.”

On the excitement of having a Trip or Malcolm-centered episode …

Keating: “Connor got a lot of them. He had much more of a thrust in it than I. I was very pleased. It was fun. …”

Trinneer: “It’s also nice to be the engine of a story. That does get one excited.”

Keating: “When we did Shuttlepod #1, do you remember, I’m sure it happened to you, but the morning after that aired, I walked on to the bridge I think it was to do the day’s work, and as I walked on, the crew, everybody was just clapping, which was a really heartfelt moment there. I was like wow. It was very gratifying. …”

Trinneer: “I do feel fortunate as an actor that I got to carry off an actual arc, you know. You get to see this guy’s life. The opinion of whether or not he should have been killed off doesn’t really matter to me. I was just satisfied that I got to complete the story of Trip.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating will participate in an exclusive Zoom meet and greet Wednesday, May 20 at 3 p.m. PDT / 6 p.m. EST. Click here for more information. Tickets are currently sold out.