Star Trek: 10 Things You Never Knew About Enterprise
6. Archer's Name Was Chosen To Avoid A Lawsuit
Scott Bakula's Captain Archer was originally going to be called Jeffrey Archer. It's possible that this was intended to be a tribute to Jeffrey Hunter, the original actor to play Captain Pike in the first pilot of Star Trek, The Cage.
While American audiences saw no issue with this, UK fans were quick to point out that there was already a Jeffrey Archer out there, and that the producers may not like the comparisons drawn between them.
Jeffrey Archer is the former UK politician and peer of the House of Lords, who was found guilty of perjury and sentenced to four years in prison for perverting the course of justice. Once producers learned of this, they hastily rewrote the character to be named Jackson Archer.
Then, another issue arose. There was exactly one Jackson Archer living in the United States. In the end, to avoid any potential lawsuits or embarrassing comparisons, Archer's first name was officially changed to Jonathan. The producers did a check and there were twenty Jonathan Archers living in the United States, so they reckoned that with that many out there, none were likely to sue.