Boston Legal: Where Careers Live Long and Prosper

If fans of ABC's "Boston Legal" thought the show's link to the venerated "Star Trek" franchise begins and ends with the casting of the great William Shatner as super-lawyer Denny Crane, each new episode proves that assumption wrong. On last night's episode, "Glow In the Dark," Scott Bakula showed up as a glib lawyer and law school paramour of Candice Bergen's Shirley Schmidt (senior partner in the firm Crane, Poole & Schmidt).

Bakula sang a sad ballad to Bergen in the show. But "Star Trek" fans last saw Bakula as Jonathan Archer, the first captain of the USS Enterprise in "Star Trek: Enterprise" (2001-05). Trek fans would probably agree that if Bakula had shown as much vigor as Archer as he did on "Boston Legal" last night, "Enterprise" might still be on the air.

But Bakula is only the most recent Trek alumn to pop up on "Boston Legal," which, through its four seasons, looks like the Full Employment for Former Star Trek Actors show.

The connections between "Boston Legal" and the Trek franchise are chronicled (exhaustively) on the fan site, www.boston-legal.org/startrek.

A partial list of current "BL" cast members with Trek in their backgrounds:
** John Larroquette, who plays Carl Sack, a senior lawyer and Candice Bergen's boyfriend. Best-known for his role on "Night Court" (1984-92), Larroquette played a Klingon officer in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," unrecognizable under the makeup.
** Cute little "Laugh-In" alum Henry Gibson, who plays an eccentric judge, played a Ferengi in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-99).
** Ron Canada, who also plays a judge, has played a human, a Klingon and a Malon in three different Trek television series.
And some Trek actors who were formerly on BL or have made guest appearances:
** Rene Auberjonois, who played the law firm's moral conscience through the show's first three seasons, is known by fans of "Deep Space Nine" (or DS9) as Constable Odo, the space station's cop, an alien shape-shifter, meaning he can assume almost any form, a particularly neat trick when surveilling criminals.
** Armin Shimerman has played a judge on BL but was the heart-of-gold rapscallion Ferengi bartender Quark on DS9.
** Ethan Phillips turned up three episodes of "BL" in 2006, but for fans of "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995-2001), or VOY, he was Neelix, ship's chef and morale officer, a Talaxian so hairy and emotive, he made Robin Williams look like a shaved stoic.
** Ed Begley Jr. had a recurring BL role as Prof. Clifford Cabot, an academic who studies sex, spawning numerous legal high jinks. But on a 1996 two-part VOY, Begley played a Bill Gates-like computer whiz in the 20th century built his empire on future technology that time-traveled to Earth that he stumbled upon. (Curiosity: the episodes feature a very young and clean-mouthed Sarah Silverman.)
** Corbin Bernsen, famed from "L.A. Law," played a slick divorce lawyer on BL. But in 1990, he played the hammy omniscient being Q2 in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (TNG). In a jumpsuit.
** Michelle Forbes played an intense lawyer in a 2006 BL episode, but was a fan favorite as the beautiful-but-troubled Bajoran ensign Ro Laren in "TNG," mentee and bane of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard.
For a story about Shatner and fellow BL actor James Spader. I asked the representatives of series creator David E. Kelly about this increasing "BL"/"Trek" coincidence, and wondered whether he was a closet Trek fan. He responded that it was indeed coincidence, and that the "Trek" actors merely are excellent character actors needed by a show that scripts for a large cast.

But of course BL fans know of the sly Trek references in the show. When Shatner opens his cellphone, for instance, it makes the familiar chirp of a Star Trek communicator. And, in one episode, Spader was reading to Shatner from a book about fish, and how they are attacked by parasites called "cling ons."
So for now, I suppose I'll have to buy Kelly's "coincidence" defense. But if Worf or Spock show up in future BLs, Kelly's cover is blown.

-- FRANK AHRENS

By Michael Cavna |  February 13, 2008; 3:51 PM ET Miscellaneous
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Posted by: e4y5 | March 12, 2008 10:04 AM

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