2009-04-17

Boston Legal, Star Trek, and Stargate

I've never watched Boston Legal. But I just saw an ad for the Fifth Season, and found it amusing that the two male leads listed were William Shatner, formerly James Tiberius Kirk of Star Trek fame, and James Spader, who is the actor who originated the role of Daniel Jackson in the movie, Stargate, a role more commonly associated with Michael Shanks, who first ghosted Spader's performance and then made it his own in the series Stargate: SG-1, reprised the role with several guest appearances in Stargate: Atlantis, and who may reprise the role in guest appearances in the upcoming series Stargate: Universe.

Both Shatner and Spader have demonstrated a gift for comedic acting as well as the ability to be very serious when the roles required it. I may often make fun of Shatner, but he really is quite talented. Spader I have seen rather less of, but if he had not done so well as Daniel Jackson in the movie, Stargate might not have been optioned for a television series.

I could go into all sorts of comparisons between the roles of Kirk and Jackson, how they were both the vehicles for interventionist exploration, but it's lunch time, and food is my friend; a hungry boy is a stupid boy, wherefore I shall go eat.

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