Brent Spiner has played several androids in addition to Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Lt.
Commander Data throughout his Star Trek career.
Brent Spiner: I know, kind of amazing, isn’t it?
Did you ever think that you were going to get to be Bob Wheeler again?
Brent Spiner: No.
And here we are!
Custom image by Yailin Chacon
She’s a secret weapon there, she really is.
Brent Spiner: Bob Wheeler always exists inside of me.
(Laughs) I didn’t really have to do much research.
I would amuse my friends doing this kind of “hick” character.
I went and did it, and they gave me the part!
And so, he’s a part of me.
Your Yugoslavian accent is perfect.
Brent Spiner: Oh, I’m glad you recognized that, thank you!
You know, that is one thing I hope.
But then you got cast in that space show and had to abandonNight Court.
Is that accurate to say?
Brent Spiner: Yeah, I think so.
As I recall, the last episode of the original Night Court we did, we bought the newsstand.
I took the job thinking, “Star Trek’s probably not going to last long.
it’s possible for you to’t do Star Trek again.”
And it turned out, of course, I was wrong!
Star Trek: The Next Generation was very successful, so I was pretty much committed at that point.
And the newsstand is still there!
And I’m just thinking, “Hey, if they keep going?
Maybe Bob and June can ultimately wind up running the newsstand again!”
The reasonNight Courtworks so well for me is that it’s so singular.
It’s like there was a thirty-year commercial break.
Brent Spiner: Yeah, it really is.
I mean, they really get it.
The writers really get the whole feel of the original series.
Plus it’s got Larroquette, who was always the most important part of the original series.
And he’s here, you know, doing his amazing work.
John’s as good as it gets.
And having him there is really extraordinary.
And it really sets the tone again for the whole show.
Had you seen him or worked with him in betweenNight Courtshows?
Brent Spiner: I’d seen him.
I’d run into him.
I think we actually worked together, although we weren’t on set at the same time.
He did a few episodes of The Librarian for Dean Devlin, or The Librarians, it was called.
And I did the voice of an animated character in one scene.
I did the voiceover for this character.
And I think the scene was with John, if I’m not mistaken.
But I have certainly run into John since then and couldn’t be happier to work with him again.
We thought about it.
We thought, “We should do that and get Neil Simon to write that for us!”
But of course, now it’s too late for that.
Now we could actually play the Sunshine Boys!
Does Brent Spiner Want To Return To Star Trek?
Would you like to see further Data stories or have you closed the book on the character?
Brent Spiner: I’m always available if the writing is good and the ideas are good.
I mean, I have this one idea.
I don’t know.
How does that sound to you?
It sounds like chills running down my spine when you say it!
Brent Spiner: (Laughs) yeah, I’m always up for doing more.
I thought that they captured something really wonderful in the third season.
It was a wonderful achievement on Terry’s part because I was dubious, myself…
Check out our otherNight Courtseason 3 interviews here:
Night Courtseason 3 airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. ## Your Rating
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