Before They Were Stars: Brent Spiner on “Night Court”

In tribute to our Shouts From the Back Row podcast on the subject, it’s “Star Trek Week” here on “Before They Were Stars”. Star Trek cast members are so associated with their characters that it’s important to remind everyone that these folks have played other roles. Like many Star Trek actors, Spiner spent the early portion of his career constantly working by doing numerous guest appearances on TV shows, and here he is in one of my favourite eighties sitcoms, Night Court. Spiner played a recurring character named Bob Wheeler, the head of a rural hillbilly family who would make frequent appearances in the courtroom. The Wheelers proved so popular that they would return for multiple episodes, and you’ll probably never see Brent Spiner in a role that could be any further from Data this one.