Trivia / Boston Legal

• Actor Allusion:
  • There's quite a few jabs at William Shatner's iconic Captain Kirk role, such as when Denny is given a cellphone by one of his many girlfriends and it makes the Star Trek communicator beeping sound whenever he flips it open.
  • Also, when describing a parasitic water bug,
    Alan: They call them cling-ons.
    Denny: Did you say Klingons!?
  • The third season episode "Son of the Defender" used footage from the 1950's Defender TV movie featuring Shatner to present Denny as a young attorney clashing with his father (Played by the late Ralph Bellamy). It was surprisingly emotional.
  • In one episode, Valerie Bertinelli appeared as a guest character, and her appearance was heralded with the theme from One Day at a Time, the show that made her a star.
  • Near the end of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," Denny comes face-to-face with Shirley's ex-husband Ivan Tiggs (Tom Selleck).
    Denny: We have something else in common.
    Ivan: What's that?
    Denny: We're both... leading men. We're like stars on our own show. Only the star doesn't have only one leading lady...
  • When Jeri Ryan appeared as Courtney Reece, it was mentioned that Reece's favorite restaurant in LA is the Ortolan. In real life, the Ortolan was owned by French chef Christophe Eme and his wife... Jeri Ryan.
  • Notably averted with the addition of John Larroquette to the cast. His most well known television role, that he won four straight Emmy's for, was as a snarky, lecherous, Butt-Monkey DA on a zany sitcom, the type of character that would fit right in with the rest of the cast. So, of course, he plays the sober, serious, not at all womanizing straight man.
• Actor-Shared Background: Denny Crane's larger-than-life persona, and his anxieties about being washed-up. One could argue that Shatner fits that bill and in many ways Denny is a reflection of himself. Especially Denny doing Priceline commercials. David E Kelley mentioned wanting William Shatner for the role precisely because he would fit perfectly and was willing to poke fun at himself.
• Fake American: Canadian William Shatner as staunch, gun-loving Denny Crane.
• I Am Not Spock: For a lot of people, this show was responsible for William Shatner not just being Captain Kirk. In fact inverted, now people make Denny Crane jokes about old Star Trek episodes.
• I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine:
  • Heather Locklear, one of William Shatner's old friends from the days they costarred in T.J. Hooker, played Denny Crane's client. Unfortunately the show was cancelled before Spock could agree to do an appearance.
  • Christian Clemenson, one of James Spader's old school friends, played Jerry Espenson. They also played brothers in the 1990 film Bad Influence.
  • Armin Shimerman plays a judge in the first few episodes of season 3. In one scene, he and former Deep Space Nine castmate Rene Auberjonois face off with all the chemistry of the Quark/Odo exchanges.
• You Look Familiar: John Larroquette, who plays Carl Sack, earlier played Joey Heric on The Practice, from which this show spun off.

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