I love that feeling.
But, once upon a time, before IMDb and the Internet, when dinosaurs and Big Hair roamed the Earth, those connections weren't so easily gleaned. You might read an article about how X, best known for their role on Y, will now be appearing on Z, but for the most part you just had to rely on recognizing them. "Hey … isn't that the one who played the doctor on Y? No, the other one." And then the other person would disagree, you'd spat a bit, and leave off, unsatisfied.
Which brings us here. Two old shows, both of them mostly pre-Internet. And I had no idea that Brent Spiner (whom I know, of course, as Commander Data on ST:TNG) played this role on "Night Court," one I remember quite well and do not at all associate with the Enterprise or her android. In fact, even after the character came on in the clip below, it took me a minute to realize, "Wait, they mean him?"
Two roles as different as can be, and both on shows prior to when I would have looked up Spiner to see what else he'd done. Weird.
(Also, as a side note, "Night Court" was a kick-ass TV show, it's still funny today, and I reallly should figure out how to watch some re-runs of it.)
Reshared post from +John E. Bredehoft
You have to be talented to hold your own with the cast of Night Court.
I probably wouldn't have recognized him, but there is enough of him in the voice that I would have started wondering and maybe put two and two together.
That was a hoot. Thanks for sharing!
I only knew this because, during the Next Gen days, we had a friend….o.k, this guy who hung around with us….who constantly talked about Spiner's character from Night Court as if he'd done King Lear…..lol. I was never a huge Night Court fan, at the time, so I never saw it then.
I've since found it to be pretty hilarious and still worth a watch.