Armin Shimerman (Quark) appears as an elf tonight in the Hallmark Channel's Meet the Santas, a sequel to last year's highly-rated Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus.

Zap2It reports that Steve Guttenberg and Crystal Bernard reprise their roles from the original, as does Shimerman, who plays Ernest, the manager of Santa's North Pole operation. "Because I'm a short person," said the five-foot-six Shimerman, "I have for years wanted to play an elf. I auditioned for commercials, auditioned for elves in other projects, never got it...I'm not saying it was a life goal to play an elf, but it was actually something on my wish list."

The film concerns Santa's urgency to wed his intended by Christmas Eve or risk ruining Christmas, which makes Ernest very concerned. "The core of the character is that he is the chair of operations and makes sure that all the gifts get out on time, and the sleigh is off at the right time," explained Shimerman, who also played the less-than-lovable Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "One of the nice moments in the film, towards the end, was his sudden realization of, 'My God, it's all worked out just the way I hoped it would.'"

The movie, added Shimerman, who is Jewish, is "as much about relationships as it is about Christmas." He said that he had little to do with planning his own wedding to actress Kitty Swink (Luaran): "I had little things to do, but basically it was my wife's party, and I was an invited guest, and I was very happy to be there. This May will be our 25th wedding anniversary."

Shimerman believes that if Meet the Santas is as successful as its predecessor, there could be a third installment. "It's always nice to work with these three people," he said. "I cannot tell you what a lovefest it is. I know that sounds really cheesy and syrupy, but I really adore [director] Harvey Frost, and I adore working with Steve and Crystal."

Meet the Santas airs tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern time on the Hallmark Channel. The full interview with Shimerman may be found at Zap2It.

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