A couple of days after being rushed to the hospital from the set of Boston Legal (story), William Shatner is back at work and being cited as an Entertainer of the Year.

On his web site, Shatner explained that a kidney stone necessitated his trip to the hospital earlier in the week, but he is recovered now. The Captain Kirk actor compared passing the stone to the skills of his favourite NFL quarterback, Peyton Manning, saying, "I passed it for a touchdown...and the stone indeed touched down. All is well."

Since Shatner and James Spader won Emmy Awards for Boston Legal, the series has been in the news for its slate of upcoming guest stars. The Futon Critic reported that Tony Award winner Joanna Cassidy - who played T'Pol's mother T'Les on Star Trek: Enterprise - will appear as Shatner's love interest in three upcoming episodes.

In addition, United Press International has noted that Michael J. Fox is scheduled to guest star on the series, also for three episodes. Fox retired from weekly television because he suffers from Parkinson's disease and has made no appearances on TV since 2004. He will play an executive officer struggling with lung cancer.

Last week on Boston Legal, Shatner's character, Denny Crane, made a Star Trek joke. The episode "Finding Nimmo" had already received press coverage because Crane and Spader's character, Alan Shore, shared a bed (an incident which Spader described in Contact Music as a "very graphic, explicit, loving scene"). During the fishing storyline in "Finding Nimmo", Spader's Shore explained that a variety of underwater parasites were referred to as "cling-ons", which made Shatner's Crane exclaim, "Klingons!"

And the Canadian Newswire Group reported that MovieEntertainment, Canada's biggest celebrity-driven entertainment magazine, had announced its first Entertainer of the Year Awards in the October issue. Two Star Trek alumni, Shatner and Kim Cattrall (Valeris), will compete for Best Canadian TV Actor.

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