Richard Riehle Richard Riehle is a prolific character actor from Menomonee Falls , Wisconsin , who has appeared in three of the four " Star Trek " spin - offs , as well as over 50 other television series and about twice as many films . He first appeared as Batai in fifth season episode in . He then played Seamus in two episodes of , and . His most recent " Star Trek " role was that of Doctor Jeremy Lucas in the episode and . His lab coat from " Cold Station 12 " was sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay . Television work . Riehle made his episodic television debut in 1989 with a guest appearance in the popular science fiction series " Quantum Leap " , starring future actors Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell . He made another appearance on the show the following year . He also made three guest appearances on " L . A . Law " , co - starring with Corbin Bernsen , Larry Drake , Jennifer Hetrick , Salome Jens , and Sam Anderson . In addition , Riehle has guest - starred on such shows as " Murder , She Wrote " ( with William Windom and Mark Rolston ) , " Murder One " ( with John Fleck , Gregory Itzin , and Vanessa Williams ) , " The Visitor " ( with Richard Cox and Leon Rippy ) , " Buffy the Vampire Slayer " ( with Armin Shimerman ) , " Diagnosis Murder " ( with Scarlett Pomers and Leon Russom ) , " The West Wing " ( with Ed Begley , Jr . , J . Michael Flynn , Glenn Morshower , and Tony Plana ) , and " Boston Legal " ( starring William Shatner and Rene Auberjonois ) . Riehle also had a recurring role as Uncle Dave on the short - lived TV sitcom " Married to the Kellys " ( 2003 - 04 ) , which co - starred Sam Anderson and Bruce Gray . Perhaps Riehle ' s most famous television role is that of Walter Finnerty on the FOX Network sitcom " Grounded For Life " . Riehle ' s notable made - for - TV movies include 1990 ' s " A Killer Among Us " ( with Mike Genovese and Dwight Schultz ) , 1991 ' s " Keeper of the City " ( with Tony Plana , John Putch , Jimmie F . Skaggs , and Tony Todd ) , 1998 ' s " Mr . Murder " ( with Jim Beaver , Stephanie Niznik , and Bill Smitrovich ) and " The Pentagon Wars " ( with Sam Anderson , Bruce French , and Randy Oglesby ) , 1999 ' s " Au Pair " ( 1999 , with John Rhys - Davies ) , and the Columbo movies " Ashes to Ashes " ( 1998 , with Spencer Garrett and Richard Libertini ) and " Murder with Too Many Notes " ( 2000 , with with Van Epperson , Obi Ndefo , Randy Oglesby , and Herschel Sparber ) . Film work . One of Riehle ' s earliest films was 1989 ' s " Black Rain " , in which he and guest star Stephen Root played Internal Affairs agents . ( The film also featured Tim Kelleher and Keone Young . ) In 1999 , Riehle and Root co - starred in the popular comedy ( with Diedrich Bader and Paul Willson ) . Riehle ' s exhaustive film credits also include the 1989 Civil War drama " Glory " ( with Bob Gunton , Mark Margolis , and Ethan Phillips ) , the 1992 version of " Of Mice and Men " ( with Ray Walston ) , " Body of Evidence " ( 1993 , with Michael Forest , Frank Langella , and Mark Rolston ) , " Free Willy " ( 1993 , with Lori Petty ) , the period Las Vegas mob - film " Casino " ( 1995 ) with an uncredited Steven R . Schirripa , the Stuart Baird - directed " Executive Decision " ( 1996 , with Len Cariou , Andreas Katsulas , and Warren Munson ) , " Desperate Measures " ( 1998 , with Dennis Cockrum and Tracey Walter ) , and 1998 ' s " Mighty Joe Young " ( with Geoffrey Blake , Richard McGonagle , Scarlett Pomers , Lawrence Pressman , and Tracey Walter ) . Riehle was also one of the many " Star Trek " alumni to be featured in the 1996 drama " Ghosts of Mississippi " . Co - starring with him in this film were Whoopi Goldberg , Virginia Madsen , Susanna Thompson , Bill Cobbs , Spencer Garrett , Jerry Hardin , Thomas Kopache , Terry O ' Quinn , Brock Peters , and Bill Smitrovich . His more recent credits include the 2001 independent film " The Gristle " ( with Michael Dorn ) , the 2001 comedy " Joe Dirt " ( with Brian Thompson ) , 2002 ' s " The Laramie Project " ( with Clancy Brown ) , the 2002 Christian film " Time Changer " ( with Callan White ) , the 2003 cult comedy " The Hebrew Hammer " ( as Santa , with Andy Dick playing his treacherous son ) , and the 2005 family movie " The 12 Dogs of Christmas " ( starring John Billingsley ) . He also worked with his " Enterprise " co - star John Billingsley and Tony Todd in Jerome Bixby ' s science fiction drama " The Man from Earth " . Other " Trek " connections . Additional projects in which Riehle appeared with other " Star Trek " performers include :