Dakin Matthews Dakin Matthews is a highly - prolific actor who played Admiral Patterson in the episode . A theater scholar , playwright , and former drama teacher , Matthews has had a lengthy career on the stage , but only broke into television in the 1980s . His first television role was a guest appearance in an early 1985 episode of " Remington Steele " entitled " Gourmet Steele " . Also guest starring in this episode were fellow " Trek " guest performers Daniel Davis and Deborah May . Matthews followed this with a 1986 appearance on " St . Elsewhere " , a series which starred fellow " Trek " alumni Jeff Allin , Ed Begley , Jr . , Norman Lloyd , Deborah May , France Nuyen , Alfre Woodard , and Jane Wyatt . That same year , Matthews had a small role in the mini - series " Fresno " , which also featured the likes of Henry Darrow , Teri Garr , Jack Kehler , and George D . Wallace . Matthews went on to guest star in many other TV shows , including " Dallas " ( starring Glenn Corbett , Leigh J . McCloskey , Derek McGrath , William Smithers , Leigh Taylor - Young , and Morgan Woodward ) , " Picket Fences " ( starring Roy Brocksmith , Leigh Taylor - Young , and Ray Walston ) , " Mr . & Mrs . Smith " ( starring Scott Bakula ) , " The West Wing " , " NYPD Blue " ( starring Gordon Clapp ) , " House , M . D . " , " Carnivàle " ( starring Adrienne Barbeau , Clancy Brown , and John Savage and guest - starring John Fleck and Scott MacDonald ) , and " " . He also guest - starred in an episode of " Touched by an Angel " with star Connor Trinneer and an episode of " The Lyon ' s Den " with " Voyager " stars Roxann Dawson and Robert Picardo ( as well as Scott MacDonald , Steven Weber , and Rick Worthy ) . More recently , he was seen on " Boston Legal " , starring Rene Auberjonois and William Shatner ( in an episode also featuring Ann Cusack ) . Matthews has also had recurring roles on a number of series , including " L . A . Law " ( starring Corbin Bernsen and Larry Drake ) , " The Practice " ( along with Daniel Davis , Bruce Davison , Randy Oglesby , and Tracy Middendorf ) , " Jack & Bobby " ( along with Ron Canada , Cliff DeYoung , Lawrence Pressman , and Paul Sorvino ) , " Desperate Housewives " ( starring Steven Culp , Teri Hatcher , Mark Moses , and Alfre Woodard and also guest - starring Bob Gunton ) , and " Gilmore Girls " ( along with John Billingsley , Larry Cedar , and Biff Yeager ) . In addition , Matthews was one of the many " Trek " performers to appear in the 1998 mini - series " From the Earth to the Moon " . His co - stars on this series include David Andrews , David Clennon , Ronny Cox , Ann Cusack , Clint Howard , John Carroll Lynch , Deborah May , Andy Milder , Holmes Osborne , Ethan Phillips , Harve Presnell , Mark Rolston , Stephen Root , and Alan Ruck . In 1987 , Matthews made his film debut in the comedy " Like Father , Like Son " , starring Catherine Hicks and husband - and - wife acting team Armin Shimerman and Kitty Swink . Since then , he has appeared in such films as " Sunset " ( 1988 , with Malcolm McDowell and Andreas Katsulas ) , " Eve of Destruction " ( 1991 , with Tim Russ ) , " Flubber " ( 1997 , with Clancy Brown , Christopher McDonald , and Wil Wheaton ) , and " Thirteen Days " ( 2000 ) . Among his co - stars in the latter film were Steven Culp , Kevin Conway , Bill Smitrovich , Tim Kelleher , Len Cariou , Ed Lauter , Boris Lee Krutonog , and Charles Esten . Other " Trek " connections . Additional projects in which Matthews appeared with other " Trek " performers include :