Brian McNamara New York - born actor Brian McNamara played the role of Lieutenant William Chapman in the episode . McNamara made his Hollywood acting debut in the 1984 film " The Flamingo Kid " , a movie which also featured fellow " Star Trek " performers Googy Gress and Steven Weber . This was followed with multiple appearances on the popular television series " St . Elsewhere " and " High Street Blues " , all occurring in 1986 . During his time on " St . Elsewhere " , he worked alongside the likes of Chad Allen , Jeff Allin , Ed Begley , Jr . , Norman Lloyd , Deborah May , France Nuyen , Jennifer Savidge , William Schallert , Alfre Woodard , and Jane Wyatt , while on " Hill Street Blues " , he appeared with James B . Sikking and Barbara Bosson . Also in 1986 , McNamara was seen in a supporting role in the science fiction comedy " Short Circuit " , also featuring Barbara Tarbuck . In 1988 , he had a supporting role in the comedy " Caddyshack II " . The following year , he was seen opposite actress Denise Crosby and TNG guest actor Ed Lauter in the drama " Tennessee Nights " . TV credits during the 1980s included the movies " On Fire " ( 1987 , with John de Lancie and Bill Erwin ) , " The Betty Ford Story " ( 1987 , with Eric Menyuk , Sierra Pecheur , Kenneth Tigar , and Concetta Tomei ) , " Earth Star Voyager " ( 1988 , co - starring Duncan Regehr ) , " Police Story : Monster Manor " ( 1988 , with Erich Anderson , Lori Petty , Clayton Rohner , and Scott Burkholder ) and guest appearances on " Family Ties " ( on which he worked with Brian Bonsall and Meg Wyllie ) and " L . A . Law " ( starring Corbin Bernsen ) . In 1988 , McNamara earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the previous year ' s telefilm , " Billionaire Boys Club " , which co - starred Raphael Sbarge and James Sloyan . And , in 1989 , he , Molly Hagan , and Gregory Itzin were regulars on the short - lived sitcom " The Nutt House " . After a supporting role in the popular film " Arachnophobia " ( with Roy Brocksmith ) in 1990 , the majority of his credits during the 1990s are comprised of TV work . This include appearances on " Murder , She Wrote " ( appearing along with Richard Beymer , Theodore Bikel , Len Cariou , Paul Carr , and William Windom ) , " Murphy Brown " , " Seinfeld " ( with Jason Alexander and Richard Herd ) , " Mad About You " ( in an episode also guest starring TNG star Gates McFadden ) , " Sliders " ( with John Rhys - Davies ) , the new " Fantasy Island " ( starring Malcolm McDowell and Mädchen Amick ) , and " Touched by an Angel " . He could also be seen in such TV movies as " Perry Mason : The Case of the Heartbroken Bride " ( 1992 , with Ronny Cox , Paul Dooley , and Michael McGrady ) , and " Without Warning " ( 1994 , with Ron Canada , John de Lancie , Marnie McPhail , and Alan Scarfe ) . He was also a regular on several short - lived programs , including " Pig Sty " ( with Liz Vassey ) and " Mercy Point " ( with Larry Cedar and Jordan Lund ) . He was more recently seen appearing with Vanessa Williams in the 2000 TV movie " A Diva ' s Christmas Carol " and with Marjean Holden in the 2001 science - fiction telefilm " Code Red " . He has also been seen on " CSI " , " NYPD Blue " , " JAG " ( along with K Callan , Steven Culp , and Jennifer Savidge and series regular Scott Lawrence ) , and multiple episodes of " The O . C . " He subsequently appeared in a family movie called " The Tillamook Treasure " , co - starring Brian Thompson ( 2006 ) . He also directed and starred in a horror movie called " Lost Signal " . Later , he starred as Major General Michael Holden on ' s series , " Army Wives " .