The One Character That Connects Star Trek, MacGyver, And 12 Monkeys

In the "Star Trek: Picard" episode "Watcher" (March 24, 2022), Picard (Patrick Stewart) travels back to the year 2024 to investigate a strange case of futuristic causality. His investigation took him to a bar in Los Angeles located at 10 Forward Ave., a bar that was overseen by a younger version of Picard's old friend Guinan (Ito Aghayere). The timeline is a little screwy in "Picard," as Trekkies already knew that Guinan (based on a real person) already looked like Whoopi Goldberg in the year 1893. But whatever. Mere details. This is an alternate version of Guinan. 

Guinan and Picard connect frequently at 10 Forward to discuss his time-travel mission, and how it connects to the trickster deity Q (John de Lancie), an old foe of Guinan's. While they are having their discussion, a man swings by the bar to pick up Guinan's pet pitbull, Luna. The man has a beard, wears a snapbrim, and sports a necktie that looks like it escaped the year 1987. This is Dale (Brian Quinn), Luna's new owner. Dale is a character who is never seen in "Star Trek" again. 

But here's a fun piece of trivia: the character of Dale, as played by Brian Quinn, had previously appeared on four other TV shows that weren't related to "Star Trek" at all. It's worth noting that "Picard" was written, directed, and co-showrun by the prolific Terry Matalas. Matalas, some may know, was also responsible for developing the 2016 reboot of "MacGyver," and was the creator, showrunner, producer, and director of the 2015 TV series "12 Monkeys," based on the Terry Gilliam film. 

Dale appeared in single episodes of both "MacGyver" and "12 Monkeys." He also, as Quinn pointed out on Twitter/X, even brought the Dale character to the documentary prank show "Impractical Jokers." That's one character across four shows and four networks. One will always be able to recognize Dale by his tacky power tie. 

Dale first appeared in the "12 Monkeys" episode "Year of the Monkey" (April 4, 2016). He wasn't a central part of the show, only seen having a speed-dating session with the time-traveler Jennifer Goines (Emily Hampshire). Jennifer lands in the present, a little disoriented, and raving about how the world will end soon, something that Dale finds to be utterly creepy. He, however, is generally polite and tries to be charming. Jennifer says she digs his movies and that she likes his necktie. She then implored Dale to shoot her in the chest with a gun she produced. Dale, being a sane man, refuses to comply. Indeed, when Jennifer leaves, he calls 9-1-1. 

Dale returned in the "MacGyver" episode "Mac + Desi + Riley + Aubrey." In the episode, MacGyver (Lucas Till) and Desi (Levy Tran) have to pose as a couple to investigate untoward goings-on at a fancy restaurant. The comedy of the episode comes from MacGyver's lack of talent when it comes to staying undercover, and the discomfort he feels in a traditionally romantic setting with a co-worker. Dale doesn't play a very large role, but we know he's flush, as he is seen ordering food at the restaurant. "MacGyver" was, it should be recalled, produced by James Wan, who spoke with /Film once upon a time. 

And, as discussed above, he is also friends with Guinan and eventually would adopt her dog. 

Quinn also noted in his Tweet that he is the crux of "the Daleverse," which was the unwittingly created brainchild of Terry Matalas. He also pointed out that he was indeed employed for "Impractical Jokers." The Dale character seems to aspire to an "ordinary guy" look, and is meant to blend into a background. This makes him ideal for a prank show. 

Matalas is currently developing a Marvel TV series all about the android Vision (Paul Bettany). Time will tell if Dale and Vision will meet.