If you count yourself among the throngs of William Shatner fans (and if you don't, we'll give you five seconds to leave the room), you absolutely cannot miss this week's episode of Boston Legal. It will bring the Shatner of today together with the Shatner of 50 years ago.

The show will incorporate footage from a 1957 episode of Westinghouse Studio One titled "The Defender," in which a 26-year-old Shatner played a young criminal attorney working with his father (Ralph Bellamy) during a dramatic trial to defend a 19-year-old (Steve McQueen) accused of murder.

The Boston Legal episode, by the way, is titled "Son of the Defender."

The black-and-white Studio One footage will serve as flashbacks to a decades-old trial involving a young "Denny Crane" (obviously avoiding the character's actual name in that play!). In Tuesday's episode, Shatner's present-day character is taken hostage by a man still holding a grudge over the acquittal Crane and his father won for a defendant he believes killed his mother. The vengeful man brings the accused at gunpoint to Crane, Poole & Schmidt, forces Crane to wear an explosive vest, and orders the firm's staff to conduct a mock re-trial.

According to earlier news reports, films made from the live Studio One TV performances were salvaged from a condemned Westinghouse warehouse, and are now available on DVD. The Studio One episode "The Defender" should not be confused with The Defenders, a series that ran from 1961-1965 in which Shatner played several guest spots.

The Boston Legal episode "Son of the Defender" airs Tuesday, April 3, on ABC at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, 9 p.m. Central. Check your local listings, or just program your TiVo!