Michael Weatherly snags a few minutes from filming in Vancouver, Canada, on “Dark Angel,” in which he plays Logan “Eyes Only” Cale, an idealistic cyber-journalist who has spent most of the show’s first season in a wheelchair.

He works very hard for a man who spends most of his time sitting down. “It’s true,” he says. “As the third A.D. told me the other day, ‘You’re the luckiest man in showbiz.’ Not only do I get to sit down every day, but I get to sit down next to Jessica Alba.”

“I think that’s what he meant, at least.”

Executive produced by James Cameron (”Terminator,” “Titanic” ) and Charles “Chick” Eglee (”L.A. Law,” “NYPD Blue,” “Murder One”), “Dark Angel” — which airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox — stars the doe-eyed, brunette Alba as Max, a genetically enhanced human prototype on the run from her creators and searching for her identity in a near-future Pacific Northwest.

The United States Max knows is in financial ruin after an electronic pulse destroyed computer records. When she’s not dealing with her own issues, Max has become Logan’s initially reluctant ally, helping him in his clandestine crusade against the ruthless power-brokers of their world.

An injury in the pilot put Logan in a wheelchair, but a transfusion of Max’s blood recently got him on his feet — at least for the moment. “The sitting-down part’s been pretty good,” says Weatherly. “Well, let’s see, I was standing up in the pilot, then I was sitting down for the first 10 episodes, then I stood for three episodes, which we’re in the middle of right now in terms of shows on air.”

We hear the effect may wear off. “You’re hearing correct. It’s sort of like your first crush, it wears off. Yeah, so Logan is finding himself confronted with the possibility of not only being in the wheelchair, but possibly things getting even more degenerative. You can imagine a quadriplegic Logan having a hard time engaging with Max.”

The situation has had other, less obvious, consequences. The “Dark Angel” cast found itself backstage at “The People’s Choice Awards,” having accepted the honor for favorite new drama series. “I was standing next to Jessica,” Weatherly recalls. “I’m holding the award, and this guy from the event turns to me, and he says, ‘Where’s the guy in the wheelchair?’”

“I’m six-two, and I’m looking at him, and I said, ‘You mean the guy who plays Logan?’ He says, ‘Right.’ I said, ‘I’m the guy who plays Logan.’ I swear to God, he looked down, like, ‘Where’s the chair?’”

“Can you only see George Clooney when he’s wearing the scrubs?”

Will Logan ever stop trying to get out of the chair? “This isn’t ‘Oprah,’ ” says Weatherly. “We’re not trying to find acceptance here. This is a show where the thing that drives these characters is that they don’t work through their issues. That’s the obstacle.”

“Logan will never accept the fact that he’s paralyzed, so he’ll so everything and anything to change that circumstance.”

The time slot “Dark Angel” inhabits is a bit crowded, with the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” spin-off “Angel” airing at the same time over on The WB (add the haunted-hospital UPN drama “All Souls” on April 17). There’s a hidden irony to this that has more to do with competing genre series.

“I think it is a shame that we’re put in the path of obviously a show that has a very strong following,” says Weatherly. “Alexis Denisof, who is on ‘Angel,’ is a friend of mine. When we discovered our programming cross-purposes, we squared off one night and said, ‘OK, should we arm-wrestle to see who gets the time slot?’”

The irony continues. Weatherly works from a wheelchair, as did James Marsters for part of the second season of “Buffy,” while his character, punk British vampire Spike, recovered from an injury.

“I did a movie with James Marsters,” says Weatherly. “It’s called ‘Winding Roads.’ He was really great. We lived in a house together for three weeks in Springfield, Mo. He is a good guy. I liked the fact that he brought his PlayStation. He’s good at it.”

The two found other common ground during the filming, which took place after Marsters concluded his work on season two of “Buffy.” Now a series regular, Marsters moonlights from “Buffy” as a guitarist and singer in Los Angeles-area clubs. Did he bring his guitar? “Yeah,” says Weatherly. “I play guitar, too, so we had a good old time.”

“Winding Roads” is directed by Ted Melfi, who co-wrote it with wife and star Kimberly Quinn. It’s about the twists and turns in the lives of three women (Quinn, Katrina Holden Bronson, Rachel Hunter) and the men (including Marsters and Weatherly) they’re involved with.

The film has had a limited release, largely in the Midwest (most recently in Columbus, Mo.), and Melfi is currently working on television and video distribution.

Meanwhile, Weatherly basks in the reflected glow of Alba’s stardom (”She’s like a rock star,” he says). It isn’t always as bright as he would like, especially when he’s sharing his hotel with ‘N Sync. “I’ll tell you something funny,” he says. “Last night, I got out of work at 2 o’clock in the morning, because that’s about when ‘Eyes Only’ gets done with his work. I pull up in my little minivan, and I get out, and there are 150 people in front of my hotel.”

“I get out of the car, and this roar goes up, and all of a sudden it stops. Then I hear one guy go, ‘It’s the ” Dark Angel” guy!’ I’ve got the hair that sticks straight up, so for a moment, they thought I might have been someone from a boy band.”

Source: Zap2it.com