I found William Shatner's recent trip into space quite poignant. Having grown up with James Tiberius Kirk and his crew in Star Trek, the Captain came full circle when 'he' actually went where no Shatner had gone before.
Despite being quite basic compared to the experience he'd had on the Enterprise old Bill seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed himself on the Blue Origin. I liked the fact that Jeff Bezos gave Shatner his seat for free because, like many of us, he loved Star Trek as a kid.
What do you think readers?
It would be nice if Bezos were to take on the full mantle of the STAR TREK theme of equality and treat his employees with dignity.
ReplyDeleteFood for thought Terran.
DeleteI think it makes Shatner even more my hero! 90 and still going strong, brilliant.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of that chap, Baumgartner, leaping out of a space capsule. A similar sort of moment we'll remember.
DeleteFor many years I have felt that Leonard Nimoy's life and career had surpassed William Shatner's, as Nimoy's had continued in the Star Trek franchise, with considerable dignity, until very recently, whereas Shatner's ended in the late 1990s with Star Trek : Generations.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the latter seemed almost to have been shunned by 'official' Star Trek and had become a jaded, almost tragi-comic figure.
However, this reverses their fortunes for me, since Shatner (ie Captain Kirk), at 90, has become the oldest man in space, and is an actual, historic space pioneer !
Well done Jim, I mean Bill. What a life !
Insightful Mish. I've never considered it like that before.
DeleteWatched the whole journey live. A brilliant publicity stunt or not, that was a historic moment for a Star Trek fanboy.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff Arto! The final frontier and he's been there now!
DeleteStar Trek the television programme has had so many real-world impacts. The first Space Shuttle being named Enterprise; Nichelle Nichols working with NASA; James Doohan having his ashes sent in to space; and now William Shatner going in to space. Little by little the world of Star Trek is becoming a reality.
ReplyDeleteVery true Paul. The series was our future. Maybe it was as important as anything NASA actually did?
DeleteAlert! Woodsy! UFO is on the Horror channel next week, Wednesday. It's obviously a must see for Moonbasw Central
ReplyDeleteThanks Khusru! Nice Moonbase alert that!
DeleteShatner going into space and actually being terrified shows a level of humility that we rarely see from Bill, Star Trek's influence is everywhere, I here that the secret space programme is using the same naming of vehicles for instance USSF Eisenhower etc..
ReplyDeleteGreat MJ. Roddenberry was prescient wasn't he.
DeleteWhile I have strong reservations about space tourism, at the same time Mr Shatner was in one of my very favourite TV programmes!
ReplyDeleteI agree Andy, Star trek, and Thunderbirds, were THE programmes back then, yes!
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