William Shatner went to space with Jeff Bezos like a Star Trek episode that went off the rails. With Shatner heading to the stars in Blue Origin’s New Shepard, it was a big deal for fans of Star Trek because the second-best Captain Kirk was finally taking to space. (I say second best wholeheartedly because Chris Pine is a better James Tiberius Kirk, and this is the hill I’m willing to die on.)
The trip only lasted minutes, and yet somehow it did the impossible: It humbled William Shatner.
Coming back from space, Shatner seemed speechless, just taking in what he just saw, and honestly, Shatner being speechless is a miracle all on its own, let alone a 90-year-old man going to space and back and being okay. That’s right! In case you forgot, Shatner is 90 and went to space.
Shatner said the following: “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore … whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”
William Shatner, reaching the edge of space: “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore… whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” https://t.co/1A1SaDwVWN pic.twitter.com/SGgsgRLmxE
— ABC News (@ABC) October 13, 2021
As much as I want to make fun of Shatner (and have the right to), there’s still a bit of room, next to our massive frustration with millionaire+ space tourism, for a sense of childlike wonder that Captain Kirk himself was actually in space. And Twitter went from making fun of Shatner to genuinely being excited to see Captain Kirk in the final frontier.
William Shatner just became the oldest person to go to space. He’s 90. My only question is, did he book the flight on Priceline? pic.twitter.com/JN0dEDgo0u
— NUFF (@nuffsaidny) October 13, 2021
I don’t know. Just standing in line CVS, which is on Earth, for travel size toothpaste and my friend Bill is going to space. SPACE. Oh. And he’s 90. @WilliamShatner There. Got my toothpaste!
— benjamin folds (@BenFolds) October 13, 2021
Found that while Shatner thing really touching. Because, you know: space. And really no amount of sneering gets in the way of that.
— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt) October 13, 2021
It’s a bit silly, but watching William Shatner react to actually going to space was so moving. He’s 90!!!#LLAP Captain Kirk. https://t.co/3ZO1XNw3qZ
— Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez (@FitzTheReporter) October 13, 2021
What sucks is that I wish it were Leonard Nimoy instead. I wish he got to go and got to experience space, but alas, that’s not the way the world works. As much as we all love to hate William Shatner, it is cool to get to see someone who gave generations the promise of hope for the future through space exploration go to space and explore where many men went before.
(image: CBS)
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