{"id":17113,"date":"2025-06-19T17:03:39","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T09:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/william-shatner-and-neil-degrasse-tyson-banter-about-follies-and-the-final-frontier\/"},"modified":"2025-06-19T17:03:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T09:03:39","slug":"william-shatner-and-neil-degrasse-tyson-banter-about-follies-and-the-final-frontier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/william-shatner-and-neil-degrasse-tyson-banter-about-follies-and-the-final-frontier\/","title":{"rendered":"William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson banter about follies and the final frontier"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson laughs as \u201cStar Trek\u201d captain William Shatner tells a tale during a fireside chat at McCaw Hall in Seattle. (Mat Hayward Photo \/ Future of Space)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

William Shatner set a record as the oldest human in space at the age of 90 \u2014 but at the age of 94, he\u2019s not that interested in taking another record-setting space trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I had such a meaningful experience,\u201d he told GeekWire. \u201cMaybe I tend to think of it like a love affair. You want to go back to that love affair? Maybe not. It was such a great moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original captain from \u201cStar Trek\u201d revisited that emotional moment from his Blue Origin suborbital spaceflight during a rollicking chat with celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson at McCaw Hall in Seattle on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s performance grew out of a meetup that the astronomer and the actor had last year during a space-themed Antarctic cruise. The two had such a good time that they worked with producers to organize an onstage follow-up.<\/p>\n

Tyson said Seattle was chosen as a promising venue for what was billed as a \u201cone night only\u201d event. \u201cI knew I have a very loyal, large fan base here in the Pacific Northwest, centered on Seattle,\u201d he said during a pre-show press availability. \u201cI think Bill does, too. Is that right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t follow that as closely,\u201d Shatner deadpanned.<\/p>\n

The banter went full-tilt during the evening\u2019s onstage chat. Shatner recalled his origins as a struggling actor in Canada, \u201cmoving from city to city, and fetid bed from fetid bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I the only one who doesn\u2019t know what \u2018fetid\u2019 means?\u201d Tyson joked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat means it didn\u2019t smell good, and it wasn\u2019t me,\u201d Shatner replied.<\/p>\n

Then Tyson took his turn, recounting his rise from dog-walker to astrophysicist to cultural icon. \u201cDo you know I have six cameo appearances in feature-length movies?\u201d Tyson asked Shatner. He proceeded to reel off his credits, including a cameo in \u201cThe Last Sharknado: It\u2019s About Time\u201d and a role as \u201castrofishicist\u201d Neil DeBass Tyson alongside SpongeBob SquarePants. <\/p>\n

\u201cCan you believe that this highly educated Ph.D. has spent 15 minutes telling you about his bit parts in these incredibly bad movies?\u201d Shatner asked the audience.<\/p>\n

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William Shatner and Neil deGrasse Tyson look out at the audience during their Seattle chat, titled \u201cThe Universe Is Absurd.\u201d (Mat Hayward Photo \/ Future of Space)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The two continued to thrust and parry over topics ranging from quantum physics to penguin poop. But Shatner took center stage with his recollection of the real-life space trip he took in 2021, aboard a New Shepard suborbital rocket ship built by Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture.<\/p>\n

Shatner said the space odyssey had its origins in a conversation that he had with Bezos years earlier. \u201cI went to Blue Origin, met with Jeff Bezos and suggested, because he hadn\u2019t flown his rocket yet, maybe I should go,\u201d he recalled. \u201cSo we left the building \u2026 he\u2019s got a model of the Starship Enterprise under a dome in his lobby \u2026 I went home under the impression that might work. And COVID hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

That put the topic on hold for a year. When Blue Origin scheduled the first crewed New Shepard flight, the crew list included Bezos \u2014 but not Shatner. \u201cSo he went up first, and was noted, and then came back and he sent me a message: \u2018Would you like to go up second?’\u201d Shatner said. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna go up second. That\u2019s the vice president. For God\u2019s sake, I want the president.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Shatner thought about it again. \u201cYou know, the feeling of space, the final frontier. Why not go, out of a sense of curiosity, what it\u2019s like? So, I said yes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Shatner recalled that he was brought to the launch site a day before the rest of the crew, and taken on a tour that involved a climb up flights of stairs to get to the top of the launch tower. \u201cAnd then we walked back down and went back to the headquarters,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought, they must have brought me here to see if I could walk up 11 flights of stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be embarrassing if you died halfway up,\u201d Tyson quipped.<\/p>\n

Shatner admitted that he had some second thoughts during the countdown\u2019s final moments: \u201cI\u2019m thinking, \u2018I\u2019m getting the hell out of here.\u2019 And then I think, \u2018I can\u2019t \u2026 I\u2019m Captain Kirk!’\u201d<\/p>\n

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