William Shatner Wakes Up Crew for Final Discovery Mission

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William Shatner Wakes Up Crew for Final Discovery Mission

Posted by samzenpus on Monday March 7, 2011 @06:58AM from the discovery-cancelled dept.

The Space Shuttle Discovery left the International Space Station this morning for the last time. To commemorate the ship's accomplishments over 27 years of service, the crew was greeted to a morning wake-up message from Capt. Kirk. "Space, the final frontier," Shatner said in a prerecorded message. "These have been the voyages of the space shuttle Discovery. Her 30-year mission: to seek out new science, to build new outposts, to bring nations together on the final frontier, to boldly go and do what no spacecraft has done before."

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WoW by dakkon1024 · 2011-03-07 06:59 · Score: 3, Insightful

This is nerdy, even by my standards.
1. Re:WoW by Higaran · 2011-03-07 07:06 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Yes, but it's still awesome on soo many levels.
2. Re:WoW by Sonny+Yatsen · 2011-03-07 07:26 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  But, it's so appropriate. Ask a lot of the Astronauts and Engineers at NASA what inspired them as children to work for NASA and in space and you will get a pretty good percentage of people citing how they, as kids, sat around a tiny television set in the late 60s or early 70s watching Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy and Mr. Spock explore the galaxy.
  I can't think of a better or more appropriate way to send off the Discovery as it goes home. (There is a little bit of me in the back of my head that wished that the Space Shuttle Enterprise made it to space - then Shatner's sendoff would be even more appropriate.)
  
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3. Re:WoW by vxice · 2011-03-07 08:11 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  "Shatner said in a prerecorded message." Historic event, he almost considered waking up for it.
  
  --
  every anarchist is a baffled dictator. Benito_Mussolini
4. Re:WoW by isorox · 2011-03-07 08:33 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  So has anime, but if I'm on the ISS and the theme from Astro Boy comes out of the speakers, I'm unlikely to recognize its cultural significance.
  That's because is has no cultural significance beyond a few nerdy fanboys. Star Trek is a massive, multinational, franchise. The last film brought in $125 million internationally, and indeed it was shown on the space station when it came out. Kirk and Spock are internationally known by anyone with the slightest interest in space.
5. Re:WoW by discord5 · 2011-03-07 10:05 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  "Shatner said in a prerecorded message." Historic event, he almost considered waking up for it.
  They tried doing a live version, but gave up and simply cut out all the pauses between the words. They were also afraid that Ricardo Montalban would show up in the middle of the introduction. Instead of a wakeup call with some memorable words, there'd be a scream so powerful that it would be capable of making sound in a vacuum. "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!". I mean, imagine waking up to that.
  So NASA kinda looked at all the pros and cons, and decided that the best option was simply not to invite Shatner personally. He's been known to be a bit of a prick at times too, so that's why people don't invite him to the cool parties anymore either. That, and that horrible toupee. Does he still wear the toupee?
6. Re:WoW by Geminii · 2011-03-07 16:57 · Score: 2
  
  You can't ask him to show up bald. There's hell-toupee.
Damnit Jim by nharmon · 2011-03-07 07:00 · Score: 5, Funny

You should have just grabbed the microphone and yelled...
KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!
1. Re:Damnit Jim by SnarfQuest · 2011-03-07 07:30 · Score: 2
  
  Hello Discovery, it's ... ... timetogetup.
  
  --
  Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
Wow by Lefty2446 · 2011-03-07 07:04 · Score: 4, Insightful

That would have been a pretty emotional moment I would think.
Have you noticed... by tekrat · 2011-03-07 07:06 · Score: 4, Insightful

That William Shatner has, for more than the last decade, made an entire career out of being a parody of himself?
I think it started with those Priceline commercials where he was singing "I've got two tickets to paradise..", and since then, all he's done is essentially do an SNL skit where William Shatner plays William Shatner hamming it up.
And only he could get away with it.

--
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
1. Re:Have you noticed... by Killjoy_NL · 2011-03-07 07:10 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I love Shatner in Boston Legal, hate him in Shit my dad says, that last show sucks gallons of ass :(
  
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  This is the sig that says NI (again)
2. Re:Have you noticed... by EnsilZah · 2011-03-07 07:15 · Score: 2
  
  And only he could get away with it.
  Well, to be fair there's also Hasselhoff.
  Oh wait, parody is not the same as mockery.
3. Re:Have you noticed... by preaction · 2011-03-07 07:16 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Adam West started doing it earlier. So it's a shouting match you want, eh? Well game on Quahog! AAAAAH! AAAAAH! AAAAH! AAAH AH! I'm beating you!
4. Re:Have you noticed... by mrchaotica · 2011-03-07 07:19 · Score: 2
  
  Somehow I always thought ass was measured by weight, not by volume. I learned something new today!
  
  --
  "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
5. Re:Have you noticed... by fahrbot-bot · 2011-03-07 08:15 · Score: 2
  SNL skit where William Shatner plays William Shatner hamming it up
  
  That reminds me of the SNL skit where Eddie Murphy teaches Stevie Wonder to do a Stevie Wonder impression... Can't get to the YouTube link from here, but here's an excerpt from the skit transcript:
  
  Richie (Murphy): That’s the worst Stevie Wonder impression I’ve ever seen in my life.
  
  Alan (Wonder): [grinning] What’s the matter with it?
  
  [The crowd roars with laughter as Stevie grins at Eddie, who breaks down and laughs helplessly for several seconds along with the audience.]
  
  Alan: I can funk! I can funk! I can funk...
  
  Richie: Yeah, yeah, but this, what’s you’re doing is ridiculous. It’s nothing like, I know Stevie Wonder, man, and he’s like, you have to mellow out, you see, you’re too tense. Loosen up. You have to see me do a Stevie Wonder impression...
  
  [Eddie Murphy takes a pair of sunglasses out of his breast pocket. Crowd roars as Eddie puts them on.]
  
  Richie: You gotta smile a lot, like this, you see, you gotta smile. [grins]
  
  Alan: [grins with his mouth wide open] You mean like this?
  --
  It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
How he said it ... by UnknownSoldier · 2011-03-07 07:06 · Score: 3, Funny

Oblg. ;-)
"These have been ... the voyages ... of the space shuttle ... Discovery.
Her 30-year mission: ... to seek out .. new science, ... to build new ... outposts, ... to bring nations together ... on the final frontier, ... to boldly go ... and do what ... no spacecraft ... has done before."
So nerdy it is awesome by Stregano · 2011-03-07 07:11 · Score: 5, Interesting

Just think of how motivated you would be to go to work in the morning if Shatner gave you a wake up call like this:

"Work, the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of , to boldy go where no computer programmer has gone before. To seek out new code that would shatter new civilizations."

--
The world is how you make it
1. Re:So nerdy it is awesome by c6gunner · 2011-03-07 08:11 · Score: 2
  
  It would be cool on Monday. By Wednesday, I'd be reaching for my phaser.
Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Asten · 2011-03-07 07:12 · Score: 2

Of course, shutting down the space program is going to result in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across the country. the ROI on dollars invested in space is pretty good, I bet.
Boston Legal by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-07 07:13 · Score: 3, Interesting

Have you seen Boston Legal?
He was anything BUT Captain Kirk and I have to say, some of his finest work on TV or movies.
1. Re:Boston Legal by VMSBIGOT · 2011-03-07 08:19 · Score: 2
  
  Bad example. His clamshell cell phone made the communicator chirp when he opens it, and in a later episode he tells people he used to captain a spaceship:
  Denny Crane: [walking through a crowd of reporters] dennycranelaw.com. Pictures, bios, hobbies. I once captained my own spaceship. Muli-talented.
  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402711/quotes?qt0401847
  I also seem to remember a few quips about his 'other' job, hinting at his work for Priceline. I always got the impression that he was spoofing himself as a running gag throughout the show.
What a pity it wasn't Enterprise by thewils · 2011-03-07 07:14 · Score: 4, Insightful

Then he could have woken them up with "Kirk to Enterprise".

--
Once I was a four stone apology. Now I am two separate gorillas.
Re:Pretty Ironic.... by GigG · 2011-03-07 07:18 · Score: 3, Insightful

It isn't the job of the US Government to put a roof over anyone's head.

--
Is buying a Harley Davidson as your first motorcycle since you were 16 at age 49 a midlife crisis issue?
Re:We Need Audio! by Sven-Erik · 2011-03-07 07:19 · Score: 3, Informative

It's on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAtelevision

--
- "Every demand is a prison, and wisdom is only free when it asks nothing." Sir Betrand Russell
Re:Pretty Ironic.... by ElectricTurtle · 2011-03-07 07:19 · Score: 2

See, now you're letting reality ruin that perfectly good angsty self-righteous rhetorical bullshit. How else is this guy going to get his bleeding heart pumping without a convenient scapegoat?

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Re:Pretty Ironic.... by trollertron3000 · 2011-03-07 07:21 · Score: 2

But it is in their best interest. The people are government. If you have a lot of people without roofs you have a lot of angry people not doing their part to move the country forward. Eventually they come and burn down your roof to make the point sink home.

--
Tiger Blooded Bi-Winning Machine
Was played on my drive in by Shivetya · 2011-03-07 07:21 · Score: 3, Interesting

and it was simply awesome. Obviously anyone listening to most news radio shows on their drive will have heard it. I wonder how much the current generation connects to those words? I know that some will equate it with Star Trek but I wonder how many have seen it. I was further amazed at how much his voice did not seem to have changed.

--
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
1. Re:Was played on my drive in by v1 · 2011-03-07 07:56 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  if I got a wakeup call and wasn't quite firing on all cylinders just yet I'd be hard pressed to figure out if I was hearing Kirk or someone trying to book me a flight with pricewatch
  
  --
  I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
Re:Pretty Ironic.... by ae1294 · 2011-03-07 07:28 · Score: 2

a little ? how 'bout $1000000000000 or about $300000 per American since 2001.
You make it sound way worse than it really is. The credit card bill isn't due until 2012.
Re:We Need Audio! by Sven-Erik · 2011-03-07 07:37 · Score: 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYmozt4yFZs

--
- "Every demand is a prison, and wisdom is only free when it asks nothing." Sir Betrand Russell
Splitting the infinitive is fine... by Oxford_Comma_Lover · 2011-03-07 07:37 · Score: 2

The rule about splitting infinitives is a prescriptivist grammarian trope. In other words, it's fine as a recommendation, but it isn't really a rule: a bunch of people invented it as a heuristic a hundred years ago and since then grammar nazis have used it. "To boldly go" actually sounds slightly better to my ear because it is two iambs in a row.
If it's clear from the sentence that it is an infinitive, it doesn't sound awkward, and it is clear that the modifiers modify what you intend them to, it doesn't matter that you don't follow the heuristic. It's not something like spelling "all right" "alright," where anyone well-educated on language will know right away that it's wrong.

--
-- IANAL, this isn't legal advice, and definitely isn't legal advice for you. Also, Squee!
Re:A has-been celebrates an ending. Sad. by Bloodwine77 · 2011-03-07 07:41 · Score: 2

You may call him a has been, but how many current astronauts were inspired by shows like Star Trek? You could also call James Doohan a has-been actor, but that man inspired so many people, such as myself, to go in to engineering. RIP Scotty.
Re:He also asked the crew of the Discovery... by blueg3 · 2011-03-07 07:56 · Score: 2

Yeah, astronauts are notorious for having a hard time finding dates.
Actually, at least 5 of the 6 crew are married.
Re:Pretty Ironic.... by spire3661 · 2011-03-07 08:06 · Score: 3, Insightful

This is quite possibly one of the dumbest statements ever. "Hey Columbus, no more boats for you until every king's subject is a free man...."

Exploring space is worth FAR more then wasting money on people who should either do for themsleves or die out. Exploring space > wasting money on a worthless human that cant even take care of itself. We have BILLIONS of humans and we recklessesly encourage EVERY human to make more.

Consider space exploration the mother of all insurance policies. It is absolutely imperative that we learn how to live off this rock for the survival of the species. There is no debate on this. At SOME point we HAVE to get off this rock. Armageddon literally could be tomorrow or several billion years from now.

--
Good-bye
wrong sci-fi quote by corbettw · 2011-03-07 08:24 · Score: 2

Shatner should've woken them up by yelling "There's a man on the wing of this space craft!"

--
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
Or how about HAL "If you'd like to hear it.... by Bob_Who · 2011-03-07 08:26 · Score: 3, Interesting

HAL:...I can sing
Dave Bowman: Yes, I'd like to hear it, HAL. Sing it for me.
HAL: It's called "Daisy."

"Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you......"
Re:Pretty Ironic.... by trollertron3000 · 2011-03-07 08:46 · Score: 3, Insightful

Tell that to the people in Egypt.

--
Tiger Blooded Bi-Winning Machine
Re:Pretty Ironic.... by angel'o'sphere · 2011-03-07 09:20 · Score: 2

It isn't the job of the US Government to put a roof over anyone's head.
That is interesting.
What else is its job then?
The chinese define the job of the government as follows:
a) make sure everyone has enough to eat
b) make sure everyone has enough to be clothed
c) make sure everyone has access to health care
d) make sure everyone has a roof over his head
e) and most of all: make sure everyone has access to education
This are the five main principles a ruler or a government should follow.
angel'o'sphere

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