Video: All Laughs for William Shatner and Anderson Cooper in CNN Interview

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Oct 8, 2021
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On the set of Star Trek: The Original Series, Captain Kirk, portrayed by William Shatner, was mostly business during the show’s three-season run.

But his effect on CNN’s Anderson Cooper was more akin to Rodney Dangerfield.

Shatner joined Cooper on his show Full Circle this week, discussing Shatner’s upcoming trip to outer space. He won’t quite reprise the role of Captain Kirk, but he’s still the human who actionized the legendary character. So, when news broke that Shatner was heading out of this galaxy, the vibe was obviously reminiscent of Kirk from the late 1960s.

Shatner and Cooper went at it for almost 20 minutes — most of which were spent by Cooper fighting off laughter. Here’s the footage:

Courtesy of CNN on YouTube

Shatner, 90, will depart this world aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin mission on October 12. Shanter is elated — and a little bit nervous — about the excursion beyond the clouds. He mused to Cooper, “I want to press my nose up against the plastic window. What I don’t want to see is somebody else out there looking back at me.”

The temptation here is to interpret Shatner will be fired into space for a nice little vacation. After all, he spent roughly 80 episodes of Star Trek traveling the cosmos. Nope. The voyage will last about 11 minutes in total. Just an extended bathroom break off the planet.

Shatner’s ship for this mission is called New Shepard, taking off from West Texas and journeying 63 miles. A few days ago, he described himself as a “Rocket Man” on Twitter:

For Shatner, it pays to be one of the pioneers of Star Trek — he’s classified as a “guest” for the mission, paying zero dollars for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. His odyssey with Star Trek starts from beginning to finish, watching ‘The Original Series’ all the way to the present day. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).