As Shatner heads toward the stars, visions of space collide

By TED ANTHONY
AP National Writer

The performer who breathed life into Captain James T. Kirk is, at age 90, heading toward the stars under dramatically different circumstances than his fictional counterpart. In doing so, William Shatner is causing worlds to collide. There’s the utopian spacefaring vision of “Star Trek,” and the evolving, increasingly commercial place that “space” holds in the American psyche. When Shatner boards Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin NS-18, he’ll be creating one of the ultimate crossover stories of our era. It’s about space and exploration, and about capitalism and and economic equity. But it’s also about popular culture and marketing and entertainment and nostalgia and hope.