The Night They Shared a Stage in Seattle
Something pretty rare happened in Seattle not long ago. William Shatner, the guy who played Captain Kirk on Star Trek, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, the famous scientist who explains space stuff on TV, stood on the same stage. They talked, laughed, and made the whole room think about the stars. It felt like two old friends catching up, even though one is an actor and the other spends his days studying black holes.
How These Two Even Became Friends
It started on a fancy boat trip to Antarctica. Both of them were paid to give talks to rich passengers. After dinner, people kept asking them to keep talking. They told stories, cracked jokes, and everyone loved it. One of the organizers said, “Hey, you two should do this on purpose, not just on a ship.” That’s how the show called “The Universe is Absurd!” got started. They took it on the road, and Seattle was one of the first stops.
What Happened That Night
The theater was packed. Shatner walked out in his usual big energy way. Tyson came right after, smiling like he always does. They sat in two chairs and just started talking. No script. No slides for most of it. Just two guys asking each other questions.
At one point Shatner said, “Neil, give me a quick sound bite about something cool.” Tyson turned to the crowd and said, “Pick anything in the universe.” A guy in the back yelled “Pluto!” Everyone laughed because they knew what was coming.
Tyson didn’t miss a beat. He said Pluto is half ice. If you moved it as close to the Sun as Earth is, all that ice would turn to gas and blow away. It would grow a tail like a comet. “And comets don’t get to call themselves planets,” he said. The whole place cracked up. Shatner pointed at him and shouted, “That’s the sound bite right there!”
Tyson Can’t Believe Shatner Is Still So Curious
Shatner is 94 now. Tyson kept saying he couldn’t get over how many questions the man still asks. He did the math out loud: Shatner has been alive for more than three billion seconds. That’s a long time to stay excited about everything. Tyson looked at him like he wanted to know the secret.
Shatner shrugged and said he wishes he had paid more attention to science when he was younger. “We know almost nothing about the universe,” he said. “But the little we do know is so amazing. I wish I had noticed that sooner.”
They Talked About the Big Stuff Too
Later the talk got serious. Shatner started talking about death. He said straight out, “I don’t want to go. I love my kids, my dogs, my horses, my life.” But then he smiled and added, “I am curious what happens next… just not curious enough to find out today.” The crowd laughed with him, but you could tell he meant it.
Tyson said scientists have to be okay with not knowing everything. He brought up the Big Bang. “We have no idea what was before it,” he said. “Maybe the question doesn’t even make sense. And that’s fine.” He looked calm about it. Shatner looked like he wanted there to be something more magical.
Sometimes They Disagreed – In a Friendly Way
Shatner thinks science can feel like new magic sometimes. Tyson says no, magic is when you believe something without proof. Science needs evidence you can test. They went back and forth a little, but it never got mean. It felt like watching two smart guys who respect each other argue about baseball teams.
The End of the Show
Near the end, Shatner stood up and did one of his spoken-word songs. A trumpet player named Keyon Harrold came out and played behind him. Shatner talked-sang about time, about not growing old inside, about pain and forgiving people. The whole room got quiet. Even Tyson just sat there listening.
When it was over, both of them stood up and took a bow. People stood and clapped for a long time.
Why That Night Mattered
It wasn’t a normal lecture. It wasn’t a normal comedy show either. It was two guys from totally different worlds reminding everyone that asking questions is fun. Shatner showed you can stay curious when you’re 94. Tyson showed you can talk about hard science and still make people laugh.
They keep doing the show in different cities now. Sometimes they argue about Pluto again. Sometimes they talk about aliens or what happens when we die. The details change, but the feeling stays the same: the universe is huge, strange, and kind of funny if you look at it the right way.
I still think about that Pluto joke. It’s simple, but it sticks with you. Maybe that’s the whole point. You don’t need fancy words to make people care about space. You just need two guys willing to talk about it like it matters – because it does.
