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Buzz Slams Trek!

Chris_Johnston

Captain
Captain
From Sci Fi Wire...

12:00 AM, 11-JULY-08

Aldrin Slams SF's Effect On Space

Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. told SCI FI Wire that fantastic space science fiction shows and movies are, in part, responsible for the lack of interest in real-life space exploration among young people.

"I blame the fantastic and unbelievable shows about space flight and rocket ships that are on today," Aldrin said in an interview during an ice cream party held by the National Geographic Channel at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., this week. "All the shows where they beam people around and things like that have made young people think that that is what the space program should be doing. It's not realistic."

The second man on the moon praised real-world films such as Apollo 13. "And Tom Hanks' series From the Earth to the Moon," Aldrin added. "They were fascinating, because it was reality history, and reality fiction can be good if you stick to reality. But, if you start dealing with fantasy and beaming people up and down and traveling seven times the speed of light, you are doing damage. You're not helping. You have young people who have got expectations that are far unrealistic, and you can't possibly live up to the expectations you have created in young people. Why do they get bored with the space program? That's why."

Aldrin is hosting a show on the National Geographic Channel called Unseen Moon, which uses a high-definition camera on a satellite to explore the same area where he walked during the Apollo 11 flight to the moon in 1969. --Mike Szymanski
 
i really see it more as double edged sword.
that may be true for some but there are a lot of other kids duriing the decades who acquired a love of space science due to the sf they had read and seen.

i have a friend who works at nasa and got interested in the space program because he was a trekkie as a kid.

heck maybe aldrin better read this.
 
Maybe TV should consist only of programs that provide unbiased, 100% accurate views of the world -- you know, programs that are impossible to make, as every news program clearly demonstrates.
 
WTF is he talking about? :wtf: Buzz, I love ya man, but that is the silliest thing I ever heard :rolleyes:
 
Perhaps real space exploration would be more interesting if they hadn't went on a pointless trip to a lifeless, bland and uninteresting rock just to dick measure with the Soviet Union?

just thinking out loud....

or if the world didn't have a dozen space agencies, and instead had one, with something NASA and the ESA etc dont' have...decent publicity.

....or if they weren't getting rid of the only mildly interesting thing about the space program..the shuttles...and replacing them with more rockets instead of space planes...
 
Almost everyone I've ever known in space science was inspired to reach for the stars by science fiction. :vulcan: Buzz Aldrin is finally losing it in his old age. :alienblush: It is really sad to hear someone with his reputation say that. :cardie:
 
"I blame the fantastic and unbelievable shows about space flight and rocket ships that are on today," Aldrin said in an interview during an ice cream party held by the National Geographic Channel at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., this week. "All the shows where they beam people around and things like that have made young people think that that is what the space program should be doing. It's not realistic."
Well, it's Television, Buzz. Entertainment doesn't have to be realistic.

Perhaps real space exploration would be more interesting if they hadn't went on a pointless trip to a lifeless, bland and uninteresting rock just to dick measure with the Soviet Union?

...and pass up an opportunity to prove ours is much bigger than what they laughably call a dick? That sure would take the fun out of life...:guffaw:

....or if they weren't getting rid of the only mildly interesting thing about the space program..the shuttles...and replacing them with more rockets instead of space planes...

Wow, now that is just cynical...
 
I think he's got a solid point. Education just isn't sexy.

Look at the characters we admire in Trek. Aside from Tom Paris, who's watching TV? They're conducting research for leisure. Or getting exercise. Or reading books.

But of course, market forces steer entertainment in the direction of ratings; which measure viewing habits that directly reflect the population's psychological priorities.

And of course, there's the issue of economic priorities. Including whether education is actually a priority or just given lip service as such. I'm beginning to wonder.
 
If I get what he's saying that all those movies and shows make our space program seem less exciting but that's also the case for most things that movies and TV aren't the same as real life.
 
It's a shame Buzz couldn't acknowledge how many people who became involved in the space program were there because they were inspired by shows like Star Trek.
 
It's a shame Buzz couldn't acknowledge how many people who became involved in the space program were there because they were inspired by shows like Star Trek.

I honestly believe in the truth of this. Of course there's a place for "pop" science fiction alongside hard sci-fi and so forth.

I don't hear actual aerospace people bashing Trek very often at all. It bums me out.
 
But really i think the reason people aren't interested in space anymore, is because we haven't done anything interesting since the early 70's!

We need to go back to the moon
We need to go to mars
We need to work on warp drive! :techman:
 
But really i think the reason people aren't interested in space anymore, is because we haven't done anything interesting since the early 70's!

We need to go back to the moon
We need to go to mars
We need to work on warp drive! :techman:

Buzz has a point, but so do you. As a die-hard NASA booster, and someone who once lived and worked at Johnson Space Center, even I find it hard to get really excited about the modern space program anymore. Orbiting the earth for the last 34 years has really gotten old.
 
Almost everyone I've ever known in space science was inspired to reach for the stars by science fiction. :vulcan: Buzz Aldrin is finally losing it in his old age. :alienblush: It is really sad to hear someone with his reputation say that. :cardie:

It's a sad effect of the information age. Once great people still draw a crowd long after they loose their clarity of thought. :(
 
Defensive, much?

Aldrin's got considerable experience, information and had more than enough opportunity to observe all of this over decades. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but every opinion isn't entitled to equal respect. People are rejecting his out of hand because he calls fantasy and immaturity for what it is.
 
Defensive, much?

Aldrin's got considerable experience, information and had more than enough opportunity to observe all of this over decades. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but every opinion isn't entitled to equal respect. People are rejecting his out of hand because he calls fantasy and immaturity for what it is.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions,

but mine are the correct
 
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