Skip to main content

Shatner, Wheaton lend Star Trek cred to NASA’s videos

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Barring any unforeseen problems, this Sunday will see NASA’s Curiosity rover touch down on the surface of Mars. The nuclear-powered machine cost $2.5 billion to construct and NASA has high hopes for Curiosity. The landing “could arguably be the most important event in the history of planetary exploration,” said NASA’s Doug McCuistion in a recent Cnet article. “It truly is a major step forward, both in technology and in potential science return and science capability to unlock the mysteries of Mars in places that have never been accessible to humankind in the past.”

That’s all well and good, but NASA is well aware that it is still fighting an uphill battle to capture the imagination of the average person. Thus, in an effort to preemptively promote Curiosity’s landing, the Agency has released two vignettes with very special guests offering narration: William Shatner and Wil Wheaton.

Recommended Videos

If you’re reading this site, we feel pretty safe in assuming that you know who Shatner and Wheaton are. It’s not even a matter of being a “geek” so much as having been aware of any aspect of pop culture over the past three decades. Shatner is arguably the most iconic captain in the history of the massive Star Trek franchise and Wil Wheaton, along with half a billion other hyper-geeky projects, spent seven years as the young Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Regardless of your thoughts on Star Trek as an object of entertainment, you can’t argue that the series, its characters, and the actors who portray them are eternally linked in mankind’s collective consciousness to the most basic idea of space exploration.

In short, since reviving Carl Sagan for a spot of voice work is out of the question, they’re the perfect choice to narrate clips of NASA’s newest, coolest technology.

As for the clips themselves, which NASA has dubbed “Grand Entrance,” they offer a little over four minutes of footage covering the immense amount of preparation NASA put into the Curiosity rover prior to blasting it into space, as well as a computer-generated walkthrough of what the machine will be doing on the Martian surface. It’s not quite as impressive as this recent montage of images captured by the International Space Station, but for what is effectively a teaser reel it does a solid job of inspiring viewers. Granted, that’s almost certainly the result of Captain Kirk describing everything on screen, but that’s less NASA’s fault and more the result of years of being inundated with Shatner’s most famous character in any situation even remotely linked to space.

Don’t get us wrong, we love Shatner’s voice over work here, but at the same time we’re drawn to Wheaton’s as it’s far less on the nose. You can view both versions of the Grand Entrance clip below (Shatner at top, Wheaton at bottom), so feel free to make your own decision.

Well, unless that decision is Patrick Stewart. Yes, he’s great and we all love him, but that wasn’t one of your options, was it?

Earnest Cavalli
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…
Sebastian Stan lays out Bucky’s future after Thunderbolts
Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts.

There are some spoilers ahead for the ending of Marvel's Thunderbolts. Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World briefly introduced a new direction for James "Bucky" Barnes, a character Sebastian Stan has been playing since 2011 in Captain America: The First Avenger. In Brave New World, the former Winter Soldier apparently retired from being a reformed hero and went into politics by running for Congress. Thunderbolts reveals that Bucky won his election to the House of Representatives. But his stay in Congress was short.

Read more
Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?
jeep compass ev us newjeepcompassfirsteditionhawaii  4

Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.

Read more
Charlie Cox singles out his least favorite Daredevil: Born Again episode
Charlie Cox in Daredevil: Born Again.

Daredevil: Born Again season 1 was largely reconceived after the 2023 actor and writer strikes. Dario Scardapane -- a veteran of The Punisher series on Netflix -- was brought in to be the new showrunner and he made a lot of changes to the series that were well-received. However, there's one episode that Scardapane didn't really change at all, and it happens to be the least favorite episode of Daredevil: Born Again's leading man, Charlie Cox.

During an appearance on The Playlist, Cox noted that he wasn't very fond of the season's fifth episode, "With Interest," which was a largely standalone episode that featured his character, Matt Murdock, in a bank during a hostage crisis.

Read more