The Shat Turns 80

William Shatner turns 80 today. I had no idea he was that old. He doesn't look 80. I'm sure the character he plays on $#*! My Dad Says is supposed to be much younger than 80. And that's not his only TV show. He's also got Shatner's Raw Nerve on the BIO channel. If only I could be that active at 80.

Then I started thinking about it, and I realized... Shatner's actually been "old" for a long time. They start making cracks about Captain Kirk being old in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. Then a few weeks ago I caught parts of Star Trek Generations on SyFy and found myself thinking, Shatner doesn't look that much older than Patrick Stewart.

Turns out, Stewart is just 9 years younger than Shatner. So when Wrath of Kahn came out in 1982, Shatner's Kirk was "old" at 51. When Star Trek: The Next Generation started airing in 1987, Stewart was already 47. He did pretty much his entire run as Picard older than Shatner's "old" Kirk.

And yet, if you look at them today, Shatner looks younger than Stewart.