William Shatner: Ambassador from Earth?

By Lisa Fary

If there’s an alien invasion, I think we can safely blame Keanu Reeves.

The Day the Earth Stood Still was released in theaters last Friday and on that same day, the movie was beamed into space in the general direction of the Alpha Centauri star system, four light years away.  It’ll take four years for the movie to reach the star system, and the signal isn’t likely to simply stop once it reaches Alpha Centauri.  It’ll keep traveling in that general direction (I’m assuming).

Let’s assume The Day the Earth Stood Still is intercepted by alien life.  Do we really want Keanu Reeves representing our species?  Especially if he’s acting?  What would said intelligent life think of us?  Would they decide that Earth would be an easy target because we’re so simple?

The Day the Earth Stood Still isn’t the first thing to be beamed into space.  According to the New York Times, Deep Space Communications Network, the company hired for the job, has also beamed Craigslist into space.   For the low price of $299, you too can beam a five minute transmission into space.

Your transmission would probably be lost in the noise of the television signals that have been leaking into space since its invention, but it’s kind of a fun idea.  It got me thinking, what would I beam into space for possible interception by an intelligent alien species?  What would be the best representation of us as a species?

I think it would have to be the complete works of William Shatner.

His acting career bridges the 1950s to current, which would show our future alien overlords how our entertainment has evolved.  They would also be exposed to a wide range of genres by viewing The Shat’s body of work.

Star Trek: TOS and the movies show humanity to be intellectually curious explorers rather than fearful warmongers.  They demonstrate that the civilized world has the capacity to co-exist peacefully with those who are different and to make peace with long standing enemies.

TJ Hooker, while not the best, is a decent example of a very popular genre: the cop drama which, for some reason, humanity just can’t seem to get enough of. It also serves as a period piece of the 1980s.

Boston Legal, aside from being brilliant television, is also an effective survey of the issues facing us to date as well as a commentary on current events.  Within the five seasons of the show is everything that is good and bad about humanity.  In the end, however, it shows us to be compassionate and hopeful.

TekWar. . . well, I don’t have an explanation for that just yet.  But, I’m sure I’d have something by the time it reached Alpha Centauri.

And yes, I would even include The Shat’s spoken word performance of “Rocket Man” and his collaboration with Ben Folds, Has Been (yes, I have it.  It’s actually really good).

In its story on the Keanu Reeves beaming, the New York Times quoted a biologist as saying, “If we were going to send anything to the stars, we send Bach. It would be bragging, but we are allowed to put our best foot forward.”

I disagree. I say we send our most iconic and ironic foot forward, our most diverse foot forward, our most self-depreciating and humorous foot forward.  I say we put our William Shatner foot forward, and maybe trip the intelligent alien who comes across it.

Universe, meet William Shatner, the Ambassador from Earth.

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Lisa Fary’s early exposure to classic Battlestar Galactica in 1979 is largely responsible for her lifelong interest in science fiction and her childhood ambition of being an intergalactic space cowgirl. She thinks diagramming sentences is a fun alternative to Sudoku.

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The Day The Earth Stood Still [DVD] (Widescreen)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (Special Edition) [Blu-ray]

The Day the Earth Stood Still (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Up Till Now: The Autobiography

Spaced Out: The Best of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner