Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom

What is it about ice cream that makes distinguished former astronauts get so cranky? Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step foot on the Moon, says that "fantastic and unbelievable" science fiction movies and television shows are partly to blame for the boredom young people have with the modern space program.

During an ice cream party this week, Aldrin told Sci-Fi Wire: "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 ... 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 doesn't hate all science fiction films and TV shows -- just the ones that deal with "fantasy and ... traveling seven times the speed of light." He spoke favorably about Ron Howard's Apollo 13 and Tom Hanks' From the Earth to the Moon series: "They were fascinating, because it was reality history, and reality fiction can be good if you stick to reality." Got that?

While not mentioning Star Trek or Star Wars, I'd guess those were some of the culprits he had in mind. When he's not busy slagging science fiction and fantasy, Aldrin hosts Unseen Moon, a National Geographic Channel show. Hmm, I wonder if his show is "reality history" or "reality fiction"?

[ Via Classic Horror Film Board ]

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