John Oliver was at the Kennedy Space Center for the last launch of the space shuttle Atlantis. To talk about this end of an era for 'The Daily Show' (Weeknights, 11PM ET on Comedy Central), he spoke with people at the launch, and even sat down with Apollo 13's Captain James Lovell.

While Lovell is a true American pioneer and a NASA legend, he didn't quite give Oliver the gravitas he was looking for in this pivotal moment. So Oliver upgraded to the fictional version: Tom Hanks.

"All peoples need to have certain goals, something to strive for, and in doing so, we reach beyond ourselves to achieve that which we did not think was possible. To give up on that dream is to give up on America," Hanks said dramatically, but Oliver still wasn't convinced it was epic enough. Maybe Forrest Gump?