Priceline kills off William Shatner's Negotiator

William Shatner is ending his 14-year run as Priceline pitchman.

They're killing him off!

In a new 30-second TV spot for the travel site set to begin airing Monday, Shatner, as Priceline Negotiator, rescues panicked vacationers from a bus teetering on a bridge's railing.

"Save yourselves - some money," he says, handing his cellphone to a passenger as he and the bus tumble into a dry creek bed. Spoiler alert: A violent explosion, real and computer-generated, follows.

"I'm in grief mode," Shatner, 80, told AP Wednesday. "It's not the first time I've had an iconic character die off."

He's been peddling Priceline for 14 years, five of those as the "Negotiator" preaching travel bargains, and it's time for a change, says Christopher Soder, CEO of Priceline.com North America.

"The challenge is harder to get people's attention than it used to be. ... So we decided to do something really over the top to get the message across," Soder said. The new spot will be on his company's website and, he hinted, may be part of next month's Super Bowl commercial extravaganza.

Shatner can't be that broken up about the Priceline ad. He'll debut next month on Broadway in a one-man show, Shatner's World: We Just Live in It.

Besides, Soder says Shatner is still under contract. So it doesn't matter whether they use him again, he told AP. "I'm going to make them pay through the nose."