It started with a five-year mission that lasted only three seasons, became one of the landmark sci-fi movie franchises of the 1980s and morphed into an almost 40-year legacy of exploring the universe and the endless possibilities of the human experience. For some, “Star Trek” is a way of life and for others, an unmistakable part of American culture.

But this Friday the fifth television series, “Enterprise,” bids farewell after a short four-season run. And some may say the future of “Star Trek” is once again on unstable ground.

The series (and eventual phenomenon) premiered in 1966 on NBC. Creator Gene Rodenberry pitched his story as “Wagon Train” in space. The original series follows the adventures of the Starship Enterprise and its crew, headed by Captain James T. Kirk. After the original series was canceled in 1969, a handful of original fans and a new constituency of syndicated watchers kept “Star Trek” alive.

“We were watching the original ‘Star Trek’ even before we got to the United States,” says Abigail Derecho, a graduate student and member of a family of Trekkies. “It was part of our emersion into American culture. By the time we got here, we already knew what the Enterprise was, and who Kirk, Spock and McCoy were.”

After “Star Wars” proved to industry critics that sci-fi was profitable at the box office, Paramount Studios let the original cast reunite for “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which, according to Derecho, was less than out-of-this-world.

“The first ‘Star Trek’ movie was horrible,” Derecho says. “But people had been waiting so long that ticket sales for opening weekend were phenomenal.”

“Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” (yes, “Khaaan!”) was released three years later. By 1987 the ongoing movie franchise eventually led to a new television series, “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” A mega-hit, “Next Generation” lasted seven seasons and spurred four motion pictures, the first of which showed Captain Kirk passing the torch to his successor, Captain Picard.

But now the long chain of motion pictures is yielding smaller returns at the box office. Add to that an over-saturation of the television market —-with three overlapping and back-to-back spin-offs — and “Star Trek” seems to be losing its once monumental luster.

In retrospect, it’s important to examine what made “Star Trek” cult-worthy.

“The original series didn’t have a lot of special effects, so they had to express everything through story,” says McCormick junior Nathan Matsuda. “The characters and plot had to be more believable, something that people could see on screen.”

Story quality brought in a number of fans early. Even during syndication, fan-fiction writers emerged, building on pre-existing “Star Trek” themes and characters and revamping the franchise to fit their needs.

Communication sophomore Ang�lica Gonz�lez confesses that her parents were Trekkies.

“They used to watch ‘Star Trek’ and even collected the action figures,” she says. “I remember my mom kept them in a cabinet in their original packaging. It was painful to watch when she sold them during a garage sale.”

If star power is any indication, it’ll take a lot more than a series cancellation to silence “Star Trek.” William Shatner has maintained celebrity status, in one way or another, since his portrayal of Captain Kirk on the original series. He has released two musical albums, starred in the recent “Miss Congeniality 2” and won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his work on “The Practice” and “Boston Legal” — not to mention those Priceline.com ads.

And not many people can forget Leonard Nimoy’s stoically emotional pointy-eared Vulcan. Or Patrick Stewart’s chrome dome pushing ahead through space.

Gene Roddenberry may have passed away in 1991, but his dream lives on thanks to fans. “Star Trek” was Rodenberry’s utopian dream of mankind working together to explore the universe. And it has influenced television- and movie-watchers into the 21st century.

The franchise is survived by five television series on DVD, 10 movies being re-released in director’s cuts, novels, a short-run cartoon series, fan conventions with celebrity appearances, toy catalogs, uniform costumes and even fake pointy ears.

“It won’t disappear,” says Medill junior Stephanie Lecci. “When people think about science fiction, they think about ‘Star Trek.’ It’s part of our culture.”

The final frontier for “Star Trek” probably will affect most people who are culturally aware of the show’s existence, even those with a small understanding of its impact on us today. Beyond the talk that BBC has bought the rights to remake the original series and rumors that Paramount might resurrect the franchise, “Star Trek” survives within the fans.

And to those people I say: Live long, and prosper.

Communication sophomore Nathan Johnson is a PLAY writer. He can be reached at [email protected].