Television, at it’s best, can inspire. I find the nature shows David Attenborough presents very inspirational, and the travel shows of Michael Palin, because they remind me of how tremendously beautiful our planet is, from wide, deep seas to the great mountains, shouldered by cloud.

Yet our planet, circling an uninteresting star, will be only one in one hundred million planets. These we cannot reach yet, but humans have this tremendous capacity to imagine. Until we can exceed the speed of light we will not be able to explore the heavens, so we must be content with our imagination. This too has the capacity to inspire.

Such imaginings inspire me. Since I was five or six, I have been an avid fan of star trek. All my family were. Star trek night was the only night we ate dinner in front of thee TV. I’m not sure what, but something within The Next generation caught my attention profoundly – perhaps it was the promise of the future where man settled his petty differences and worked as one to better himself, to peruse science, to explore. I was held captive by the stories of Jean-Luc Picard as he explored the stars; Benjamin Sisco as he fought the dominion; Kathryn Janeway [nauseatingly stupid though she was] and Jonathan Archer, the last and first of the captains. And then there is James T. Kirk, who I know mostly through the films yet who I loved also. These five captains, with their five series, combined to make an epic future history which has inspired millions.

It has brought myself, personally, so much joy. I rank First Contact among my favourite films, and the Ahab scene is my favourite scene in all of cinema (but don’t tell my film lecturer). I loved the epic battle scenes of the latter half of DS9. I love how Kirk and Picard fought together in generations. The list goes on, but, in short, the whole Trek cycle – the films and TV programmes – have brought me so much joy: they have inspired me.

On clear nights, I look up at the stars. They are beautiful. I remark that one day we will travel among them, but that certainty is born of hope. This hope is, in turn, gleamed from star trek, and each time I look up I hear the theme tune to next generation. Yet this certainty comforts me.

Tonight I watched the last episode of enterprise. It ended with the very birth of the federation, bringing star trek full circle. Thus my pleasant dream ends, and I cannot help but feel sad. I cannot believe there will be no more – it has brought me so much hope, so much fun, like the times I spent talking about ds9 to Andy Fox, who was an avid trekkie.

The last episode ends with a montage of the three main enterprise ships – NX-01, NCC 1701 and NCC 1701 D – and their captains – Kirk, Picard and Archer taking turns to recite the following immortal lines:

‘Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.”

Not a bad ending, but now we must make sure it comes true. As captain Picard once said: ‘Let’s see what’s out there.’