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NARR CF: When he heard that Enterprise would be cancelled, Star Trek fan Tim Brazael decided that the fans could save the show by simply paying for it. He and thousands of worldwide supporters hope to raise the estimated 32 million dollars necessary to pay parent company Paramount for the cost of a fifth season. While it may be a long shot, he says it's worth a try.
TAPE TB: The worst thing that can happen is that we wake Paramount up and they realize there's a huge fan-base out here. And like I said we're willing to put our money where our mouth is.
NARR CF: Brazael himself has contributed 1,000 of the 48,000 dollars that have been collected on his website, TrekUnited.com. He says that the fund is very close to receiving an anonymous 3 million dollar donation from donors who helped sponsor the commercial space flight industry. If the fans aren't able to raise all the money, he says, nearly all of the money will be refunded to the donors. A dozen Star Trek fans showed up early this morning at Rockefeller Center to garner support for their cause. Sister rallies also took place today in Los Angeles, London and Tel Aviv. Anna Rapport held a large sign to show her support.
TAPE: It's the Starship Enterprise. And it's two sided, on the other side it's the insignia and it says 'Save Star Trek. '
NARR CF: Rapport and her fellow Trekkies were planning on going to Viacom and to cable channel Sci-Fi following the morning rally. She and other fans say that Star Trek's optimistic vision of the future is what has kept them with the show for so long. Another local fan, Seth Margolis, says he has loved Star Trek ever since he started watching the Original Series as a kid in the 1970s. Margolis says that Enterprise's debut shortly after September 11, 2001 helped inspire him.
TAPE SM: The opening episode gave me a hope for the future that we are going to go through tough times -- and Star Trek has always said that, that there will be tough times -- but we're going to come out of it. We're going to find a way to overcome our differences and things will be better, things will be great for everybody.
NARR CF: Margolis has donated 150 dollars to the campaign. Another local fan, Jason Naselli, a freshman at New York University, says that he will contribute 15 dollars to the campaign. Naselli says that one of his favorite things about Star Trek is the series' ability to write episodes that can still resonate with fans years later.
TAPE JN: There's an episode of Deep Space Nine that talks about, it's all about giving up liberties when they're being attacked by the Dominion. And I watched it again and it really sounded contemporary with the Patriot Act and everything but it was written in 1996.
NARR CF: Many in the science and technology sectors have gravitated towards Star Trek as a glimpse into their near future. NASA named its first space shuttle "Enterprise" in 1976. Margolis says Star Trek's influence is very much inextricably linked to contemporary culture.
TAPE SM: I think it's no coincidence that the main computer point of a computer corporation is called an enterprise system, that Motorola's first flip phone was called the Communicator and later on called it the StarTac. I don't think these are coincidences. I think that a of people who grew up with the show see it as their future.
NARR CF: Back in the present, organizer Tim Brazael acknowledges that the fans might not be able to raise the entire 32 million dollars. But after having talked to most of the cast, he's sure that they are willing to continue production for a fifth season. And that gives him hope. Cyrus Farivar, Columbia Radio News.