By Jacob Hall

Star Trek Into Darkness arrives in theaters this week, once again bringing one of the most iconic science fiction universes in history back to the big screen. There are many reasons for Star Trek's endurance, but ultimately, it all comes down to one thing: the iconic crew of the USS Enterprise. But they're not alone when it comes to great cinematic spaceship crews! Join us as we jaunt across the galaxy and look at some of our favorite spaceship crews in movie history.

The crew of the Enterprise

Let's just come right and say it: there's never been a better spaceship crew than that of the Starship Enterprise. Whether it's the classic cast who starred in three seasons of television and six films or the new cast of JJ Abrams' reboot, it doesn't get more iconic or effective as Captain James T. Kirk, Dr. Leonard McCoy, Mr. Spock and, well, everyone else. The mix of varying personalities from multiple cultures was revolutionary at the time.

The crew of the Serenity

If there is one outfit that inspires fan fervor as much as Star Trek's, it's the Serenity crew. Featured in the beloved but short-lived TV series Firefly and its wonderful cinematic follow-up Serenity, the ship is home to a team of morally ambiguous but charming smugglers, criminals and outcasts, all looking to make a living. It's hard to pick favorites, but special kudos go to Nathan Fillion's Captain Mal, the best sci-fi scoundrel since Han Solo.

The crew of the Nostromo

What if being on a spaceship wasn't all that spectacular? One of the great strengths of Ridley Scott's Alien is that the crew doing battle with a seemingly unstoppable extraterrestrial beastie is not a group of space marines or intergalactic warriors. Nope -- Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley and Tom Skerritt's Captain Dallas are the futuristic equivalent of long haul truckers, folks who only want to make an honest buck out on the open road.

The crew of the Protector

In addition to being an excellent parody of the Star Trek franchise, Galaxy Quest goes one step further and creates a universe that is actually interesting in its own right. This extends to the crew, who initially resemble comedic recreations of the original Star Trek cast but end up proving as lovable and complex as their counterparts. Alan Rickman's depressed British thespian and Sam Rockwell's terrified "red shirt" provide the biggest laughs and the most heart.

The crew of the Star Crash ship

If bad sci-fi movies always had this much personality, we'd watch a lot more bad sci-fi movies. There is nothing better in this category than the one aboard the unnamed ship in Star Crash. An Italian Star Wars rip-off of amazing and legendary badness, it's impossible to watch this film and ever forget about scantily clad bounty hunter Stella Star, her odd Jedi-esque sidekick Akton, and Elle, a robot lawman straight out of the Old West.

The crew of the United Planets Cruiser C57-D

When many people remember Forbidden Planet, they tend to remember Robby the Robot and Walter Pidgeon's quietly sinister Dr. Morbius. However, the crew of the United Planets Cruiser C57-D certainly leave a lasting impression. Led by Leslie Nielsen's Commander JJ Adams, the men sent to investigate (and eventually combat) hostile forces on the titular planet feel like characters from a classic World War II movie.

The crew of the Millennium Falcon

There's nothing more iconic in the realm of science fiction than Han Solo and Chewbacca. The charming smuggler with a heart of gold and his hairy companion provided the original Star Wars trilogy with some much-needed grounding. While Luke Skywalker is off learning to be a Jedi Knight, Han is escaping the Empire by the skin of his teeth, leaving the bodies of storm troopers and sardonic quips in his wake.

The crew of the Icarus II

The people on board the Icarus II have a unique and dangerous mission: they need to restart the dying sun with a nuclear payload the size of Manhattan. They're not explorers or truckers or criminals, but scientists on a suicide mission to save the Earth. Sunshine is one of the great underrated science fiction films of the past decade and the crew at the center of the film is equally terrific. Their bravery is less brash but certainly more realistic.

The crew of the Valley Forge

Silent Running may not be as famous as some of the films mentioned here, but it's definitely worth a watch. Bruce Dern plays Freeman Lowell, a man tasked with maintaining Earth's only remaining plant life, which has been moved to the spaceship Valley Forge for safekeeping. When his superiors order him to step down, he refuses and takes the ship deeper into space, with only three robot drones (Huey, Dewey and Louie) for crew and company.

The crew of the Apollo 13

As you know, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert aren't fiction, but the NASA astronauts stuck in space when the 1970 Apollo 13 mission went disastrously awry. Their tale is memorably told in Ron Howard's film, capturing the fear and tension of a real space journey. Knowing that everything you see is true only makes it more harrowing -- these men don't have to worry about aliens, just failing tech...and their own mortal limits.

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