Keen as ever not to be outdone by all the furore surrounding the recently-passed ‘Star Wars Day’ and the upcoming eighth installment in December, the Star Trek franchise has struck back in style by launching the first trailer for its Netflix-exclusive series, Star Trek: Discovery. 
Created by franchise mainstays Alex Kutrzman and Bryan Fuller, Discovery is set to be based ten years before the original series – so that means no Spock, Scotty or Kirk; not even the Enterprise will be part of this (at least until the fourth film in J.J. Abrams’ reboot series comes to fruition).
The cast is led by Sonequa Martin-Green as the first officer of the USS Discovery, Michael Burnham, and she is joined by Michelle Yeoh, Jason Isaacs as the captain of the ship, and The Office‘s Rainn Wilson as a principal villain.
That not enough to get you hyped? Then feast your eyes:
The series is due to launch this spring on Netflix, which should give you plenty of time to get ready, or get yourself caught up if you’re a newcomer to the franchise.
For those newcomers, here’s a general summary of the character archetypes: the captain is noble but unpredictable, the first officer is basically the greatest human being who ever lived, the medical officers are snarky and there’s generally at least one flighty and eccentric character who is the comic relief. It’s not hard to keep track of.
Judging by the success of the afore-mentioned reboot film series, whose last installment, Star Trek Beyond, came out last year and has already had a fourth film confirmed by Abrams himself, odds are good that Discovery is going to be a hit with viewers. Classic franchises are never left wanting for fan enthusiasm, and I’m sure this will be no different.
Now forgive me while I end this piece with the most cliché Star Trek joke I could possible think of:
Live long and prosper.
