Let’s face it, Trek hasn’t been Trek these last few years, so it was probably a good idea to go back and re-invent the wheel. Which is exactly what J.J. Abrams and screenwriters Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman (“Transformers”) have done with the blessing of the studio. And what they have done, by introducing a time-travel storyline, is to essentially remake the Trek universe for today’s audiences, complete with a young cast and the ability to do whatever they want in future Trek movies. Time travel stories have always been tricky business, but the Trek franchise has always been adept at delving into them while still maintaining their universe’s status quo at the end of each episode or movie. Not so here. Abrams and company have essentially nuked the Trek franchise, leaving them free and clear to tell whatever stories, and make Kirk and company do whatever they want from now on, free of the obligation to stick to Trek canon. Whether that is good or bad, and if the fans will come along for future installments remains to be seen.

Let me say with a complete lack of humility that I am uniquely qualified to review “Star Trek” for the following reason. It was the first television program I ever watched. “Star Trek” was imprinted on me like a baby duck gets imprinted on its mother. I watched the show during its original run, via an antenna on a small trailer pointed vaguely toward Buffalo. I watched it with my grandfather. Something about the show was different and I was different after watching it.