The new "Star Trek" attempts to revive, for the umpteenth time, the oldest and most successful science fiction franchise in media. And it succeeds: it's a fine old time at the movies, whether you're intimately familiar with the characters or not.

If you've never heard of these people - Sulu and Scotty, Kirk and Spock - then one must wonder under what rock you've been hiding for 40 years. And why.

The original TV series debuted in 1966, though its "five year mission" ran for only three years, despite Emmy nominations and some critical success. But it was in syndication that the show really took off, gaining new fans with each minor market it played. Not to let an opportunity slip by, the producers - including series creator Gene Roddenberry - eventually introduced five additional TV series, one of them animated.

It was resurrected, with its original cast intact, for not one, two, or three, but six feature films, and then four more with actors from the descendent TV series "The Next Generation." (Although the Star Wars franchise often gets more media worship, the dismal quality of its sequels past the original three movies and the absurdity of its animated spin-offs shouldn't be coddled, regardless of how many adorable Wookie action figures are merchandized.)

In evidence of the complexity of the series' energies and the affection its fan have for it, the sophisticated yet artificial language Klingon has been created - one which doesn't have a word for "hello," according to a recent article in Slate.

The new movie, the 11th in the franchise, ranks damn near the top in quality. It's hard to keep a series going when its original stars are dying off, or dissolving into self-caricature. (Charming self-caricature, perhaps, Mr. Shatner, but there you go.) So the trick is somehow to resurrect the series with a new, younger cast, playing the same key roles that made the original Star Trek such a font of inspiration. With its time-warping story, light touch in dialogue and apt casting, the new "Star Trek" succeeds. (For a slideshow of the new cast, check out this article in the Press Democrat.)

Especially noteworthy is Zachary Quinto, as the young Spock. His idea of impassive is, by comparison with that of Leonard Nimoy, relatively hysterical - he shows too much in his eyes, and we never for a minute believe that logic is his first master. Still, it's a strong performance from an actor once best known as Adam Kaufman on "24," he wears the ears well, and he has an enviably unmistakable name.

Chris Pine, on the other hand, is not so blessed. Distinguished neither in name nor looks, he nonetheless passes muster as James T. Kirk as a young man - more impulsive, more pugnacious, less paunchy, and still with a randy eye for the comely alien. His swagger grows on you, just as did that of his predecessor in the part.

As directed by J.J. Abrams, the movie zips along from action sequence to something approaching slapstick without difficulty. Abrams, remember, not only gave us "Lost" (and keeps giving it to us, even though we're not sure why), but "Mission Impossible III" as well. And while the action too often explodes into chaos and cacaphony, there's unmistakable charm in some scenes, such as the one where Bones keeps giving Kirk shots to counteract the effects of the shot he just gave him.

Sure, the producers are setting us up for a second generation of sequels, but we don't mind in part because of the strong supporting cast. Zoë Saldana is perfectly poised as the smart, sexy and willful Uhuru (the mystery of first names among the familiar characters becomes a nice plot device). John Cho, a surprising choice as Sulu given his previous over-exposure in "Harold & Kumar" movies, is tidy and effortless in the role.

Russian-born Anton Yelchin out-Chekovs Chekov with spontaneity and humor, and Karl Urban is a sturdy Bones McCoy. Simon Pegg, who was so great in "Shaun of the Dead," is the new Scotty - a star in his own mind, he teleports easily into this one.

Speaking of teleportation, we should consider the plot, if only to tip our hat to the villain, the sinister Romulan Nero. Chris Eric Bana brings it to the role, complete with bad-guy facial tattoos, bad-guy glowers, and bad-guy sadism. Somehow he's been transported back in time through a black hole (thank God for sci-fi) and is bent on wreaking vengeance on Spock and the Enterprise.

This time twist, with its attendant implausibilities, nonetheless works to justify the resurrection of the original series, with its archetypal crew - now as young men, just setting out on their voyage "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

That it's now Leonard Nimoy who invokes these lines at the end of the film is just right, elegantly lassoing us happily back into the closed universe of Star Trek.