Sexy Trek

Yesterday, during the much-watched Super Bowl – how convenient – the first Star Trek commercial aired, giving as many as 100 million football fans a peek at director J.J. Abrams’ retooling of the sci-fi franchise.

No plot reveals other than what we already know from earlier teasers – that this will be an origin story, telling how Kirk (Chris Pine, pictured at right with co-star Zoë Saldana), Spock (Zachary Quinto of TV’s Heroes), and McCoy (Karl Urban) hook up at Starfleet Academy – but it is quite clear from this 30-second spot that Abrams is gunning for a younger, hipper demographic than previous Star Treks.

Uh duh. Sex sells, and it works like a garnish for people like me who don’t know the franchise like, at all.

Star Trek lands in theaters on May 8.

Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Update: The lady pictured at right actually is Rachel Nichols (TV’s Alias).