2009 is a landmark year for anniversaries. There’s a certain cartoon which is 25 years old, which I may have mentioned before. It’s 200 years since Darwin’s birth. 400 years since Galileo invented science (discuss). 40 years since Neil Armstrong set boot on the moon. And, back in the summer of ‘69, another little event occurred which has resonated down the years. Star Trek first appeared on British TV.

In cultural terms - that’s my cultural terms, your points of reference may differ - 1969 was very different from today. Science fiction was scorned by grown ups. The term was reserved for B-movies, crap British TV series and Gollancz books with yellow covers. Ah, nostalgic days. Then along came Star Trek which had expensive effects, spaceships which flew without wobbling, orchestral music instead of Radiophonic bleeps and, best of all, decent plots.

It’s easy to forget, looking back and being confronted by Captain James T. Cake’s cheesy countenance, that the original series had some good stories. Unlike anything before (and possibly since) it had scripts from some of the top science fiction writers of the day. You may not get excited about this but for an SF fan it was like having Eastenders written by Pinter or Beckett (but less depressing and with better monsters.)

Anyway, the TV series didn’t change the world (though it significantly widened mine). SF continued to trundle along as a geeky hobby until the mid-70s, when Star Wars burst on the scene and made going to the cinema an EVENT. Suddenly everyone loved science fiction, just as long as the sets were big, the explosions huge and the sound effects DEAFENING.

The original Star Trek eventually became a movie, largely to cash in on the Star Wars phenomenon. It spawned nine more films and several TV series. These ranged from the popular but sedantry Next Generation (“set phasers to a nice cup of Earl Grey and let’s sit down to discuss our mutual conflict of interests”) to the frankly baffling one with a female Spock.

And now it’s about to start over again.

The newest, latest, youngest, hippest and possibly most-hyped Star Trek film of all arrives in May. It rewinds the plot to the early days of Kirk and Spock and sets the franchise back in motion. I am, in case you hadn’t gathered, quietly looking forward to it.

Almost as much as the splendid new game it ushers in … Spot the Lazy Journalist. This game involves looking out for reviewers using any or all of the following phrases:

To boldly go where no Star Trek film has gone before

It’s Star Trek, but not as we know it

Beaming down to a cinema near you

Warp down to your nearest cinema now

Set phasers on fun

The fans canna take it, captain

The series will live long and prosper

Resistance is futile

… and from the really stupid one who hasn’t done any research: May the film be with you.