"Star Trek Into Darkness" blasts into theaters (and, uh, darkness) this week and for most fans, it's a pretty damn exciting moment — all their favorite sci-fi heroes, finally back on the big screen, ready to save the future. Yee-hah.

But for some people, this whole "Star Trek" thing is still a bit of a mystery. So if you're one of those uninitiated that is curious about "Star Trek Into Darkness" but is intimidated by all the decades worth of baggage that comes along with the franchise, don't worry, because we're here to demystify "Star Trek" so you can go to the theater without a care in the world and see for yourself what the fuss is about.

It's a little something we like to call the Idiot's Guide to "Star Trek Into Darkness." Not that you're an idiot, of course. You're reading NextMovie.com, so that alone makes you elite. Still, here are a few things you will want to know, beginning with the beginning ...

[WARNING: HERE BE SPOILERS!]

What Is 'Star Trek'?

Created by Gene Roddenberry for television in 1966, "Star Trek" was pitched as a western that takes place in outer space. The idea was that the show would follow a group of explorers that was searching the stars for new worlds, alien races and pretty much whatever other craziness they could find. The crew of the starship Enterprise was basically a futuristic version of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Talk about your high concepts!

Who Are the Characters?

The Enterprise is helmed by Captain James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner in the original series), with his second-in-command being the half-human, half-Vulcan science officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy). They are joined by Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley), engineer Scotty (James Doohan), communications officer Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), helmsman Hikaru Sulu (Facebook icon George Takei) and ensign Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) ... plus a bunch of random guest star fodder known for wearing red shirts and dying at an alarming rate.

What Happened In The Original 'Star Trek'?

The classic "Star Trek" TV show ran for three seasons before being cancelled by NBC. It immediately went into syndication and gained a worldwide cult following, the members of which became known as Trekkies (or Trekkers, or any variation thereof). The show's retroactive popularity spawned a feature film in 1979; it proved so popular that nine sequels followed, with the final (-ish) entry, "Star Trek: Nemesis," being released in 2002. The franchise also spun off several hit TV shows, including "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987-1994), "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993-1999), "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995-2001) and "Star Trek: Enterprise" (2001-2005).

Why Was 'Star Trek' Rebooted?

With the original cast aging (and several have sadly passed away at this point), the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" took over the film series with the seventh installment, 1994's "Star Trek: Generations." Diminishing box office returns ("Star Trek: Nemesis" only managed to bring in $68 million worldwide) along with rising costs for stars like Patrick Stewart, who had become an A-lister thanks to his role in "X-Men," eventually forced parent company Paramount to shut things down. And with no new "Star Trek" shows in production, another generational swap was out of the cards. Something more drastic had to be done.

What Happened In the New 'Star Trek'?

Faced with over 40 years of mythology and continuity — a pretty big entry bar for potential new fans — new director J.J. Abrams decided to do that drastic something by chucking most of it out the window. In the 2009 series reboot "Star Trek," time travelers (including Leonard Nimoy's Spock) accidentally created an alternate universe — as a result, the movie featured younger versions of all the classic characters from before anything from the original series had ever happened, meaning it was basically a totally fresh start. At the end of the film, Earth was saved (though Vulcan was destroyed) and a rebellious young Kirk (now played by Chris Pine) proved himself worthy of command as a Starfleet captain.

Are All the Stars Back For 'Star Trek Into Darkness'?

Yep. And that means fans will get a chance to see how Kirk's developing friendship with the very prickly younger Spock (Zachary Qunito) evolves, not to mention Spock's own romantic relationship with the highly competent and extremely ambitious Uhura (Zoe Saldana). Also returning are Simon Pegg as a more comedic version of Scotty, Karl Urban as the cynical Dr. McCoy, John Cho as the heroic Sulu and Anton Yelchin as the apparently superfluous Chekov (seriously, give him something to do this time, please). Even Nimoy is back as the elder Spock, despite his own claims to be retired; hey, some things you just can't retire from.

Who Is Khan?

In the original series, Khan Noonien Singh (played by the legendary Ricardo Montalban) was a genetically engineered tyrant from the 20th century who was revived in the 23rd century and attempted to impose his vision of a better tomorrow on ... tomorrow. He famously came back for the aptly titled "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," considered by most Trekkies to be the best "Star Trek" movie ever. In "Star Trek Into Darkness," a new version of Khan is played by Benedict Cumberbatch; just what his beef is with Starfleet is too big a spoiler to reveal, but let's just say that this version of the character is just as big a jerk as the original.

Why Is 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Set On Earth?

So, considering "Star Trek" is, you know, supposed to be a trek into the stars, it may seem odd that pretty much all the trailers and posters and whatnot heavily revolve around action that takes place on or directly above Earth. That's because this new, vengeful Khan is trying to strike back at the benevolent Federation of Planets, which is headquartered on Earth. Specifically, he's really got it in for Starfleet, which is housed in San Francisco, hence all the shots of the Golden Gate Bridge and stuff in the previews. Don't worry, though; the first "Star Trek" reboot also revolved around a plot to mess up Earth and it ended up featuring plenty of deep space action, so your sci-fi fix is assured.

Where Does 'Star Wars' Fit Into All This?

For the past 35 years, "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" fans have had a not-so-friendly argument over which series is better. Some fans even thought that J.J. Abrams ruined "Star Trek" four years ago by making it too much like "Star Wars." Now, though, the two franchises are sharing Abrams, as the director has agreed to helm the upcoming "Star Wars: Episode VII." So with Abrams bringing the two biggest science fiction fanbases of all time together at last, does that mean there will be peace at Comic-Con? We'd have to really be idiots to believe that.