K. Stoddard Hayes points out some things you might have missed while watching the new Star Trek movie. There be spoilers here, so be warned!

10. The Tribble

Blink and you'll miss it (I did), sitting in a cage on Scotty's desk. Its presence is a perfect little signpost that the new timeline still belongs to the universe we know and love.

9. Preposterous Plot Contrivances

They give fans something to nitpick and argue about (and we have to have something to nitpick and argue about!). And what's classic Trek without preposterous plot contrivances?

8. Nero's Tattoos

Though Nero's personality falls short of Khan or Borg Queen level badassery, his tattoos at least make him the most badass-looking Romulan in Trek history.

7. Spock and Uhura

This one came out of left field, and I'm still not sure what I think of it. Yet like it or hate it, it's proof enough that the new creative team isn't afraid to take risks with sacred canon. And in a franchise that has lived and, in recent iterations, mostly died by sacred canon, taking risks can only be a good thing.

6. Nero's Ship

Freaking huge, dark, scary, and totally confusing, even to Scotty, trying to put his away team in a place that "makes sense." And never more frightening than when we first see its monstrous spikes pushing out of the black hole and looming over the Kelvin.

5. Original Series Quotes

I hate self-referential movies, so sometimes I winced when a classic Trek quote was wedged into this new script. But more often I laughed along with the rest of the audience, because the lines mostly work in their new context, the new actors deliver them with panache, and like the tribble, they anchor us to the old.

4. Leonard Nimoy

So he doesn't get to do much beyond explain the back story and play twinkling-eyed grandfather to the younger versions of his old posse. It's worth the ride just to see him wearing the ears again and delivering Spock's lines with his impeccable dramatic and comedic timing.

3. The Prologue

In about eight minutes of fatal confrontation between Nero and the crew of the Kelvin, this opening rises to all the dramatic challenges of hooking both old fans and new audiences into the new Trek universe. By the time Winona Kirk falls sobbing over her baby, I defy even the most hardnosed Trek sceptic to be indifferent to that baby's fate and his future.

2. Audience Appeal

Of course it's essential to the continuation of the franchise. What's brilliant and so unexpected is the range of that appeal. J.J. Abrams, Kurtzman, Orci and all have made a film that does the impossible. It delights both old fans like me, and new fans who have never seen Star Trek before. From all indications, it even entertains those who would have sworn a month ago that they'd never like Star Trek. Way to live long and prosper!

1. The Cast

Hats off to the casting team who selected every wonderful talent, from the Big Three to the briefest of supporting roles. And three cheers to the actors for leaping so fearlessly and so inventively into the enormous seven-league boots of their predecessors. In less than two hours (a lot less, for the supporting players) every one of them won both my complete acceptance and my affection. It's going to be a long three years waiting to see what these new faces do next with the classic characters.

• When K. Stoddard Hayes is not working on stories about her fantasy world of Khasran, or blogging about worldbuilding at WorldBuildingRules!, she's a professional writer and journalist. For the past 12 years she's specialized in writing about film and television, especially science fiction, fantasy and adventure TV.