All us nerds have garbled up a pair of trailers for (time flies by) more than ten months, but WB and New Line need to sell The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to normal folk. Because of that, we’ve been gifted with — in what might be the first real step of a marketing campaign that reaches past those easy lays — a TV spot which, thankfully, is almost entirely comprised of new footage from Peter Jackson‘s return to Middle-earth.

I mean, sure, you know what to expect before you (eventually) click play on the YouTube window, but some of this stuff is really, truly golden — exciting and beautiful. There’s no sign of the once-rumored, now-confirmed Stephen Colbert or the just-announced Jim Beaver (Deadwood), but it’s only right that such pleasures would be saved for all 164 minutes of the fantasy fun. If this is any indication, we’re in for a grand time.

Watch the ad below:

Synopsis:

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever…Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of ingenuity and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities… A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey arrives on December 14th.

Does this first TV appearance bode well for Jackson and his team?