Back in 2004, J. Michael Straczynski and Bryce Zabel apparently wrote a treatment for an effective re-boot of the Star Trek universe. It’s not difficult to see why they wouldn’t have gotten the job if they’d actually decided to pitch the idea to Paramount — the proposed prequel nature of J.J. Abrams’ upcoming film version notwithstanding — but it’s an interesting read nonetheless.

Some excerpts:

If you need a holo-deck to make an interstellar starship on the bleeding edge of the unknown interesting, something is seriously amiss.

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Now imagine a new Star Trek calling upon the talents of writers like Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, Anne Rice, Kurt Vonnegut, Anne McCaffrey, and others.

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We know that the Enterprise was once infested with tiny cute Tribbles piled three fight high in some places…but what if they came equipped with an agenda, an attitude…and teeth?