The ratings for "Star Trek: Enterprise" have been dismal, and while UPN strongly considered cancelling the series after its third season, it doesn't seem to be enough for Paramount Television to pull the plug on the franchise. In fact, it looks like the studio is ready to bring some new blood into the mix.

Although it's been a rumor circulating for some time, "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski recently said that he and "Dark Skies" creator Bryce Zabel filed a story treatment with Paramount on a new Star Trek series.

According to a post Straczynski made in his Usenet group, the treatment was written within the last few months and "would restore the series in a big way. I actually think it could be a hell of a show. Whether that ever goes anywhere with Paramount, who knows?"

Straczynski said little else about what the treatment was about, who it would include, what time period it would take place in, or any of the like. This is the first confirmation that anyone outside the creative team of Rick Berman and Brannon Braga have been asked to be involved in creating a Star Trek series. Braga already has said he's not going to be as involved with Season 4 of "Star Trek: Enterprise," handing over the reigns to Manny Coto. It's also been rumored that the Berman/Braga team could be removed from the show altogether this season, and different names had been mentioned.

Straczynski said he felt that Coto -- best known for writing some of "Enterprise's" better episodes last season, like "Similitude," and for creating the short-lived series "Odyssey 5" -- would do a great job with "Enterprise" this season.

"Left to his own devices, I think he could be a big help over there without the other powers that be impeding the process," Straczynski said.

In related news, Braga recently talked about the changes to "Enterprise's" time slot and the like at a special screening of the 1996 film "Star Trek: First Contact" in Hollywood.

"Right now, we're up against 'American Idol' (on Fox) for God sakes," Braga said, talking about the show's former timeslot of Wednesdays. "Now we're on Friday nights, and I think people will seek it out."

Braga also gave a lot of credit for the Season 3 success to Coto.

"We had a great season, in part due to a writer named Manny Coto. He wrote some great shows," Braga said. "We're very happy to have been picked up (by the network)."

Braga said that the possibility remains that John de Lancie could be returning to Star Trek as the very famous character of Q.

"We always talk about it," he said. "Q kind of got defanged over the years. He was so great at the end of the finale of ['Star Trek: The Next Generation'] and then he came back on ['Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'] and ['Star Trek: Voyager'] and he was fairly soft. So, if we bring Q back, we want to bring him back with an edge to him."

UPDATE: J. Michael Straczynski has clarified his involvement in the Star Trek universe on a recent post to his Usenet regarding a possible role on "Star Trek: Enterprise," and the reported story treatment he did with Bryce Zabel.

"I said that Paramount approached me about coming on board as an [executive producer], not showrunner position," Straczynski said about "Enterprise." Rick "Berman and (Brannon) Braga will still have run the thing. I didn't feel that I could function best in that arrangement."

And the new Star Trek?

"As for the treatment Bryce and I wrote for another Trek series, as I said, we wrote it on our own, not as an assignment from Paramount."

Talk about this story on the Airlock Alpha message boards. Click here!.

RELATED STORIES
'Star Trek: Enterprise' renewal apparently was all about money
Is Brannon Braga departing from 'Star Trek: Enterprise'>
Rick Berman says he's happy with Season 3 of 'Star Trek: Enterprise'
'Star Trek: Enterprise' owes its fans some thanks
It's official: 'Star Trek: Enterprise' moves to Fridays