A coming-of-age tale, focussed wholly on the Enterprise's impressive-but-green new Captain as he makes the role his own.

Why It Might Work: Throwing an inexperienced Kirk up against some seemingly insurmountable foe at this early stage would be a great way to show his development from headstrong young upstart to seasoned space boss - a potentially fascinating story arc infused with deeply satisfying personal drama.

Why It Might Not: We'd need plenty of dull exposition to show why Kirk ever would've been handed an assignment as crucial as the original five-year mission so early in his career.