WotC keep dropping hints that they want to do something with Spelljammer. Which is fine, but does fill me with a little trepidation: I haven't exactly been thrilled with their storylines so far, there's a suggestion that they're going to merge Spelljammer with Planescape (which sounds about as appealing as putting fish sauce on cherry ice cream - two strong flavours that just don't go together), and there's also the issue that every time they've looked at Spelljammer since they original they've contrived to mess it up.
But apart from that, it should be great!
Anyway, having given it a little thought, I think I would suggest approaching such a storyline in the vein of "The Odyssey", the saga of Cugel the Clever, or indeed "Star Trek: Voyager".
That is, start the PCs are adventurers somewhere in the Forgotten Realms, and be sure to given them very strong ties to that setting. Then, have them fall into a magical portal/be banished by an angry wizard/get captured by Neogi slavers and stolen away.
The bottom line is that they must quickly find themselves far from home, preferably at a Spelljammer hub, and motivated to go on a journey. Then give them ready access to a ship, and probably some friendly NPCs to help crew it until they're ready to take the Helm, and off they go! Thereafter, each chapter can be a visit to a separate Sphere, with some adventure to be had therein, culminating in them getting home and fighting off the Big Bad.
(Actually, thinking some more, I'd maybe run with the "captured by Neogi" approach. Then have a "training montage" as they learn the operation of a Spelljammer vessel, followed by their sale to a cruel pirate near the Rock of Bral. And then you give them an opportunity for a quick mutiny, a visit to the space port, and off you go! In addition to getting them up and running with their own ship quickly, and equipped with the skills to use it, it also establishes an ideal Big Bad - on returning home they can take down those same slavers who got them into this mess in the first place.)
And now I feel bad that I don't have a group ready to hand - I quite fancy the notion of running that campaign!
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