[exitwound]

Roddenberry's vision of a bright future was boring after awhile. The characters were all beat up with their own problems, yet, they never seemed to affect the universe as a whole. Occasionally, something like Worf's bloodline actually DID influence the Klingon Empire, but overall, characters having inner personal problems didn't matter, and I find that boring to watch on tv.

DS9, I'll agree, is a much darker, bleaker view of what the future holds. It's a mirror of today, and it's a mirror of what's happened in the past. Differing cultures have different values and goals, and conflict is inevitable. Deep Space 9 is my favorite of all the star trek series for this reason. Writing Sisko the ability to LIE to bring the Romulans into the war is something humanity has done in the past and will continue to do in the future. Personal gain is a human trait that won't go away with the invention of the replicator/transporter. And giving the Captain of the station holding the border the balls to lie to his superiors to advance a war is gritty, dark, and what Star Trek needed.

Babylon 5 is one of my favorites for this reason too. No one race was superior or more perfect than the others.

Battlestar Galactica I couldn't get into. It's too dark, and I hate, hate, HATE the idea of "aliens that look like us". I abhor that storyline.