I never had a problem feeling things with the episodic series. Nor was there a lack of deeper character development (outside of a few characters; which still happens in serialized content anyway) or story-telling. It just didn’t take an entire season to tell a single (or even a B story along with the main plot), coherent story. Nor did it have such a bleak and pessimistic outlook. I want to feel good after an episode; not be reminded of reality. If I wanted to embrace reality, I wouldn’t be watching Star Trek.