To me, the very early episodes also really hammer home being in space, how alien it all is and the final frontier stuff. You get miners (who are going to be rich enough to buy planets and get married over subspace radio!) frozen outposts, dead civilizations, two characters pontificating about ‘being out here and what it all means’. Dilithium cracking stations that only get visited once a year. It feels lonely out there.
Meanwhile DISC gets a frigging spore drive.
Also TNGs theme is (And i think its a good one though I bag on early TNG) “Look how civilized we are now!!!..but…are we?”
Normally, I would agree with you about godlike aliens, BigT. I never cared for Q (save for that episode when he became mortal, asked how he could prove it and Worf said: “Die.” I thought that was hilarious) and the Squire of Gothos. I’ve never been fond of “To Go Where No Man has Gone Before.”
However, I think Robert Walker’s great performance makes Charlie X an above-average show. That line about not being able to touch the Thasians says so much in a few words. It kind of reminds me of “Miri,” an episode with enough plot holes to drive a Mack truck through, but one I consider decent because of Kim Darby’s performance.
I think one thing that gets missed in watching TNG nowadays is the special effects. At the time, the effects on TNG were absolutely AMAZING for a TV show. So real! Better than a lot of movies! In other words, some of the badness of the episode itself was offset by OMG LOOK AT THAT SPACE BATTLE.
Of course, nowadays, the effects look like shit. We’ve come a looooong way. But back in the day, TNG had a huge cult following. I remember gathering at whoever’s house / apartment had the best TV and sound system to watch it. My friends knew NOT to try to call me when Trek was on because I would not be answering the phone (and I wasn’t the only one).
Seems nutty in retrospect, but it was pretty fun at the time.