Isn't it possible that this is an unfortunate byproduct of being born when you were? I'm not saying there was never any tonal shift in science fiction en masse - there definitely has been over the course of 60-70 years - and I can kind of understand what you mean when you say you're wishing for things more in the tone of the older shows.

That said, I think that your view on older science fiction may be a little skewed. ^^; You weren't alive when the original Star Trek started airing I don't think, and you were probably a young kid when Voyager started airing. You weren't as old as you are now, with your social and political knowledge, when they were airing, and in the case of things like the original Star Trek, the height of the Cold War was something firmly in the past for you. The allegories aren't nearly as relevant to you, and because of that don't feel nearly as on-the-nose, as the shows making them now because you are conscious of the world around you and current events in a real sense that you weren't when you were younger. I guess the prevalence of mainstream media increasing people's awareness to the degree it does now is also a factor in that; I don't remember it being that way when I was a kid.

One more thing is that you have to remember that you're seeing a lot of these bad shows because you're around when they're first getting started or are currently airing. A lot of the really bad scifi shows, and I think even a lot of the mediocre ones, in original Star Trek era, and the ones from when you were a young kid, didn't last and aren't talked about now because they weren't preserved as well and simply don't have the staying power of Star Trek. I mean, as a person who reads and watches a lot of anime and manga, the same thing happens in those communities with a lot of people who idealize older anime because it was "better" back then, but they have 20, 30 years of hindsight and people living through all the bad and mediocre ones to fall back on to tell them what the real gems are. I think it's the same with any sort of media, really. Lord of the Rings wasn't the only high fantasy book written before 1955 but it's certainly the one everyone remembers, as a literature example! ^^

. . . the shift in attitude amongst U.S. (and other) citizens. Earlier generations in the U.S., especially around the mid-1900s, tended to be a lot more trusting of the government and authority in general. Their sci-fi future seemed comfortable and prosperous because it felt like the world's future would always remain prosperous, as it had since World War II ended. Nowadays, we're learning more and more not to take things at face value, and to question our authority figures. Economic disparity and climate shift are forefront and center in most folks' minds, and we know now that there are many trials ahead to secure a safe future for our species. Our sci-fi reflects that lack of guaranteed success, and is more grounded and pessimistic because of it. It's not just the sci-fi, either.

I can understand not liking it, though. I prefer a more adventurous feel to my fiction, although sometimes fiction can swing too far into the realm of the lighthearted and lose too much seriousness and character to feel like it's anchored in reality any more. I didn't like Guardians of the Galaxy for that reason; too many of the characters didn't feel like they were taking the plot seriously, so I would should I?

I am confused by a point you've made about allegory. Since you approve of using Klingons as an allegory for Soviets, why do you not like them as an allegory for Trump supporters? Isn't that essentially the same thing? Or did the two ST series handle the allegory differently?

—doctorlit, adventure seeker

Honestly, really? It's based on a dystopian novel, that's kind of what they're about. Was 1984 "pointlessly grimdark"? No, it had a point to make, and it made it.

I'm just curious because I'm losing count of how many discussions you've tried to start here with "[insert title of modern media, usually sci-fi] sucks because it's not like in the Good Old Days".

Are there any other topics you'd like to bring up sometime?