Star Trek: The Next Generation

Having been a Star Trek fan for more than 40 years, I was delighted but somewhat skeptical that another Star Trek weekly series was being launched. The campiness of the original was great when I was twelve, but was not going to work as I approached middle-age. Don't get me wrong; the original was a great show with greater writing, but struggled to excel as it did under terrible constraints.
The Next Generation's success was due to its not trying to recreate the original, but to take on an entirely new style and crew along with strong writing. The subsequent Star Trek spinoffs have enjoyed far less success because the writing broke down (trying to be mini-TNG's).
The hope in the future that Gene Roddenberry imbued us with weekly when we feared our fate may be to get vaporized by the Russians at any time was a welcome break from the casualty lists and the nightly news. Something TNG got right was: Majel Barrett was much better as Lwaxana Troi and the Enterprise computer than as Nurse Chapel. Both shows are still a great watch in syndication. Thank you, Gene.