I think Enterprise was a good mix of that heart and TNG group effort. Archer was a true explorer always hopeful and optimistic, though he did stumble a bit due to the Xindi. Trip was the common man, and I enjoyed his cynical view of events in contrast with Archer's optimism. It was the first time since the Spock-Kirk-McCoy era that I felt that the captain had true friends and not just a devoted crew.
Agreed. It was that same crawling-into-the-light phase we see glimpses of in Kirk's era. By Picard's time, interstellar travel is like running to pick up some cigs from the store. Easy. But, TOS and ENT, everything is "new". Everything is difficult. Hell, they were still using human translators, and had no standard security operating procedure ("Reed Alert"
). It was a joy to see how they overcame the natural obstacles to exploration and making contact with other species. By Kirk's era, it's a joy to watch them push out past "the galactic barrier" and into the unknown. By TNG, the 1701-D is making diplomatic runs, instead of actually exploring very much. Which Picard points out in that awful movie INSURRECTION, "Does anyone remember when we were explorers?"
That's what I really think Trek needs to be about. New. Doesn't have to be new PLANETS or races or whatever. But, new takes. New concepts. To Boldly Explore All Facets of the Show That We've Never Explored Before.
