Comment by tkdb

I don't know that I would have thought of The Culture as a Utopia. Interesting comparison.

Star Trek has always had a sort of hammy or "of course we're jumping sharks, that's kind of our thing, but when we do it's not really jumping a shark" tone to it. Especially the action sequences.

I've oft criticized novels and movies that are too thin a shell on philosophical givings forth, but in the case of Star Trek (mainly Enterprise and Deep Space Nine for me, but I think the original has the same appeal for many) it's like I can't get enough.

It's the thinking that appeals to me, and the inspection of the human experience in a manner that feels familiar to me.