For decades, various incarnations of Star Trek have offered mostly positive visions for the future of humanity—one in which we've set aside petty, earthbound squabbles in favor of boldly seeking out new worlds (and, of course, finding the occasional conflict). 

But the first three seasons of Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+), the seventh television series in the long-running franchise, have too often seemed tied down by storylines that might have more in common with real-world politics of the 21st century rather than the unbridled optimism that was such an important part of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's original conception for the show. Discovery is highly serialized, more focused on a single calamity than a larger sense of exploration, and with far more internally focused characters who care more about their own interests than in a larger plan for society.

As a result, Star Trek now seeks to reinforce the trepidation and existential doubt that is a hallmark of our modern culture. Instead of showing the potential of what humanity can become, Discovery seems to reflect more on what the feelings of the human condition are today.

That's a shame, because society is actually moving toward Roddenberry's vision of a humanity that reaches beyond the petty conflicts of the day, rather than the fractured future presented in the newer Star Trek shows. Global poverty continues to decline, in part because advances in food production have dramatically decreased the number of starving people. War remains a threat to human civilization, but it is on the decline as the world grows wealthier. Incredible advancements in technology have in many ways already surpassed the supposedly futuristic tech imagined by the creators of the original Star Trek series in the 1960s.