Star Trek: The Original Series

 I am part-way through season 1.  I do not mean that all humanoid species seem to be just like us, speaking and understanding English, or that many alien worlds have an uncanny similarity to Southern California.  There were sound reasons why a 1960s TV series had to operate within these artificial and unrealistic constraints.

The stories could be amusing, such as "Shore Leave":  "Oh my, whiskers," followed by Alice chasing after the rabbit.  "Arena" was another favorite.  When I watched it for the first time, when he got to the saltpeter, I knew immediately where it was going.  It has a very positive ending to a very dark story.  

Where Star Trek really shone was its connection to the great events and concerns of the time, some of which remain today: "A Taste of Arnmageddon": How do we confront the hazards of Mutual Assured Destruction?  While I do not remember the title, the one with the Salt Vampire:

was a powerful commentary on the loss of magnificient species such as the American bison.

Some of the stories were destroyed by silly costume ideas.  "The Return of the Archons" is set in a situatuion where not only do the humanoids speak English but they are dressed and living in a late 19th century Midwestern town, with no explanation for this weird mixture of aliens controlled by a computer obsessed with peace above creativity with a very specific Earth setting.

"The Cage" was an impressive repurposing of footage from the pilot "The Menagerie" to produce two episodes on short order.