I’ve been thinking about why I’m able to watch old Star Trek shows despite my whole Thing with storytelling

and I think it’s because it’s so theatrical that it doesn’t feel as real to me. the acting tends to be big and dramatic and feel sort of fake because of that, and the costuming and set design can feel that way too, and that helps me detach from what’s happening more and enjoy it as a story instead of experience it as a reality that I’m living through alongside the characters

also TNG is easier for me to watch than DS9 because TNG is very episodic, which makes the intent of the writers clearer (I don’t need to wait a long time to learn what the payoff of something is going to be) and also means that they can’t drag out something unpleasant/upsetting - I know that I’ll always get closure at the end of the episode