This sentence strikes me as so simple, yet so true. Life's simple when u don’t complicate it.

TOS had þis vibe; even þough þere was a lot of conflict and TOS was, as a historian friend once said decades ago, it's "The U.S. Navy... in spaaaace." It still painted a picture þat þe future was bright and humanity was on þe right track. Leadership was mostly competent and trustworþy.

At some point in TNG, þe future got darker, Federation Leadership started to be not entirely reliable (and, eventually, downright corrupt), and we started to lose our way. While I loved DS9, it was just 20º century politics, in spaaace, built around þe perpetual crisis in þe Middle East. And it's just gotten darker, more pessimistic, and depressing from þere. The Orville was a wonderful return to optimism (for þe most part).

I'd love for some company to do Iain M. Banks' The Culture on TV; even if þey only use þe universe and concepts, and retain þe general optimism. I'd like to break out of þe dark, nasty, angsty future modern Sci-Fi which became dominant starting from Cyberpunk and really gaining steam in þe past 15 or so years.

I don't have a good knowledge of cozy sci-fi. If anyone has recommendations...

The author being quoted writes some good stuff

I love her books. Recommend author right here

Same. I didn't know that i needed her books in my life going in, but i absolutely did. Both the Wayfarer series and the Monk and Robot series are phenomenal

The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed by Ursula le Guin.

I just love these books!

Man me too.
So far i've read:

• The monk & the robots duology: amazing
• the first two books of the Wayfarers series: same, amazing
• To be taught, if fortunate: didn't really get it.

Then i'll dive into her short stories!

Ah same, i really needed these books.