Started watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine recently. It was my favorite Star Trek series. While the first series was described as a TV western, about the only western adventure it compared to was the Lewis & Clark expedition which hasn't been a smash hit on prime time TV. Most of the old westerns that were popular were of people dealing with their turf - The Big Valley, Bonanza, Gunsmoke…
And that's what STDS9 was about - people staking their claim in the frontier, putting down roots & making a home. Since the cast wasn't off galavanting all over the cosmos, it also shared more insight into how the civilized galaxy was being run. By exploring the foundation of the Star Trek universe, it expanded that universe like Tolkien did with the Hobbit series & Lee did in the 60s Marvel universe.
There was another popular wester called Maverick, about a hustler with a heart of gold who wandered the west looking to score whatever he could. 2 other 60s era shows had a similar premise of wandering young mer, Route 66 and Then Came Bronson, although those guys weren't swindlers & the shows, in general were not comedies. About the closest TV science fiction has come to Maverick was the ill fated Firefly but even that used an ensemble cast while Maverick, Bronson & Route 66 relied on only 1 or 2 strong recurring characters but featured at least 1 strong guest character per show.
I think this would be an excellent model for a new Star Trek TV series. The airwaves have been Trekless too long. Maybe Will Wheaton dropping out of Star Fleet Academy to bum around on a Harley space bike? Unfortunately, it would take a lot stronger actor to pull it off & we seem to be stuck with soap opera type ensemble shows for awhile.
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