I know what you mean, ST:TNG always made it look too easy, and their perils often seemed awfully contrived (like the transporter breaking down when it would be the obvious deus ex machina to resolve a plot blind alley). I interpret the invention of the Borg as an attempt to design a foe equal to the power of the Federation, and for a while there they did take the starch out of Picard's shorts, but I could never believe that the Federation wouldn't prevail.

I was hoping for a more realistic sense of challenge with ST:Enterprise, but damn, they just scaled linearly--the ships were 200 years slower, the weapons 200 years weaker, the uniforms 200 years less wimpy. Mechanic's overalls! Yeah, that's the ticket! Times must really have been tough in the 22nd Century, what with the critical shortages of strategic velour and Earl Grey tea and all.

Ya know, grubby's not a bad aesthetic for spaceships. Remember how Mir looked after a decade of continuous occupation? You could really believe that real people lived there, and maybe a space station that looks like a teenager's bedroom really is more homey and inviting than sterile cruise-starship sets. The Enterprise was like being in the home of a neat freak, and being afraid to relax for fear of breaking anything, and that's off-putting to your average taxpaying slob. Maybe we should rethink the elitist message subtly conveyed by pretty spaceship interiors.