Yes, well...if, someday, Trek returns as a television series, there's a good chance (or at least we can hope) that strong character arcs will be a part of that.
Re: this particular episode: I liked it; it's intense. Even though we know from the beginning that Geordi is programmed, we don't know exactly what he has been programmed to do. Is he a saboteur and/or an assassin? That's why the scenes with O'Brien are chilling.
Here's a link to my review of the episode