TOS was set "just before or after the TOS period". TOS had that frontier feeling. TOS showed an antagonistic relationship with the Klingons. TOS didn't have holodecks. I can only conclude from your arguments that you are one of those TNG fans who looks down on TOS.
Oh boy, completely wrong! TOS is my absolute favourite
Trek show (as you can see from my avatar picture). With TNG as aclose second
Well, ST09 is regarded as working pretty well. ENT's greatest fans will admit the show has some undeniable flaws, but "adventure" and "less holodecks" are not among them - unless you are of the opinion that TNG is tru Trek, and any deviation is a betrayal of Roddenberry's Vision™.
Well, I'm actually
also a big fan of
Enterprise (I would rank the 3rd and 4th season as my
third favourite Trek show - the first two sadly as my
least favourite Trek show).
EDIT: And TWOK, of course, is the archetypal example of the back-to-basics adventure approach getting positive results.
Here is what I
really liked about TWOK and ENT
: They feel
real. The have
realistic set design (that doesn't look like a living room). Their uniforms and equipment all have a practical feeling to them. What had
nothing to do with their respective successes/failures: The timeframe. Or lack of holodecks.
So yeah, I think TOS and TNG are unmatched in both their quality and pop-cultural influence, and I
severley hope the new series will at least come
close to that.
That being said: While I understand the appeal of "going back" to "a simpler time", it rarely works out well. I want to look forward, accept how the franchise has changed (and what additions had come since Tos), accept them, and move on.
One thing that baffles many people: how
talk-y TOS really is. People have this weird misconception of a shirtless Kirk and constant action. But in reality, TOS and TNG have a lot in common, in that the characters
always first try to solve a problem through simple talking, diplomacy, and thinking. When
THEN tha action happened, it was memorable, because it was so rare! Unlike ENT, where every single episode was obligated to have at least one phaser battle in it...
And I would really enjoy more of the adventure feeling that TOS managed, with strange aliens, dangerous creatures, undiscovered planets and weird civilisations, and being generally a bit more colourfull. But I also want Trek to move on, and not forever try and fail to remake what people through popcultural osmosis think the formula of TOS was. And the addition of TNG-era Trek staples like the holodeck are interesting additions, that shouldn't be ignored in the future.
So yeah, I want intelligent scifi, with intelligent people that seek out intelligent solutions to interesting problems. Nothing of that implies I don't like me some action and adventure in there.