I find that, as episodes, TNG is very rewatchable, because it made the decision to focus on Human Condition stories, rather than trying to make commentary on The Eighties, so much. In so doing, they've really stood the test of time. Yes, there's the women with their big hair and the costumes kind of suck and some of the sets really look cheap, but the message in episodes like The Drumhead, which can sort of be applied to issues like what the NSA's been doing, become surprisingly relevant. Sarek is another that comes to mind, which can be applied towards Alzheimer's, or just aging, in general, or the tendency of people to overprotect the ones they love, even to the detriment of that person ... these kinds of stories stand the test of time, for me.
11001001 (or whatever its title) episodes like that are just kind of throwaway and don't say anything relevant, that's true, but take that show, for example: there are many layers to it, the effects are generally very good and it's just pure escapism. It's not a lazy sort of script, there's care that went into that and you can tell. That goes a very long way with me, personally, when I see that they actually put some effort into it. But, at the end of the day, yes ... The Next Generation is the product of a bygone era and that shows up less in something like Generations, where the production values were in the millions.
