I think that may be part of the point. I think I can sort of understand why people may side with the original series as opposed to the newer ones. The reason is not necessarily due to the level of realism, but due to the entertainment value.
Sure there was overacting and such, but that's the charm. In the original series, there was a whole lot more "saying what everybody is thinking" than TNG or anything that follows. There's definite entertainment value when somebody does something you think is odd or stupid, and the onscreen presence just goes out and says what you're thinking, "Are you out of your Vulcan mind?" The way they plain defied any kind of proper military ediquette and never had the need to throw a barrier of tact between what they thought and what they said. It may not be what you can consider a building block of proper sci-fi, but it certainly puts a smile on your face.
But the only thing that some people had issues with stuff like TNG was that in the original series almost every unique problem had a unique solution. Some solutions, as weird as they seemed, showed some wild and exciting footage (often quite risky). And people just didn't like the small fact that after a certain amount of seasons, TNG solved 80% of its problems with Tachyon beams (whatever polarity setting you used). Heck, it seems that the best loved episodes were the ones that Tachyons didn't save. Like the Borg. An entrance that was so profound because, for once, they had to pull manuevers like the old show.
Strangely enough, perhaps its that very reason why the original cast has a deeper place in many people's hearts than anybody newer than them. And as much I agree that the acting may have been more proper in newer ST shows, I just can't seem to remember anybody else as fondly or vividly as the original cast. The battle between Heavy (Heavy meaning over-pronounced) acting and easily identifiable characterizations versus Better Acting but more Subdued characterizations. That's definitely opinion-making material, as people will honestly sit on both sides of the fence.
[ March 17, 2003, 20:52: Message edited by: Foiden ]