If you are any kind of nerd I recommend watching it. It shows an optimistic view of the future. In many ways it's the anti-cyberpunk. Steve Jobs famously said "

If you are any kind of nerd I recommend watching it. It shows an optimistic view of the future. In many ways it's the anti-cyberpunk. Steve Jobs famously said "give me star trek" when telling his engineers what he wanted from iPhones. Star Trek has had a deep influence on many engineers and on science fiction. When people talk about Star Trek, they are referring mainly to "Star Trek: The Next Generation." "The Inner Light" is a highly regarded episode. "The Measure of a Man" is a high quality philosophical episode. Given you haven't seen it, your criticism of McFarlane doesn't make any sense. You are trying to impart a practical analysis of a philosophical question and in the context of Star Trek, I think it denies what Star Trek asks you to imagine.