Thank you, Pashalis, for writing the above.
This is exactly how I feel about certain series, but couldn't put it into words so clearly. In my opinion it IS important to notice what is an underlying current in the series or the movies. Because after all, if we ARE going to spend a chunk of our time on entertainment, at least it should have something constructive for the self development, and personally I don't see "overall pathological outlook and dark overall undertones" as constructive. Unfortunately we have plenty of that in real life. That's why in my personal case I would always prefer perhaps more cheesy, but also more hopeful series, even if they may have their dark moments too. But others may be more immune to the darkness and still enjoy it in a constructive way.
True, IMO.
At the same time, I think there is also a problem going with mostly "light and fluffy and hopeful" things to the exclusion of the darker stuff.
In the Hopeful Only case, one could probably argue that this may also be a symptom of a desire to ignore or shut out certain parts of one's own personal reality.
IOW, All Dark = probably you're screwed up. All light = probably you're screwed up.
But then, we already know we're all screwed up, so it also depends to a large extent on a person's individual tastes and/or need for one type of dissociation or "chill time" as compared to another person.
For example, if I'm depressed, I might avoid dark stuff because it's too depressing, and maybe that's a good idea. So I watch light stuff, and that makes me more depressed because it reminds me of what I don't have. Or, I watch light stuff and it cheers me up.
Case #2: I'm depressed, so I watch only dark stuff. In one scenario, that makes everything worse. In another scenario, it reminds me that dang, things are really not so bad, so I should get a grip!
I guess it really depends on the person, how they process their own crap, how they use or interpret what they watch.
Of course, it would be better if we didn't need ANY kind of show, ever, but yeah... If we were all happy and cheerful and whole, the world would end because there wouldn't be any point because we'd never learn or grow.
There is also the problem of "binge-watching", which I don't think is ever good for anyone. Netflix is designed to promote binge watching, which is probably not good.
In any case, there is also the fact that some people actually have physical stress reactions to watching certain kinds of things, which is probably not optimal. Others don't.
Lots of variables to consider.
Now, as for the shows...
I find Orville to be much more Star Trek-like, but also kind of annoyingly shiny and clean and perfect sometimes. They also tend to rehash old ST storylines sometimes instead of coming up with something new. The humor is refreshing, but they toned it down too much, which I thought sucked because the humor made it better. But I like it overall.
ST:D (an unfortunate acronym) is much darker, much more drama-drama-drama (I love you! No I don't! I'm leaving! No wait, I'm back! Oh, but now you don't love me! We're all gonna die! OH! We love each other again!)
, and also very much "modern" in the sense of unlimited cliffhangers and a meandering storyline that seems to be "write as you go" and is specifically designed to hook people... which is quite common nowadays, unfortunately. It's also annoying that you have to get all the way to the end of a season usually to get some kind of positive resolution to all the problems and dark stuff... but then, that's not unlike life.
But I like it overall... tho probably not as much as The Orville, which would be perfect if they made it funnier again.