@NiveusLepus: You try to tell people this, even to demonstrate with documentary evidence, and they will usually react emotionally in whichever direction(s) their ego-protecc mechanism dictates. Moviefolk know this, and it's why James Cameron's slogan was pirated: "Make it look cool."
Pop Cinema is ticky-boxes designed to appeal to and/or drive (or redirect) zeitgeists. That's not nececelery villainy, just the way it turns out because humans.
@thedisasterautist It's largely why I've disengaged from a lot of the fandoms I once enjoyed, Star Trek, Star Wars, because I've seen that same thing.
We didn't know how good we had it when they were niche genres relegated to a small handful of nerds and geeks that loved the lore and the universe.
The bad writing is a result of commercialization and homogenization to ensure wide band appeal. They're not writing for the fans anymore.
@NiveusLepus: They were never writing for the fans to begin with. They were just making TV they wanted to see, and sometimes it was a fluke. Also, kid fans usually wound up being adult fans who went into TV and evenrually began showrunning the shows. Fans are the worst people to have run shows, IMO.
As to commercial success tending to ruin things, yes.