1. Major Character Growth
One of the real downfalls of the new movies is that there is no character development. You always return to where you were in the beginning. Kirk and Spock are still frenemies, Spock and Uhura are still ambiguous and there is no relationship building between the other characters. Deep Space Nine gives you nice character progression throughout the seasons. One cannot say that Kira is the same person that she was when the series began. When the series began she would have let Cardassia be sacked and burned instead of helping them in their fight for freedom from the Dominion. Odo is not the same either, while during the first season he did not value friendships, now he does. Jadzia Dax became more comfortable in her skin as an incarnation of Dax, she felt worthy of the symbiont she carried that is before she died. Quark developed a conscious of sorts and did not just rely on greed. Nog became the first ever Ferengi Starfleet officer. Everyone grew. Also long lasting friendships were born. Kira stopped looking at Sisko as just the emissary. Sisko and Dax deepened a friendship that has lasted through three lifetimes. Jadzia Dax and Bashir turned what used to be simple flirtations into friendship built on respect. Bashir and Garak forged their friendship over weekly dinners during the whole of the series. Jadzia Dax and Kira became best friends. Quark finally started to respect his brother, Rom. These people were intertwined in each others lives and because you saw the friendships and bonds form naturally highly emotional scenes between the characters became more believable and less forced unlike the scene between Kirk and Spock in Into Darkness Thats my list! What are some of your favorite Star Trek plotlines?