One of the nicer things about Early Star Trek was the number of instances in which Picard couldn't just resort to blasting his way to a conclusion.

Oh, you got ensnared in a weird draconian legal code with an ostensibly friendly planet? You violated some obscure ancient dictate of a long forgotten race of wizards? You accidentally picked a fight when you are hopelessly out-gunned? Lets see you defuse this situation.

New Trek leans way too heavily on chase scenes and laser duels. While it does tend towards a bit more intrigue, subtlety, and continuity of plot, they've really walked away from the exploration and diplomacy parts of the show that made it more than Space Action Show.