Modern TV is too tidy, with everything tied to one or two storylines and everything being wrapped up tidily with maybe one or two cliffhangers. It makes fictional settings cough Star Wars cough seem small and insuler.

Well put.

TV before streaming (notably the last ten years), episodes stood alone. You may get a little continuity in the characters, but not in story arcs.

This made it all a (as you put it so well) a "glimpse into each character's life", leaving the viewer the opportunity to ponder "what else is/could there be", which I find far more satisfying than having the answer provided for me.

I must say, I see this as significantly a generational difference (with some personality difference in there too, I know a few boomers who like the tidy story approach).