I would accept that as an explanation if it was the one they gave.

I mean, the only reason I hardly ever use 10x zoom is that it looks like a shitty impressionist painting. If optical zoom made it look better, I would use it often.

Same. The “topical” episodes are rarely great, and they’re often among my least favorite. Who looks forward to Decision 3012, Proposition Infinity, or Attack of the Killer App coming up in their playlist? I generally skip those. There are some good ones, like A Clockwork Origin, but they seem to be the exception. Those episodes also tend not to age well (Attack of the Killer App being the worst offender here in my opinion), and, as you said, several of these themes have been old news for several years now. I’m definitely looking forward to the second half of the season more than the first.

Same. The “topical” episodes are rarely great, and they’re often among my least favorite. Who looks forward to Decision 3012, Proposition Infinity, or Attack of the Killer App coming up in their playlist? I generally skip those. There are some good ones, like A Clockwork Origin, but they seem to be the exception. Those episodes also tend not to age well (Attack of the Killer App being the worst offender here in my opinion), and, as you said, several of these themes have been old news for several years now. I’m definitely looking forward to the second half of the season more than the first.