Science fiction television and use of colours

For a moment there, I thought, that a lot of it had to do with the quality of actual film that was used.

The VFX and makeup in TOS must have looked like the high end at the time, but they also did a lot of work with choosing the right colours to make interiours look futuristic and maybe even unobtrusive. Colour on television was still something very new, and the respective personnel probably did their best to accentuate the magic of colour. TOS stands out in clean and straight lines, primary colours, and many pastel colours everywhere.

TNG interiors have a lot of light and Enterprise beige, which at the time looked quite futuristic. Non-Federation ships often had different colours to accentuate their otherness. Exterior-wise, Enterprise-D itself withstands the test of time admirably.

DS9 the station is dark and artfully stylish. Compare also TNG, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise. Personally, DS9 stands out to me as having struck the best balance. Interestingly enough, Season 2 of TNG had also struck the right tones. maybe it had something to do with Diana Muldaur.

Voyager had tech-y sets, but mostly failed to be dark and gritty. Ronald D. Moore fixed that with BSG.

Farscape thrived with colours, and shined in ways unimaginable.
Stargate Universe channelled the coloration of Blade Runner.

It may seem like a minor detail, but the kind of coloration, how much and what kinds of colours one uses, and then the amount of makeup on actors determines a lot in the character of a television show. JJ-verse 'Trek often feels plastic.