I never watched this show when it was new, but I find Sydney and Jack to be wildly incompetent, just magically lucky.
How many missions does Sydney have to shoot her way out of because she made a mistake or a really bad choice?
I am enjoying the show, but sometimes it just seems like way too much.
I think you are right with some shows, but I really miss the longer seasons with the episodic types of shows like Star Trek or Buffy.