I loved Arrival, and personally I found both the ideas and the characters compelling - but if the ‘language changing perception’ part didn’t land for you, I can see why you wouldn’t care for it.
If you haven’t already read it, it might be worth trying the short story that it’s based on (‘Story of Your Life’ by Ted Chiang, in the collection Stories of Your Life and Others), instead. I found the story a bit drier than the film, but perhaps you’ll prefer it.
(ETA: And in the time I was thinking about and typing this up, I see others have beaten me to suggesting the short story!)
Like you, I loved this show as a kid - and I think I’d be too afraid of ruining my own memories of it by attempting to watch it again now!
I learned that lesson when I tried to watch a Blake’s 7 episode about ten years ago… 😬
Some things are best left to nostalgia.