I would disagree with the notion that "LGBTQ+ regular cast" or even "LGBTQ+ principal cast" is "moving the goal posts."
It absolutely is when, I repeat, what we're talking about here is TNG/DS9/VGR/ENT's refusal to acknowlege that gay humans
even existed at all. In eighteen years, Trek did maybe three episodes with alien allegories for gay people, but never depicted a gay human or acknowledged that humans even had the concept of non-heterosexual attraction or relationships. Yes, other shows were variable in the way they portrayed LGBT people, some positive, some negative, some token, but
at least they acknowledged the simple fact of their existence, which Trek did not. So no matter how well or poorly other shows addressed the issue, Trek was
still hugely behind the curve.
That said, I will say that I define "family TV show" (or "family film," for that matter) as meaning one that is, in its own era, intended to be generally accepted by most people as being suitable for families to watch together.
You're merely restating what's already explicitly asked in the title of this thread.
TOS was family fare, for its era.
No.
Lost in Space was family fare. TOS aimed to be an adult drama on a par with
Naked City or
Gunsmoke. That was explicitly stated in its writers' bible. A family show would not have been at constant war with the censors to put as much female skin and sexuality onscreen as it could get away with. It just
seems like a family show in retrospect because standards became so much looser in the '70s, and because it was rerun in daytime syndication so often that kids grew up watching it. I was one of those kids -- I first saw the show at age 5 -- but I know that the show was not intended for audiences of that age.
TNG (yes, even before Roddenberry had to pass the torch to others) was family fare for its era. In fact, I would say that every Star Trek series that had a broadcast run was family fare for its era.
I really don't understand why so many people here have the desire to claim that was the case. As someone who grew up in that era, I emphatically disagree. Family shows of that era, the kind made for 8 PM viewing like
Starman or
The Greatest American Hero, did not have the level of violence, sexual content, or profanity that TNG or DS9 had. Their characters generally said "heck" and "darn" rather than "hell" and "damn," they rarely showed characters kissing or talking about sex, and there was little to no onscreen violence or death. On
Hero, William Katt and Connie Sellecca played an engaged couple for the whole first two seasons, but hardly ever showed any physical affection to each other, at least until season 3 when the show was briefly moved to a later time slot where it could get away with more mature content.
I think maybe the reason it's seen differently now is because people have gotten so used to the more graphic adult content on pay cable and streaming services, things like
Spartacus and
Game of Thrones with graphic gore and nudity and all that stuff. Compared to that, even the most adult primetime dramas of 1980s-90s commercial television seem "family-friendly."