Jeri... maybe it was in the 2nd year... but maybe I mis-remember whether it was during the 1st run, or the many re-runs. I moved several times back then, and didn't always have a TV.
I also 'sampled' the new series and found slightly better acting, but a similar dearth of really creative writing.
I did appreciate Ellison's series of articles called "The Glass Teat", later compiled into 2 books.

I wished for years that someone would make a movie of Roger Zelazny's beautiful "A Rose for Ecclesiastes".... but I doubt he would ever have allowed Hollywood to get their hands on it. It was just the right length for a film....