I feel the in the generation series the show was given proper time to correctly evolve (i.e. technical evolution in one aspect, the show appeared to be quite realistic especially compared to the original, with the directors using more of the digital aspect in the cosmetic features, rather then puppetry) which allowed the producers to give the fans what they truly wanted and also with more experience they knew what would work better in the show (a realistic captain, stern, strong, intelligent, bald, compared to an overweight oaf or 'bafoon'..) and also incorporated real-world science into the show.
My first evidence in this matter is the ratings and awards;Generations had the highest ratings of all the Star Trek series.
[1] Generation was also nominated for an Emmy for Best Dramatic Series in 1994 and received a Peabody Award for Outstanding Television Programming.
[2]
My second evidence would of course have to be the length of both series;Star Trek ran for a total of two series, Generations on the other hand ran for seven.
We can also look at the acclaim of both actors;
As we can see in this historical picture, we observe Picard meeting with President Bush, Bush having just offered Picard Presidency, but he humbly refused knowing that with his perfect order America would become far too great and economically crippling all other nations into third world slums due to his perfect rulership.
Here we can see Picard as he broke the racial boundaries of the late 50's, being the first white man to greet an African-American as an equal, of course the leaders at the time followed suit and brought in affirmative action to follow in Picards graceful ways.
This is of course when Picard set the body building record in 1992 and was named Mr Universe. The record still stands today.
Of course compared to Kirk, who's only notable public action was when he was caught selling Crystal Meth to school children, as seen here;
We can see that Picard, as a real person, is far greater then Kirk.
My final and most noteworthy evidence would be this link;
http://picard.ytmnd.com/
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