I dont know wheter its just me or did storytelling in certain genres go downhill the past 2 decades? I dont know wheter its overstated childhood memories, but rewatching certain shows and movies from 2 decades ago I feel they had a more serious aproach to them, even when they were aimed at teens and children. But maybe thats a misconception on my part. Though I have to say that since the late ninetees I have quite a problem with the ways films and TV shows feel, especially the more action oriented ones.
They are extremly fast paced, often have no or rather bad character development. Another thing is the way personal interaction is mixed in with the rest of the movie plot. Its not just Wing Commander, but the onboard interaction of the pilots very much breaks the immersion to the military part of the film. The way the group acts just does not feel right - its like watching a clip from Greys Anatomy in space every time the film cuts to those scenes - and it feels very much out of place when compared to the shots done on the bridge. Series like Space Above and Beyond partly did a great job when depicting the "pilot crew" in its quarters in very similar situations - one would think that the mood would be a lot cooler, down to earth, with Earth facing destruction and a constant threat of beeing blown out of space by the main enemy fleet. For example there is no single charater that shows any real fear of dying by the hands of a hairless cat.