It did. At the time, there was basically nothing like it on TV. It wasn't just the scifi stories themselves, it was the budget. Nothing like it had been seen. Star Trek: TOS reruns was a high budget show for the time. It's primary competition is Doctor Who reruns on PBS, and while it may have had good stories at times, it's a series whose idea of "high budget villian" is wrapping a guy in bubble wrap and spray-painting it green.

So at the time, the first season didn't seem so bad. It was probably on par with what most people of the time expected. In hindsight ST:TNG may seem like "a decent show with a bad start", but at the time it seemed like "a pretty decent show that just kept getting better". ST:TNG is part of what set the modern bar, and it's a lot of what set the modern bar if you kind of lump it in with Deep Space Nine.

By modern standards it is weak because the tech of the time didn't support season-long arcs because there was very little rewatchability, but if you try to delve into science fiction prior to ST:TNG, be prepared to... make concessions.