Not to stray too far afield from the best hypothesis but while I could never stomach early Dr. Who getting a revamp for all the reasons you mention I'm still quite taken by the new space effects in Star Trek as those images are a better match for what was often a uniquely advanced social perspective and strong story writing. Given the pathos of their budget it's incredible what they were able to accomplish in terms of set and fashion but the space shots were often fairly limited and the new material is quite strong. Not to say Dr. Who didn't have great writing as it did but their budgetary constraints did work well with the cheesey sets and effects of their respective eras and ramped up capacity as the years went by. Comparatively speaking Star Trek was a moment in time.
Back to the best hypothesis. What's interesting about both these tv shows is how the human race is centered as being special in the galaxy, if not the universe. The way the UFO phenomenon responds to us in terms of its dazzling light displays and other grand theatrical gestures one wonders if it might in fact be true. Perhaps life in the universe is actually rare, or at least a species surviving through their hunt for energy and acquisition of materialist needs & luxuries might be incredibly rare.
Planned obsolescence may not just be a function of consumerism & shareholder profits but also a part of the evolution of intelligent species. We have eliminated ourselves before on this planet in different regions & eras multiple times over. Surviving through these "civilized" trajectories could be an entirely rare event and consequently we receive a lot of attention by way of species stopping by for their obligatory space tourist's soil sample. Instead of chipping off a chunk of the Berlin Wall as a visitor's memento it's, "I got a chunk of earth before its inhabitants blew the place to pieces."
Carry on. Best hypothesis, and...go!
