I’m rewatching the series right now and wow - those Kino interviews add almost nothing. After skipping those and half the scenes with Chloe, the episodes are hardly 20 minutes long.
The other issue (in addition to what you put) is that nothing of real consequence happens despite the darker tones. Pretty much every time something ‘bad’ happens, there’s a solution - And usually pretty uninspired. The really bad one imo was when Eli and gang got stuck off world due to the mine collapse.
The only drama in the show I think I actually enjoyed was Rush v Young.
Strangely reminds me of high school…