Lucas's eclecticism and his attempt to find the least common religious denominator will not cut it. It is self-awareness, New Age, postmodern theology gone to seed. It is a watershed in the history of television because it marks the end of the staple of modern television the family sitcom. And with the advent of cable and satellite TV there are now scores of channels. This defies the image of not many years ago when there was one TV set, with only three networks and the experience of watching TV was a shared family experience.
Singles dominate the sitcoms of today.
Furthermore, networks no longer even try to attract a broad market. Audiences are deeply divided by age and by race. Advertisers press the networks to pursue thin slices of the audience, preferably younger, affluent, white men and pay dearly to reach them. The result is that family shows are dinosaurs on the major networks. You need to go to cable channels to find them.