Yes, not every show feels continuous in the same way. But your overall point...

>but it seems to be more from a time when the universe is reset after every episode while today's shows are like a big long movie that's split up.. something you can only do in the streaming era.

is wrong. The universe does not reset between episodes. Everything sticks. You can call that "Soft Serialization" or whatever if you really want to insist on carving out a niche for your point, but whether you cook a steak in a pan or on the grill, it's still a steak.