I miss the long shows personally. I didn't really feel it until I finally binge watched all of supernatural a while back and made me realize how much I miss those episodes just dedicated to funny or stupid things and the world building it does. I still laugh at the episode where Dean turns into a dog and tries to shoot a bird who poops on his car. The teddy bear in that episode was also halirious.
The idea of a "bottle episode" came about from producers running out of money and needing to do something cheap with what they had on hand. The long seasons gave creators a chance to try new things. You got backdoor pilots like Star Trek's "Assignment : Earth."
I think most people watch a show wanting to plot to progress but some really enjoy the break and doing something else even if it's bad they like the variety.