The Gorn in Strange New Worlds are very far from the Gorn in TOS. The animalistic violence and body horror make for a really interesting enemy and there is a great deal of psychology to the conflict too. People are scarred by past experiences… they live through some really horrific terror. This is a long way from fisticuffs with a dude in a rubber mask.

I’m not sure if you consider them just recycled nostalgia bait. But I’d say if something gets sufficiently re-imagined it is still “something new” even if one can argue it isn’t “original.”