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Erm... this may not count, as neither technically counts as writing, but...
The webcomic Order of the Stick and it's primary influence, Babylon 5.
Yes, I know how strange it sounds to be talking about a D&D Based webcomic in the same sentence of a 90's sci-fi TV show, but hear me out for just a moment.
Aside from Order of the Stick employing gigantic piles of effective original and parody humor, it strikes an excellent balance with including an intriguing storyline as well, and that by itself is admirable.
However, both provide a very important sense of purpose to their storylines. The notion of placing minimal filler, having a concrete story that you want to tell, and planning to tell that story by sowing seeds of future twists in early parts... It feels as though more than a few authors go for a comfort zone of popularity. What they have works, so it doesn't matter that their series is in the dozens after the earth-shattering, universal threat has long since been vanquished.
Or, worse yet, each book comes up with a brand new threat which the same protagonist must defeat only after learning some other amazing mystical and powerful ability. By that point, the protagonist is half-akin to a demi-god (or Megaman) with all of the abilities they've collected through the dozen or so books. Yet, somehow a new peril rears its ugly head, scary enough to destroy the world.
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