Now that I've watched Battlestar Galactica (other than the last episode -- the first 15 minutes has music and sound effects but no dialogue -- how did that happen?) I have to concur. I thought that the miniseries/pilot was mediocre. Then I watched "33" and it was really good. Then I watched the next few episodes and wondered if people hadn't overrated it. But I persevered and it got really good. On the other hand, if you really need your scifi to be all heroes and heroics, don't bother. The really good stuff is being disappointed in people you thought you knew, wondering whose side you should be on, and if the ends really justify the means.

I do have to mention the few problems I have with it. First, the religion stuff needs to be more fleshed out. Right now it's just serving as a MacGuffin without any real meaning behind it. That is, we don't know anything at all about the religions, really, and cannot feel why these characters feel the way they do about them. Maybe that will happen. Second, Linda Park, I'm sorry to say, just isn't a good actress. And back on "Cylon-occupied Caprica", the guy playing Helo isn't all that great either. As such, those scenes aren't able to carry themselves as well as they ought. Seems like I had a third thing, but I can't remember it now.

I also have to promote The 4400, which is a pretty entertaining paranoia show, like The X-Files, except it seems to know where it's going. Hopefully it'll last longer than the other shows that I described that way. (Odyssey 5 comes to mind.)