Oh, Frack.

It seems everybody and their mothers have been telling me I should be watching "Battlestar Galactica." I get anonymous emails telling me to watch it. Strangers on the street have stopped me and told me to watch it. So, fine. I decided to watch it.

I had never bothered with it because I'm just not that big a fan of sci-fi space stories. I was scarred for life having to sit through episode after episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" because my boyfriend at the time was hot for Counselor Troi. I never watched the original "Battlestar" as a kid because it depressed me. I was a huge "Star Wars" fan, and watching "Battlestar Galactica" was just a constant reminder that it WASN'T "Star Wars," and that "Star Wars" wasn't going to be on TV for many, many years. (Home video wasn't an option back then. I'm old.)

But I figured I'd better take a look at this new incarnation before I get so far behind that I'd never have the time to catch-up. I got the three-hour miniseries from Netflix and watched it in one sitting.

And I liked it.

Frack!

I didn't fall head-over-heels for it like I have for other shows, like "Lost" for instance. But I instantly liked it a lot more than "Firefly." I like the end-of-the-world(s) scenario, and the bleakness of that. I like the female President thing. I like how they have to resort to really old (from the 1970s!) technology. Ultimately, I want to see how things turn out. I want to know if Earth really is a myth. I want to know if Boomer finds out who she really is. I want to know why the Cylons hate the humans so much. (There can't be a war just based on hatred, can there? Most wars happen because one side wants what the other side has. Do the Cylons want more planets or something?) And finally, I want to know why none of their paper has corners. I'm hooked. My only misgiving is that most of the raves I've read concentrate on how the show is really a drama that happens to be set in space, but so far I'm not that impressed by any of the acting on the show (aside from Mary McDonnel). I hope the rest of the actors can handle heavy personal drama.

So, once I finished the miniseries, I wanted to see the beginning of season 1. Unfortunately, the first disc has a long wait on Netflix, and my local video store didn't have it. iTunes to the rescue! Thanks to a generous gift certificate from Chuck, I was able to download the first four episodes of season 1, guilt-free. I watched the first episode on my iBook, and while it's not ideal (I think the DVDs are letterboxed, but the iTune download isn't. And I also have to watch it pretty small, or else the resolution turns to crap) it's fine for a few episodes--the rest of the discs on Netflix don't have a wait. And most importantly, if I end up having to commute to my new job on the train or a bus, I can spend that time watching the other episodes on my computer. Sweet!

Speaking of which, today's my first day, so posting will be at a minimum. As in, this is most likely it for the rest of the day!