You have to start with the mini series and watch them in order. They start at point A, and are headed towards point B, and the episodes happen in order between. It's not Star Trek where there's a New Planet every week where Kirk can get laid by interesting green alien women. In fact, the next season is the End. They get where they're going (or whatever), and the show is over.

Any show that devotes half of an entire season to explore exactly the nastiness of the whole "we're in a war, so anything goes including torture and absolute obedience is required" mindset, as a direct response to Abu Ghraib, is worth your time. BG takes a lot of risks with the writing and the plot, and they almost always win. There aren't too many shows out there that present the Bad Guys as Christians and the Good Guys as pagans. It's an exceedingly good mind twist as well -- you don't always know who the good and bad guys are, especially when you think you do. Smart and well-written.

BG isn't just a soap opera in space. It's better drama than you'll see on any other show, plus real physics (fighters are *inertial* and have attitude jets, even -- they don't use their "space wings" to swoop around in tight turns) and sciencey goodness.

Firefly was canceled over here by the numbnuts at Fox. It's the second best show I've ever watched after Battlestar. Granted, the show has very much an American mythos, so it might be something Brits just don't get. However, to me it's smart and funny and excellent characterization doin's.