Though I have a few friends and acquaintances who are die-hard fans of “Battlestar Galatica”, I have stubbornly refused to believe the show is as good as they say. They wax poetic about the writing, the acting, the deep spiritual themes of the show. But I have remained a devout Doubting Thomas. I don’t appreciate sci-fi as a genre in general and some of it—like “Star Wars”—I dislike quite specifically. However, with the lack of new dramatic programming, I caved in and decided I would finally investigate the fuss. At the same time, I was not so optimistic that I wanted to rent an entire season’s worth of episodes—particularly with the season four premiere debuting tonight.
Just my luck that I discovered that Netflix had the answer for people like me who have come late to the series: there is a special compilation DVD called “Battlestar Galatica: The Story So Far.” It does a respectable job of hitting the highlights from the past seasons while having actress Mary O’Donnell narrate much of the DVD to fill in some of the mythology of the series. The show is much as my friends—not to mention numerous critics–have described: thought-provoking, well-written, absorbingly unexpected, with a distinct lack of cheese.

I’m not saying I am convinced yet that I can stick with the entire new season, but I am going to give it a shot and I would like to bring a few new “Battlestar” converts with me. So if you are looking for something new to watch, “The Story So Far” is my DVD pick of the week. It’ll get you ready for the new season and it will educate you so you can join the Beliefnet discussion of the series here.