This is a hard review to write, because as much as I have grown to enjoy "Battlestar Galactica" there are still some parts about it that I will never enjoy. This third season is packed with goodness on a strictly story level, and that is and will always be this show's strong suit. However, I grow tired of some of the terrible acting and the handheld camera aspect used for the space shots has certainly grown old, where at one point it was innovative. Some of my complaints are petty, some are legit, but none of them outweigh the fact that this is a progressive space drama almost too good for its own good.

When I first saw "Battlestar" I could tell they were going for more than just another sci-fi space show in which people float around exploring and getting into fights with alien races all in the name of peace. "Battlestar" is actually a far more forward thinking show than even "Star Trek", which expanded on the idea of political statements inside a space drama. "Battlestar" ends up doing it bigger and better than "Star Trek", primarily because it seems to be the show's number one goal, and it works.

The moment I think I truly fell in love with this show came in this third season when a dilemma arose involving the justified use of suicide bombers. It is one of the ballsiest attempts at justifying such an atrocious act and it almost convinces you that, yes, it is for the good of humanity to do such a thing. It floored me and actually made me think about the real world, all while watching a science fiction television show, something I am sure many of you have tried to relay to folks that look at the genre and scoff, but "BSG" certainly proves any detractors wrong with its ability to tie in the current political atmosphere inside a space chase drama.

This is what I mean by "Battlestar's" ability to tell a wondrous story that mixes questions of religion, politics and morals to such a degree that it can at once infuriate and engage a vast number of audiences willing to give it a try. The third season seems to be the culmination of the show's prowess leading into a fourth season I can hardly wait to enjoy.

However, there are the nits that I must pick. I will leave the technical junk to the side; I think my camera complaint in the first paragraph will more than suffice. But, I cannot leave alone the acting. Two actors in this show make me cringe at the mere sight of them, and that would be Katee Sackhoff as Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace and Michael Hogan as Colonel Saul Tigh. These two take the word "overacting" to a whole new level, and the dialogue that is written for them doesn't help. Where the writers of this show succeed in story they fail miserably in dialogue and these two characters are the more rogue and off the charts style of characters in the show. When James Callis isn't pussin' it up as Gaius Baltar these two are trying to act as tough as possible and it never, ever, ever works. Starbuck is an embarrassing character and Sackhoff better hope this show never ends, because she has absolutely no future in acting.

The other nit I still pick, and I actually left this alone all the way up until my "Razor" review, and that is the substitution of the word "frack" for "fuck". Does anyone not find this entirely annoying? Why do they have the same words for everything except for the word "fuck"? The inhabitants of Caprica all speak English yet for some reason the word "fuck" didn't translate over. JUST DON'T USE IT!!! FRACK SOUNDS STUPID!!!

As for the rest of this DVD collection you may want to check out a couple of the audio commentaries (referred to as podcasts, because they were originally released for download online). I personally listened to the one during the suicide bomb episode and the season finale. I would actually recommend not listening to the finale commentary because it gives away a little too much in the way of future plot threads, but that is up to you. The rest is all generic, already seen, garbage you should really just skip. You are buying this for the show, the features are an afterthought.

This is the first time I feel fully comfortable now recommending this entire series for folks that have not yet picked up on it. The show really is brilliant and it is all starting to come together. My interest was initially a mild fascination, but I now simply cannot wait to see how it is all going to end.