Maybe comparisons to Farscape are unfair, since Farscape was on a lot longer and was good every single year. In 3 years, Battlestar Galactica might suck ass.
Having said that, the characters are pretty good, as Baltar is the perpetual scene stealer, and I'm really digging Col. Tigh as THE cranky son of a bitch. Number Six is like every blonde cunt who uses sex to get her way rolled into one. Adama's a total badass.
I'm not as impressed with the president, but I have to admit they won me over on the character during the mini-series when she made the decision to let the civilians in the non-FTL ships die. She can be cold-blooded when she needs to be.
I'm not sure how I feel about the Cylons being portrayed as religious fanatics, but there's definitely some potential there for hot-button allegorical fiction.
This really is the best sci-fi show currently on television (not that there's a lot of competition or anything).