Earlier this year, after suggestions from readers, fellow writers, friends, and strangers on the street, we finally watched "Battlestar Galactica." And were instantly hooked. We managed to watch the first two seasons in about a month, along with the second season finale, and were heartbroken when we realized we had gorged when we should have snacked, as we then had to face a six month void until the premiere of season three.

Well, that night has finally arrived!

First things first. You can watch the 45 minute recap of the entire series, called "The Story So Far," on SciFi.com, or download it for free at iTunes. It's worth checking out, even for die-hard fans, if only to whet your appetite and remind you of how awesome the series is. The first 12 minutes of tonight's premiere are also available for viewing on the Sci Fi site, (we watched that too, and let's just say, 9 p.m. can't come fast enough).

You can also watch all nine of the "Webisodes" that have been premiering on the site for the past couple of weeks. Needless to say, we checked those out too, and they were a tad...underwhelming. They focus on the resistance being led by Tigh and the Chief on New Caprica, and also feature new characters that seem...expendable, hence the lack of investment we had in the story. But the Webisodes (man, we hate that word) did bring to light what will most likely be a major focus this season: the humans' resistance over Cylon rule.

Which brings us to the heart of why we love the show so much. It manages to bring up questions and doubts about the U.S.'s current presence in Iraq, without being about Irag at all. In fact, it has more to say about the war than that series that was actually ABOUT the Iraq war.

But the thing is, it fracks with out heads by presenting the "enemy," the Cylons, as quite human-like--in fact, almost downright "American"--with their insistence on a one-true-God, and a belief that they, in fact, are doing God's will. Meanwhile, it's the human characters that have religious beliefs many God-fearing Americans would read as foreign and weird, and it's those humans who are invaded by an empire they view as evil. When words like "insurgency" are tossed about by the Cylons to describe the human rebellion, the effect is...creepy. Who, we must ask ourselves, should we really be rooting for here? And the answer is, it's never as simple as choosing sides.

But before you come away thinking the show sounds ham-handed and boring, just remember: there are also cool spaceships, lots of explosions, and the Cylon women are all superhot.