Are you watching Battlestar Galactica? Here on SFX we consider it unmissable TV. But blogger Jamie Starbuck (coincidental name, no?) has a personal take on the run of episodes approaching the finale:

The End Of Battlestar Galactica

According to Luc Besson's The Fifth Element, anticipation implies intelligence. This would make the audience of new BSG a gestalt of Einsteins. Together, we could surely destroy the world.

And after the next episode we just may. It is the end, the final, the whatsit and the omega: after four seasons Battlestar Galactica comes to a stop. And what a damp squib it's going to be.

No-one can deny it'll probably be one of the best singular episodes of BSG, and possibly of anything, ever. BSG has given us some amazing television these past few years. The first season was one of the finest in celluloid history and there have been some brilliant moments in between: the rescue from New Caprica, Ellen Tigh's death and the revealing of the penultimate four to name but a few.

At some point however the law of diminishing returns came in to effect. I suspect it's something that will only be seen with a re-watch because as we were going through, carried along on a tide of excitement, I for one forgave every little hiccup and couldn't wait for the next week. Which fan didn't cry in anguish when it was announced there was going to be an end with four seasons? But, Ronald D Moore proclaimed, it will give us a chance to plan with exactitude what is to happen, for there shall be no filler. "Hurrah!" cried the fans.

But season four… let's face it season four has been less than ideal. Ignoring the fact that it was split into two (we could call it a positive and say it was like having five seasons) it's been slow in a way like never before. This is a show about robot wars for frak's sake! If you've got a slow episode chuck in a few whiz-bangs. But no. We've had seemingly endless episodes of pondering, of indecision, of Adama cracking up (again and again and again), of Sixes and Eights painting the ship (it appears Leoben doesn't paint) and of the final five squabbling between themselves. Or at least individual members and cliques thereof. Almost every episode has been filled with… well, filler.

Witness the entire expositional episode of The History Of The Final Five (AKA Anders reads stuff off the back of his eyeballs like he's an accountant). We'd been waiting nearly four years for this information! Was there something wrong with, ya know, actually having some of it acted in flashbacks spread throughout the season?

There have been good points, of course there have: Gaeta's pointless mutiny and the ever reliable Gaius Baltar are two but are they enough? There will have been 20 episodes this season by the time it's over and I could name specific events from only a few. There are rumours that a massively significant proportion of the shows seasonal budget has been spent on Saturdays two hour opus but no matter how good it is, I can't help but feel this season has sullied the reputation of the entire show. And that's a shame. Still, end of this week: whiz-bangs.

We admit, we're not sure what the pigeon scene was about in the previous episode, but we still love BSG and think it's shaping up for an explosive finale. This post above is a personal article by Jamie Starbuck, one of our new bloggers - read more about our volunteer contributors on this dedicated page.

So, are you a BSG fan? Are you quaking with anticipation about the series finale this Friday night (Tuesday in the UK on Sky)? Let us know what you think's been the best and worst of this season.