So, the show is still pretty good despite a few less than great episodes, but the problem is that I imagine most fans are sitting there wondering if the writers know what they're doing or if they're just making it up as they go along.
Not every science fiction show needs to be as precisely plotted as was Babylon 5, with not just the basic show mythology and long term plot planned in advance but also the major plot arcs of every character. And, even an elaborately plotted show is going to have some "filler episodes" which do little or nothing to advance the plot. However the opposite approach means that you end up with a show like the X-files which they really did just make everything up as they went along. Earthshattering developments in one episode are forgotten in the next. Seemingly important plot developments are dropped and ignored.
It isn't just maintaining a rough continuity, it's about not being an elaborate con game on regular viewers who trust that this is a story which is going somewhere and not just another "episode of the week" with little relationship to what went before.
Still not quite sure with Galactica if they know what they're doing or if they're just making it up as they go.
