It's from the CW, so know that going into things. Lots of heavy-breathing acting, needless dialog and other character-related scenes that detract from the sci-fi nature of the show.
To be frank, you could skip the first 5 seasons and start at #6, with little loss to the experience. The flashbacks and recaps are more than enough to get the jist of things. Season 7 is when things start to get heavy on the sci-fi, but the start to do too much time jumping, which muddies the storyline. Of course, that's also the season where the largest plotholes seem to form.
But my biggest gripe is with the quantity of materials these people seem to have on these alien planets. Follow me...
- You travel lightyears from Earth and set up camp on a planet (Sanctum).
- You, for some reason, bring internal combustion engines that run on petrol, when all of your other power sources are solar or nuclear.
- You somehow managed to being ALL of the building materials to erect a 6 bedroom house, common to New England, complete with pane windows (and screens), vases, paint and appliances!
- You bring all of the material needed for a temporary military outpost: chainlink fence, barbed wire...everything.
Now, all of those things would weigh tonnes and while that doesn't matter while in space, they still take up room on ships and would need to have been shuttled into orbit.
But what is most confounding is how the seasons roll on and more and more guns seem to be used. There are scenes where thousands of rounds are used, with no real care of running out. If I were on an alien planet, with no lead/metals or gunpowder, I'd think the traditional firearm would be used in the rarest of cases, but not on this show.
Watch for some mindless entertainment, but don't get too caught up in the sci-fi logistics...you'll get frustrated and want to turn it off.