The cast of Battlestar Galactica bade farewell to the dark, crumbling halls of Galactica many months ago, but we diehard fans are just preparing to leave. It's hard to believe the show's been on for five short (or long?) years, and we have to sever ties with our favourite characters already. I can't overstate what a pleasure it's been to be a passenger on BSG. In honour of the 13 Cylons and original colonies, here are the top 13 things that I loved the most about the show:

1. Women kicking ass. It's been a while since we've had so many (hot) women wielding guns, flying ships, and leading the free world.

2. The 'bromance' element. It's not every day that you see military men choosing to spend their lives with their army buddies over their wives. I mean, if your wife came back from the dead, wouldn't you be inclined to choose her side?

3. Special effects that look 100% realistic. There were specific sequences in BSG that looked more intricate than some movie action scenes. Whenever the raptors were deployed, or whenever the Cylon base ship took a shot at Galactica, my jaw dropped in wonder at the effectiveness of computer animation.

4. How much the show paralleled contemporary society. BSG started filming right after 9/11, and you can sense it in the storylines. The fleet faced dire catastrophe, and we watched as they stumbled and clawed their way towards any sense of peace and freedom they could find.

5. No character is perfect. Each member of the fleet has some dark secret, ranging from murder to a stolen kiss. In a time when only 38,000-ish humans remain in the universe, it's nearly impossible to be pure if you want to survive.

6. 'Frak'. A new swear word! Love those!

7. The evolution of Saul Tigh. Adama's right-hand man started out as a gruff drunk, then became a revolutionary mastermind on Cylon-occupied Caprica, then got his eye poked out by the Cylons when he refused to give into interrogation, and then found out he himself was a Cylon. Every single one of his gravelly, negative one-liners made me chuckle.

8. The Lee-Kara love story. Remember the good ol' days when Starbuck had really short hair, and Lee was a clean-cut pilot with hardcore daddy issues? Seems like a lifetime ago! The steamy sex scenes between these two were definitely convincing. I still get goosebumps when they sleep together on Caprica and Lee yells, "I love Kara Thrace!" into the open air. Sci-fi would have a lot more fans if there was sex like this in every geek show.

9. The mythology of the 13 colonies and the original tribes. Dismissed as 'crackpot' early on in the show, the various theories eventually began to take hold as truth. Roslin's steadfast devotion (and subsequent break from) the Pythian book provided us with a mystical view of the universe -- a nice diversion from all the military speak and bleakness. When the main characters end up in that field looking up at the constellations, there's such a feeling of hope.

10. Gaius and his sense of self-entitlement. Have you ever seen his sheepish face (especially when he's talking to head Six) and not laughed out loud? Plus all those harem scenes. Priceless.

11. The music. Bear McCreary's tribal drums and haunting female vocals are the perfect background to a civilization on its last breath. There go those goosebumps again.

12. The hybrids. How awesome is it to hear them spew their disjointed prose over and over? With wicked cryptic quotes like "Find the perfect world for the end of Kara Thrace," we're left guessing until the final second. End of line.

13. "So say we all." Cheesy, but inspiring.