So I just finally got around to watching BSG a little while ago and I have never in my life so aggressively wanted my time back. I do not get why it's popular
I think its popularity was a product of the time. Back then the show was downright groundbreaking, and as you had to watch it week to week, the hype and popularity built up over time, and a lot of that was deflated when the show was hit by a writers strike and then the finale which was kind of a polarising shitshow. I'd bet the people that love it watched it while it was airing, and I'd bet most people that watched it after it aired are generally like "eh, it was okay at points"
I mostly watched it while it aired, and while I like it, I don't go out of my way to recommend it to people very often. I think for the time period it was great, it was a big event at the time, but it's clear RDM had no idea where the story was going and watching it again years after the fact makes that so damn obvious. The show had some great cliffhangers and twists which worked really well when you were watching week to week and could talk to your friends about it, not so much if you're binging it 20 years later.
That would make a lot of sense. The whole thing felt 'pointless'. Not really but like... just directionless. Meandering and then fizzles out. That explanation really fills the gaps as to why it felt that way to me.