What blew me away when we first started watching the series was how far removed it was from the imaginative and visual universe of Star Trek. There’s no crew of brethren searching for scientific knowledge, no utterly foreign aliens, no discrete episodes with uplifting morals. It’s a sprawling soap opera in which the crew of the living spaceship constantly argue and jostle for dominance and reveal secrets and longings and shifting alliances. The villains — and, oh the evil chasing Creighton and Aeryn and the others is evil indeed — are also complex and sometimes allies in the moment, even while never to be trusted.

The best way in, if you haven’t seen the show before, is to start at the beginning. But be forewarned: the series was cancelled abruptly, so what should have been a cliffhanger was, for many years, the ending. You’ll be able to watch beyond the fourth series to the 2004 The Peacekeeper Wars mini-series that tried to wrap things up more equitably. But that sudden ending was the biggest betrayal I’ve come across in television. I’m still bitter about it. I’m actually a bit reluctant to return to the show with the full force of love I felt for it before. I’ll dip my toes in once and a while, but I can’t immerse myself anymore. You should, though. Your heart won’t get broken, I promise.

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Sarah Werner has two sons, at least one job, and too many books to read. As a result, Netflix Instant is her constant companion. She blogs about books and reading and is known to a corner of the twitterverse as @wynkenhimself.