Two Riders Were Approaching...

So, that was quite the finale to "Battlestar Galactica" last week.

STOP READING NOW IF YOU HAVE YET TO SEE IT.


OK, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.


SERIOUSLY.


Season 3 of "BSG" was pretty uneven when you compare it with the rest of the series, but Sunday's finale more than made up for any shortcomings.

First off, you get Apollo's (Jamie Bamber) great speech during the trial of Baltar (James Callis) about the unforgiveable things everyone has done since the destruction of Earth, yet only Baltar goes on trial.

Then you get the indifference of Apollo and Baltar's lawyer after the trial is over and Baltar is set free, but with nowhere to go and his life still at risk every moment of every day.

Plus, you have the identities of four more Cylon models revealed - Anders, Tigh, the Chief and Tori - all because they seem to hear Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" at the same time. Yet even with this knowledge, they seem eager to reclaim their humanity.

Finally, you get the re-appearance of Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) telling Apollo she has found Earth.

What "BSG" has done so well is leave the viewers with a monumental cliffhanger that leaves the viewer clamoring for answers. Unfortunately, we have to wait until 2008 to get them. (A special TV movie focusing on the Pegasus will appear later this year on Sci-Fi, but it won't address any of the issues from the finale).

Who is the fifth Cylon? Is that really Starbuck, and has she found the way to Earth? Will the fleet survive the massive Cylon attack at the end of the episode? Now that there are two apparante Cylon-human hybrid babies, what does that mean for the future? What is Baltar's place in the fleet as a pariah?

The next nine months or so are going to seem like an eternity.

As if "BSG's" finale wasn't enough, "Rome" wrapped up its series on the same night. The producers really hit their stride during the second half of this season and finished on a high note, from the first shot of Antony being rowed away from his burning fleet to Atia reclaiming her place in her family's hierarchy to Vorenus reconciling with his children to Pullo being the only member of the cast to come out truly ahead when all is said and done.

It's kind of a shame that the series was so expensive to produce that it wasn't economically feasible for it to continue past this year, because the producers were forced to cram a lot of plotlines into the final season to wrap things up, but they did a pretty good job of it.

TUESDAY'S BEST BETS: Two ratings giants collide tonight, when ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" battles Fox's "American Idol" tonight at 8 p.m. Expect "AI" to win this matchup, especially with the appearance of Gwen Stefani tonight. VCR alert - the episode is running several minutes long, which means "House" is scheduled to start at roughly 9:07 p.m.

CBS and the CW are wisely staying out of the way of this matchup, airing reruns of its dramas (CW's "Pussycat Dolls" is new at 9 p.m.) NBC is airing new episodes of its "Law & Orders" beginning at 9 p.m.

Finally, the first season of "Dirt" (FX, 10 p.m.) wraps up tonight as Jennifer Aniston guest stars as a rival editor to Courtney Cox. People are making a big deal about the kiss the two characters share, but supposedly it's just a peck. "Dirt," which I stopped watching after the pilot, is probably 50-50 as to whether it will return.