What really stuck out at me the last time I watched the show was how wonderfully character-driven the first season was.  The show was high concept, but every single episode seemed to be about "how would such character react to the worst thing possible happening to them?"  It was great.  And I liked the arc stuff about finding Kobol and the baby and getting to Earth, if such a place exists, but honestly, the reason it was such a groundbreaking show was because that first season was so gods d*mn simple.  And it's something that the other darker, stylish sci-fi shows like Stargate Universe didn't get, or weren't able to do nearly as well.