The pilots, while good and necessary for setting up the series, seem to be a bit difficult for a lot of people to get into. While I personally ~really~ liked the pilot episodes, I was a little reserved about the series until I watched the first episode. That was all I needed to be set on the show hook, line, and sinker.
I had fond memories of the old BSG show too. That is until I sat down and attempted to watch it a couple years ago (maybe a month or two after the airing of the new BSG pilots). At which point, I decided I'd been looking back at the show through rose colored glasses, and couldn't even finish watching the first episode. Disco doesn't even begin to describe the cheese factor...