I don't think it was any soapier than any other drama on TV. I think that's where BSG lost a lot of people. It was a drama centered on people, first and foremost. Exploding spaceships came second. Some people don't like that. Unconventional.
Its like with Lost, when the too-hip-for-scifi crowd figured out they'd been tricked into watching a scifi show. "What? You mean it isn't just about hot people hunting boar and humping each other on a tropical island!?"