I had vaguely heard of the books a couple years ago (I am a frequent visitor to the scifi/fantasy sections in bookstores), but I had never bought any even though I had heard that they were good.  I didn't actually watch the show when it first started airing.  I saw a couple episodes when there was a marathon on all day at one point and thought it was an intriguing principle.  At that point, I remembered that I had heard good things about the books and bought the first one.  Which I then made my mom and brother read as well.  I have since read all the books (a couple times, actually) as well as seen the entire season (I own that as well).  All I can say is that I am glad that I took a chance on the books.