Battlestar Galactica Reviews: A Day In the Life (Episode 3.14)

Reviews:
Episode Name: A Day In the Life
Episode Number: 314
Written by: Mark Verheiden
Directed by: Rod Hardy
Original Air Date: 2/18/07 on SciFi Channel
Review Posted: 3/4/07

Synopsis:

Adama's wedding anniversary triggers a head Carolanne who joins him for the day. Meanwhile, Tyrol and Cally are having marital problems. When they attempt to fix an airlock, they become trapped as the air leaks out into space. Adama, still dealing with his head Carolanne, launches a last ditch effort to save them. The rescue is successful, but Cally is confined to a hyperbaric chamber because of her exposure to space. Tyrol and Cally vow to change how they are raising Nicolas. Meanwhile, Adama seems to come to a realization about himself and his marriage thanks to his head Carolanne. Or does he?

Here's how it happened broken down by the story breaks:
- Teaser & Act 1a
- Act 1b & Act 2
- Act 3, Act 4 & Bonus Scene

Summing It All Up:
The episode was a little disappointing in that far less happens than hoped. Almost all the "development" of the backstory of Adama and Carolanne's marriage is from what Adama has chosen to remember. We do get inside Adama's head and it's not all that inspiring considering he's the commander. His denial of what his subconscious seems to know is disturbing because of the kinds of decisions that he has to make. The use of the inner dialogue is also confusing since it is a device used for Baltar and Caprica Six and been deliberately ambiguous as to what is going on. The only real insight into the Adama family life is when Lee says that things were actually worse with their mother after the divorce.

Fortunately, there were a few other things going on in the episode that gave it some nice moments. The tension between Cally and Tyrol is more realistic than anything going on with the other three couples. Lee/Dee/Kara/Anders is just a mess and Helo and Athena have that whole "she's a Cylon" thing going on. Meanwhile, Cally and Tyrol are struggling to raise a child while they both work long hours and it's causing the breakdown of their marriage, which was first hinted at two episodes before. That being said, watching that tension week in and week out would get tiresome quickly.

The moments of interplay between Roslin and Adama are nice. They feel like a throw-back to when couples went courting, although Adama and Roslin aren't even there yet. Ronald Moore has said that he feels that Lee and Kara's relationship is central to the show, but at this point we feel that Adama and Roslin are more of the heart of the show. Their romance has to stay on a slow burn and really shouldn't climax until the end of the series. After all, they tried it with Lee and Kara and that was a disaster.

Lastly, there were some arc moments. Roslin talks about the tedium of setting up the protocols for Baltar's trial. Also, despite his declining to be involved, it's pretty apparent that Lee will eventually become involved with Baltar's trial. One other thing was the prominence of Seelix. It could be interpreted that she might have some interest in Tyrol, but she's more likely just a concerned friend and surrogate aunt to Nicolas.

After last week's standalone Helo episode, this episode's "A" story exploration of Adama's psyche and his failed marriage was disappointing, but the "B" story elements of Cally and Tyrol, Roslin and Adama and Lee and Baltar's trial were some multi-episode story elements that make the episode more palatable. If not for those moments, then the episode would have been a complete letdown.

Continue to Teaser & Act 1

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