Redstick SF

Can you find Col. Tigh?

Battlestar producers Ronald Moore and David Eick want you to know that this is an ambitious episode. After all, it’s a bold move to name your episode after, arguably, one of the most influential Beatles songs written.

In 45 minutes, they attempt to address Adama’s marital demons, almost kill Chief Tyrol and Callie, and advance Adama and Apollo’s reconciliation. In short, I thought this was a fine episode. They gave us a lot of what we’ve come to expect and did a much better job of treading water in the gear up for the major Baltar trial narrative. If this is a stand alone episode, it’s a much better attempt than “The Woman King.”

The Good:
-The cutting back and forth in Adama’s mind was really well done. It had a Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind feel to it. The great thing about it is that it doesn’t pull back or get sentimental. Adama’s wife was a real bitch AND she was someone he loved. She was both loveable and spiteful, caring and vicious. The ending of the episode, mirroring the beginning with Adama carefully placing his wedding picture in the desk, doesn’t offer closure and resolution but suggests that this is Adama’s debt to his wife and their relationship. There is something very real and human about his weakness in this episode. That’s something we haven’t seen a lot of in this series. Very refreshing.

“Probably seems foolish, especially how it all ended up. Still…it still means something to me.”

-What the heck have Chief Tyrol and Callie been doing since New Caprica? We knew from the Bar episode that they were having problems, but, truth be told, their relationship was a significant thread at the beginning of the New Caprica narrative that was seemingly left there. I’m glad we’ve gone back to see how they’re dealing with being back on Galactica, working together, and raising their kid.

-Nicki Clyne (Cally Tyrol) is getting better. Folks, I know some are bashing Cally but, the truth is, she (Clyne) has gotten much, much better. She’s really hit her stride as a Tyrol’s wife. She’s fairly successful portraying a character, weighted down by responsibility and in love with Tyrol while at the same time apprehensive about their new life together. Remember when putting Cally in a scene was like watching Olmos, Bamber, and Park whale on a punching bag? Good for her.

For some reason, people on the skiffy boards have a picture of her with a goofy smile and a banner underneath that says “corn muffin goodness.” I don’t pretend to know what that means.

The Bad:
-I’m not one for screaming. I think there are more powerful and effective ways to convey strong emotions. For a lesson on this, check out this week’s Friday Night Lights when the mother of the coach goes to yell at her daughter and, as her voice raises to yell, falters into a kind of sob. There’s so much conveyed in that faltering that can’t be expressed if you’ve decided to stand there and belt it out. People don’t just yell to be assholes. Emotions like that come from hurt. Adama’s wife has been neglected for his career, has taken up the bottle, and blames him. She’s vindictive because, in the end, it’s all she has left from her marriage.

-The science behind their impromptu EVA is jacked. Check out this article on what would really happen. My favorite part is when they explain that, in addition to your lungs bursting if you didn’t immediately exhale, moisture in your mouth and eyes would vaporize immediately, effectively boiling your face.

-When the Cylons are absent this is a very lonely universe. This is why Star Trek has aliens. Seriously, the episodes that don’t involve the Cylons feel like they’re missing something. It’s like being at a party after the girl you came to see has already left. You know what I’m talking about.

The Ugly:
-What the hell was that about Hot Dog scratching his crotch and complaining about a rash? Wow, STDs in space. That’s groundbreaking. What’s really funny is that Hotdog is played by Bodie Olmos, Edward James Olmos’s son who, btw, is supposed to be the younger Olmos in the wedding picture from the same episode.

-The idea of Prez. Roslyn working out in the gym…one that, according to Adama, smells like feet on its best day, is frightening and a little gross. Roslyn seems like someone who would head straight for the elliptical trainers or treadmills. Maybe some nautilus action. I just don’t see her pounding out the reps, grunting, slamming the free weights to the ground when she’s toughed out that last curl.

Clearly, with this week’s “bonus scene” they’re setting up something about what she’s really doing spending so much time on Galactica. My guess, she’s a cylon and is collaborating with Six or Baltar.