Season 3, Episode 15:
A Day in the Life
Throughout the fleet, various people are beginning their day. Galen and Cally Tyrol are busy getting their son ready to go to daycare and go on shift themselves. Elsewhere, Bill wakes up and has a memory of his late ex-wife, Carolanne. Tigh enters with documents for Bill to sign and notes that the it's the latter's wedding anniversary.
At a nearby airlock, Galen gives a staff briefing and has Seelix assist them with fixing a faulty airlock. As they begin to work on the inside of the airlock, the doors unexpectedly close and Seelix informs them that a leak is developing.
Despite Galen's initial belief that the leak is a routine problem, the situation grows worse and their attempts to repair it have no effect.
Roslin meets with Bill in his office and mentions that Lee is currently overseeing the organization and setup for Baltar's trial. Knowing that Lee has a history with making judgement calls against other people's orders, Bill goes to talk with him, and experiences more flashbacks of Carolanne asking him to be more informal with his son.
Bill goes to Lee after the latter has conducted a pilots' briefing and asks him to head up the legal processes for the trial, noting that his own father was a lawyer. Lee says that he had once considered being a lawyer himself, and agrees to consider the idea.
As the situation in the airlock worsens, Bill, Lee and Tigh go over to the affected airlock and survey the situation. They eventually agree upon a risky plan: blow the airlock and have the Tyrols leap into Sharon's Raptor. Galen stabilizes the area to ensure that they won't be hit by flying objects when the airlock opens, and Cally suggests giving their child, Nicholas, to a foster family if they don't survive.
The plan is enacted, and Galen apologizes to his wife for bringing her along because he wanted company. They hold on together as the airlock blows and they are caught by Lee in Sharon's Raptor.
Afterwards, the Tyrols recuperate in sickbay, while Lee returns to his quarters and finds out from Dualla that his father dropped off a box of old law books.
In Bill's office, he conducts another meeting with Roslin, where they reminisce over their time on New Caprica and she hints at a more intimate relationship. Bill realizes what is happening and replies that they both have professional responsibilities, but she pledges to return to the subject in a few days. As she leaves, Bill puts a framed photo of his wife back in storage…
Tropes:
- Cabin Fever: Roslin claims she arranged a meeting with Bill on Galactica because she was going "stir-crazy" cooped up on Colonial One.
- Call-Back: Bill and Laura recall the groundbreaking ceremony on New Caprica where they got to spend time together outside of their jobs.
- Mythology Gag: When debris flies out of the airlock as it depressurizes, a robotic "daggit" from the original series can be seen floating in space.
- Really Gets Around: Hot Dog suggests that he has developed a genital rash when speaking with Helo, who says he hopes the affair was worth it.
- Shipper on Deck: In a deleted scene, Gaeta and Dualla begin discussing the possiblity of Bill having a relationship with Roslin and fall into bemused laughter over it.
- Snap Back: Discussed in-universe. Tigh notes that even if they could, it would take weeks in drydock just to fix the dents in Galactica's armor, and implies that the ship would be destroyed if it was involved in another major battle.
- Thrown Out the Airlock: Subverted; it's done deliberately to save the lives of Tyrol and Cally.
- Titled After the Song: The title is a Shout-Out to The Beatles classic from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Bill and Laura are clearly interested in each other but, as Bill points out, their official positions mean they can't act on their feelings.
