Battlestar Galactica (2003)/Colonial Day

Colonial Day
Season 1, Episode 11
Airdate	• January 10, 2005 (UK) • March 18, 2005 (USA)
Written by	Carla Robinson
Directed by	Jonas Pate
← 1x10 The Hand of God	1x12 → Kobol's Last Gleaming (1)
Battlestar Galactica (2003) — Season One

Colonial Day is the eleventh episode of the first season of Battlestar Galactica.

Edward James Olmos (Commander William Adama), Mary McDonnell (Laura Roslin), Katee Sackhoff (Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace), Jamie Bamber (Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama), James Callis (Dr. Gaius Baltar), Tricia Helfer (Number Six), Grace Park (Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii)

Michael Hogan (Colonel Saul Tigh), Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol), Tahmoh Penikett (Helo), Kandyse McClure (PO Dualla), Paul Campbell (Billy Keikeya), Alessandro Juliani (Lt. Gaeta)

Special Guest Star: Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek)

Guest Star: Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh)

Guest Stars: Robert Wisden (Wallace Gray), David Kaye (James McManus)

Guest Stars: Alex Zahara (Valance), Patrick Gallagher (Leon Grimes), Malcolm Stewart (Marshall Bagott)

Cast: Nicki Clyne (Cally), Cailin Stadnyk (Ensign Davis), Bodie Olmos (Costanza/Hot Dog), Christina Schild (Playa Palacios), Biski Gugushe (Sekou Hamilton), James Ashcroft (Spectator #1), Patricia Idlette (Sarah Porter), Mario Battista (Gardener)

Plot Summary

President Roslin uses the arrival of Colonial Day to form a new Quorum of Twelve. But soon Sagittaron's elected delegate Tom Zarek proposes that a vice president be chosen, his popularity quickly earning him a nomination. Not wanting to play into whatever Zarek maybe plotting, Roslin is adamant to choose her own candidate.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• The Quorum of Twelve is selected and has its first meeting. Tom Zarak is selected as the delegate for Sagittaron.

• Zarek proposes the election of Roslin's Vice President. While not confirmed, it's very implicit that he had an assassin target Roslin so he would, if he won the position, succeed her.

• It's also heavily inferred that Ellen used Tigh's connections to find out where the hitman was being held so Zarek could kill him before he gave him up.

• After theorising about the Cylons experimenting with human DNA, Helo spots another copy of Sharon and puts enough together to know she isn't Boomer. He runs away from her despite her shooting the copy that spotted him.

Characters

• Number Six appears to express some jealousy over Kara. Although, she later dismisses this and essentially allows Baltar to sleep with Playa.

• Baltar is selected as the Caprica delegate on the Quorum of Twelve. His clear popularity has Roslin select him as her Vice President nominee, which he wins.

• Lee sees a "cleaned up" Kara in a dress. He is clearly taken aback and asks her to dance.

Referbacks

• Zarek finally gets at least one of the elections that he wanted in "Bastille Day".

Trivia

Allusions and References

• The Colonial Gang is a reference to the Capital Gang, a political discussion program that aired on CNN.

• The tension of between the meeting of Roslin and Zarek is based on the meeting between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords.

• Roslin: Oh, don't worry, I won't be kissing you today.

Tom Zarek: That's a shame. I shaved very closely in anticipation of being smacked by you.

This exchange is worded very similar to an exchange in the 1970 film Patton.

Goofs

• When Valance's gun falls out of his briefcase in the bar fight scene, a silencer can be seen attached. However, the silencer is gone in the rest of the scene, but back on during Valance's interrogation by Lee and Kara.

Quotes

• Helo: Now all we have to do is wait until dark, infiltrate the most heavily fortified military hub on this planet, hope the Cylons haven't completely wasted the spaceport, steal a ship, locate Galactica, and fly to her without getting shot to hell.

Sharon: Is that all?

• Kara: Do you have a problem with my hygiene?

Lee: You have hygiene?

Kara: I clean up good sometimes, all right?

Lee: Well, let me know when it's one of those times.

• Adama: Politics. As exciting as war. Definitely as dangerous.

Roslin: Though in war, you can only get killed once. In politics it can happen over and over.

Adama: You're still standing.

Roslin: So are you.