Major Sherman Cottle is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

in the reimagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' series. The battlestar ''Galactica'''s Chief Medical Officer, Cottle is played by

Donnelly Rhodes Henry Donnelly Rhodes (December 4, 1937 – January 8, 2018) was a Canadian actor, known professionally as Donnelly Rhodes. He had many American television and film credits, probably best known to American audiences as the hapless escaped convic ...

Character biography

Cottle is gruff, sarcastic, and portrayed as a heavy smoker. He isn't impressed or easily swayed by those in authority: He makes less-than-deferential remarks to both Cdr.

William Adama William "Bill" Adama ( callsign "Husker") is a fictional character in the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' television series produced and aired by the SyFy cable network. He is one of the main characters in the series, and is portrayed by ...

and Col.

Saul Tigh Saul Tigh is a fictional character on '' Battlestar Galactica'' played by Michael Hogan. He is one of the main characters of the show. Biography Overview and personality Saul Tigh is a line officer assigned as executive officer on the Galac ...

, and even President

Laura Roslin Laura Roslin is a fictional character in the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' series, portrayed by Mary McDonnell. She is the President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and is one of the primary characters in the show. Character biography ...

. He holds the rank of Major in the Colonial Fleet, but is not a

line officer In the United States Armed Forces, a line officer or officer of the line is a U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps commissioned officer or warrant officer who exercises general command authority and is eligible for operational command positions, as o ...

: he does not form a part of ''Galactica'''s

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...

. He is invariably addressed by his medical title, and unlike

Gaius Baltar Dr. Gaius Baltar is a fictional character in the TV series '' Battlestar Galactica'' played by James Callis, a reimagining of Count Baltar from the 1978 '' Battlestar Galactica'' series. He is one of the show's primary characters. Personality G ...

, Cottle does not object to the abbreviation "Doc". Cottle appears to have a strict sense of medical ethics (possibly having sworn the Colonial equivalent of Earth's Hippocratic oath), and does not discriminate between human and Cylon patients. He describes the sexual assault of Sharon "Athena" Agathon as "unforgivable," and after the Cylon occupation of New Caprica, provides medical care to critically injured Cylons, telling Number Three that all patients are the same to him. President Roslin is a long term patient: she informs him of her

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

diagnosis two weeks after the

destruction of the Twelve Colonies ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of b ...

, and continues to see him at various points until her near death and successful treatment by Doctor Baltar. Cottle opposes but does not obstruct Baltar's treatment method, which uses the blood of Sharon Agathon's unborn child, calling it "unnatural". Cottle appears to be among those who muster out of the Colonial Fleet after the establishment of the settlement on planet New Caprica. He continues to provide medical services as a civilian doctor, frustrated by the lack of antibiotics and other medical supplies. Following the Cylon invasion, Cottle acts as a neutral party, providing medical care to all those in need. Following the rescue of the New Caprica colonists, Cottle resumes his duties as ''Galactica'''s chief medical officer. He volunteers for the apparent suicide mission in the series finale, Daybreak", but is reminded by

that the fleet can not afford to lose a doctor. The civilian fleet reunites with ''Galactica'' after the battle, at the new habitable planet Starbuck jumped it to. Cottle then settles down on the new planet, named "Earth" after the original one, with the rest of the surviving crew.

References

External links

* Sherman Cottle at Battlestar Wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Cottle, Sherman Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series) characters Fictional physicians Fictional majors Fictional surgeons Fictional medical personnel Television characters introduced in 2005