Saul Tigh

Saul Tigh
Name	Saul Tigh
Age	Allegedly 71
Colony	Aerelon
Birth place	{{{birthplace}}}
Birth Name
Birth Date	{{{birthdate}}}
Callsign
Nickname	{{{nickname}}}
Introduced	Miniseries
Death
Parents
Siblings
Children	None
Marital Status	Widower, formerly married to Ellen Tigh†
Family Tree	View
Role	Executive Officer, battlestar Galactica
Rank	Colonel
Serial Number	{{{serial}}}
Portrayed by	Michael Hogan
Saul Tigh is a Cylon
Saul Tigh is a Final Five Cylon
Saul Tigh is a Human/Cylon Hybrid
Saul Tigh is an Original Series Cylon
Related Media
		@ BW Media
Additional Information
[[Image:|200px|Saul Tigh]]

Saul Tigh is the Executive Officer (XO) of Galactica, as well as frequently serving as acting Commander in the place of William Adama. Before that, he served as Adama's XO on the battlestar Valkyrie. A tough but troubled man with a long history of alcoholism, Tigh has served in the Colonial Fleet since his teenage years, seeing action in both Cylon Wars. He is a widower of the deceased Ellen Tigh.

Upon reaching the Ionian nebula, he and three others became aware of their nature as Cylons. Unlike the seven known models, neither Tigh nor the other three know what to make of their apparently inhuman nature.

Biography

Background

Tigh was supposedly born on the colony of Aerelon. (He has recently been revealed as a Cylon presumably making this point moot). A veteran of the Cylon War, Tigh is sometimes estranged from his wife Ellen and has been somewhat disillusioned with his career, seeking refuge in alcoholism - a move which has led many in the crew to view him with contempt (Miniseries, "33").

Tigh began his career as a deckhand. By the second year of the first Cylon War, he was serving as a gunner's mate onboard the Brenik. His ship was boarded by the Cylons where he and others fought in hand to hand combat, during the bloodiest time of that war. It was during this battle that he saw his first dead man, Duncan Rafferty, who was violently vivisected by Centurions (deleted scene, Valley of Darkness). His ship was subsequently destroyed and he survived. He was transferred to another unnamed ship, which succumbed to a similar fate as his original ship. Having borne witness to many a bloody combat, he became emotionally scarred, which had, among other impetuses, led him to alcoholism.

Tigh and Adama's first meeting.

Tigh eventually achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer. When Viper pilot numbers began running low in the war, Tigh was drafted into Colonial officer candidate school and was reassigned as a Viper pilot. As a pilot, he demonstrated considerable skill, earning several medals while posted aboard the battlestar Athena.

After the cessation of hostilities, he was dismissed from service and eked out an existence as a deckhand aboard a commercial freighter. Tigh clearly experienced signs of post-traumatic stress disorder; he commented that every time he smelled grease or machine oil he would nearly vomit, as this smell reminded him of the "stink" of Centurions ("Valley of Darkness", deleted scene). While on board, he drowned himself in alcohol and, after a time, about 20 years after the war, encountered William Adama, who had not seen as much combat experience as Tigh himself. They became fast friends, and remained in touch after Adama reenlisted with the service. Two years later, Tigh found himself reinstated into the Colonial Fleet at the rank of captain, thanks to his old friend, and now major, Adama.

Following the Cylon attack, Tigh recovered some of his old verve and attempted to give up alcohol. However, this, combined with the initial stress of flight from the Cylons caused him to over-compensate as a martinet, frequently driving the personnel overly-hard, and berating where encouragement would prove the better option (33). He excused this by using the truism that the XO is supposed to be the "hard face" of command.

"If the crew doesn't hate the XO, then he's not doing his job."

With his drinking problem relatively under control, Tigh settled back into his role as the Galactica's Executive Officer and proved himself both honest and level-headed - if still hard on himself and others - in a number of circumstances, and he provided the kind of support Adama needed.

During Cylon attacks, Tigh has proved himself to be an excellent battle manager and tactician. His quick actions sometimes saved the ship and the Fleet from damage or destruction ("Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down", "Scattered", "Valley of Darkness").

Tigh is uneasy around President Laura Roslin (Water), and resents what he sees as her interfering with Adama's command (Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down) - something born out of his deep respect for Adama which even the most heated of disagreements between them (You Can't Go Home Again) cannot disrupt.

Tigh personally dislikes Kara Thrace, one of Galactica's pilots and, while grudgingly conceding she is a fine pilot, does not understand what Adama sees in her (Miniseries). Tigh sees Thrace as an egotistical, insubordinate youngster. While they have tried to bury the hatchet between them (Miniseries, "Water"), there is potentially too much water under the bridge now for them to get completely past their differences.

Outside of Adama, Tigh has few others he regards as confidants aboard ship; and since the initial Cylon attack, he has withdrawn from interacting with the crew during off-duty hours, making him perhaps more isolated than even Adama - who is at least held in awe and respect by the crew.

Wife's Return

Tigh and his newly returned wife, Ellen, making a toast: "To starting over" (Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down).

Some three weeks after the Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies, Tigh is stunned to discover his wife, Ellen, has not been killed as he had thought, but was rescued from Picon, and carried aboard the Rising Star as an unconscious "Jane Doe".

Despite the emotional implications from the destruction of the Colonies and life aboard the ship, Tigh is reluctantly thrust further into politics as his wife plays her schemes. Much to his disdain, his wife attempts to procure photo opportunities with the likes of Tom Zarek -- a person Tigh views with the utmost contempt (Colonial Day). Additionally, Ellen seems to re-establish Tigh's alcoholism with gratuitous drinking.

Despite this, Adama sends Tigh with a squadron of Marines to arrest Laura Roslin after Adama discovers that she convinced Kara Thrace to Jump back to Caprica to retrieve a historical artifact called the Arrow of Apollo from the Delphi Museum. This action deprives the Fleet of a crucial military asset -- a captured Cylon Raider, intended to have been used to plant a nuclear warhead aboard a basestar in orbit around the planet believed to be Kobol -- and convinces Adama that Roslin is abusing her authority.

Onboard Colonial One, Tigh's men and Roslin's personal security agents are at a standoff when Lee Adama aims a weapon at Tigh's head and attempts to thwart the arrest. Attempting to defuse the situation, Roslin agrees to be arrested and Lee Adama is arrested on charges of treason (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II).

Tigh in Command

Tigh realizing he's in a bit over his head (Scattered).

Tigh is present in CIC during the attempted assassination of Adama by Sharon Valerii. As guards restrain Valerii, Tigh attempts to stop the bleeding from the torso gunshot wounds Adama sustained in the attempt (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II). Needing reliable officers, Tigh grants Lee Adama a parole from his arrest. After his daily duties as CAG are done, Lee promises to return to the brig when off-shift.

With Adama incapacitated and with Roslin dethroned, Tigh tries to maintain order. However, his irrational and gruff command style displeases many crew members. Morale and ship efficiency began to suffer. Ellen Tigh becomes a private adviser to her husband, frequently questioning his power to command while also suggesting ways of usurping more power and quashing his opponents. Ellen Tigh's advice only exacerbates an already-deteriorating situation.

Tigh's interrogation of suspected Cylon collaborators or infiltrators is brutal. After beating, then nearly shooting the Galactica copy of Valerii, other issues in the Fleet divert him from further interrogation. He orders a special cage made for her for later interrogation. Tigh also savagely interrogates Valerii's former lover, Chief Galen Tyrol as a possible humanoid Cylon himself. Tigh would have left him with Valerii in the newly built Cylon cage if Gaius Baltar did not intervene to prove medically that Tyrol is not a Cylon himself.

With Roslin in prison, uprisings begin as civilian ships refuse to supply Galactica until Roslin is released. Worse, the Quorum of Twelve demand to see Roslin. Knowing of Roslin's hallucinations in the brig, he intentionally invites the Quorum to see Roslin in her poor state in hopes of disillusioning the Quorum. However, Roslin recovers sufficiently from her Chamalla withdrawal after getting a supply smuggled to her by Corporal Venner, her guard. Tigh, a secular man, believes that the accounts within the Sacred Scrolls weren't to be believed, and teases Roslin in front of the Quorum on her visions. Roslin not only is able to speak to the Quorum, but decisively reinforces her decisions as well as her role in the search for the location of Earth as told in the Pythian prophesies. This act greatly impresses the dominantly religious-minded Quorum, and infuriates Tigh; fearing a larger civilian government uprising led by the Quorum. Tigh institutes martial law throughout the Fleet in an attempt to maintain order in a rapidly chaotic shuffle of power between the civilian and military governments (Fragged).

The supply situation leads Tigh to a poor decision of using Viper pilots to command Marines in forcibly retrieving supplies. On one ship, a riot leads to four deaths and many injuries due to the pilot's inexperience in managing such a situation. Unlike Adama (who likely would have taken direct responsibility for the "Gideon Massacre"), Tigh places blame solely on the pilot, absolving himself from the incident.

Fleet Factioning and Adama's Return

The shootings, Tigh's decision for martial law, and his unwillingness to discuss anything with anyone except Ellen Tigh (and the unconscious Adama) becomes the dividing point of those wanting to press on to finding Earth, and those wanting to settle on Kobol (Season 2). Tigh's drinking spirals further out of control, leading to more erratic behavior and causing great concern regarding his ability to effectively command, particularly among the CIC staff. The situation comes to a head when Roslin, tacitly aided by other officers and crew on Galactica, escapes the brig in an attempt to hide amongst the many ships in the Fleet with the aid of Tom Zarek. Tigh chases down the escaping Raptor using the CAP, having the Viper fire across the bow of the fleeing Raptor to persuade it to return. The Raptor brazenly continues onward, leading to a crucial decision for the Colonel. Tigh allows the Raptor to escape rather than shooting it down, which would have killed Adama's son and the President and could have destabilized the fleet.

Tigh and Adama share a knowing smirk at the commissioning of the Blackbird, Laura (Flight of the Phoenix).

Fortunately for the fleet and Colonel Tigh, Commander Adama regains consciousness shortly after the escape and asks what had happened during his absence. Tigh confesses that he has "frakked things up good," but Adama reassures his friend, saying, "I never had much use for people that second-guessed my decisions, especially if they've never held a command. They don't understand the pressure to make a call that affects the lives of thousands, and you have no one to turn to for backup."

Despite all the serious problems that Tigh created, Adama doesn't blame him, telling Tigh that whatever bad calls were made, they would pick up the pieces together (Resistance).

Both Adama (also a rather secular man) and Tigh are astounded at the number of ships that secede from the main fleet to join the faction that sought the Tomb of Athena with President Roslin (The Farm). Tigh backs up Adama while he maintains a similar official position on Roslin and the separated ships as Tigh has. However, after Adama realizes that survival of the entire Fleet would only come if everyone held together, Adama begins to prepare a journey to Kobol to retrieve the remainder of the Fleet and reach out to Roslin (Home, Part I). At first Tigh seems to believe that Adama is retrieving the faction by more military means, and scoffs at Roslin's religious views on the quest until he realizes that Adama is beginning to follow Roslin's information, taking her reports and visions seriously. Tigh is left in command while Adama successfully reunites the Fleet and reconciles with Roslin (Home, Part II).

Fallout from the Gideon Incident

After Adama's return to command and Roslin to the presidency, for a moment the Gideon incident is almost forgotten. Before she is invited to Galactica, reporter D'Anna Biers prepares a story about the incident, which could destroy the public's view towards Tigh, and eventually Galactica. However she drops the subject in favor of a Galactica documentary.

Lt. Joe Palladino, the pilot in charge of the boarding operation to Gideon, blames Tigh for the discredit to his reputation. He begins to terrorize Tigh and his wife, but Tigh later manages to subdue Palladino (Final Cut).

Pegasus Discovered

Things once again turn on their head when Galactica has a chance encounter with the battlestar Pegasus, a modern type of battlestar and the flagship of Admiral Helena Cain. Cain, being the superior officer, assumes complete command of the Fleet. The naturally suspicious Tigh is wary about this mixed blessing, but takes it in stride like everything else up until now. When he begins to regularly speak with Pegasus’s own XO Jack Fisk, his suspicions slowly prove to be well founded.

Fisk's conscience-clearing sessions with Tigh reveal that Admiral Cain was responsible for a set of atrocities, the most damning being the pillaging and stranding of a small civilian fleet in open space. When Tigh relays this information to Commander Adama, Adama reminisces about their own questionable activities, particularly their actions regarding the Olympic Carrier. However, Adama keeps Tigh's warnings in mind and they help him in his decision to stand up to Cain later on ("Pegasus" through "Resurrection Ship, Part I").

The Election and New Caprica

When the presidential election arrives, Colonel Tigh is charged with overseeing the vote tallies on Galactica. When it appears that Baltar would win the vote, Tory Foster, President Roslin's aide, approaches Tigh and Dualla to conspire to steal the election for Roslin, foreseeing certain disaster in a Baltar presidency. Tigh, never a fan of Baltar's to begin with, assists in the deception in order to keep Baltar out of office. The plot is overturned when Lt. Gaeta later notices the Colonel's suspicious and stand-offish behavior regarding the ballot boxes. Admiral Adama lets Tigh and Dualla off the hook and the official vote tallies are "revised" without the public learning of the Roslin campaign's attempt to steal the election.

One year later, after the fleet settles on New Caprica on the orders of President Baltar, most of the military staff have all but retired from active service. Col. Tigh is one of the few officers still serving aboard Galactica, but the day eventually comes when Admiral Adama discharges his friend and XO from his duties to let him return to civilian life with his wife. On the surface of New Caprica, the couple run into Kara Thrace at Galen and Cally Tyrol's union rally. The former colonel and captain share an unusually warm embrace, having put their differences behind them at some point in the preceding year. However, their reunion does not last as a large Cylon fleet appears in orbit over the planet and the Cylons occupy New Caprica without firing a shot. Tigh and his wife are last seen watching in utter shock as Cylon Centurions march through the streets of New Caprica City (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II).

Occupation and Resistance

Two months into the occupation of New Caprica by the Cylons, Tigh is organizing and recruiting for the resistance on New Caprica along with Galen Tyrol and Jammer. When the Cylons begin to find the weapons hidden by the Resistance, Tigh orders them to be stored in the Temple, believing it to be the safest place as the Cylon respect the sanctity of the Temple and will not search it. When the Cylons discover the weapons, Nora is shot and Cally Tyrol and her baby barely escape. This leads several members of the resistance movement to question whether Tigh is going too far. After Tigh plans an attack that could endanger patients at a hospital, Jammer reports him to the Cylon authorities (Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance). The Cylons imprison Tigh and physically tear his right eye out. He is badly beaten and put into a small holding cell. Ellen's sexual efforts with Cavil lead to Tigh's eventual release (Occupation) though this is later revealed to be a Cylon ruse to blackmail Ellen into collaboration with the Cylons as well as find the location of a high level meeting of the Insurgency.

Escape from New Caprica and Ellen's death

Tigh handing Ellen her poisoned drink.

Tigh actively participates in the exodus from New Caprica, leading an attack on the shipyard with Galen Tyrol, during which they are aided by Vipers launched from Galactica.

Adama welcomes Tigh back on Galactica (Exodus, Part II).

Following the escape, he initially resumes his post as the executive officer of Galactica, but is unable to conceal his contempt for those who colluded with the Cylons, such as Felix Gaeta. In a face-off with Admiral Adama, in which the senior officer orders Tigh to "sleep it off", it is clear that the events on New Caprica - most notably, his wife's death - are still adversely affecting Tigh. Following that he spends a lot of time in his quarters trying to cope with what happened to him on New Caprica and is temporarily replaced by Karl Agathon.

He eventually becomes the apparent ringleader of the Circle, a group of six people authorized by then-President Tom Zarek, charged with bringing collaborators to justice. Thirteen people fall victim to the Circle's mandate, including Jammer (Collaborators).

Tigh is reunited with an old comrade, Daniel Novacek and tells him the truth of his last mission. Tigh later stops him when Novacek tries to kill Adama in revenge for being the cause of him spending years as a Cylon captive (Hero). Tigh also referees the boxing fights organized to boost morale (Unfinished Business). He returns to duty during operations to resupply the Fleet's food stores (The Passage). When Dr. Robert, a civilian physician, is implicated in the deaths of Sagittaron refugees, Tigh initially defends his friend, saying that he worked with the resistance on New Caprica. He clashes with Karl Agathon over this, who insists on investigating Robert. However, when it turns out that Robert was killing the Sagittarons out prejudice, Tigh orders his arrest (The Woman King).

When Kara Thrace dies he is visibly heartbroken (Maelstrom), showing that he did truly care about her despite their differences, which he had begun to show in "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II". As the Fleet nears the Ionian nebula and Gaius Baltar's trial begins, Tigh is one of a few people who hear mysterious music on several occasions. When called to testify in court, he shows up drunk. Baltar's lawyer exploits this vulnerability and forces Tigh to publicly admit that he killed his wife on New Caprica (Crossroads, Part I).

The Damning Revelation

Tigh in his waking "nightmare" state (He That Believeth In Me).

Saul Tigh, Galen Tyrol, Samuel Anders and Tory Foster begin to hear a song only they can hear over and over again, driving them to distraction. They instinctively come to the realization that they are four of the final five Cylons. For the moment they decide to remain loyal to the Colonials (Crossroads, Part II).

With a Cylon fleet bearing down on them, Tigh resumes his position as executive officer again. However, almost immediately, this decision is tested by both Tigh's waking nightmares during the onset of the battle—where he believes he will kill his friend and commander, Adama, much the same way Boomer tried to—and the return of Kara Thrace, who may be a Cylon. Even amidst this, he is the de facto leader of the "Final Four" and continues to assure them that they are different than Boomer and the other Cylons. Further, he has them pledge to kill themselves should they feel any inkling of betraying the Fleet (He That Believeth In Me).

In an attempt to learn more about what it means to be a Cylon and how they deal with pain, Tigh visits Caprica-Six in the brig and asks her how it feels to have the blood of billions of beings on her hands. Six replies that she is just as human as he is and can't switch off her feelings, but that she has found another way to deal with her pain. During their conversation, Tigh has a hallucination of his dead wife, whose body he sees the place of Six. She tries to help him cope with his feelings and share some of her perceived clarity. In act of tenderness, she removes his eye patch, but Tigh rebukes her advances. Six then punches Tigh and kisses him when he lies on the floor (Escape Velocity).

When Natalie offers the Colonials access to the Cylon Resurrection Hub and wants to unbox the Threes in order to learn what she knows about the Final Five, Tigh reacts shocked and fears that he will be uncovered and killed. Instead of cooperation with the Cylon rebels, he urges President Roslin to just destroy the hub (Guess What's Coming to Dinner?).

Spoiler follows, highlight to read.
Tigh's visits to Caprica-Six lead to a physical confrontation with William Adama (Sine Qua Non).

Notes

• Tigh is supposedly a third-generation Colonial soldier. His father was a decorated fighter pilot killed in combat and his grandfather served under President Mueller. Also, Tigh was a published military historian until personal problems became apparent (Miniseries, deleted scene). However, given Tigh's recently-revealed Cylon nature, his family history may be a fabrication. Tigh's interest in military history has not been mentioned on screen after the Miniseries, although he mentions various Cylon tactics in use from the Cylon War that came to save Galactica after being boarded by Centurions (Valley of Darkness).
• Tigh's first name has been given as "Paul" on a number of websites. This is initially based on an early version of the script (PDF file), which has Adama speaking to "Paul" in their discussion of his fight with Kara Thrace. In the podcast commentary on the episode "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down", Ronald D. Moore has indicated that the character's name initially was Paul Tigh. The name had to be changed due to legal issues that Moore was unable to recall in that podcast.
• Tigh is based off the character of Paul Eddington in the movie In Harm's Way portrayed by Kirk Douglas (with John Wayne).
• Tigh's age is one of the only ones which can be accurately deduced. According to a deleted scene from "Valley of Darkness", he served on the Brenik when it was boarded during the second year of the Cylon War. Tigh says that he was "just a kid. Virgin. Teenager." It is known that Colonial Day is the anniversary of both the unification of the Colonies, and (roughly) the outbreak of the Cylon War (Source: RDM, April 11, 2005), and was 52 years ago (Colonial Day). Thus, Tigh is between 63 and 69 years old at the beginning of Season 2. However, give that he is in fact a Cylon, that is in question as well.
• In the DVD commentary of "Act of Contrition", Ron Moore notes that actor Michael Hogan won the role of Tigh over Donnelly Rhodes, who was one of two other actors vying for the part. Rhodes went on to play the role of Dr. Cottle, Galactica's CMO.
• According to Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine, Tigh's home colony is Aerelon. However, in "Dirty Hands", Cally claims that virtually no officers in the Colonial Fleet are from poorer colonies. While this could be an exaggeration, her husband brings up Dualla as counter-example, but not Tigh. Moreover, Tigh doesn't speak with an Aerelon accent, although there might be local variations.
• Tigh's Cylon identity may be alluded to as early as "Occupation": not only does he have only one eye at this point, but the Cylon "scanning eye" sound effect can be faintly heard as he looks toward the open door of his cell when Cavil enters to tell him that he has been released.

References

Preceded by: Unknown	Executive Officer of the battlestar Galactica	Succeeded by: Karl Agathon
Preceded by: Karl Agathon	Executive Officer of the battlestar Galactica	Succeeded by: Incumbent