Colonel Tigh

Colonel Tigh is a fictional character in the original 1978 TV series Battlestar Galactica, played by Terry Carter. In the show, he is the Executive Officer of the titutlar ship. In his early years, he flew a Viper in the same squadron as Commander Adama. (A book based on the original series mentions him as having served aboard the battlestar Bellerophon before his posting to the Galactica.) Tigh at first appeared to be strictly by-the-book and a tough disciplinarian; however, he has a lighter side. For example, in the episode "Lost Planet of the Gods", Tigh bailed Greenbean and the other Blue Squadron pilots out of trouble with Council Security and told them to carry on with Apollo's bachelor party.

Tigh proved himself a competent battlestar commander multiple times:

• In "The Living Legend", Tigh is tasked to command the battlestar Pegasus by Adama, which he does for a short time until Cain retakes his command. (Tigh does not resent against Adama or Cain because of the quick loss of the command over the Pegasus. Tigh also does not resent the applause of the Pegasus crew when the crew hears that Cain will return to command.)
• In the episode immediately following that one, "Fire in Space", Adama is injured and Tigh takes command of the Galactica.

In Robert Thurston's novel version of "Saga of a Star World", however, Thurston wrote that Tigh had never been able to keep his feelings hidden. And Thurston blamed that for having cost Tigh a ship command post at least once.

In "Baltar's Escape," Tigh was shown not to be much of a drinker; however, when he saw Siress Tinia accompanying Commander Adama in the epilogue of that installment, he turned to whoever was serving drinks and said, both in embarrassment and much to the amusements of Captain Apollo, Lieutenant Starbuck, and Lieutenant Sheba, "Uh, barman...."

Unlike other characters in the original series—for example, Commander Adama—Tigh is very much a skeptic when it comes to religious matters. In the episode "Lost Planet of the Gods", Adama wishes to send the Galactica into the magnetic void under the belief that it is the void surrounding Kobol, the Colonies's original planet, and encourages Tigh to have faith—as their enemies have taken everything else from them.

In Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming, set many years after the original series, Tigh is President of the Quorum of Twelve. The character is seen having to deal with leading the council in Richard Hatch's relaunch novel series.