imran*

Complicit in fixing an election, organising a campaign of suicide-bombing in response to a military occupation, the extra-judicial execution of collaborators and the imposition of martial law following a military coup, Saul Tigh is one of the most badass, unlikeable and yet tragically, deeply and heroically flawed characters on television today.

In spite of this, Tigh – perfectly written and wonderfully played by Michael Hogan – commands our sympathy through a haze of alcoholism. Revelations of his experiences as a teenage soldier in a brutal war, his gentle execution of his wife Ellen as a collaborator and the damning revelation of his Cylon heritage enable us to him to be seen as man with a broken soul...

“You know, sometimes I think that you’ve got ice water in those
veins, and other times I think you’re just a naive little
schoolteacher. I’ve sent men on suicide missions in two wars now, and
let me tell you something. It don’t make a Godsdamn bit of difference
whether they’re riding in a Viper or walking out onto a parade ground,
in the end they’re just as dead. So take your piety and your moralizing
and your high-minded principles and stick ’em someplace safe until
you’re off this rock and you’re sitting in your nice cushy chair on
Colonial One again. I’ve got a war to fight.” Precipice

"My name is Saul Tigh, I am an officer in the Colonial Fleet. Whatever
else I am, whatever else it means, that’s the man I want to be. And if
I die today, that’s the man I’ll be." Crossroads: Part II

{ Artwork courtesy of Grant Gould }