Sherman Cottle: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m →‎top: Fix WP:Overlinking of common words, other link fixes and genfixes
caption doesn't match photo
 
(38 intermediate revisions by 15 users not shown)
Line 3: Line 3:
| name = Dr. Sherman Cottle
| name = Dr. Sherman Cottle
| series = [[Battlestar Galactica]]
| series = [[Battlestar Galactica]]
| image =
| image = BSG - Sherman Cottle (Donnelly Rhodes).jpg
| caption = Doctor Cottle (left) and Medic Layne Ishay assisting a patient
| caption =
| first = "[[Act of Contrition (Battlestar Galactica)|Act of Contrition]]"
| first = "[[Act of Contrition (Battlestar Galactica)|Act of Contrition]]"
| last = "[[Daybreak (Battlestar Galactica)|Daybreak]]"
| last = "[[Daybreak (Battlestar Galactica)|Daybreak]]"
Line 16: Line 16:
| gender = Male
| gender = Male
}}
}}
'''Major Sherman Cottle''' is a fictional character in the reimagined ''[[Battlestar Galactica (re-imagining)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' series. The [[Battlestar Galactica (ship)#Battlestar Galactica (2003)|battlestar ''Galactica'']]'s [[Physician|Chief Medical Officer]], Cottle is played by [[Donnelly Rhodes]].
'''Sherman Cottle''' is a fictional character in the reimagined ''[[Battlestar Galactica (re-imagining)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' series. Played by [[Donnelly Rhodes]], Cottle is the [[Battlestar Galactica (ship)#Battlestar Galactica (2003)|Battlestar ''Galactica'']]'s [[Physician|Chief Medical Officer]].


==Character biography==
==Character analysis and reception==


Geoff Ryman holds Cottle as an example of ''Battlestar Galactica's'' rich but efficient characterization, presented to the audience of mid-2000s America as a "crusty leftover from an earlier age by having him smoke cigarettes".<ref name=Ryman>{{cite book
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]] and Col. [[Saul Tigh]],<ref name="Resistance">{{cite episode| episode-link=Resistance (Battlestar Galactica)| title=Resistance| series=[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)]]}}</ref> and even President [[Laura Roslin]].<ref name="Act of Contrition">{{cite episode| episode-link=Act of Contrition (Battlestar Galactica)| title=Act of Contrition| series=[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)]]}}</ref> He holds the rank of [[Major]] in the [[Colonial Forces (Battlestar Galactica)|Colonial Fleet]],<ref name="Bastille Day">{{cite episode| episode-link=Bastille Day (Battlestar Galactica)| title=Bastille Day| series=[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)]]}}</ref> but is not a [[line officer]]: he does not form a part of ''Galactica''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[chain of command]].<ref name="Fragged">{{cite episode| episode-link=Fragged (Battlestar Galactica)| title=Fragged| series=[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)]]}}</ref> He is invariably addressed by his medical title, and unlike [[Gaius Baltar]], Cottle does not object to the abbreviation "Doc".
| first = Ryman
| last = Geoff
| chapter = Adam and Mitochondrial Eve: A Foundation Myth for White Folks
| editor-last = Stoy
| editor-first = Jennifer
| editor-last2 = Kaveney
| editor-first2 = Roz
| date = 2010
| title = Battlestar Galactica: Investigating Flesh, Spirit and Steel
| publisher = [[I.B. Tauris]]
| page = <!-- or pages: -->
| isbn = 9780857731098
}}</ref> Erica Mongé-Greer describes him: "experienced, a gruff exterior, kind-hearted, and very knowledgeable."<ref>{{cite book
| last = Mongé-Greer
| first = Erica
| date = 2022
| title = So Say We All: Religion, Spirituality, and the Divine in Battlestar Galactica
| publisher = [[Wipf and Stock Publishers]]
| page = 39
| isbn = 9781725273368
}}</ref>


Lorna Jowett uses Cottle to highlight the show's commentary on contemporary discussions around women's [[Sexual and reproductive health|reproductive care]], he along with [[Gaius Baltar]] and Cylon Simon show "men are in charge of reproductive science".<ref name=jowett2>{{cite book
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 (Battlestar Galactica)|Cylon]] patients. He describes the sexual assault of [[Sharon Agathon|Sharon "Athena" Agathon]] as "unforgivable,"<ref name="Resurrection Ship">{{cite episode| episode-link=Resurrection Ship (Battlestar Galactica)| title=Resurrection Ship| series=[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)]]}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Exodus">{{cite episode| episode-link=Exodus (Battlestar Galactica)| title=Exodus| series=[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)]]}}</ref>
| first = Lorna
| last = Jowett
| chapter = Frak Me: Reproduction, Gender, Sexuality
| editor-last = Stoy
| editor-first = Jennifer
| editor-last2 = Kaveney
| editor-first2 = Roz
| date = 2010
| title = Battlestar Galactica: Investigating Flesh, Spirit and Steel
| publisher = [[I.B. Tauris]]
| page = <!-- or pages: -->
| isbn = 9780857731098
}}</ref> Later they note how a character escapes her family who is opposed to [[abortion]] in hope that Cottle will help her, though ultimately it is President [[Laura Roslin]] who makes the decision.<ref name=jowett2/> As one example in an examination on whether American television could affect stigma of abortion care in the real-world, Gretchen Sisson and Katrina Kimport note Cottle's matter-of-fact approach to abortion care, also noting that he later advised the character in question to seek political asylum. They say this as an example of "providing a social good, thereby countering provider stigma."<ref name=sisson>{{cite journal
| last1 = Sisson
| first1 = Gretchen
| last2 = Kimport
| first2 = Katrina
| date = December 2016
| title = Doctors and Witches, Conscience and Violence: Abortion Provision on American Television
| journal = Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
| volume = 48
| issue = 4
| pages = 165
| doi = 10.1363/psrh.1367
| jstor = 48576828
| pmid = 27685830
| doi-access = free
}}</ref>


Rikk Mulligan compares Cottle's outraged reaction to the use of [[rape]] as an [[interrogation]] tactic to Americans' outraged reaction to the treatment of detainees by [[Coalition of the willing (Iraq War)|coalition]] forces in the [[Iraq War]] in the mid-2000s.<ref name=mulligan>
President Roslin is a long term patient: she informs him of her [[breast cancer]] diagnosis two weeks after the [[Battlestar Galactica (miniseries)|destruction of the Twelve Colonies]],<ref name="Act of Contrition"/> and continues to see him at various points until her near death and successful treatment by Doctor [[Gaius Baltar|Baltar]]. Cottle opposes but does not obstruct Baltar's treatment method, which uses the blood of Sharon Agathon's unborn child, calling it "unnatural".<ref name="Epiphanies">{{cite episode| episode-link=Epiphanies (Battlestar Galactica)| title=Epiphanies| series=[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)]]}}</ref>
{{cite book
| last = Mulligan
| first = Rikk
| chapter = The Cain Mutiny: Reflecting the Faces of Military Leadership in a Time of Fear.
| editor-last1=Marshall
| editor-first1=C. W.
| editor-last2=Potter
| editor-first2=Tiffany
| date = 2008
| title = Cylons in America: Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica
| publisher = [[Bloomsbury Academic]]
| pages = 52–63
| isbn =
}}</ref> However, to Lesley Henderson and Simon Carter, while Cottle symbolizes "concerns about the future of humanity, he also presents us with a discourse of hope, an idealised (possibly unrealistic) view of the tensions that the caring health sciences must navigate in a world engaged in a 'war on terror'." They describe his actions in the show "as signifying an ethical resistance to the all-encompassing needs of the military in times of war".<ref name=henderson>{{cite journal
| last1 = Henderson
| first1 = Lesley
| last2 = Carter
| first2 = Simon
| date = Dec 2016
| title = Doctors in space (ships): biomedical uncertainties and medical authority in imagined futures
| journal = Medical Humanities
| location = London
| volume = 42
| issue = 4
| pages = 277–282
| doi = 10.1136/medhum-2016-010902
| pmid = 27694600
| pmc = 5256418
}}</ref>


According to Jowett, the character is also used explore stereotypes of science in media.<ref name=jowett>
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 [[antibiotic]]s and other medical supplies.<ref name="Lay Down Your Burdens">{{cite episode| episode-link=Lay Down Your Burdens (Battlestar Galactica)| title=Lay Down Your Burdens| series=[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)]]}}</ref> Following the Cylon invasion, Cottle acts as a neutral party, providing medical care to all those in need.
{{cite book
| last = Jowett
| first = Lorna
| chapter = Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know? Negotiating Stereotypes of Science
| editor-last1=Marshall
| editor-first1=C. W.
| editor-last2=Potter
| editor-first2=Tiffany
| date = 2008
| title = Cylons in America: Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica
| publisher = [[Bloomsbury Academic]]
| pages = 64–75
| isbn =
}}</ref> To Jowett, Cottle's portrayal is partly in moral contrast to Baltar who demonstrates science as aloof and amoral. Cottle's constant cigarette smoking is used to distinguish him from Baltar who occasionally smokes fine cigars. Jowett points out that the way Cottle converses with other characters with a down-to-earth manner and acceptance of his nickname, "Doc", distinguishes him from Baltar who relies on [[technobabble]], and angrily rejects being referred to as "Doc". Jowett also describes how the character portrays an alternative to the immoral, represented by the genocidal Dr. Robert, as Cottle's medical ethics and humanity towards patients provide contrast with such behavior.<ref name=jowett/>


On the return of Roslin's cancer, Amy Kind explains, Cottle also presents a dilemma that Cylons do not face. Cottle advises Roslin that the treatment "would radically and irreversibly change her psychological makeup and capabilities", and Kind goes on to contrast this with the abilities of Cylons to retain memories upon resurrection, further analyzing the nature of identity and death.<ref>
Following the rescue of the New Caprica colonists,<ref name="Exodus"/> Cottle resumes his duties as ''Galactica''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> chief medical officer.<ref name="A Measure of Salvation">{{cite episode| episode-link=A Measure of Salvation (Battlestar Galactica)| title=A Measure of Salvation| series=[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)]]}}</ref> He volunteers for the apparent suicide mission in the series finale, [[Daybreak (Battlestar Galactica)|Daybreak]]", but is reminded by [[William Adama]] 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.
{{cite book
| last = Kind
| first = Amy
| chapter = The Identity of Cylons
| editor-last = T. Eberl
| editor-first = Jason
| date = 2008
| title = Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There
| publisher = [[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]]
| pages = 3–9
| isbn = 9781444356571
}}</ref>

In his essay ''How To Be Happy After the End of the World'', Erik Baldwin compares Doctor Cottle, who fixes humans, to Chief Tyrol, a mechanic who fixes spaceships. Upon this, Baldwin applies [[Aristotle]]'s philosophy from [[Nicomachean Ethics]] to examine the purpose of humanity in an end-of-the-world scenario.<ref>
{{cite book
| last = Baldwin
| first = Erik D.
| chapter = How To Be Happy After the End of the World
| editor-last = T. Eberl
| editor-first = Jason
| date = 2008
| title = Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There
| publisher = [[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]]
| pages = 3–9
| isbn = 9781444356571
}}</ref>

In another analysis of human and Cylon identity, Paul Booth notes that Cottle and his surgical apron demonstrate the lack of difference between human and Cylon blood.<ref name=booth>{{cite book
| last = Booth
| first = Paul
| chapter = Frak-tured Postmodern Lives, Or, How I Found Out I was a Cylon
| editor-last1 = Steiff
| editor-first1 = Josef
| editor-last2 = Tamplin
| editor-first2 =Tristan D.
| date = 2008
| title = Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Mission Accomplished Or Mission Frakked Up?
| publisher = [[Open Court]]
| isbn = 9780812696431
}}</ref>

===Further characterization===
In a scene where several characters allow animosity to lead to a boxing match, Doc Cottle wants to stop the fight, while the President gives advice to a participant.<ref name="wetmore1">
{{cite book |last=Wetmore Jr. |first=Kevin J. |title=Cylons in America: Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica |date=2008 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |isbn= |editor-last1=Marshall |editor-first1=C. W. |pages=83 |chapter=Pyramid, Boxing, and Sex |editor-last2=Potter |editor-first2=Tiffany}}</ref>

In ''The Theology of Battlestar Galactica: American Christianity in the 2004-2009 Television Series'', Kevin Wetmore notes that as chief medical officer in the fleet, Cottle suggests prayer to President Roslin, whose [[cancer]] diagnosis has just been confirmed.<ref name="wetmore2">{{cite book |last=Wetmore, Jr. |first=Kevin J. |title=The Theology of Battlestar Galactica |date=2012 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=9780786489466 |page=32}}
</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{further|Bibliography of Battlestar Galactica}}


==External links==
==External links==
* {{Battlestarwiki}}
* [[battlestarwiki:Sherman Cottle|Sherman Cottle]] at [[battlestarwiki:Battlestar Wiki|Battlestar Wiki]]


{{Battlestar Galactica characters}}
{{Battlestar Galactica}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottle, Sherman}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottle, Sherman}}
Line 43: Line 185:
[[Category:Fictional majors]]
[[Category:Fictional majors]]
[[Category:Fictional surgeons]]
[[Category:Fictional surgeons]]
[[Category:Fictional medical personnel]]
[[Category:Fictional health professionals]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 2005]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 2005]]

Latest revision as of 01:45, 11 March 2024

Dr. Sherman Cottle
Battlestar Galactica character
First appearance"Act of Contrition"
Last appearance"Daybreak"
Portrayed byDonnelly Rhodes
In-universe information
SpeciesHuman
GenderMale
TitleMajor
ColonyUnknown
AffiliationColonial Fleet

Sherman Cottle is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series. Played by Donnelly Rhodes, Cottle is the Battlestar Galactica's Chief Medical Officer.

Character analysis and reception[edit]

Geoff Ryman holds Cottle as an example of Battlestar Galactica's rich but efficient characterization, presented to the audience of mid-2000s America as a "crusty leftover from an earlier age by having him smoke cigarettes".[1] Erica Mongé-Greer describes him: "experienced, a gruff exterior, kind-hearted, and very knowledgeable."[2]

Lorna Jowett uses Cottle to highlight the show's commentary on contemporary discussions around women's reproductive care, he along with Gaius Baltar and Cylon Simon show "men are in charge of reproductive science".[3] Later they note how a character escapes her family who is opposed to abortion in hope that Cottle will help her, though ultimately it is President Laura Roslin who makes the decision.[3] As one example in an examination on whether American television could affect stigma of abortion care in the real-world, Gretchen Sisson and Katrina Kimport note Cottle's matter-of-fact approach to abortion care, also noting that he later advised the character in question to seek political asylum. They say this as an example of "providing a social good, thereby countering provider stigma."[4]

Rikk Mulligan compares Cottle's outraged reaction to the use of rape as an interrogation tactic to Americans' outraged reaction to the treatment of detainees by coalition forces in the Iraq War in the mid-2000s.[5] However, to Lesley Henderson and Simon Carter, while Cottle symbolizes "concerns about the future of humanity, he also presents us with a discourse of hope, an idealised (possibly unrealistic) view of the tensions that the caring health sciences must navigate in a world engaged in a 'war on terror'." They describe his actions in the show "as signifying an ethical resistance to the all-encompassing needs of the military in times of war".[6]

According to Jowett, the character is also used explore stereotypes of science in media.[7] To Jowett, Cottle's portrayal is partly in moral contrast to Baltar who demonstrates science as aloof and amoral. Cottle's constant cigarette smoking is used to distinguish him from Baltar who occasionally smokes fine cigars. Jowett points out that the way Cottle converses with other characters with a down-to-earth manner and acceptance of his nickname, "Doc", distinguishes him from Baltar who relies on technobabble, and angrily rejects being referred to as "Doc". Jowett also describes how the character portrays an alternative to the immoral, represented by the genocidal Dr. Robert, as Cottle's medical ethics and humanity towards patients provide contrast with such behavior.[7]

On the return of Roslin's cancer, Amy Kind explains, Cottle also presents a dilemma that Cylons do not face. Cottle advises Roslin that the treatment "would radically and irreversibly change her psychological makeup and capabilities", and Kind goes on to contrast this with the abilities of Cylons to retain memories upon resurrection, further analyzing the nature of identity and death.[8]

In his essay How To Be Happy After the End of the World, Erik Baldwin compares Doctor Cottle, who fixes humans, to Chief Tyrol, a mechanic who fixes spaceships. Upon this, Baldwin applies Aristotle's philosophy from Nicomachean Ethics to examine the purpose of humanity in an end-of-the-world scenario.[9]

In another analysis of human and Cylon identity, Paul Booth notes that Cottle and his surgical apron demonstrate the lack of difference between human and Cylon blood.[10]

Further characterization[edit]

In a scene where several characters allow animosity to lead to a boxing match, Doc Cottle wants to stop the fight, while the President gives advice to a participant.[11]

In The Theology of Battlestar Galactica: American Christianity in the 2004-2009 Television Series, Kevin Wetmore notes that as chief medical officer in the fleet, Cottle suggests prayer to President Roslin, whose cancer diagnosis has just been confirmed.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Geoff, Ryman (2010). "Adam and Mitochondrial Eve: A Foundation Myth for White Folks". In Stoy, Jennifer; Kaveney, Roz (eds.). Battlestar Galactica: Investigating Flesh, Spirit and Steel. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9780857731098.
  2. ^ Mongé-Greer, Erica (2022). So Say We All: Religion, Spirituality, and the Divine in Battlestar Galactica. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 39. ISBN 9781725273368.
  3. ^ a b Jowett, Lorna (2010). "Frak Me: Reproduction, Gender, Sexuality". In Stoy, Jennifer; Kaveney, Roz (eds.). Battlestar Galactica: Investigating Flesh, Spirit and Steel. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9780857731098.
  4. ^ Sisson, Gretchen; Kimport, Katrina (December 2016). "Doctors and Witches, Conscience and Violence: Abortion Provision on American Television". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 48 (4): 165. doi:10.1363/psrh.1367. JSTOR 48576828. PMID 27685830.
  5. ^ Mulligan, Rikk (2008). "The Cain Mutiny: Reflecting the Faces of Military Leadership in a Time of Fear.". In Marshall, C. W.; Potter, Tiffany (eds.). Cylons in America: Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 52–63.
  6. ^ Henderson, Lesley; Carter, Simon (Dec 2016). "Doctors in space (ships): biomedical uncertainties and medical authority in imagined futures". Medical Humanities. 42 (4). London: 277–282. doi:10.1136/medhum-2016-010902. PMC 5256418. PMID 27694600.
  7. ^ a b Jowett, Lorna (2008). "Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know? Negotiating Stereotypes of Science". In Marshall, C. W.; Potter, Tiffany (eds.). Cylons in America: Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica. Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 64–75.
  8. ^ Kind, Amy (2008). "The Identity of Cylons". In T. Eberl, Jason (ed.). Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There. Wiley. pp. 3–9. ISBN 9781444356571.
  9. ^ Baldwin, Erik D. (2008). "How To Be Happy After the End of the World". In T. Eberl, Jason (ed.). Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There. Wiley. pp. 3–9. ISBN 9781444356571.
  10. ^ Booth, Paul (2008). "Frak-tured Postmodern Lives, Or, How I Found Out I was a Cylon". In Steiff, Josef; Tamplin, Tristan D. (eds.). Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Mission Accomplished Or Mission Frakked Up?. Open Court. ISBN 9780812696431.
  11. ^ Wetmore Jr., Kevin J. (2008). "Pyramid, Boxing, and Sex". In Marshall, C. W.; Potter, Tiffany (eds.). Cylons in America: Critical Studies in Battlestar Galactica. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 83.
  12. ^ Wetmore, Jr., Kevin J. (2012). The Theology of Battlestar Galactica. McFarland & Company. p. 32. ISBN 9780786489466.

Bibliography[edit]

Further information: Bibliography of Battlestar Galactica

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sherman_Cottle&oldid=1213081115"