Galen Tyrol
Encyclopedia
Galen Tyrol is a character on the television series Battlestar Galactica. Tyrol is responsible for the maintenance of the Vipers
and Raptors
aboard Battlestar Galactica
. After the events of the miniseries
, he was the ship's highest-ranking non-commissioned officer
at rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer.
Galen Tyrol is played by Aaron Douglas
, who originally auditioned for the role of Lee Adama
before that role went to English actor Jamie Bamber
.
aboard Galactica, who is, unbeknownst to either Tyrol or herself, a Cylon
. Once Sharon's true nature is revealed when she attempts to assassinate then-Commander Adama
, Tyrol is accused of being a Cylon and is thrown into the brig with Sharon. He claims he hates her and orders her to keep her distance, but when Sharon is shot and killed by Cally, he mourns her and reveals his true affection for her. Tyrol is "proven" not to be a Cylon - for the time being - and resumes his job. Discovering the existence of Caprica-Valerii (who is pregnant and in love with Helo) confuses him, especially with Galactica-Valerii's death still haunting him.
Galen's father was a Priest; his mother, an Oracle. He has served in the Colonial Fleet since he was 18 years old, working at various points on Battlestars Pegasus
, Columbia, Atlantia, and Galactica. Based on Commander Adama's statement Tyrol has served under his command for over five years, it is possible Tyrol also served on the Valkyrie. It is suggested his experience extends beyond mechanical knowledge when he is stranded on the surface of Kobol - his actions there suggest a strong grasp of tactical and other military knowledge, as well as an extremely high level of competence overall. Adama holds him in very high esteem as Colonel Tigh
acknowledges when he says "the old man has a soft spot" for him. Tyrol even modeled his own style of leadership on Adama's, and generally keeps a professional demeanor - although Tyrol tends to become overly protective, sometimes even irrational, when anyone under his command is injured or killed.
Tyrol and Helo
encounter trouble when Lieutenant Thorne, an officer on the Pegasus, attempts to rape Sharon Agathon while interrogating her. Rushing to her aid, Tyrol and Helo accidentally kill Thorne and are summarily sentenced to death by Rear Admiral
Helena Cain
. After Cain's death, the two are eventually released from the brig by Pegasus' new commander, Jack Fisk
, and all charges are dropped.
Near the end of the second season, Tyrol begins to believe he may be a Cylon sleeper agent, and begins to entertain thoughts of committing suicide
. He viciously attacks Cally when she wakes him from a nightmare, an act which prompts him to seek religious counsel. Brother Cavil
's guidance convinces Tyrol that he isn't a Cylon, and makes him aware of Cally's feelings towards him. However, the meeting with Brother Cavil later allows Tyrol to expose the priest as a humanoid Cylon when a duplicate copy returns from the Caprica rescue mission.
Tyrol and Cally are among the thousands that settle on New Caprica. The two get married and have a son, whom they name Nicholas (although in season 4 it is revealed Galen is not Nicholas' father). Tyrol worked as a union leader when the Cylons arrive and occupy New Caprica. Tyrol's speech urging the union to strike shortly before the occupation begins is based on Mario Savio
's "gears of the machine" address at the University of California, Berkeley.
During the Cylon occupation, Tyrol served as an active member of the resistance, bombing strategic targets and recruiting new members. After the colonists escape New Caprica, Tyrol is appointed by President Tom Zarek
to be a member of "The Circle," a six person jury charged with trying and executing humans suspected of collaborating with the Cylons. When Felix Gaeta
is tried, Tyrol reveals Gaeta was the "inside source" the resistance relied upon, effectively exonerating him. Soon after, The Circle disbands. Tyrol and Cally return to duty aboard Galactica.
After the fleet makes its way to the algae planet, Tyrol is one of those assigned to the base camp on the planet during the algae harvesting process. He feels a compulsion to walk into the hills above the camp where he discovers the Temple of Five, a place which Tyrol's parents revered. He tries to find the location of the Eye of Jupiter within the temple but the Cylons make their move before he is able to do so and the humans are forced to abandon the temple. Tyrol cannot bring himself to activate the explosives he placed there, and by the time then-Major Lee Adama presses the detonator it is too late, the devices have been disconnected by the Cylons. Afterward, Tyrol finds Gaius Baltar
within the temple and knocks him unconscious before he and the rest of the humans on the planet's surface return to Galactica as the local star goes supernova.
Tyrol and Cally have a rough patch in their marriage caused by Tyrol always volunteering the two of them for additional duty instead of spending time with their son. They get locked in an airlock losing atmosphere due to a damaged patch. Rear Admiral Adama decides the best way to rescue them is to blow the main hatch and catch them in a waiting raptor. After they are caught, they are rushed to sick bay for treatment. Seelix brings his son to him in sick bay and he renews his commitment to his family and marriage. After a problem arises with the tylium refinery, Tyrol organizes a general strike to protest the working conditions. When Rear Admiral Adama threatens to shoot Cally, Tyrol backs down. He then has a meeting with President Roslin to discuss working conditions, replacement personnel, and training.
In the cliffhanger
Season 3 finale, "Crossroads, Part II
", he, along with Samuel Anders
, Saul Tigh
, and Tory Foster
become aware that they are Cylons, based on hallucinatory
music
(which turns out to be a cover of "All Along The Watchtower
" written by Bob Dylan
) that only they can hear, and a "switch" Tyrol believes has gone off within them.
At the start of season 4 Tyrol and the other three Final Five Cylons begin meeting in secret. In "The Ties That Bind
" Tyrol's wife Cally becomes suspicious of him being away from her all the time. After seeing him meeting in the bar with Tory, she believes he is having an affair. However, she later listens in on a meeting between Galen, Tory and Tigh and finds out her husband is a Cylon. After he returns to their quarters she knocks him out with a wrench and takes their child to commit suicide in an airlock. However, Tory comes and punches her out, takes the baby and then opens the air lock killing Cally. In "Escape Velocity
", Tyrol gives a eulogy for his wife and is obviously deeply affected by it when it affects his work. Later, Rear Admiral Adama comes and meets him in the bar telling him he can take time off or have more work, whichever he needs. Tyrol then imagines Adama saying it was his fault Cally died and he goes ballistic, ranting and raving about how he settled for Cally because Boomer turned out to be a Cylon. Adama demotes him after he refuses to calm down, thus removing him from duty on the hangar deck and is to report to Petty Officer Basim for reassignment.
Tyrol sinks deeper into depression, almost committing suicide and later assaulting Baltar at one of his sermons for mentioning Cally (although Tyrol eventually accepts an apology from Baltar). When Tigh reveals himself, Sam Anders and Tyrol to be Cylons and the marines arrest the latter two, Galen smiles, looking almost relieved.
After Lee Adama gives a full pardon to the final four, Galen Tyrol (before going down to Earth) was last seen in his quarters playing with his son. The feelings from his former deck crew to the knowledge of him being a Cylon are not yet known.
When on Earth, Tyrol explores the area he is in and is drawn to the remains of a wall that has a silhouette burned into it that matches his shadow exactly. Upon touching it, Tyrol experiences a flashback of his life on Earth 2000 years ago. He is strolling down a crowded market street when he is suddenly engulfed by a nuclear explosion. Tyrol then realizes he and the rest of the Final Five Cylons had previously lived past lives on Earth, though he is unsure how they found their way to the Colonies.
When his son, Nicholas, is in sickbay with acute renal failure and brought to Doc Cottle for treatment, Galen discovers Nicholas is not his son, but the son of Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza, who Cally had a brief fling with just before marrying Galen.
During the mutiny onboard Galactica, Tyrol sides with Adama and using his intimate knowledge of the ship, is instrumental in helping end the conflict. He helps Roslin escape the ship and during the standoff between Galactica and the rebel Cylons, disables Galacticas FTL drive to keep it from escaping. He is dismayed to notice metal fatigue in the engine room.
Tyrol is reinstated to duty, with full rank, by Admiral Adama, who charges Tyrol with fixing the damage to the ship.
In "No Exit
", Samuel Anders
reveals Tyrol and Tory used to be "madly in love" 2,000 years ago (before their memories were wiped by John Cavil). Tyrol chuckles at the idea.
In "Deadlock
", Tyrol comes face to face again with Boomer who has brought Ellen Tigh back to Galactica. Tyrol identifies her as Boomer to Adama who promptly orders her thrown in the brig. Tyrol is reluctant to visit her initially but he is later shown looking at her through the glass pane of her cell as she sleeps.
In "Someone to Watch Over Me
", he visits her again and Boomer shows him the life they could have had, using Cylon "projection", they had planned for before the war had started, including a 'daughter'. Galen attempts to dissuade Roslin from handing over Boomer to the Cylons for a trial, afraid that they will kill her. However, Roslin refuses his request. Galen then knocks out another Number Eight and switches her with Boomer in the brig, while Boomer knocks out Athena. He helps Boomer escape pretending to be Athena. To his horror, Boomer has tricked him and kidnapped Hera Agathon.
During the series finale, Tyrol is among the volunteers who join Adama's rescue mission. While he and the rest of the Final Five are downloading the secrets of resurrection to the Cylons, their minds temporarily combine and Tyrol discovers Tory Foster was responsible for Cally's death. He breaks the download and kills Tory in anger, but is later forgiven, as Tigh remarks if Tory had killed Ellen, he would have done exactly the same thing. When they arrive on the second Earth, Tyrol decides to live as a semi-hermit
on a northerly island, far away from both Colonial humans and Cylons, and only sparsely populated by terrestrial humans. The podcast for "Daybreak, Part II
" confirms that Tyrol settled in Scotland, and there were people already living there. Tyrol became the 'Tribal King of the Scots', apparently due to Aaron Douglas' great enthusiasm for the idea. In the Netflix
"Watch Instantly" streaming version of the series finale, Tyrol's decision to settle on an island is omitted.
. After the Boxey character was dropped, Tyrol's role as a deck chief became more prominent, and he became the representative of the working class in the Colonial Fleet. Moore also credits actor Aaron Douglas for coming up with names for recurring 'knuckle-dragger' characters such as Tarn
and Diana Seelix. Douglas stated that he felt a great deal of reluctance towards the idea of Tyrol becoming a cylon until he realized the expanded opportunities for the character. In the final podcast for the series, Moore acknowledged that the island Tyrol exiled himself to was in fact Britain
(The original idea was that he settled on Vancouver Island
, though due to the fact that the idea of him settling Scotland
was so popular with fans, that is what was made canon). In the Netflix
"Watch Instantly" streaming version of the series finale, Tyrol's decision to settle on an island is omitted.
While it may be a coincidence, Tyrol's forename, Galen, is one of the series' many homages (intentional or otherwise) to the Planet of the Apes
franchise. Galen was the name of Roddy McDowall
's character in the 1974 television series
who, like Galen Tyrol, was a non-human aiding human military astronauts and surveying a post-apocalyptic "Earth".
Colonial Viper
The Colonial Viper is the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the human protagonists in the Battlestar Galactica fictional universe. Appearing in both the 1978 original series and the 2003 reimagined series, as well as various derivative works, the single-pilot spacecraft are carried aboard...
and Raptors
Colonial Raptor
The Raptor is a multipurpose military spacecraft featured in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. According to producer Ronald D. Moore, the Raptor is analogous to the U.S. Navy's EA-6B Prowler.-Description:...
aboard Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (ship)
The Battlestar Galactica is a space battleship in the original and re-imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica.The Twelve Colonies of Man in the original television series built a number of Battlestars during their thousand-year war with the Cylons, whose battleships are...
. After the events of the miniseries
Battlestar Galactica (TV miniseries)
Battlestar Galactica is a three-hour miniseries written and produced by Ronald D. Moore and directed by Michael Rymer. It was the first part of the Battlestar Galactica reimagining based on the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series, and served as a backdoor pilot for the 2004 television series...
, he was the ship's highest-ranking non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
at rank of Senior Chief Petty Officer.
Galen Tyrol is played by Aaron Douglas
Aaron Douglas (actor)
Aaron Douglas is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Galen Tyrol on the Sci Fi Channel's television program Battlestar Galactica....
, who originally auditioned for the role of Lee Adama
Lee Adama
Leland Joseph "Lee" Adama is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by actor Jamie Bamber. He is one of the main characters in the series.-Early life:...
before that role went to English actor Jamie Bamber
Jamie Bamber
Jamie Bamber is the stage name of Jamie St. John Bamber Griffith , a British actor known most widely for his roles as Lee Adama on Battlestar Galactica and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin on the ITV series Law & Order: UK...
.
Character history
At the start of the series, Tyrol is romantically involved with Lieutenant Sharon "Boomer" ValeriiSharon Valerii
Number Eight is a female humanoid Cylon model on the television series Battlestar Galactica, a reimagining of the classic show of the same name. She is portrayed by Grace Park...
aboard Galactica, who is, unbeknownst to either Tyrol or herself, a Cylon
Cylon (Battlestar Galactica)
The Cylons are a cybernetic civilization at war with the Twelve Colonies of humanity in the Battlestar Galactica science fiction franchise, in the original 1978 and 1980 series, the 2004 reimagining, as well as the spin-off prequel series, Caprica...
. Once Sharon's true nature is revealed when she attempts to assassinate then-Commander Adama
William Adama
William "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series...
, Tyrol is accused of being a Cylon and is thrown into the brig with Sharon. He claims he hates her and orders her to keep her distance, but when Sharon is shot and killed by Cally, he mourns her and reveals his true affection for her. Tyrol is "proven" not to be a Cylon - for the time being - and resumes his job. Discovering the existence of Caprica-Valerii (who is pregnant and in love with Helo) confuses him, especially with Galactica-Valerii's death still haunting him.
Galen's father was a Priest; his mother, an Oracle. He has served in the Colonial Fleet since he was 18 years old, working at various points on Battlestars Pegasus
Battlestar Pegasus
Battlestar Pegasus is a fictional spacecraft that appears in the both the original and the reimagined television series Battlestar Galactica.- Battlestar Galactica :...
, Columbia, Atlantia, and Galactica. Based on Commander Adama's statement Tyrol has served under his command for over five years, it is possible Tyrol also served on the Valkyrie. It is suggested his experience extends beyond mechanical knowledge when he is stranded on the surface of Kobol - his actions there suggest a strong grasp of tactical and other military knowledge, as well as an extremely high level of competence overall. Adama holds him in very high esteem as Colonel Tigh
Saul Tigh
Saul Tigh is a fictional character on Battlestar Galactica played by Michael Hogan. The character was named Paul Tigh in early scripts, and was renamed due to legal issues, according to producer Ronald D. Moore. He is one of the main characters of the show.-Overview and personality:Saul Tigh is a...
acknowledges when he says "the old man has a soft spot" for him. Tyrol even modeled his own style of leadership on Adama's, and generally keeps a professional demeanor - although Tyrol tends to become overly protective, sometimes even irrational, when anyone under his command is injured or killed.
Tyrol and Helo
Karl Agathon
Karl C. Agathon is a fictional character on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica TV series, portrayed by Tahmoh Penikett.-Background:...
encounter trouble when Lieutenant Thorne, an officer on the Pegasus, attempts to rape Sharon Agathon while interrogating her. Rushing to her aid, Tyrol and Helo accidentally kill Thorne and are summarily sentenced to death by Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Helena Cain
Helena Cain
Admiral Helena Cain is a fictional character in the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by Michelle Forbes.-Youth:...
. After Cain's death, the two are eventually released from the brig by Pegasus' new commander, Jack Fisk
Jack Fisk (Battlestar Galactica)
Jack Fisk is a fictional character from the 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by Graham Beckel.Jack Fisk, service number 245A-34DC, was originally a Lieutenant Colonel aboard the Battlestar Pegasus and was the Executive Officer of the vessel, serving under the command of Admiral...
, and all charges are dropped.
Near the end of the second season, Tyrol begins to believe he may be a Cylon sleeper agent, and begins to entertain thoughts of committing suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. He viciously attacks Cally when she wakes him from a nightmare, an act which prompts him to seek religious counsel. Brother Cavil
Brother Cavil
John Cavil is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series. In the fourth season episode "Six of One", Cavil's model number was revealed as Number One.- Background :...
's guidance convinces Tyrol that he isn't a Cylon, and makes him aware of Cally's feelings towards him. However, the meeting with Brother Cavil later allows Tyrol to expose the priest as a humanoid Cylon when a duplicate copy returns from the Caprica rescue mission.
Tyrol and Cally are among the thousands that settle on New Caprica. The two get married and have a son, whom they name Nicholas (although in season 4 it is revealed Galen is not Nicholas' father). Tyrol worked as a union leader when the Cylons arrive and occupy New Caprica. Tyrol's speech urging the union to strike shortly before the occupation begins is based on Mario Savio
Mario Savio
""...But we're a bunch of raw materials that don't mean to be - have any process upon us. Don't mean to be made into any product! Don't mean - Don't mean to end up being bought by some clients of the University, be they the government, be they industry, be they organized labor, be they anyone!...
's "gears of the machine" address at the University of California, Berkeley.
During the Cylon occupation, Tyrol served as an active member of the resistance, bombing strategic targets and recruiting new members. After the colonists escape New Caprica, Tyrol is appointed by President Tom Zarek
Tom Zarek
Thomas "Tom" Zarek is the name of a fictional character on the Syfy series Battlestar Galactica. He is played by Richard Hatch, who had previously portrayed Captain Apollo, a character on the original Battlestar Galactica series of the late 1970s....
to be a member of "The Circle," a six person jury charged with trying and executing humans suspected of collaborating with the Cylons. When Felix Gaeta
Felix Gaeta
Lieutenant Junior Grade Felix Gaeta is a fictional character on Battlestar Galactica played by Alessandro Juliani.- Character overview in his early career :...
is tried, Tyrol reveals Gaeta was the "inside source" the resistance relied upon, effectively exonerating him. Soon after, The Circle disbands. Tyrol and Cally return to duty aboard Galactica.
After the fleet makes its way to the algae planet, Tyrol is one of those assigned to the base camp on the planet during the algae harvesting process. He feels a compulsion to walk into the hills above the camp where he discovers the Temple of Five, a place which Tyrol's parents revered. He tries to find the location of the Eye of Jupiter within the temple but the Cylons make their move before he is able to do so and the humans are forced to abandon the temple. Tyrol cannot bring himself to activate the explosives he placed there, and by the time then-Major Lee Adama presses the detonator it is too late, the devices have been disconnected by the Cylons. Afterward, Tyrol finds Gaius Baltar
Gaius Baltar
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...
within the temple and knocks him unconscious before he and the rest of the humans on the planet's surface return to Galactica as the local star goes supernova.
Tyrol and Cally have a rough patch in their marriage caused by Tyrol always volunteering the two of them for additional duty instead of spending time with their son. They get locked in an airlock losing atmosphere due to a damaged patch. Rear Admiral Adama decides the best way to rescue them is to blow the main hatch and catch them in a waiting raptor. After they are caught, they are rushed to sick bay for treatment. Seelix brings his son to him in sick bay and he renews his commitment to his family and marriage. After a problem arises with the tylium refinery, Tyrol organizes a general strike to protest the working conditions. When Rear Admiral Adama threatens to shoot Cally, Tyrol backs down. He then has a meeting with President Roslin to discuss working conditions, replacement personnel, and training.
In the cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
Season 3 finale, "Crossroads, Part II
Crossroads (Battlestar Galactica)
"Crossroads" are the nineteenth and twentieth episodes of the third season and season finale from the science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica...
", he, along with Samuel Anders
Samuel Anders
Samuel T. Anders is a fictional character from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, played by Michael Trucco...
, Saul Tigh
Saul Tigh
Saul Tigh is a fictional character on Battlestar Galactica played by Michael Hogan. The character was named Paul Tigh in early scripts, and was renamed due to legal issues, according to producer Ronald D. Moore. He is one of the main characters of the show.-Overview and personality:Saul Tigh is a...
, and Tory Foster
Tory Foster
Tory Foster is a fictional character from the 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by Rekha Sharma.-Character biography:Tory, like the other members of the Final Five, was originally from a planet called Earth...
become aware that they are Cylons, based on hallucinatory
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
(which turns out to be a cover of "All Along The Watchtower
All Along the Watchtower
"All Along the Watchtower" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The song, which has been included on most of Dylan's greatest hits compilations, initially appeared on his 1967 album John Wesley Harding. Over the past 35 years, he has performed it in concert more...
" written by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) that only they can hear, and a "switch" Tyrol believes has gone off within them.
At the start of season 4 Tyrol and the other three Final Five Cylons begin meeting in secret. In "The Ties That Bind
The Ties That Bind (Battlestar Galactica)
"The Ties That Bind" is the fifth episode in the fourth season of the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica. The episode originally aired on SCI FI and Space in the United States and Canada respectively on April 18, 2008, and on Sky1 in the United Kingdom on April 22...
" Tyrol's wife Cally becomes suspicious of him being away from her all the time. After seeing him meeting in the bar with Tory, she believes he is having an affair. However, she later listens in on a meeting between Galen, Tory and Tigh and finds out her husband is a Cylon. After he returns to their quarters she knocks him out with a wrench and takes their child to commit suicide in an airlock. However, Tory comes and punches her out, takes the baby and then opens the air lock killing Cally. In "Escape Velocity
Escape Velocity (Battlestar Galactica)
"Escape Velocity" is the fourth episode in the fourth season of the science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica. It first aired on April 25, 2008. The survivor count shown in the title sequence is 39,675.-Plot:...
", Tyrol gives a eulogy for his wife and is obviously deeply affected by it when it affects his work. Later, Rear Admiral Adama comes and meets him in the bar telling him he can take time off or have more work, whichever he needs. Tyrol then imagines Adama saying it was his fault Cally died and he goes ballistic, ranting and raving about how he settled for Cally because Boomer turned out to be a Cylon. Adama demotes him after he refuses to calm down, thus removing him from duty on the hangar deck and is to report to Petty Officer Basim for reassignment.
Tyrol sinks deeper into depression, almost committing suicide and later assaulting Baltar at one of his sermons for mentioning Cally (although Tyrol eventually accepts an apology from Baltar). When Tigh reveals himself, Sam Anders and Tyrol to be Cylons and the marines arrest the latter two, Galen smiles, looking almost relieved.
After Lee Adama gives a full pardon to the final four, Galen Tyrol (before going down to Earth) was last seen in his quarters playing with his son. The feelings from his former deck crew to the knowledge of him being a Cylon are not yet known.
When on Earth, Tyrol explores the area he is in and is drawn to the remains of a wall that has a silhouette burned into it that matches his shadow exactly. Upon touching it, Tyrol experiences a flashback of his life on Earth 2000 years ago. He is strolling down a crowded market street when he is suddenly engulfed by a nuclear explosion. Tyrol then realizes he and the rest of the Final Five Cylons had previously lived past lives on Earth, though he is unsure how they found their way to the Colonies.
When his son, Nicholas, is in sickbay with acute renal failure and brought to Doc Cottle for treatment, Galen discovers Nicholas is not his son, but the son of Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza, who Cally had a brief fling with just before marrying Galen.
During the mutiny onboard Galactica, Tyrol sides with Adama and using his intimate knowledge of the ship, is instrumental in helping end the conflict. He helps Roslin escape the ship and during the standoff between Galactica and the rebel Cylons, disables Galacticas FTL drive to keep it from escaping. He is dismayed to notice metal fatigue in the engine room.
Tyrol is reinstated to duty, with full rank, by Admiral Adama, who charges Tyrol with fixing the damage to the ship.
In "No Exit
No Exit (Battlestar Galactica)
"No Exit" is the seventeenth episode in the fourth season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. It aired on television in the United States and Canada on February 13, 2009...
", Samuel Anders
Samuel Anders
Samuel T. Anders is a fictional character from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, played by Michael Trucco...
reveals Tyrol and Tory used to be "madly in love" 2,000 years ago (before their memories were wiped by John Cavil). Tyrol chuckles at the idea.
In "Deadlock
Deadlock (Battlestar Galactica)
"Deadlock" is the eighteenth episode in the fourth season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. It aired on television in the United States and Canada. The survivor count shown in the title sequence is 39,556.-Plot summary:...
", Tyrol comes face to face again with Boomer who has brought Ellen Tigh back to Galactica. Tyrol identifies her as Boomer to Adama who promptly orders her thrown in the brig. Tyrol is reluctant to visit her initially but he is later shown looking at her through the glass pane of her cell as she sleeps.
In "Someone to Watch Over Me
Someone to Watch Over Me (Battlestar Galactica)
"Someone to Watch Over Me" is the seventeenth episode in the fourth season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. It aired on television in the United States and Canada on February 27, 2009. The survivor count shown in the title sequence is 39,556....
", he visits her again and Boomer shows him the life they could have had, using Cylon "projection", they had planned for before the war had started, including a 'daughter'. Galen attempts to dissuade Roslin from handing over Boomer to the Cylons for a trial, afraid that they will kill her. However, Roslin refuses his request. Galen then knocks out another Number Eight and switches her with Boomer in the brig, while Boomer knocks out Athena. He helps Boomer escape pretending to be Athena. To his horror, Boomer has tricked him and kidnapped Hera Agathon.
During the series finale, Tyrol is among the volunteers who join Adama's rescue mission. While he and the rest of the Final Five are downloading the secrets of resurrection to the Cylons, their minds temporarily combine and Tyrol discovers Tory Foster was responsible for Cally's death. He breaks the download and kills Tory in anger, but is later forgiven, as Tigh remarks if Tory had killed Ellen, he would have done exactly the same thing. When they arrive on the second Earth, Tyrol decides to live as a semi-hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
on a northerly island, far away from both Colonial humans and Cylons, and only sparsely populated by terrestrial humans. The podcast for "Daybreak, Part II
Daybreak (Battlestar Galactica)
"Daybreak" is the two-part series finale of the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica, and are the 74th and 75th episodes overall. The episodes aired on the U.S. Sci Fi Channel and SPACE in Canada respectively on March 13 and March 20, 2009. The second part is...
" confirms that Tyrol settled in Scotland, and there were people already living there. Tyrol became the 'Tribal King of the Scots', apparently due to Aaron Douglas' great enthusiasm for the idea. In the Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
"Watch Instantly" streaming version of the series finale, Tyrol's decision to settle on an island is omitted.
Character development
According to the podcasts by producer Ronald D. Moore, Tyrol was originally intended to be a smaller role in the series and only had about fifteen lines in the miniseries. Aaron Douglas so impressed Moore with his ability to ad lib dialogue that the character was expanded in both the miniseries and the first season. The original first season story arc would have had Tyrol and Sharon forming a family unit with the character of BoxeyBoxey
Boxey is a fictional character from the original Battlestar Galactica television series portrayed by Noah Hathaway. He is the son of Serina and the stepson of Captain Apollo. Boxey grows up to become Captain Troy in Galactica 1980, portrayed by Kent McCord...
. After the Boxey character was dropped, Tyrol's role as a deck chief became more prominent, and he became the representative of the working class in the Colonial Fleet. Moore also credits actor Aaron Douglas for coming up with names for recurring 'knuckle-dragger' characters such as Tarn
Tarn
Tarn is a department of 5,758 km2 in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France, named after the Tarn River. It was formed in 1790 of the three dioceses of Albi, Castres and Lavaur, belonging to the province of Languedoc. In 1906, the population was 330,533...
and Diana Seelix. Douglas stated that he felt a great deal of reluctance towards the idea of Tyrol becoming a cylon until he realized the expanded opportunities for the character. In the final podcast for the series, Moore acknowledged that the island Tyrol exiled himself to was in fact Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(The original idea was that he settled on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, though due to the fact that the idea of him settling Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
was so popular with fans, that is what was made canon). In the Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
"Watch Instantly" streaming version of the series finale, Tyrol's decision to settle on an island is omitted.
While it may be a coincidence, Tyrol's forename, Galen, is one of the series' many homages (intentional or otherwise) to the Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes
La Planète des singes, known in English as Monkey Planet or Planet of the Apes, is a French 1963 science fiction novel by Pierre Boulle...
franchise. Galen was the name of Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
's character in the 1974 television series
Planet of the Apes (TV series)
Planet of the Apes was a short-lived American science fiction television series that aired on Friday evenings at 8:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Central on CBS in 1974. The series starred Roddy McDowall, Ron Harper, and James Naughton, Mark Lenard and Booth Colman...
who, like Galen Tyrol, was a non-human aiding human military astronauts and surveying a post-apocalyptic "Earth".
External links
- Galen Tyrol at the Battlestar Wiki