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". Erica Mongé-Greer describes him: "experienced, a gruff exterior, kind-hearted, and very knowledgeable." 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". 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. 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. 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". According to Jowett, the character is also used explore stereotypes of science in media. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. ==References==