| Boomer | |
|---|---|
| Battlestar Galactica character | |
| Portrayed by | Herbert Jefferson, Jr. |
| Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Title | Lieutenant / Colonel |
| Affiliation | Colonials |
Lieutenant Boomer, later known as Colonel Boomer, was a character on the 1978-1979 television series Battlestar Galactica and its spin-off series Galactica 1980. He was portrayed on both series by Herbert Jefferson, Jr. Boomer was a lieutenant in the Colonial Service, an officer with a background in engineering and communications. He was also an expert Colonial Viper pilot, and had pulled a tour of duty in the frozen environment of Ice Station Thule; this made Boomer useful for similar missions in the series, such as in the episode Gun on Ice Planet Zero.
In Robert Thurston's novel version of Battlestar Galactica: The Saga Of A Star World, Thurston wrote that Boomer was a voracious reader who usually spent his off hours reading and called him cautious enough never to wager except on what was "surer than a sure thing". In Saga of a Star World, he was one of the three recipients (Apollo and Starbuck being the other two) of the Golden Star Cluster, the highest military honor that could be awarded to Colonial Service warriors (similar to the Medal of Honor for the real-world United States armed forces).
During the events of Galactica 1980, Boomer had reached the rank of colonel and was the executive officer of the Battlestar Galactica.
The 2004 TV series Battlestar Galactica, which was a re-imagining of the 1978 TV series, featured a character that was based on Boomer: Lieutenant Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, played by Grace Park. This character differed from the original Boomer in several important ways: she was female; "Boomer" was only her military call sign and not her actual name; and she was revealed to be a humanoid Cylon sleeper agent, one of many copies of the Cylon model known as Number Eight.