Doctor Zee

Doctor Zee
Zee as portrayed by Robbie Rist.
[show/hide spoilers] Spoilers hidden in infobox by default only.
Name	{{{name}}}
Age	Between 14 to 16
Colony	Planet Starbuck
Birth place	{{{birthplace}}}
Birth Name
Birth Date	{{{birthdate}}}
Callsign
Nickname
Introduced	Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I
Last Known Appearance	The Return of Starbuck
Death
Parents	Angela, godson of Starbuck
Siblings
Children
Marital Status
Family Tree	View
Role	Advisor to Commander Adama
Rank	{{{rank}}}
Serial Number	{{{serial}}}
Portrayed by	Robbie Rist and Patrick Stuart
Doctor Zee is a Cylon
Doctor Zee is a Final Five Cylon
Doctor Zee is a Human/Cylon Hybrid
Doctor Zee is an Original Series Cylon
Related Media
Additional Information
Doctor Zee in the separate continuity
Zee as portrayed by James Patrick Stuart.

Doctor Zee, born more than a decade before Galactica finds Earth, is an extremely bright boy.

When introduced, Adama claims that Zee is not only one of the many Colonial children born in space, but is a "cerebral mutation." Due to this, this youth becomes a scientific advisor who has great influence on Commander Adama and the Council of Twelve, having saved them from their enemy "countless times in the past" ^{(1980: "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I")}. Additionally, the Council has never overruled him due to his penchant for always knowing the correct course of action ^{(1980: "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II")}.

Not everyone in the Fleet is comfortable with so much authority having been given to a boy, and Xaviar expressed this view from time to time ^{(1980: "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II", "Spaceball")}.

Zee and the Colonials

Zee is an expert on any topic he is consulted on from sociology, to history to agriculture.

Zee convinces Adama not to attempt contact with the newly-discovered descendants of the Thirteenth Tribe, as the nations of Earth are not unified and are ill equipped to resist the Cylons should they follow the Fleet to Earth's solar system.

Even so, Zee creates most of the special devices used by Colonial Warriors Troy and Dillon, including the invisibility screen ^{(1980: "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I")}, an anti-gravity craft that resembles a UFO ^{(1980: "Space Croppers")}, and a method of time travel first employed by Xaviar ^{(1980: "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II")}.

Origins

Doctor Zee as a baby on Planet Starbuck ^{(1980: "The Return of Starbuck")}.

Zee is troubled by a vivid dream about not only being born outside of the Galactican Fleet, but also of "a great warrior." In his telling of the dream to Adama, it is revealed that he is the son of Angela, adopted by Lieutenant Starbuck when he was stranded on a desolate planet.

While on that remote planet, Starbuck was visited by Angela, who may have been from the race of Angels. Angela gave birth to Zee, and Starbuck sent Angela and Zee off to rendezvous with the Fleet in a small escape pod that was too small to carry all three persons.

Angela herself disappears, and does not accompany Zee all the way to the Fleet. Although Adama confirms what he can of Zee's dream, much of Zee's origin remains a mystery ^{(1980: "The Return of Starbuck")}.

Character Development

Portrayal by Robbie Rist

Doctor Zee (Robbie Rist) with Adama in Zee's chamber ^{(1980: "Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I")}. Zee is "pressing his fingers together in a pyramid formation when thinking".

In developing the character of Doctor Zee for the series premiere, actor Robbie Rist worked closely with producer Glen A. Larson and director Sidney Hayers to create the character's distinctive presence. Rist described Doctor Zee as having "a mind a thousand years ahead of [his] time" and being "above emotion," explaining that the character's advanced intellect made emotional displays unnecessary. He noted that emotion would be needless "when you've got other things on your mind, like the lives of 2,000 people."

Rist contributed several physical mannerisms to the character, including crossing his legs whenever sitting and pressing his fingers together in a pyramid formation when thinking. The actor noted that developing these physical aspects of the character "took work, like any other part. It was difficult, but no job is impossible."

The production design for Doctor Zee emphasized his otherworldly nature through distinctive costuming and lighting. Rist wore an all-white outfit with white shoes and specially-made ocean-blue contact lenses designed to make him look "not quite human." The character was also lit with what Rist called a "surrealistic glow" or "aura" cast around him to enhance his cerebral, advanced nature. Rist described his on-set position as sitting on an "atomic high chair," joking that he "looked like Pat Boone" in the white ensemble.

Rist saw parallels between Doctor Zee and Star Trek's Mr. Spock, particularly in their shared lack of emotional expression, though he noted concern about whether such a character would work for a 15-year-old as opposed to an adult like Leonard Nimoy's portrayal. He viewed Doctor Zee as "a dual character" who could appeal to both parents—who might wish their children could be like him—and to children, who could "fantasize about" being able to order adults around.

In discussing the character's function within Galactica 1980, Rist emphasized that Doctor Zee served as the "fleet genius" who "tell[s] everyone what to do" and even knows "what people are going to say before they say it." This intellectual superiority extended to his inventions, which Rist described as "things that make ships disappear ... little toys like that!"

Behind the Scenes

Rist expressed enthusiasm for working with the cast of Galactica 1980, particularly praising Lorne Greene as "a computer" and "a non-stop flow of information about everything." He recounted that Greene was "a mathematics wiz" and they "had fun trying to outsmart each other every day," though Greene would "stump [him] every time."

As a science fiction fan himself, Rist brought genuine appreciation to the role, having read authors Ray Bradbury and Robert Heinlein, as well as Starlog magazine itself. He had been a devoted viewer of the original Battlestar Galactica series, admitting he "watched it religiously." Regarding his casting, Rist expressed that being on Galactica 1980 was "the realization of a dream," recounting that "last year I was watching the show, thinking: Boy, it would really be great if I could be on that show! And now, here I am!"

Notes

• The role of Doctor Zee is portrayed by two actors. In the three-hour series premiere, "Galactica Discovers Earth," Zee is portrayed by actor Robbie Rist, known also as cousin Oliver in the Brady Bunch (working with fellow Galactica 1980 guest star Robert Reed). In order to acknowledge the two different Zee actors, a voiceover in Conquest of the Earth indicates there are two separate characters who are brothers, Dr. Zee (Rist) and Dr. Zen (Stuart), one 14 the other 16.

• The glasses worn by Rist's Zee are not worn by Stuart's Zee.

• When Galactica 1980 was picked up as a continuing series, another actor, Patrick Stuart, took on the role. Stuart appears in the subsequent episodes including "The Super Scouts, Part I" and "The Super Scouts, Part II".

• Beyond his acting career, Rist was multi-talented, playing guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards, and had interests in writing science fiction scripts. During the interview, he mentioned working on a script titled Invasion of the Gendelliacs with "300 special effects," and expressed aspirations to become a director, makeup artist, stunt performer, paleontologist, and marine biologist.

• In the Galactica Discovers Earth novelization, he is noted as being 14 years old. The language educator is among the technologies that Zee has created.