Editing Doctor Zee

{{disline|For a Colonial [[IFB]] announcer sharing a similar name, see: [[Zed]].}}
{{Character Data
|sepcon title=Doctor Zee (alternate)| series=1980
 | title=Doctor Zee
 | photo=Zee.jpg
 | photo 2=Stuart Zee.jpg
 | caption=Zee as portrayed by Robbie Rist.
 | caption 2=Zee as portrayed by James Patrick Stuart.
 | age= Between 14 to 16<ref>While not directly stated in the series, Zee is over a decade old. A ''Starlog'' interview with actor [[Robbie Rist]] mentions Zee's age as 15, while the ''[[Conquest of Earth]]'' telemovie notes the age of Doctors Zee and Zen to be 14 and 16, respectively.</ref>
 | colony=[[Planet Starbuck]]
 | birthname=
 | callsign=
 | nickname=
 | seen=Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I
 | pseen=
 |lastseen=The Return of Starbuck| death=
 | parents=[[Angela]], godson of [[Starbuck (1980)|Starbuck]]
 | siblings=
 | children=
 | marital status=
 | role=Advisor to Commander {{TOS|Adama}}
 | sortkey=Zee, Doctor
 | actor=[[Robbie Rist]] and [[James Patrick Stuart|Patrick Stuart]]
| sepcon=Y
}}

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

When introduced, [[Adama (1980)|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 [[Quorum of Twelve (TOS)|Council of Twelve]], having saved them from their enemy "countless times in the past" {{G80|Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I}}. Additionally, the Council has never overruled him due to his penchant for always knowing the correct course of action {{G80|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 {{G80|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 (TOS)|Thirteenth Tribe]], as the nations of [[Earth (1980)|Earth]] are not unified and are ill equipped to resist the [[Cylons (TOS)|Cylons]] should they follow the [[The Fleet (TOS)|Fleet]] to Earth's solar system.

Even so, Zee creates most of the special devices used by [[Colonial Warrior]]s [[Troy (1980)|Troy]] and [[Dillon]], including the invisibility screen {{G80|Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I}}, an anti-gravity craft that resembles a UFO {{G80|Space Croppers}}, and a method of [[time warp synthesizer|time travel]] first employed by [[Xaviar]] {{G80|Galactica Discovers Earth, Part II}}.

== Origins ==
[[File:G80 - The Return of Starbuck - Zee as Baby.jpg|thumb|[[Doctor Zee]] as a baby on [[Planet Starbuck]] {{G80|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 (1980)|Adama]], it is revealed that he is the son of [[Angela]], adopted by Lieutenant [[Starbuck (1980)|Starbuck]] when he was stranded on [[Starbuck (planet)|a desolate planet]].

While on that remote planet, Starbuck was visited by Angela, who may have been from the race of [[Beings of Light|Angels]]. Angela gave birth to Zee, and Starbuck sent Angela and Zee off to rendezvous with the Fleet [[hybrid craft|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 {{G80|The Return of Starbuck}}.

== Character Development ==

=== Portrayal by Robbie Rist ===

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.<ref name="starlog34p20">{{cite_magazine|last=Willson|first=Karen E.|date=May 1980|title=Robbie Rist|magazine=Starlog|issue=34|pages=20|publisher=Starlog Group, Inc.}}</ref> 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.<ref name="starlog34p19">{{cite_magazine|last=Willson|first=Karen E.|date=May 1980|title=Robbie Rist|magazine=Starlog|issue=34|pages=19|publisher=Starlog Group, Inc.}}</ref> He noted that emotion would be needless "when you've got other things on your mind, like the lives of 2,000 people."<ref name="starlog34p20"/>

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.<ref name="starlog34p20"/> 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."<ref name="starlog34p20"/>

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."<ref name="starlog34p20"/> The character was also lit with what Rist called a "surrealistic glow" or "aura" cast around him to enhance his cerebral, advanced nature.<ref name="starlog34p20"/> Rist described his on-set position as sitting on an "atomic high chair," joking that he "looked like [[w:Pat_Boone|Pat Boone]]" in the white ensemble.<ref name="starlog34p20"/>

Rist saw parallels between Doctor Zee and ''[[Star Trek]]'''s [[w:Spock|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.<ref name="starlog34p20"/> 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.<ref name="starlog34p20"/>

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."<ref name="starlog34p19"/> This intellectual superiority extended to his inventions, which Rist described as "things that make ships disappear ... little toys like that!"<ref name="starlog34p21">{{cite_magazine|last=Willson|first=Karen E.|date=May 1980|title=Robbie Rist|magazine=Starlog|issue=34|pages=21|publisher=Starlog Group, Inc.}}</ref>

=== 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."<ref name="starlog34p21"/> 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."<ref name="starlog34p21"/>

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.<ref name="starlog34p19"/> He had been a devoted viewer of the original ''[[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' series, admitting he "watched it religiously."<ref name="starlog34p19"/> 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!"<ref name="starlog34p19"/>

==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 ''[[w:The Brady Bunch (TV series)|Brady Bunch]]'' (working with fellow ''Galactica 1980'' guest star [[Donald Mortinson|Robert Reed]]). In order to acknowledge the two different Zee actors, a voiceover in ''[[Conquest of the Earth (VHS)|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, [[James Patrick Stuart|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.<ref name="starlog34p21"/> 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.<ref name="starlog34p21"/>

* In the ''[[Galactica Discovers Earth (Book)|Galactica Discovers Earth]]'' novelization, he is noted as being 14 years old<ref>{{cite_book|last=Resnick|first=Michael|authorlink=Michael Resnick|authorlinkurl=|year=1981|title=[[Battlestar Galactica 5: Galactica Discovers Earth]]|publisher=Berkley Books|location=|id=|pages=78}}</ref>. The [[language educator]] is among the technologies that Zee has created.<ref>''Ibid.'', p. 91-92</ref>

==References ==

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{{Characters (1980)}}

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[[Category:Characters (1980)]]
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[[Category:1980]]
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