Joseph Adama

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For other people with the same or similar first name, see: Joe (disambiguation).
Joseph Adama
Joseph Adama

Name

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Age
Colony Born on Tauron, relocated to Caprica
Birth place {{{birthplace}}}
Birth Name {{{birthname}}}
Birth Date {{{birthdate}}}
Callsign {{{callsign}}}
Nickname {{{nickname}}}
Introduced Caprica pilot
Death Within 20 years prior to the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, based on Romo Lampkin's assumed age and apprenticeship
Parents William Adama (father) †
Mother also deceased
Siblings Sam Adama
Children Tamara Adama
William Adama
Marital Status Widow of Shannon Adama
Family Tree View
Role Civil liberties attorney
Rank
Serial Number {{{serial}}}
Portrayed by Esai Morales
Joseph Adama is a Cylon
Joseph Adama is a Final Five Cylon
Joseph Adama is a Human/Cylon Hybrid
Joseph Adama is an Original Series Cylon
Related Media
@ BW Media
Additional Information
[[Image:|200px|Joseph Adama]]

Joseph Adama, Attorney At Law (a.k.a. Joseph Adams) was the husband of Shannon, father of Tamara and William Adama, and a well-known, notorious civil liberties lawyer on Caprica ("Litmus", "The Son Also Rises") who worked as a mob lawyer for the Tauron-based criminal organization Ha'la'tha nearly 60 years before the Fall.

Biography[edit]

Adama was originally a Tauron who emigrated to Caprica and assumed the more Caprican sounding surname "Adams" because of the traditional prejudice against Taurons (additionally, the proper Tauron pronounciation of his first name is Iusif or "yu-SEEF" IPA: ju'sif). He and his brother Sam were orphaned during the Tauron Civil War and grew up in a Caprican orphanage. Their father was William, namesake of Joseph's son. Joseph became an influential defense attorney with ties to the Ha'la'tha, an organized crime underworld, as a result of having his education paid for by them.

Fifty-eight years before the Fall, his wife and daughter are killed in Ben Stark's suicide bombing of the Lev in Caprica City. Sometime later in his life, Adama went back to his original family name, given his revelation to young William about their family name weeks after the terrorist attack.

After the Fall, his son William Adama (commander of Galactica) remarked that he thought Adama was a better father than he ever was to his own children (The Hand of God). Adama's grandson, Lee Adama, would repeatedly visit the elder Adama during his youth, sneaking a peek at Joseph's various law books (A Day in the Life). Joseph would repeatedly wave Lee over, telling him "Lee, be a good boy. Just don't be too good." (The Son Also Rises)

During his tenure, defense attorney Romo Lampkin was one of Adama's students, likely meeting him while working in one of Caprica's civil litigation offices. Though Lampkin claims to have hated the man "because he was right" about the law, Lampkin also admits to learning everything he knows about the law from Adama, and even carries a worn copy of Law and Mind: The Psychology of Legal Practice with him. After first meeting Lee Adama, Lampkin claims that he looked like his grandfather (The Son Also Rises). Another book written by Adama is Trial Tactics and Strategies (Crossroads, Part I).

The Notorious Lawyer[edit]

Joseph Adama's silver lighter (The Hand of God).

Adama believed that law was a way of exorcising everyone's demons, a belief that lead him to defend "the worst of the worst." Lee Adama remembered reading about how Joseph let "murderers go free," though never understanding why Joseph put himself through the abuse. In a discussion with Lampkin, it is revealed to Lee that Adama sought to understand the motivations that cause people to cheat, why people reward their enemies, go to war, and why people build machines to correct their flaws and shortcomings (The Son Also Rises). Lee apparently remains ignorant to Joseph Adama's connections to the Ha'la'tha, while it is uncertain whether Lampkin knew of the connection.

Adama always carried a silver lighter during his cases; he considered it good luck, and claimed he only lost a case when he left it at home. He later gave it to his son William, who, after the holocaust, loaned it to his own son as a token of luck for a crucial mission, which was returned to him after the mission's success (The Hand of God).

Before going to trial, Adama would always break pencils before entering the courtroom as a reminder to "break preconceptions" and "work with what you had." He would then ask to borrow a pencil from the clerk. Adama's son recounted this ritual to Laura Roslin before her upcoming Presidential debate, leading her to try it herself (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I).

Development of the Cylons[edit]

Adama bonded with Daniel Graystone, a wealthy computer engineer whose daughter, Zoe Graystone, was killed in the same suicide bombing in which Shannon and Tamara died. Adama reluctantly agreed to help Daniel create digitized versions (holographic avatars) of their daughters, using code created by Zoe to create a perfect copy. later, by stealing the meta-cognitive processor technology from Tauron technology developer Tomas Vergis. After Graystone creates an avatar of Tamara, Adama sees "her" in the virtual world of the holoband, only to be appalled and disgusted by the technology after discovering that the Tamara there is distraught over not feeling alive. Extracting himself from the holoband, he voices his belief that Graystone is insane and that trying to bring back the dead via technology was unnatural (Caprica pilot).

Notes[edit]

  • According to the basic storyline for the proposed Caprica TV series, Joseph Adama, a central character in the series, is a civil liberties lawyer and political opponent[1] of the Graystone Family, owners of the corporation that constructed the original robotic Cylons on the colony of Caprica. While Adama's position in the controversy is uncertain, much of the political controversy surrounding the Cylons involved their slavery.[2]


Family tree[edit]

 
 
 
William Adama Sr.
 
 
 
Isabelle Adama
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Larry
 
Sam Adama
 
 
 
Evelyn Adama
 
 
 
Joseph Adama
 
 
 
Shannon Adama
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Carolanne Adama
 
 
 
 
 
 
William "Bill" Adama
 
 
 
 
Tamara Adama
 
 
William "Willie" Adama
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Zak Adama
 
 
 
Lee Adama
 
Anastasia Dualla
 


References[edit]

  1. The Wikipedia Caprica Series Article cites this from a now vanished New York Post article on the series.
  2. SciFi Pulse interview with Remi Aubuchon (backup available on Archive.org) (in English).