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- For other people with the same or similar first name, see: Joe (disambiguation).
| Joseph Adama | ||
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Name |
{{{name}}} | |
| 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 Sr.† Isabelle Adama† | |
| Siblings | Sam Adama | |
| Children | Tamara Adama† William "Willie" Adama William Adama | |
| Marital Status | Widower of Shannon Adama Remarried to Evelyn 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 (a.k.a. Joseph Adams) was a notorious civil liberties lawyer on Caprica who was affiliated with the Tauron criminal organization Ha'la'tha in the years prior to the First Cylon War. Joseph Adama was also the father of William Adama, commander of the battlestar Galactica.
Early Life[edit]
Joseph Adama was born on Tauron to Isabelle and William Adama in the years leading up to the Tauron Civil War. Joseph's father believed him to be an introverted child in contrast to his younger, more emotive brother, Samuel. Having learned Sacred Scrolls, Joseph received his "Mark of Manhood" - a tattoo representing the colony of Tauron - on his right wrist (CAP: "The Dirteaters").
Coming of age during the Tauron Uprising, Adama and his brother were taught the importance of loyalty by their parents, both Ha'la'tha sympathizers who had knowledge of the resistance. Informing her sons of the risks and price of aiding the rebellion, Isabelle Adama told Joseph and Samuel that they had always been her "little Adama men", but that it was now time to be "men for Tauron" (CAP: "The Dirteaters").
Shortly after, a Heraclitus soldier was killed in an alley outside the Adama home. Witnessing the murder, Samuel Adama climbed out of his bedroom window and removed the soldier's wallet and pistol, hiding them under his mattress despite the warnings of Joseph. Investigating the killing, three Herac officers later entered the Adama home to question the family. From their hiding place in a closet, Joseph and Samuel witnessed the torture of their father and the murder of their mother. Accepting that William Adama would not survive his injuries, Joseph shot and killed the Herac soldiers before turning the gun on his father (CAP: "The Dirteaters").
Escaping their home, Joseph and Samuel lived on the streets. There, Joseph gave his brother his own Mark of Manhood, the rudimentary tattoo sealing their own bond through the years (CAP: "The Dirteaters").
Caprican in a Tauron Body[edit]
Orphaned, Joseph and Samuel were sent to a refugee camp on Caprica. Arriving on the new world, Joseph was struck by the sight of flowers on the side of the road, something he had not seen on Tauron. In the refugee camp, the Adama boys met the Guatrau who later recounted that, even as a child, Joseph possessed a calculating air. Treating the Adamas as sons, the Guatrau took them under his wing, bringing Samuel into the Ha'la'tha crime syndicate and putting Joseph through law school (CAP: "Pilot" "The Dirteaters").
Early Years on Caprica[edit]
While he was in law school, Adama met Evelyn, who went on to be his legal assistant and later his second wife. Though he didn't smoke much until later in life, Adama used a chrome lighter engraved with his name in law school, later as a lawyer carrying it into court as a good luck charm. With Evelyn's assistance, Adama's practice grew from personal injury law ("ambulance chasing" as Evelyn described it) to criminal legal defense (CAP: "The Reins of a Waterfall", "The Dirteaters", "False Labor",TRS: "The Hand of God").
Adopting a less Tauron sounding name - "Adams" - Joseph took great efforts to assimilate into Caprican culture, prompting his brother to refer to him as a "Caprican in a Tauron body". Privately, however, Adama retained some traditions of the "old world". Living in an apartment in Little Tauron, Adama raised two children, Tamara and Willie with his wife Shannon and mother-in-law Ruth (CAP: "Pilot", "Gravedancing", "There is Another Sky").
Working as a defense attorney for the Ha'la'tha, "Adams" used cubits to bribe judges, often preventing his clients from facing jury trials. Despite the fact that the Guatrau had paid for his education, Adams was reluctant to fully embrace the Ha'la'tha and hoped to distance himself from the crime organization, saying that he was tired of doing their "dirty work" (CAP: "Pilot").
Tragedy[edit]
Fifty-eight years before the Fall, Adams' faced the loss of both his wife, Shannon, and daughter, Tamara, when the Caprica City MLMT train was bombed by the Soldiers of the One terror group. Mourning in the traditional Tauron way - wearing black gloves to symbolize distance from the rest of the world - Adams was left to care for his son, William, alone (CAP: "Pilot").
Following the Global Defense Department briefing on the bombing, Adams met famed technologist Daniel Graystone outside Caprica City Hall, offering Graystone the use of his lighter. Having also lost a daughter - Zoe - in the incident, Graystone commiserated with Adams at a downtown coffee shop, spending hours simply smoking. Going their separate ways, Graystone offered box seats at a Caprica Buccaneers game to Adams and his son (CAP: "Pilot").
Taking Graystone up on his offer, Joseph and Willie attended the game, viewing it from the owners' box and later visiting the locker room. Following the game, Graystone revealed to Adams that he was aware of his affiliation with the Ha'la'tha, asking Joseph for his help in a project that could bring both of their daughters back to life. Graystone proposed to implant a virtual avatar of Tamara inside a robot body, essentially creating a duplicate of Adams' daughter. The key however, was a piece of technology owned by Graystone's competitor, a Tauron company called the Vergis Corporation. Though dubious about the offer, Adams was nonetheless intrigued (CAP: "Pilot").
"Tamara-A"[edit]
Deciding to move forward with Graystone's plan, Adams approached his brother Sam Adama for help in the theft of a meta-cognitive processor from the Vergis Corporation. Working as an enforcer for the Ha'la'tha, Sam Adama was hesitant to betray Tomas Vergis - a friend of the Gautrau - but agreed to help if Joseph agreed to return the favor. Accepting the exchange, Adams agreed to deliver a threat to the Caprican Minister of Defense, Val Chambers, further increasing his involvement with the Ha'la'tha (CAP: "Pilot").
Upon receiving the stolen MCP, Graystone repaid Joseph by bringing him into the virtual world where a digital version of Tamara was being stored. At first embracing the avatar was his daughter, Adams' joy at seeing Tamara again quickly evaporated. The avatar was confused and became panicked, screaming that she couldn't feel her heartbeat. Incensed, Adams called the entire endeavor an abomination and stormed out of the Graystone Estate, leaving the Tamara avatar in the virtual world (CAP: "Pilot").
Realizing that he could not escape the reality of his situation, Adams resolved to begin anew. Sharing with his son the story of his own father and life on Tauron, Joseph revealed that he had changed their family name to "Adams", but that they would now embrace the Adama name (CAP: "Pilot").
Fallout[edit]
In the weeks that followed the tragedy, Joseph Adama struggled to cope with life as a single parent. Upon receiving a vision of Tamara reaching out to him, Adama became obsessed with seeing the avatar version of his daughter again. With Daniel Graystone ignoring his calls, Adama confronted Graystone at the MagLev memorial service at Apollo Park. There, Graystone informed Adama that after their last meeting, the program containing the avatars of Tamara and Zoe crashed, resulting in their apparent deletion. Unable to accept this, Adama confronted Graystone again, this time bring Sam Adama with him. Savagely beating him in an alley, the Adama brothers persuaded Graystone to reconsider his position and the scientist agreed to search for the Tamara avatar (CAP: "Rebirth", "Reins of a Waterfall").
Though he came to believe Tamara was in fact still in his private virtual space, the avatar disappeared when it was discovered by the living Zoe avatar and released into the expanse of the virtual world. Believing his daughter was truly gone, Adama sought retribution, telling his brother to even the score by killing Graystone's wife, Amanda Graystone (CAP: "Reins of a Waterfall").
Later having second thoughts about the murder, Joseph attempted to call the hit off, but was unable to reach Sam. Aware of Joseph's high moral code, Sam Adama took the opportunity to scare both his brother and Amanda Graystone, revealing later that he had no intention of killing her (CAP: "Gravedancing").
Letting Go[edit]
Sinking into a deep depression, Adama began neglecting his responsibilities, failing to go to work and provide discipline to his son. Lacking direction from his father, Willie spent time with his uncle, Sam, who taught him about the Ha'la'tha. Discovering that Willie had skipped school to spend time with Sam at a local Ha'la'tha hangout, Joseph confronted his brother and took steps to reestablish his relationship with his son. Taking Willie fishing, Joseph attempted to bond with his son, but the trip was cut short when Willie attacked several children (CAP: "There is Another Sky").
Believing that he was quickly losing his son, Joseph decided to hold a traditional Tauron funeral at his home to give his son - and himself - closure. Adding a new tattoo to his chest, Joseph performed the funereal rights, giving the ferryman coins to ensur Tamara and Shannon safe passage to the afterlife. The following celebration, however, was cut short when Tad Thorean - a New Cap City gamer - arrived to tell Joseph that he had a message from Tamara, who was alive and lost in the virtual world (CAP: "There is Another Sky").
The Search for Tamara[edit]
With knowledge of the Tamara avatar's continued existence in V-world, Joseph Adama tracked Tad Thorean down to the Little Tauron market where he worked, demanding that Thorean take him to New Cap City. Thorean reluctantly agreed, introducing Adama to the noir gaming environment in which gangster-type violence prevailed. As Thorean gave Adama a tour of New Cap City, Thorean was shot and derezzed, leaving Joseph to search for his daughter alone (CAP: "The Imperfections of Memory").
Taking to wandering the streets of New Cap City, Adama was confronted by "Emmanuelle", a beautiful user who claimed Tad Thorean had sent her to help him find Tamara - for a price. Entering New Cap City's version of Little Tauron, Joseph and Emmanuelle broke into the virtual version of his own apartment where they demanded information from the current resident. Being shot and nearly derezzed in the an ensuing melee, Emmanuelle insisted Adama leave V-world until he was prepared to shoot and kill (CAP: "The Imperfections of Memory").
Mysteries[edit]
Taking advice from Sam Adama, who told him killing is pretending it's not reality, Joseph reentered V-world, accompanying Emmanuelle to the New Cap City club Mysteries. Being called on stage by the host, Cerberus, Joseph was given the opportunity to solve a riddle in return for information on his daughter's whereabouts. Refusing to answer, Adama was thrown out of the club and labeled a coward. Noticing Tamara's distinctive flower signature stamped on a wall outside the club, Adama used the performance-enhancing hack amp and charged back into Mysteries, opening fire on and derezzing the clientele and holding Cerberus at gunpoint. The host provided little useful information, but, as they left the club, Joseph and Adama stumbled upon a wall on which Tamara had imprinted her signature over and over again. Emmanuelle telling him that, perhaps, Tamara had found a home in the Virtual world (CAP: "Ghosts in the Machine").
End of Line[edit]
Concerned by Joseph's frequent use of amp and continued presence in New Cap City, Emmanuelle - really Evelyn in disguise - came to believe that Adama's search for his daughter was destroying his life. Luring Tamara to Adama's virtual apartment, Emmanuelle convinced Tamara to fake her own demise in order to save her father. Finding Tammy some time later, Joseph embraced his daughter yet again in her virtual form. Tamara, however, told her father to stop following her and to focus on William who was alive and to forget her. Aiming a weapon at her chest, she shot herself, seemingly fatally wounded, before turning the gun on Joseph and permanently derezzing him from New Cap City. Devastated by yet again losing his daughter, Joseph was comforted by Evelyn (CAP: "End of Line").
The Ha'la'tha[edit]
Finally moving past the loss of Tamara, Joseph Adama became fully immersed in the Ha'la'tha when Daniel Graystone came to the crime syndicate for help in retaking control of his company from a vengeful Tomas Vergis. Sam Adama recommended that Joseph represent the Guatrau's interests in dealing with Graystone, who Joseph described as having "no humility". As a way of testing Graystone's resolve, Joseph and Sam Adama staged a scenario in which Graystone was forced to choose between ending the deal with the Ha'la'tha and detonating a bomb planted in his own mother's car. Despite Graystone's failure to prove willingness at any cost, the alliance was forged (CAP: "Unvanquished").
Working alongside his brother and Graystone, Joseph Adama began pulling the files of Graystone Industries' board members, searching for ways to secure their votes to put Graystone back in charge. Though Graystone had difficulty exploiting people he once called friends, the method worked and Vergis was voted out at Graystone Industries. With the Ha'la'tha now in control of the company, Joseph and Evelyn worked out of the Graystone campus in Caprica City, scouring the company's records for the best manner in which to exploit the company (CAP: "Retribution", "False Labor").
Aid for Tauron[edit]
| Spoiler follows, highlight to read. |
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| As normality returned to the Adama Family, political strife flared up once again on Tauron. With Sam Adama obsessed with the new Tauron rebellion, Joseph Adama sensed his brother's feelings of remorse concerning their childhood. Still, Joseph kept from his brother the knowledge that the Guatrau had decided not to smuggle U-87 battle robots to Tauron as Sam had suggested, but was instead selling them to the Soldiers of the One on Gemenon. Outraged to finally learn of the deal with the STO, Sam Adama railed against his brother, asking Joseph how he could sell the robots to the people who had killed his wife and daughter. Realizing that Sam was correct in his outrage, Joseph Adama agreed to help him smuggle the U-87s to Tauron, an act of defiance against the Guatrau (CAP: "Blowback", "The Dirteaters"). |
The Notorious Lawyer[edit]
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 (TRS: "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 (TRS: "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 (TRS: "Lay Down Your Burdens, Part I").
Legacies[edit]
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 (TRS: "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 (TRS: "A Day in the Life"). Joseph would repeatedly wave Lee over, telling him "Lee, be a good boy. Just don't be too good." (TRS: "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 (TRS: "The Son Also Rises"). Another book written by Adama is Trial Tactics and Strategies (TRS: "Crossroads, Part I").
Family tree[edit]