Joseph Adama
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- For other people with the same or similar first name, see: Joe (disambiguation).
| Joseph Adama | ||
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Name |
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| Age | ||
| Colony | Born on Tauron, relocated to Caprica | |
| Birth place | {{{birthplace}}} | |
| Birth Name | {{{birthname}}} | |
| Birth Date | {{{birthdate}}} | |
| Callsign | {{{callsign}}} | |
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| 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† Isabelle Adama† | |
| Siblings | Sam Adama | |
| Children | Tamara Adama† William Adama | |
| Marital Status | Widower of Shannon Adama | |
| Family Tree | View | |
| Role | Civil liberties attorney | |
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| 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
Joseph Adama was born on Tauron to Isabelle and William Adama Sr. in the years leading up to the Tauron Civil War. His father, William, believed Joseph a more introverted child, who required coaxing into adulthood. To that end, Joseph - pronounced Iusif or "yu-SEEF" (IPA: ju'sif) on Tauron - received his "mark of manhood" before his older brother, Samuel, having learned the ancient prayers and passages of the Sacred Scrolls (CAP: "The Dirteaters").
Tauron Civil War
When civil war broke out on Tauron, Herac soldiers accused William and Isabelle Adama, Ha'la'tha sympathizers, of the murder of one of their men. From their hiding place inside a closet, Joseph and Samuel were forced to watch as their mother was beaten and killed and their father tortured for information. Accepting that William would not survive, Joseph shot and killed him, then fled with Samuel. There on the streets of Tauron, Joseph gave his brother his first tattoo (CAP: "The Dirteaters").
Caprica
Orphaned, Joseph and Samuel were sent to a refugee camp on Caprica. Arriving on Caprica, 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. The Guatrau took the Adamas under his wing, bringing Sam into the Ha'la'tha crime syndicate and putting Joseph through law school (CAP: "Pilot" "The Dirteaters").
Adopting a more Caprican sounding name - "Adams" - Joseph took great efforts to assimilate into the new culture. Adama raised two children, Tamara and William with his wife Shannon in the Little Tauron neighborhood of Caprica City at 615 Olympic Street, apartment number 3 (CAP: "Pilot", "There is Another Sky").
Mob Lawyer
As a lawyer for the Ha'la'tha on Caprica, Joseph "Adams" used money provided by the Guatrau to pay off Judges and make bail for Ha'la'tha members put on trial by the state. Despite the fact that the Guatrau had paid for his education, Adams made an effort to distance himself from the Tauron crime organization, saying that he was tired of doing the Guatrau's dirty work. Adams was assisted in that "dirty" work by Evelyn who manged his business affairs, both legitimate and illegitimate. Evelyn believed that if she wasn't around, Adams would "still be chasing ambulances" (CAP: "Pilot","The Reins of a Waterfall", "False Labor").
Tragedy
Fifty-eight years before the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, Joseph Adams lost his wife, Shannon, and daughter, Tamara, in the suicide bombing of the Caprica City MLMT train by Ben Stark, a member of the Soldiers of the One monotheist terror cell. Mourning in the traditional Tauron way - wearing black gloves to symbolize distance from the rest of the world - Joseph was devastated by the loss. Meeting famed industrialist Daniel Graystone outside the Global Defense Department briefing on the bombing, Adams and Graystone commiserated over their losses, Graystone having also lost his daughter, Zoe (CAP: "Pilot").
Extending Joseph and his son Willie an invitation to watch a Caprica Buccaneers pyramid game from the owner's box at Atlas Arena, Graystone showed the Adams great generosity. Having learned of Adams' connection to the Ha'la'tha, Graystone used the opportunity to ask Joseph to do him a favor: help him steal a piece of equipment from the Tauron based company, the Vergis Corporation. In return, Graystone promised to bring Adams' wife and daughter back to life, using technology created by his deceased daughter. The Vergis equipment was, he said, the linchpin to the entire process (CAP: "Pilot").
"Tamara-A"
Convinced that the resurrection of his wife and daughter was possible, Adams approached his brother, Sam Adama, now an enforcer for the Ha'la'tha to help hm carry out the theft from Tauron. Though Adam's had hoped to reduce his involvement with the Ha'la'tha, Joseph agreed to deliver a threatening message to Caprican Minister of Defense Val Chambers in payment for Sam's assistance (CAP: "Pilot").
Upon delivery of the equipment, called a meta-cognitive processor, Adams was given a demonstration of its potential by Daniel Graystone. Scanning Adams into his computer and creating an avatar for the lawyer, Graystone introduced Joseph to his daughter, Tamara, reborn in the Virtual world. At first overjoyed to be reunited with his daughter, Adams quickly grew incensed as Tamara struggled with the new sensations of life as a digital image, screaming that she couldn't feel her heartbeat. Calling the entire endeavor an abomination, Adams stormed out of Graystone's home lab, turning his back on the notion of resurrecting his family (CAP: "Pilot").
Realizing that he could not escape the reality of his situation, Adams resolved to begin anew, choosing to share with his son, William, the history of his family. Telling his son about life on Tauron and the honorable man that was his father, Joseph revealed to William that he had changed their name but from then on referred to his family name not as "Adams", but as Adama (CAP: "Pilot").
Repercussions
Despite accepting that his wife and daughter were not coming back, Joseph Adama struggled with the loss. Upon having a vision of Tamara reaching out to him, Adama became obsessed with the notion of the avatar version of his daughter trapped within the virtual world. With Daniel Graystone ignoring his calls, Adama confronted the scientist at the MagLev memorial service at Apollo Park. There Graystone informed Adama that the Zoe avatar had been lost and that the Tamara avatar likely suffered the same fate. Adama, however, was unwilling to accept this, and confronted Graystone again, this time having Sam Adama beat him savagely. Graystone finally agreed to search for the Tamara avatar, but though he now believed she still existed in his private virtual space, Tamara had been discovered by the living Zoe avatar and been released into the expanse of the Virtual world (CAP: "Rebirth", "The Reins of a Waterfall").
Believing his daughter to be truly gone, Adama sought retribution, telling Sam Adama to even things out by killing Graystone's wife, Amanda. As the time came, however, to carry out Amanda Graystone's execution, Joseph Adama began having second thoughts. Unable to contact his brother to call off the hit, Joseph was overcome with guilt. Aware of his brother's low tolerance for violence, Sam Adama took the opportunity to scare both Amanda Graystone and Joseph Adama, before revealing that he had no intention of killing her (CAP: "The Reins of a Waterfall", "Gravedancing").
The Notorious Lawyer
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
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