Rank: Commander
Age: 60s
Gender: Male
Position: Commander of the Battlestar Galactica, President of the Quorum of Twelve
Portrayed By: Lorne Greene
Biography
Commander Adama is a central character in the original Battlestar Galactica TV series. He was played by Lorne Greene.
Adama is the commander of the great military vessel Battlestar Galactica, commander of the refugee fleet, and military commander of the evacuees of the Twelve Colonies. He is also the spiritual leader of the surviving Colonists, leading the quest for Earth. As such, Adama is central to the story arc of the series, and in some ways the saga revolves around him.
He has a daughter Lieutenant Athena and son Captain Apollo who feature in the series. His wife Ila, and his second son, Zac, were killed in the Cylon attack on the Twelve Colonies.
Adama is a native of the planet Caprica, which is where he graduated from military academy.
Early in his career Adama was involved in a parapsychological research project at the Colonial Military Institute. He flew with his executive officer Colonel Tigh in their younger days, and later served with Commander Kronus aboard the Battlestar Rycon.
As well as being a career military officer, Commander Adama is also a member of the Council of the Twelve, the governing body of the Colonies.
Adama was mistrustful of the Cylons at the time of the Peace Conference to end the 1,000 year Cylon War, and as a result the Galactica was the only battlestar to survive the Cylon sneak attack. Despite the destruction and great personal loss, Adama was able organize the survivors in an escape from the Cylons and lead them on the search for Earth.
Adama is a fair and beloved leader, with almost unquestioned authority. He is a deeply religious man, and his visit to the planet Kobol and the Fleet's encounter with the Beings of Light strengthened his belief that someday Earth would be found.
Adama was also featured in the 1978 theatrical release Battlestar Galactica. He was one of the few Galactica crewmembers to reappear in the sequel series Galactica 1980.
Notes
Adama's name is, of course, a variation of the name "Adam," who is said to be the first man to be born on Earth according to the holy literarture known as The Bible in the Book of Genesis. Despite the origin of Adama's name, he functioned more like a Moses-type patriarch as he led and defended the Fleet time and time again.
In an interesting fit of irony, the character of Adama (as well as the actor) returned for the "Galactica 1980" series. Out of most of the actors that returned (only between Greene and Jefferson as a promoted Colonel Boomer), Greene's Adama had more to do than Jefferson but did not seem to be "into it." Greene also donned a Moses-like beard for "1980".