William Adama
More actions
| Key Data | |
| William Adama | |
| Rank: | Commander |
| Call Sign | "Husker" |
| Current Assignment | Officer Commanding Battlestar Galactica |
| Birth Planet: | Caprica |
| Age: | 61 |
| Spouse: | Caroline (divorced) |
| Offspring: | Lee Adama Zak Adama (Deceased) |
| Played By: | Edward James Olmos |
Biographical Notes
Background
William Adama was born on Caprica to Evelyn and Adama, Joseph. His mother was an accountant and his father, an attorney specialising in civil liberties (Litmus). They divorced while he was in his teens.
At the outbreak of the 1st Cylon War, Adama was serving in the Colonial military as a pilot. He allegedly gained the call sign of "Husker" on account of his baritone "gravelled" voice. He proved to be a gifted Viper pilot, shooting down his first Cylon on his very first mission. He racked-up his 1,000th deck landing while serving aboard the Battlestar Atlantia (Act of Contrition), when he held the rank of Lieutenant.
Following the Cylon armistice, William Adama married his long-term sweetheart, Caroline. They had two sons together: Lee and Zak, before the pressures of Adama's career and the time he spent away from home of active service began to place a strain on their marriage. Nevertheless, this did not stop both Lee and Zak following their father into the service - both signing-up for training as Viper pilots.
Son's Death
During his training, Zak Adama became involved with his flight training officer, Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, to whom he became engaged shortly before taking his final qualifying flight (Act of Contrition). As a result of this, Thrace allowed her personal feelings interfere with her professional judgement, passing Zak Adama through flight school when she should have failed him (Mini-Series). Zak was later killed in an operational flight.
As a result of his son's death, Adama faced the failure of his marriage and estrangement from his eldest son, Lee. However, to counter this, he became acquainted with Kara Thrace, and such was the bond that formed between them, Thrace transferred from flight school to one of the Battlestar Galactica's squadrons, where she served with Adama for some two years before the Cylon's reappearance (Act of Contrition).
Despite his divorce, Adama still wears a wedding ring on his finger, indicative of his feeling for his ex-wife (Water).
Adama is a natural military leader, as demonstrated by his rise to rank of Commander in charge of a Colonial battlestar. He has the rare combination of qualities that make up a good leader: insight, the ability to naturally command respect, a common touch that enables him to relate to the enlisted personnel under his command as well as his officers, intuition, intelligence, a strong belief in his own abilities, and the ability to take the advice of others. These qualities are reflected in the fact the personnel of all ranks aboard the Galactica hold him in high regard, and know that his is approachable (Mini-Series).
If he has any failings they are his mistrust of politicians and his strong sense of loyalty to those he regards as family and friends. The former is demonstrated in his uneasy acceptance of Laura Roslin (Mini Series, 33, Water), which is quickly undermined by Roslin's own doubts following her encounter with Leoben Conoy (Flesh and Bone). The latter is most clearly demonstrated by both his support of Colonel Saul Tigh and his actions when Kara Thrace is posted as Missing in Action.
Despite Tigh's obvious drinking problem (Mini-Series, Adama retains him as his Executive Officer when another commanding officer might have too easily transferred Tigh to a planetside desk job to avoid the embarrassment. While this demonstrates Adama's unstinting friendship for Tigh, it does the colonel no favours with the officers and crew under his command - many of whom are openly dismissive of him (Mini-Series) - a fact that may have encouraged his drinking.
With Thrace, Adama's loyalty places the mission to find her above the need to protect the fleet and ensure the survival of humanity - thus putting everyone at risk (You Can't Go Home Again).
Surprise Cylon Attack
(credit: Sci-Fi Channel)
At the time of the Cylon's sudden attack on the 12 colonies, William Adama was serving-out his final weeks as commander of the Battlestar Galactica. After some 50 years of service, the massive warship was in the process of being decommissioned, and it would have been one of Adama's final duties to formally hand her over to the civilian authorities (in the form of Education Secretary Laura Roslin) who would operate the ship as a living museum commemorating the original Cylon War and an educational centre (Mini-Series).
As a part of the decommissioning ceremonies, someone decided it a fitting tribute to have Lee Adama, recently-promoted to the rank of Captain, lead an honour flyby of Vipers - an ironic statement at best, given the strained relationship between the two men. The situation is not made any easier when Lee Adama find he is to fly his father's battle-honoured old Mark II Viper....
Since the attack on the 12 colonies, Adama has striven to lead the remnants of humanity with the same conviction as has marked his entire military career. Military discipline remains intact aboard the Galactica, and she continues to operate as a top-rate, front-line warship, despite her lack of any other military support and despite her reduced compliment in terms of both fighters and crew.
As a combat veteran, he is more than capable of both strategic and tactical operations and making the decisions both require. When Picon Fleet headquarters is destroyed and then Admiral Nagala is killed, he unhesitatingly take control of the Colonial's response to the Cylon incursion and starts defining a response to the onslaught. Once convinced of the futility of fighting against overwhelming odds, and with some 50,000 lives in his hands, he makes the switch to the more tactical thinking that has kept the Colonial fleet at least one step ahead of their Cylon pursuers. Not only this, but from the outset, he is savvy enough to give every single survivor of the devastating attack on the 12 colonies a reason for hope for the future: the legend of Earth.
Away from the daily rigours of command, he has also had to face up to the problem of humano-Cylon infiltration within the fleet (Litmus, Flesh and Bone, Secrets and Lies) and the possibility of a saboteur aboard the Galactica herself (Water) - who may still be at large, waiting for an opportunity to strike again. Beyond this, he has also had to redefine the boundaries of military and civil leadership, working as best he can with Laura Roslin, now recognised as the President of the people of the 12 colonies following the loss of the rest of President Adar's cabinet.
Events since the Cylon attack have caused Adama to seek a reconciliation with his son Lee. While they do not always see eye-to-eye, the needs of the Galactica's crew and humanity as a whole have enabled them to better understand one another and move past their differences.
Following the loss of seven of the Galactica's pilots, Adama has also been forced to face the truth concerning Zak Adama's death, and Kara Thrace's role within it. In a strange way, these two events have been something of a catalyst for one another - Thrace's admission to Adama forcing him to realise how precious his remaining son is to him, and how difficult a father he must have been (You Can't Go Home Again, The Hand of God); Adama's ability to admit his love and respect for his son enabling him to overcome his anger towards Thrace following her admission to him (Act of Contrition).
Kobol and Earth
At the start if the exodus from the twelve colonies, Adama used the legend of Earth as a means of binding the remnants of humanity together with a single hope. Unfortunately, this later caused the greatest rift in leadership within the Colonial fleet. Following the accidently discovery of Kobol, which President Roslin saw as pre-ordained in scripture, Adama found himself confronted by what amounted to a court-martial situation. With members of his crew - and the Vice President Gaius Baltar - trapped on the surface of Kobol, Adama orders Kara Thrace to use a captured Cylon Raider help destroy a Cylon Basestar in orbit above Kobol. However, Roslin persuades Thrace to use the Raider to go to Caprica to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part I]].
This action results in Adama terminating Roslin's presidency, mounting what amounts to a coup, only to find Colonel Tigh is forced to arrest Lee Adama when they travel to Colonial One to remove Roslin from office. At the same time, he dispatches Lieutenant Valerii to destroy the Cylon Basestar over Kobol. While the mission is successful, Valerii unexpectedly shoots Adama at point blank range as he thanks her for her work on her return to the Galactica (Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]].
--Colonial Archivist 19:52, 3 Feb 2005 (EST)