William Adama
- For information on William Adama's Original Series counterpart, see Adama (TOS).
- For an extended biography on this character, see William Adama/Extended Bio.
| William Adama | ||
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[[Image: |200px|William Adama]]
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Name |
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| Age | ||
| Colony | Caprica | |
| Birth place | {{{birthplace}}} | |
| Birth Name | William Adama | |
| Birth Date | {{{birthdate}}} | |
| Callsign | Husher | |
| Nickname | {{{nickname}}} | |
| Introduced | Miniseries | |
| Death | ||
| Parents | Evelyn Adama (mother), Joseph Adama (father) | |
| Siblings | ||
| Children | Lee Adama (alive), Zak Adama (deceased) | |
| Marital Status | Divorced (Caroline Adama), remarried to Anne Adama | |
| Family Tree | View | |
| Role | Commanding Officer, Battlestar Galactica; Supreme Commander of the Colonial Fleet | |
| Rank | Admiral | |
| Serial Number | {{{serial}}} | |
| Portrayed by | Edward James Olmos | |
| William Adama is a Cylon | ||
| William Adama is a Final Five Cylon | ||
| William Adama is a Human/Cylon Hybrid | ||
| William Adama is an Original Series Cylon | ||
| Related Media | ||
| @ BW Media | ||
| Additional Information | ||
| [[Image:|200px|William Adama]] | ||
Admiral William Adama is the commanding officer of the Battlestar Galactica, and the highest ranking officer left in the Colonial Fleet.
Biographical Notes
Background
William Adama was born on Caprica to Evelyn and Joseph Adama. His mother was an accountant and his father, an attorney specializing in civil liberties (Litmus). They divorced while he was in his teens.
At the outbreak of the first Cylon War, Adama was serving in the Colonial Fleet as a Viper pilot. He allegedly gained the call sign of "Husker" on account of his baritone "gravelled" voice. He proved to be a gifted 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.
Adama served on Galactica during the war as a pilot. In the last week of the war, the battlestar was boarded by Cylon forces. He recalled to his friend and fellow war veteran Saul Tigh that the Cylons divided into two teams. One headed for the ship's secondary damage control and vented the atmosphere, while the other proceeded to auxiliary fire control and turned Galactica's guns against the fleet. Over 2,000 people died in the attack (Valley of Darkness, deleted scene).
Following the Cylon armistice, William Adama married 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.
A photograph seen in the Miniseries seems to imply that Adama was still in the fleet when his children were roughly six to eight years old, but within a few years he had been discharged as the result of a reduction-in-force. His marriage to Caroline had apparently fully deteriorated by this point, and he found work on a civilian freighter where he met Saul Tigh, who was to become a longtime friend.
After some time as a civilian, Adama married a second time, to a woman named Anne. Her father was able to pull some strings with the defense subcommittee and Adama was reinstated to the Colonial Fleet. Adama himself arranged for Tigh's reinstatement a few years later.
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 judgment, passing Zak Adama through flight school when she should have failed him (Miniseries). 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).
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 Galactica hold him in high regard, and know that his is approachable (Miniseries).
If Adama 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 (Miniseries, 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 (Miniseries), 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 demonstrated Adama's unstinting friendship for Tigh, it does the colonel no favors with the officers and crew under his command - many of whom are openly dismissive of him (Miniseries) - a fact that may encourage 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
At the time of the Cylon's sudden attack on the Twelve Colonies, William Adama is serving out his final weeks as commander of the battlestar Galactica. After some 50 years of service, the historic warship is in the process of being decommissioned, and it was one of Adama's final duties to formally hand her over to the Colonial Ministry of Education (by way of Education Secretary Laura Roslin) who would operate the ship as a living museum commemorating the original Cylon War and an educational center (Miniseries).
As a part of the decommissioning ceremonies, someone decides it would be a fitting tribute to have Lee Adama, recently-promoted to the rank of Captain, lead an honor 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 finds he is to fly his father's battle-honored old Mark II Viper.
When he is first notified of the Cylon attack, Adama's first thoughts were, "Dead. We're all dead" (Home, Part II). Despite this, as well as the presumed loss of his wife in Caprica City, he manages to shepherd the Fleet to safety. Since the attack on the Twelve Colonies, Adama strives to lead the remnants of humanity with the same conviction as has marked his entire military career. Military discipline remains (mostly) intact aboard Galactica, and she continues to operate as a top-rate warship, despite her lack of any other military support (up to the discovery of Pegasus) and despite her reduced complement in terms of both fighters and crew.
As a combat veteran, Adama 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 takes control of the Colonial's response to the Cylon incursion and starts defining a response to the onslaught. Once President Roslin convinces Adama the futility of fighting against overwhelming odds, and with what may be the last 50,000 humans that remain anywhere, he makes the switch to the more tactical thinking that keeps the Colonial fleet at least one step ahead of their Cylon pursuers. From the outset, he is savvy enough to give every single survivor of the devastating attack on the Colonies a reason for hope for the future: the legend of Earth.
This falsehood comes back to haunt him as the weeks continue, as Roslin is aware of this lie to the crew and states this privately to Adama.
Current Events
A year after Gaius Baltar is elected president (despite both Adama and Roslin's understanding that the vote will ultimately be a bitter pill for the Fleet to swallow), Admiral Adama commands a heavily under-staffed Galactica as the flagship of a Defense Fleet, consisting of all ships unable or unwilling to make planetfall on New Caprica. Adama convinces Tigh to rejoin his wife, Ellen, in New Caprica City after months of debate. Helo acts as Adama's new XO. Not long after Saul leaves, Dualla, acting XO of Pegasus, discovers a massive Cylon fleet bearing down on New Caprica. After a brief discussion, the Adamas agree to jump the Fleet to pre-arranged coordinates. The admiral issues the orders with a reminder "We're leaving... but we'll be back" (Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II).
Additional Notes
- Adama (also known as Nazareth) is the name of a large city in Ethiopia. The name is also a variation on "Adam", the first man to be created according to the Bible in the Book of Genesis.
In hebrew the word pronounced "Adama" means earth. Here is SkyOne's summary of Adama:
- William Adama was born on the colony of Caprica, in a small coastal community.
- His mother Evelyn was an accountant and his father, Joseph, was an attorney who specialised in criminal defence and civil liberties.
- At the age of 16 his parents divorced and he applied to the Colonial Fleet Academy. That same year, the Cylon War broke out. Adama's training accelerated along with all other midshipmen.
- After 3 years Adama was commissioned to work as a flight pilot; he gained a further two years of training before Adama joined his first squadron. He was a gifted, natural pilot and he shot down a Cylon fighter in his first mission.
- After the war was over, Adama was mustered out of the service along with millions of other colonials as part of demobilization process. He went home to Caprica, married his high school sweetheart and started life over.
- Adama struggled to find work as a pilot and so signed up as a deck hand in the merchant fleet. This experience would later give him an uncommon insight into the lives and struggles of the enlisted ranks aboard Galactica.
- Adama later had two sons, Lee and Zak. But over the years his exploration aboard ships would see Adama spending less time with his sons. He always tried to instill duty and admiration for military services. But was still surprised to learn that both his sons decided to enter the Fleet and become pilots.
- When Zak died during a training flight. Lee confronted his father and laid blame for his younger brother's death.
As this information has not appeared on the official Scifi.com site, its authenticity is in question. Further, this information states that Adama was fighting in the war 5 years into it, when the war lasted 12 years and RDM has stated in podcasts that Adama only served in the final year of the war.