William Adama (2003)

<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Battlestar Galactica Character
William "Bill" Adama

Status	Alive
Gender	Male
Species	Human
Origin	Caprica
Portrayed by	Edward James Olmos
First Appearance	miniseries
Profession	Commander of the Battlestar Galactica
Relatives	Lee Adama (son) Zak Adama (son) Joseph Adama (father) Evelyn Adama (mother) Carolanne Adama (ex wife)
Special Features

Admiral William Adama is a character on the SCI FI Channel's series Battlestar Galactica.

William "Husker" Adama is the commanding officer of the Battlestar Galactica and the highest ranking military officer in the colonial fleet. Weathered and lean, he does not stand on ceremony, preferring a simple day uniform with a minimum of insignia. Loyal to a fault, he treats his crew like his family. His relationship with his son Lee is strained. A rift between the two men began with the death of Lee's younger brother, Zak, in a flight accident. Admiral Adama is played by veteran actor Edward James Olmos, whose resume highlights include a role as Lt. Martin Castillo in the popular NBC TV series Miami Vice (1984–1989), an Academy Award nomination for his starring role in the movie Stand and Deliver (1988), as well as singing, directing, theatrical work, and a committed role as an activist for kids at risk.

Of his role as Adama, Olmos said in an exclusive interview, "I'm in constant conflict with everybody—my son, Tigh, the relationship between me and everybody." (CHUD.com, August 7, 2006)

1 Character History
- 1.1 Before the Cylon Attack
- 1.2 After the Attack
2 Quotes
3 External Links

Character History

Before the Cylon Attack

Adama was born to Joseph and Evelyn Adama on Caprica and raised in the coastal town of Quailai. His father was a lawyer and his mother an accountant. He joined the colonial fleet and served as a Viper pilot during the first Cylon War. he received a commendation after his first mission in which he shot down a Cylon.

At the end of the war, he worked on a merchant fleet civilian freighter where he met Saul Tigh. He was determined to regain status within the Colonial Fleet. He married Carolanne Adama, whose family had the connections that allowed him to be reinstated in the fleet as a Major. He used his new status to arrange for Tigh's reinstatement some years later.

Bill's marriage to Carolanne produced two sons, Lee and Zak. Their marriage suffered as a result of his career and they eventually divorced. The divorce and difficult marriage took a toll on their sons, particularly eldest Lee. Lee protected his younger brother from their mother's rages. Zak grew up wanting to be like his father and also entered flight school for pilot training. he became involved with his flight instructor Kara Thrace and she passed him in basic flight though he failed three maneuvers. his lack of skill led to his death and caused a rift between Bill and Lee. Bill bonded with Kara and came to think of her as his daughter.

Bill rose from Major on board the Atlantica to serve as Executive Officer on Battlestar Columbia and later commander of the Battlestar Valkyrie. While serving on the Valkyrie he was ordered to escort a stealth scoutship over the armistice line into Cylon territory. The mission was a disaster and he forced to order the ship to be destroyed. He carried with him the guilt over his actions and his concern that the mission may have been responsible for the Cylon attack on the colonies.

After the Attack

He was given command over the Battlestar Galactica as a precursor to retirement. The ship was in the process of being decommissioned when the Cylons attacked the colonies and any possibility of retirement ended. He took command of the ship and was prepared to go after the Cylons but was commanded by the president, the recently inaugurated Laura Roslin to instead protect the fleet of civilian ships that was all that remained of humanity. Though initially against this, he came to realize it was the right choice. Adama and Roslin clashed several more times on issues of command and decisions regarding the fleet and her religious beliefs. Their difficult relationship later came to a head and he arrested her which caused a split in the fleet.

When complete realization of the devastation sank in for the humans aboard Galactica and the other ships, Adama was determined to find a reason to keep them going. He decided to lie in order to give them hope and told them that he knew the way to Earth the long lost thirteenth colony, and they were going to find it.

Adama was one of the first to realize that the Cylons had taken on the appearance of humans and were hiding within the Fleet. Not wanting to cause panic, he initially kept the fact from the fleet. He would later learn that one of his most trusted pilots, Sharon Valerii was a Cylon when she shot him twice in the chest. He barely survived and during his convalescence, XO Saul Tigh took command and declared martial law. After he recovered sufficiently to retake command, he realized, with the help of Anastasia Dualla, that he had to bring the fleet back together and joined the president and her expedition team on Kobol where she believed they'd find the key to finding Earth. Adama and Roslin eventually bonded and became very close friends.

When admiral Helena Cain and the Battlestar Pegasus joined the fleet and took command, Roslin was immediately wary of her command. Cain's decision to abandon the civilian ships without FTL drives, means of defense, or skilled personnel was dramatically different from the decision Roslin and Adama made. Roslin suggested to Adama that they may have to kill her and he reluctantly realized she may be right particularly after she tried and decided to execute Helo and Tyrol for accidentally killing one of her officers in their attempt to protect the Cylon prisoner Sharon from being raped.

Their execution was delayed by the arrival of Kara Thrace with photos of a Cylon resurrection ship. The two put their differences aside to cooperate on a joint mission to destroy the vessel. Bill plotted with Kara Thrace to execute Cain after the mission but eventually decided against it. Cain was shortly after killed by her much abused Cylon prisoner, Gina. It was also at this time that President Roslin promoted Commander Adama to the rank of Admiral.

Adama and Roslin continued to strengthen their friendship and advised each other. When her presidential aides attempted to steal the presidential election with her knowledge, he convinced her not to allowing Gaius Baltar to win. The greater portion of the fleet then settled on New Caprica. Adama stayed on board Galactica. When the Cylon fleet arrived a year later, he and the remainder of the ships in orbit, jumped away, abandoning the population on the planet.

Adama was determined to rescue them however and against the objections of his son, Lee, created a rescue plan. The plan was a success but would likely have resulted in the destruction of Galactica if not for Lee's decision to return with the Pegasus to help fight off the Cylon fleet.

Difficulties continued for the fleet, particularly when the food stores became contaminated. On his orders, the fleet was forced to jump through a deadly nebula filled with radiation in order to reach a planet with enough algae to feed the fleet. On the same planer, the Temple of Five was discovered and Galactica faced off against Cylons who arrived at the same planet to retrieve the Eye of Jupiter Adama was prepared to bombard the planet if the Cylons approached and the Cylons recalled all but one of their raiders.

The Cylons handed over Gaius Baltar to Galactica and Roslin And Adama resorted to using interrogation drugs hoping to learn what he'd told the Cylons and other information. He later served as judge in Baltar's trial and was revealed by, Lee, to already have determined Baltar's guilt. Lee's decision to question Roslin about her use Chamalla, against his father's warning, resulted in a rift. Lee turned over his wings and became a civilian. It was Lee's passionate testimony that eventually convinced Adama and other judges that Baltar was not guilty of the charges levied against him.

Quotes

"There's a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people."

"We have struggled since the attacks... trying to rely on one another. Our strength and our only hope as a people, is to remain undivided. We haven't always done all we could to ensure that. Many people believe that the scriptures, the letters from the gods, will lead us to salvation. Maybe they will. But the gods shall lift those who lift each other." And so, to lift all of us, let me present once again the president of the colonies, Laura Roslin."