Commander Adama
Encyclopedia
Commander Adama is a fictional character
in the 1978 movie and subsequent ABC
television series
Battlestar Galactica
and its continuation series, Galactica 1980
. 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
. Played by Lorne Greene
, Adama is also the spiritual leader of the surviving colonists. In the 2004 re-imagined series
, a similar character, William Adama
, is portrayed by Edward James Olmos
.
, 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 Athena
and son Apollo
who feature in the series. His wife, Ila
, and his younger son, Zac
, were both 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. He was as much a politician as a military commander.
From the start, Adama was mistrustful of the Cylons at the time of the Peace Conference to end the Thousand Yahren War. He was the only battlestar commander to keep his ship on battle-stations drill, and as a result, the Galactica was the only battlestar to survive the Cylon sneak attack. (Another battlestar
, the Pegasus, was later discovered to have survived, and to have raided Cylon outposts for a year after the destruction of the colonies. However, it appeared in only two episodes before it mysteriously disappeared, its fate ambiguous.) Despite the destruction and great personal loss, Adama was able to 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 Ship of Lights strengthened his belief that someday Earth would be found.
In the episode "War of the Gods," it is revealed that Adama has been trained in telekinesis as part of a military parapsychology study. In this episode, Count Iblis
can read minds, so Adama also mentions that he has received training in clouding his mind with other thoughts, suggesting that he was involved in experiments in telepathic communication. However, there is no further reference to this in the remainder of the series.
He appears briefly in the Maximum Press Battlestar Galactica comics published in the 1990's, having been put in cryogenic suspension after contracting a terminal illness common to Capricans. Richard Hatch's relaunch novels set after the end of the tv series mentions him having died several yahrens before.
.
episode "Treehouse of Horror X
" story
"Desperately Xeeking Xena", Comic Book Guy
, who has styled himself as a villain called "The Collector" is kicked into a vat of Lucite. He clambers out and barely has time to strike a "classic Lorne Greene
pose from Battlestar Galactica" before the plastic hardens around him.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the 1978 movie and subsequent ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
and its continuation series, Galactica 1980
Galactica 1980
Galactica 1980 is a science fiction television series, and a spin-off from the 1978–1979 series Battlestar Galactica. It was first broadcast on the ABC network in the United States from January 27 to May 4, 1980.-Development:...
. Adama is the commander of the great military vessel Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (ship)
The Battlestar Galactica is a space battleship in the original and re-imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica.The Twelve Colonies of Man in the original television series built a number of Battlestars during their thousand-year war with the Cylons, whose battleships are...
, commander of the refugee fleet and military commander of the evacuees of the Twelve Colonies
Twelve Colonies
The Twelve Colonies of Man are fictional locations that constitute the principal human civilization in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, the "reimagined" series of the same name in 2004, and in the prequel series, Caprica...
. Played by Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
, Adama is also the spiritual leader of the surviving colonists. In the 2004 re-imagined series
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
, a similar character, William Adama
William Adama
William "Bill" Adama is a fictional character portrayed by Edward James Olmos in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series...
, is portrayed by Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos is an American actor and director. Among his most memorable roles are William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Lt...
.
Battlestar Galactica
Adama is the commander of the great military vessel battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica (ship)
The Battlestar Galactica is a space battleship in the original and re-imagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica.The Twelve Colonies of Man in the original television series built a number of Battlestars during their thousand-year war with the Cylons, whose battleships are...
, commander of the refugee fleet, and military commander of the evacuees of the Twelve Colonies
Twelve Colonies
The Twelve Colonies of Man are fictional locations that constitute the principal human civilization in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, the "reimagined" series of the same name in 2004, and in the prequel series, Caprica...
. 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 Athena
Lieutenant Athena
Lieutenant Athena is a fictional character in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, which ran on ABC from 1978 to 1979. The character was portrayed by Maren Jensen.-Character history:...
and son Apollo
Captain Apollo
Captain Apollo is the name of a fictional character in the Battlestar Galactica franchise. He was first played by Richard Hatch, who would also later appear as the character of Tom Zarek in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series in 2005....
who feature in the series. His wife, Ila
Ila (Battlestar Galactica)
Ila of Caprica was the wife, now deceased, of Commander Adama in Battlestar Galactica. She was an off-screen character who was never actually seen, though she was referred to several times through the course of the series, and a likeness of her was briefly shown in the pilot episode...
, and his younger son, Zac
Zac (Battlestar Galactica)
Zac is a fictional character in the original version of the TV series Battlestar Galactica, portrayed by Rick Springfield.He is the brother of Captain Apollo and Lieutenant Athena, and the son of Commander Adama and Ila. On his first flight with his brother, Zac is killed by an unexpected Cylon...
, were both killed in the Cylon
Cylon (Battlestar Galactica)
The Cylons are a cybernetic civilization at war with the Twelve Colonies of humanity in the Battlestar Galactica science fiction franchise, in the original 1978 and 1980 series, the 2004 reimagining, as well as the spin-off prequel series, Caprica...
attack on the Twelve Colonies
Twelve Colonies
The Twelve Colonies of Man are fictional locations that constitute the principal human civilization in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, the "reimagined" series of the same name in 2004, and in the prequel series, Caprica...
.
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
Colonel Tigh
Colonel Tigh is a fictional character in the original 1978 TV series Battlestar Galactica, played by Terry Carter. He is the Executive Officer of the titutlar ship. In his early years, he flew a Viper in the same squadron as Commander Adama. Tigh at first appears to be strictly by-the-book and a...
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. He was as much a politician as a military commander.
From the start, Adama was mistrustful of the Cylons at the time of the Peace Conference to end the Thousand Yahren War. He was the only battlestar commander to keep his ship on battle-stations drill, and as a result, the Galactica was the only battlestar to survive the Cylon sneak attack. (Another battlestar
Battlestar (reimagining)
A battlestar is a space battleship in the reimagined science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica. The reimagined series' battlestars, as well as the series' other visual effects were designed and created by Zoic Studios for Battlestar Galactica.The battlestars Galactica, Atlantia,...
, the Pegasus, was later discovered to have survived, and to have raided Cylon outposts for a year after the destruction of the colonies. However, it appeared in only two episodes before it mysteriously disappeared, its fate ambiguous.) Despite the destruction and great personal loss, Adama was able to 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
Kobol
Kobol is the name of a planet in the fictional Battlestar Galactica universe.Within the context of both Battlestar Galactica stories, Kobol is the birthplace and original home of humanity, from which the civilization departed and formed the Twelve Colonies on other worlds...
and the Fleet's encounter with the Ship of Lights strengthened his belief that someday Earth would be found.
In the episode "War of the Gods," it is revealed that Adama has been trained in telekinesis as part of a military parapsychology study. In this episode, Count Iblis
Count Iblis
Count Iblis is an alien on the TV series Battlestar Galactica. He was part of the original 1978 series, and was central to the plot of the two-part episode War of the Gods. In that episode, he was played by Patrick Macnee. He did not appear in the re-imagined series.- 1978 continuity :When a...
can read minds, so Adama also mentions that he has received training in clouding his mind with other thoughts, suggesting that he was involved in experiments in telepathic communication. However, there is no further reference to this in the remainder of the series.
He appears briefly in the Maximum Press Battlestar Galactica comics published in the 1990's, having been put in cryogenic suspension after contracting a terminal illness common to Capricans. Richard Hatch's relaunch novels set after the end of the tv series mentions him having died several yahrens before.
Galactica 1980
He was one of the few Galactica crewmembers to reappear in the sequel series Galactica 1980Galactica 1980
Galactica 1980 is a science fiction television series, and a spin-off from the 1978–1979 series Battlestar Galactica. It was first broadcast on the ABC network in the United States from January 27 to May 4, 1980.-Development:...
.
Popular culture
In The SimpsonsThe Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Treehouse of Horror X
Treehouse of Horror X
"Treehouse of Horror X" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons eleventh season, and the tenth annual Treehouse of Horror episode, consisting of three self-contained segments. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on Halloween 1999. In "I Know What You Diddily-Iddily-Did", the...
" story
"Desperately Xeeking Xena", Comic Book Guy
Comic Book Guy
Comic Book Guy is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria, and first appeared in the second-season episode "Three Men and a Comic Book", which originally aired on May 9, 1991. He is the proprietor of a comic book store, The...
, who has styled himself as a villain called "The Collector" is kicked into a vat of Lucite. He clambers out and barely has time to strike a "classic Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene
Lorne Greene , was the stage name of Lyon Himan Green, OC, a Canadian actor.His television roles include Ben Cartwright on the western Bonanza, and Commander Adama in the science fiction movie and subsequent TV Series Battlestar Galactica...
pose from Battlestar Galactica" before the plastic hardens around him.
External links
- Adama (TOS) at the Battlestar Wiki
- Adama (1980) at the Battlestar Wiki