Lee Adama

This article is about the character from the reimagined version of Battlestar Galactica. For the original 1978 series character, see Captain Apollo.

Lee "Apollo" Adama is a fictional character in the television series Battlestar Galactica. He is portrayed by actor Jamie Bamber.

Character biography

Early life

Lee Adama was born to William Adama, a veteran of the First Cylon War, and his wife, Carolanne Adama. He also had a younger brother, Zak Adama. Their father strongly encouraged both boys to enter the Colonial Fleet and become Viper pilots. Unfortunately, Zak was not a natural pilot like his brother and father, and was killed in an accident after being awarded flight status against the better judgement of his flight instructor and fiancée, Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace. Zak's death drove a wedge between Lee Adama and his father that would only be healed over two years later, after the Destruction of the Twelve Colonies.

After the Destruction of the Twelve Colonies

By the time of the Cylons' devastating attack on the Twelve Colonies, Lee Adama is a Captain in the Colonial Fleet Reserve with the call sign "Apollo". He is a special guest at the decommissioning ceremonies for Battlestar Galactica, commanded by his father. After Major Jackson "Ripper" Spencer, the Galactica's CAG (Commander Air Group) is killed in battle, Lee Adama becomes senior survived pilot, then joins the Galactica crew and becomes its CAG.

Lee Adama's strained relationship with his father also causes him to become a strong supporter of Colonial President Laura Roslin, who often butts heads with the Commander. Roslin, aware that she is unfamiliar with the military and that he can give her valuable insights in that area, appoints Lee Adama to be her personal military advisor.

President Laura Roslin often refers to Lee Adama as "Captain Apollo". Lee once corrected her, stating that "Apollo" was his call sign, but President Roslin replied "'Captain Apollo' has a nice ring to it." Upon joining Galactica's crew, Apollo was a bit of an outsider but after proving himself in several missions as more than just the "old man's son" he earned the respect of his fellow pilots and soon became one of the crew.

When Kara Thrace goes missing after being shot down over an un-named red moon, Lee is at the forefront of the search for the missing pilot. Lee and his father are ultimately compelled to abandon the search for Starbuck after President Roslin alerts them to how they are placing personal feelings above the good of the fleet. Fortunately, Starbuck is able to return to Galactica using a Cylon Raider that she shot down. However, the incident cements the father-son bond between William Adama and his surviving son. Lee questions how long his father would search for him, were he missing, to which the elder Adama responds, "If it were you, we'd never leave."

Lee is part of the strike team sent by Commander Adama to Colonial One to terminate Laura Roslin's presidency after she encourages Kara Thrace to abscond with a captured Cylon Raider. On board Colonial One, Lee has a change of heart, declaring that it isn't worth it to sacrifice democracy. He puts his gun to Colonel Saul Tigh's head. Tigh calmly tells Lee, "This is mutiny, you know that." Tigh takes control of the situation after Roslin surrenders and is able to take both Roslin and Lee into custody.

Lee is present in the Galactica's CIC shortly thereafter, when the Cylon infiltrator known as Lieutenant Sharon "Boomer" Valerii shoots Commander Adama twice in the chest. On Tigh's orders, Lee is physically dragged from his father's side and thrown in the brig. Needing Lee's services as CAG, Tigh later releases Lee on parole. Lee will perform his duties as before, but "make no attempt to free [Roslin] or sow insurrection among the crew", and will return to the brig when not on duty.

Nonetheless, Lee breaks his parole after Tigh's leadership takes a disastrous turn and results in civilian deaths. He helps Roslin to lead a breakaway fleet to Kobol. After Commander Adama and President Roslin make a personal effort to heal the divisions in the fleet, Lee returns to duty on Galactica. Lee is one of the five people who see firsthand the map to Earth in the Tomb of Athena on Kobol.

After the Battlestar Pegasus joins the fleet, Lee is temporarily transferred to the Pegasus, given duties flying Raptors rather than Vipers, and even demoted to Lieutenant. All of these misfortunes are reversed after the successful attack on the Cylon Resurrection ship, the death of Rear Admiral Helena Cain, and his father's promotion to flag rank. However, Lee battles with depression at this time, confessing to Kara Thrace that "he didn't want to make it back alive."

While on leave on the Cloud 9 luxury liner, Lee is accidentally shot by Kara Thrace during a hostage rescue. He takes almost a month to recover from this wound, during which time he is promoted to Major and consummates his long-simmering relationship with Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla. He is assigned to Pegasus to assist the new commanding officer, Commander Barry Garner. After he successfully commands the ship during a Cylon surprise attack in which Garner is killed, Lee is quickly promoted from Major to Commander, and given command of Pegasus.

New Caprica and the Second Exodus

Shortly before the Roslin-vs.-Baltar presidential election, the fleet discovers a somewhat habitable planet inside of a nebula, presumably safe from Cylon discovery, which is named New Caprica. After Gaius Baltar wins the presidential election, he orders the establishment of permanent settlements on the planet. The Galactica and Pegasus begin a monotonous orbital defence patrol.

Months later, Lee and Kara Thrace both get drunk at a party celebrating the ceremonial first shovelful of earth being dug on New Caprica. They have sex, declare their love for one another, and fall asleep together; however, Kara wakes first and leaves. When Lee wakes and returns to the settlement he finds that Kara has married Samuel Anders. This betrayal causes a lot of bad feeling between Adama and Thrace. He takes to overeating and puts on a lot of weight; he also marries his new first officer, Anastasia Dualla, now a Lieutenant.

Eight months later the Cylons find New Caprica, and take control over the colonists. With only a skeleton crew manning his ship, Lee is forced to flee with the rest of the fleet hoping to return again to fight off the Cylons and save the civilian population.

Four months later still, as the Galactica and Pegasus lay plans to rescue the civilians trapped on New Caprica, the psychological impact of the past year is also obvious: Lee has become more sentimental and "soft", to the point where it interferes with his ability to command the Pegasus. When contact with the resistance movement on New Caprica is established, Lee is ordered by his father to take the Pegasus and continue the search for Earth while the Galactica attempts to liberate the planet. When Galactica is near destruction, Lee and Pegasus come to the rescue, giving his father's ship time to jump out. Under heavy fire from four Cylon Basestars, the Pegasus is heavily damaged, having left its Vipers to defend the rest of the fleet. Lee orders the crew to abandon ship, saying "Thank You" to his ship just as he departs. The Pegasus rams a Cylon basestar, instantly destroying both vessels, and a large piece of wreckage damages or destroys a second basestar.

Lee's first role after the rescue of the civilian population appears to be connected to conducting some kind of head-count or census of the rescued civilians. It is in this capacity that he notices that certain confirmed survivors have gone missing, having been executed by The Circle for collaborating with the Cylons. He then returns to the role of Galactica's CAG, with the rank of Major. After much hard physical training, he loses the excess weight he gained over the previous year and asks Captain Karl "Helo" Agathon to remind him to never let himself go like that again.

Lee advocates using captured Cylons infected with a strain of lymphocytic encephalitis as biological weapons to exterminate the Cylon race. His plan is approved by President Roslin, but is thwarted by Captain Karl "Helo" Agathon, the Galactica's executive officer at the time.

The renewed strength of his bond with his father is shown when his father chooses to confess to Lee about his fears that he may have inadvertently provoked the Cylon onslaught on the Colonies.

Resignation from Colonial Forces and Legal Aspirations

However, that father-son relationship sours following the death of Kara Thrace, whom Lee loved and whom Adama considered as close as a daughter. While both grieve, Lee is visibly shaken by the death, while Adama does his best to move past it. When Adama realizes his son has become unhinged by her death, he pulls him from flight duty, assigning Lee the task of heading up the security detail for the defense attorney of Gaius Baltar, whose trial the Admiral considers to be little more than a public relations exercise. Lee suspects Admiral Adama is being overprotective, not wishing to lose him as he did Kara. After two assassination attempts on Baltar's latest lawyer, Romo Lampkin, the culprit is discovered. Adama then reinstates Lee as CAG, not wanting to expose him to the dangers of more potential assassination attempts. Lee, however, has become very interested in Colonial law at this point, after reading some of his grandfather's law books, and believes he could assist Lampkin prepare the case. Adama resists, but Lee refuses to resume his duties as CAG, and joined the legal team.

Once the trial began, Adama is enraged that his friend and second-in-command, Col. Tigh, is exposed on the witness stand and forced to admit he killed his own wife on New Caprica. He blames Lee, believing his son has given the information to Lampkin. Adama wants Lee to stop helping Baltar, but Lee refuses, ultimately resigning his commission after Adama states openly that Lee has no integrity, and that he is "a coward" for supposedly letting Romo question Saul.

Putting the uniform behind him, Lee begins to see the trial more as a game, and personally takes up the cross-examination of President Laura Roslin, confronting her with her renewed use of the hallucinogenic compound chamala-extract, which she claims is a treatment for her relapse of cancer. This move, while justified in Lee's mind toward preserving justice in the fleet, further strains his relationship with both his father and Roslin, and motivates his wife to finally leave him.

After Laura's deposition, Lee is the last witness called, follow Felix Gaeta's perjury in stating that President Baltar willingly signed a mass execution warrant. Lee proclaims openly in court that nearly everyone in positions of power in the Fleet, including himself, is guilty of murder and treason to some degree, and that everyone is blaming Baltar in an effort to expunge their personal guilt and shame, because he is an easy target. Lee ultimately realizes that was being manipulated by Lampkin, who boldly predicted to Baltar that he has no greater ally than a son trying to flee his father's shadow.

After the trial, and Baltar's subsequent acquittal, the fleet is once again found by the Cylons. Despite having resigned his commission, Lee puts on a flight suit and pilots Viper 3 to help defend the fleet from the Cylons. While in flight he spots something on his wing, searching he discovers it to be a Viper, flown by Kara Thrace. She proceeds to tell him "It's okay, don't freak out, it's really me. I've been to Earth, I know where it is, and I'm gonna take us there".

While reviewing his gun camera footage in the pilot's ready room, Lee tells his father, who offered him is Viper wings back, that Baltar's trial may have been the catalyst, but he feels that he can do more outside the military than remaining in. Adama is visibly upset but ultimately concedes to his son's wishes.

At Lee's "mustering out" party, he drinks several toasts to the Galactica, his friends, Admiral Adama, the Fleet and "those who couldn't be there." As he leaves the Galactica, the pilots and Command staff salute him while he boards the Raptor taking him off the ship. Dualla gives him his Viper wings in a frame and as he hugs her says, "Well, look's like you get the house."

Lee then leaves to start his career as the Caprica Delegate to the Quorum of Twelve.

Major relationships

• William Adama: Lee's father and current Commander of the fleet and Galactica. Although strained at the beginning, his relationship with his son has evolved into a mutual love and respect. Lee then quit his role as CAG to defend Baltar full time and now is on very bad terms with Bill Adama.
• Kara Thrace: Although the extent of his relationship with Kara Thrace, callsign Starbuck, before joining Galactica has never fully been explained, they share one of the strongest bonds on the show. They often have a volatile relationship, both professionally and personally. They almost consummated their relationship early in season 2, and have often been known to be jealous of each other's lovers. While not on good terms since finally sleeping together on New Caprica, their relationship seems to have improved since facing off in an emotional boxing match in "Unfinished Business". In the beginning of season 3 Lee and Kara seem to be on the verge of a serious relationship until Kara suddenly gets married. This does not put a stop to the tension between the characters; however, Lee won't cheat on his wife, Dee, and Kara doesn't want to divorce her husband, Anders, saying that divorce is a sin in "The Eye of Jupiter".
• Laura Roslin: President of the Colonies. Appointed Lee as her military advisor in Season 1. Over the course of the show Lee has consistently sided with Roslin over his father, most notably when he refused to arrest her for defying his father's orders and later when he defected with her and nearly a third of the fleet to go to Kobol. He then revealed the fact her cancer was back and it is assumed she is angry with him.
• Anastasia Dualla: Former communications NCO on Galactica. Formed a relationship with Lee towards the end of Season 2 and was his executive officer aboard Pegasus. She and Lee are married. Dee left Lee due to the fact that he took a place on Baltar's defense team and relentlessly attacked Laura Roslin on the stand, forcing her to reveal her chamalla use (causing her to admit her cancer had returned).
• Romo Lampkin: Defense attorney (specifically a public defender) and protégé of Lee's grandfather Joseph (himself a public defender). Lampkin's approach in developing Gaius Baltar's defense intrigues Lee and causes him to become Lampkin's bodyguard. Later, Lampkin's philosophical prodding on the nature of justice, as well as stories about Joseph Adama's career and personality encourage Lee to resign from the Fleet and become the Caprican representative on the Quorum of Twelve.
• Gianne: Lee's fiancée from Caprica who presumably died during the Cylon attacks. Lee holds residual guilt for leaving her behind, and for running out on her when he found out she was pregnant with his child prior to the Cylon attacks.
• Shevon: A prostitute from Cloud 9 with whom Lee had relations. Lee tried to ease his guilt over what happened with Gianne by trying to save Shevon and her daughter Paya.

External links

• Lee "Apollo" Adama at the Battlestar Wiki.