Lee Adama - Character Profile

Personal:

Lee Adama is the son of William Adama, the commander of the battlestar Galactica, and Carolanne Adama. He had a younger brother, Zak, a fighter pilot in training who was killed shortly after becoming engaged to his flight instructor, Kara Thrace. Lee's relationship with his father was clouded afterwards because Lee blamed him for Zak's death; this tension lasted until they started working together after the destruction of the colonies. During the settlement of New Caprica, Lee remained in the service and married his XO, Lt. Dualla, but he continued to harbor intense feelings for Kara as well.

Position and Rank:

Lee's initial position aboard Galactica was as its CAG ("Commander Air Group"), holding the rank of Captain. After Galactica was joined by Pegasus, Lee was briefly demoted to Lieutenant, subsequently restored to Captain and then promoted to Major and posted to Pegasus to assist its then-Commander, Barry Garner. In the wake of Garner's death in battle, Lee was promoted to Commander, Pegasus. With the destruction of Pegasus in the battle to evacuate New Caprica, Lee returned to his duties as CAG and resumed the rank of Major, but later resigned in order to join Gaius Baltar's legal defense team.

Call sign:

Apollo, one of the colonial gods: According to dialog in "Bastille Day", Apollo is the god of the hunt and of healing.

Turning Point:

During the escalating tension between William Adama and Laura Roslin in the first phase of their relationship, Lee was torn between loyalty to his father and his belief in democracy and the need to preserve the integrity of constitutional processes, during a crisis most of all. When Commander Adama, incensed that President Roslin has used religion to induce Kara Thrace to disobey orders, ordered the termination of Roslin's presidency, Lee at first went along with Colonel Tigh to effect Roslin's removal. In Roslin's office, however, his convictions won out and he mutinied, turning his gun on Tigh instead.

Near Death Experience:

During the battle to destroy the Resurrection Ship, Lee was performing reconaissance in the stealth Viper called Blackbird when he was struck by another Colonial ship and forced to eject. His damaged spacesuit exposed him to oxygen deprivation and he drifted in and out of consciousness before being rescued. Afterwards he was moody and removed, admitting to Kara that he hadn't wanted to make it back alive.

Drive:

Lee is driven by his relationship with his father; his internal anguish comes from a simultaneous desire to emulate a distinguished and heroic father, on the one hand, and to forge his own path and escape from under his father's shadow. At times his self-distancing from William Adama becomes perverse: during his command of Pegasus he became cynical and pessimistic (and overweight), all of which (Dualla suggested) was in reaction to his father's implacable composure.

Quote:

"Like everyone else, my pilots have lost their families, and their friends, everyone they ever cared about. But on top of that, they're asked to put their lives on the line every single day for a fleet that seems more interested in what they do wrong than in what they do right. They're not asking for your pity, but they damn well deserve your respect." ("Final Cut")

Links to the Classic Series:

Lee carries over relatively few connections from the Apollo played by Richard Hatch in the Classic series; the main consistency is the tension with his father, though its nature is different. Though both Apollos are headstrong and so likely to run into conflict with their fathers, Classic Apollo was generally more sure of himself; Lee Adama is conflicted and sometimes irresolute.

Little-Known Fact:

Jamie Bamber has let on that Lee's official biography describes him as "never so happy as when he’s in his kitchen cooking."