William Adama

Commander William Adama, father of the late Zak Adama and Captain Lee Adama, is the commander of the Batltestar Galactica. He is respected by his crew, many of whom call him "their old man". He too is close with many of his men, especially Kara Thrace, who is like a daughter to him, and Saul Tigh, his oldest friend aboard the Galactica.

Bill Adama with his trusty XO Saul Tigh

This relationship with his crew often clouds his judgment. While both Thrace and Tigh are talented officers, they each have problems that Adama frequently chooses to ignore. But even when Adama tries to distance himself from members of his crew, he fails.

When the Second Cylon War erupts, Adama is at first annoyed with the new president, Laura Roslin, who in his eyes is nothing but a school teacher. However he quickly comes to respect her as she shows more political finesse than he had expected, and mostly lets him deal with the military issues of the fleet. Eventually Laura and Adama engage in a relationship, until her cancer kills her aboard a Raptor on Earth.