Characterization
In 1986, the New Sunday Times called Adam "one of the truly imaginative, despicable villains on television", noting that "Adam has raped the butler's daughter, painted poor Jeff Colby's office with poisonous, lead-based paint, tricked Blake into signing over power of attorney while he lay at death's door—and blew a competitor out of the water by plastering his son's homosexuality all over Denver's front pages." [1]
Comparing Adam to J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman), the villainous oil baron on Dallas , Thomson said, "Adam doesn't have as much money or power. But Adam is more underhanded and he isn't as blatant." [3] He added, "Ruthless men usually attain power." [3] Thompson explained that soap operas need villains to drive story, and said, ""I've played heavies before but none as demonic as Adam. He's the most rotten guy in prime time." [3]
Storylines
Season 3
In "The Plea", former spouses Blake and Alexis Carrington make a televised plea for the return of their kidnapped infant grandson L.B. Colby. While on the air, Alexis confesses a dark secret from their past: their firstborn son, Adam, had been kidnapped as a baby and was never recovered. Traumatized by the event, they had hidden his existence from their subsequent children Fallon and Steven. Meanwhile, in Billings, Montana, an elderly woman named Kate Torrance watches the broadcast from her deathbed. She tearfully tells her grandson Michael—whom she has raised since he was a baby after his parents supposedly died in a car crash—that he is really Adam Carrington. After her real grandson had died in the crash, a distraught Kate had kidnapped Adam. As proof of her story, she shows Michael an engraved silver baby rattle with the monogram AAC. As her dying wish, Kate tells a stunned Michael to find and rejoin his real family. Michael agrees, telling Kate, "My name is Adam Carrington."
Still using the name Michael Torrance, Adam travels to Denver in "The Roof", and checks into the La Miranda Hotel. He meets a beautiful woman in "The Wedding", and while they flirt with each other and share a kiss, she playfully refuses to tell him her name. Adam first goes to meet Blake, who assumes that he is a con artist who saw the TV broadcast. Stunned by Blake's abrupt rejection, Adam leaves without showing him the baby rattle. In "The Will", Adam meets Alexis. She immediately accepts him as her lost child, and they have an emotional reunion. When Alexis introduces Adam to his sister Fallon, they are shocked—she is the woman from the hotel. Adam is not bothered by their close-call with incest, but notices that it troubles Fallon. Alexis and Adam also visit a doubtful Blake, who gradually accepts the idea that Adam could be his son. Alexis offers Adam, a lawyer, a job at ColbyCo. Adam is jealous when she also recruits Fallon's husband Jeff Colby, so Adam has Jeff's office painted with toxic paint. Gradually, Jeff's behavior becomes increasingly erratic. In "Madness", Alexis sends Jeff away on a vacation. Realizing that Jeff will "recover" when he's not breathing toxic fumes every day, Adam confesses to Alexis. She orders Adam to have the paint removed. He warns his mother that if she betrays him, he will implicate her in the scheme, since Alexis used Jeff's poor health to trick him into signing over his son's shares in Denver-Carrington to her. Blake and his wife Krystle are suspicious of Alexis when they learn from Jeff's doctors that there is poison in his bloodstream. Fallon, however, suspects Adam, and vows to learn the truth. She notes that Adam is distressed that his family doctor from Billings is in Denver for a conference. Fallon questions Dr. Edwards, who reveals that Adam once won a court case that involved poisoning by toxic paint fumes.
During this time, Adam is attracted to Kirby, Jeff and Fallon's nanny and the daughter of the Carrington majordomo, Joseph. Jeff protects Kirby from Adam's unwanted advances, increasing tension between the two men. In "The Search", a drunken Adam rapes Kirby. Adam attacks Kirby again in "Reunion in Singapore", but she is rescued by Jeff, who proposes to her.
Season 4
In "The Hearing", Alexis warns Adam that he is on his own if Fallon learns the truth about Jeff's illness. Adam then tricks Alexis into signing documents that make it look like she ordered the office to be painted. Alexis travels to Montana to investigate Adam's background and learns from Dr. Edwards that Adam had experimented with drugs as a teen and suffered a psychotic breakdown. Alexis is somewhat more sympathetic to Adam at this point, feeling guilty that they gave up the search for their lost son so many years ago, and condemning him to such a tragic life. As she does not want his past drug addiction to be widely known, Alexis is resigned to suffer the consequences of his actions. She gives up her control of Denver-Carrington. In "The Proposal", Jeff attacks Adam, telling him that his new wife Kirby is pregnant with Adam's child. Surprised, Adam tells Kirby that he wants to be a father to their baby. When he learns that Kirby and Jeff plan to divorce, he proposes, and Kirby accepts in "Lancelot". Adam confesses to Blake that he raped Kirby, who is disgusted by his son. Kirby is diagnosed with eclampsia and must be hospitalized. She suffers from seizures and convulsions and doctors are forced to operate. In "A Little Girl", Adam is distressed to learn that their baby girl has not survived. He tells Kirby gently, devastating her. Stunned with grief, Adam apologizes to Blake and Alexis for the pain that he has caused them. He and Kirby decide to proceed with their wedding plans. However, Alexis blackmails Kirby into leaving Adam, who is crushed when Kirby breaks off their engagement and moves to Paris in the season finale, "The Nightmare".
Season 5
Adam causes great concern when he unwillingly is duped by Sammy Jo, his former sister-in-law, into helping her kidnap her son, his nephew, Danny. Steven's wife Claudia sympathizes with Adam and encourages him to kidnap the child back, mollifying the situation. Adam is also called upon to defend Alexis against charges that she murdered Mark Jennings. Adam and Alexis's husband Dex Dexter are able to identify Congressman Neal McVane as the killer, and Alexis is acquitted. During this time, Adam mourns the death of his sister Fallon, and discovers that he has another sister, Amanda. Adam also grows closer to Claudia, and steps in to comfort her when her marriage to Steven falls apart. Despite Blake's admonition not to become romantically involved with Claudia, Adam invites her to accompany him to Amanda's wedding to Prince Michael of Moldavia. Adam promises Blake that he will end the relationship after the wedding, which is interrupted by a terrorist attack in "Royal Wedding".
Season 6
After they survive the terrorist attack at Amanda's wedding, Adam proposes to Claudia in "The Man". They elope in "The Titans", and a furious Blake disowns Adam and cuts him out of his will. Meanwhile, Claudia pressures Adam to help her acquire an oil well from Blake that she believes is rightfully hers. Adam takes advantage of Blake's health problems—actually caused by Blake being poisoned—to trick him into signing a Power of Attorney. Adam is also working with Denver-Carrington on a pipeline project with Colby Enterprises. When he travels to California for a meeting, he encounters his sister Fallon, who is alive and suffering from amnesia. Fallon becomes hysterical upon meeting Adam, and accuses him of raping her. Jeff is ready to believe her accusation, but upon further counseling, Fallon realizes that her unresolved conflict over her sexual attraction to Adam when they first met was what triggered her mental breakdown and subsequent disappearance and amnesia. As part of his work on the pipeline, Adam attempts to bribe State Senator Bart Fallmont. When Fallmont refuses the bribe, Adam investigates and learns that he is a closeted gay man. Adam leaks stories to the press that Bart is sleeping with Steven, which infuriates his family but ultimately causes Bart to resign, effectively ending any opposition to Adam's pipeline deal. Meanwhile, Claudia has been increasingly obsessed with reclaiming the oil well. When Adam cannot help her, she reveals to Blake that Adam took advantage of his illness. In the season finale "The Choice (a.k.a.) The Vendetta", Claudia accidentally sets fire to her hotel room while Adam drowns his sorrows at the hotel bar.
Season 7
Adam escapes the hotel fire, but is devastated to learn that Claudia has perished in the blaze. Working for Alexis at ColbyCo, Adam attempts to seduce his father's assistant, Dana Waring. Dana is furious when she learns Adam has used her, but he convinces her that his feelings for her are true. Adam proposes in "The Birthday". Dana accepts, although in "The Test" it is revealed that Dana has a secret which she fears could come between them. Neal McVane is released from prison in "The Mothers", and tells Adam he has proof that the real Adam Carrington died as a baby. McVane begins blackmailing Adam who, recently reconciled with Blake, is panicked that he will lose everything. Adam feeds McVane insider trading information but his depression causes him to drink heavily. Adam is arrested for drunk driving in "The Shower". In "The Confession", Adam confesses to Blake and Alexis that he has learned he is not their son. Adam plans to leave Denver with Dana, but Blake convinces him not to go. Adam and Dana are married in the season finale, "Shadow Play". Just prior to the wedding, Blake and Alexis present a stunned and grateful Adam with adoption papers—regardless of what McVane says, they consider him to be their son, faults and all.
Season 8
On their honeymoon, Adam tells Dana that he wants to start a family. He grows suspicious when Dana keeps avoiding the subject. He follows Dana to her doctor and is crushed to learn that Dana is unable to have children. They decide to hire a surrogate mother, and meet Karen Atkinson in "The Surrogate". After she becomes pregnant, Adam showers Karen with presents and affection, making Dana feel excluded. Meanwhile, Adam finds himself in conflict with his mother's new husband, Sean Rowan. Sean is hell-bent on destroying all the Carringtons, and blackmails Dana, who must eventually confess her secret to Adam. She cannot have children due to a botched abortion during high school; it turns out that she was a schoolmate of Adam's in Billings, and they slept together during one of Adam's drunken blackouts, leaving him with no memory of the encounter. Adam is stunned and reacts badly, accusing Dana of killing his child. Adam turns to Karen for comfort. Eventually, Adam forgives Dana and threatens to kill Sean if he hurts Dana again. Undaunted, Sean pays Karen's ex-husband, Jesse, to reconcile with her, throwing the surrogacy into question. Adam attempts to bribe Jesse to leave town, but Sean forces him to stay. After the baby is born in "Adam's Son", Karen tells Adam that she and Jesse want to keep the baby. In "The Scandal", Adam learns that McVane's story was fabricated, and Adam really is Blake and Alexis's son. Karen sues for custody, and during the trial, Alexis reveals that Sean bribed Karen and Jesse. Dana sympathizes with Karen and states that Karen is the rightful mother. Adam moves out of their bedroom. Just before the end of the trial, the baby is kidnapped. Adam is the primary suspect, but he and Steven discover that Sean is the kidnapper and are able to rescue the baby. In the season finale "Colorado Roulette", custody is awarded to Karen and Jesse.
Season 9
A drunk and depressed Adam alienates his family. Dana leaves Adam and moves away from Denver. Adam continues his manipulative ways, attempting to double-cross Jeff on their pipeline work by sleeping with Steven's former secretary, Claire. Adam also seduces Virginia, Krystle's cousin, who shares a mysterious past with Dex. Adam learns that Virginia was a prostitute and humiliates her into leaving Denver. When Dex learns of Adam's actions, they come to blows. Dex tells Blake about Adam's behavior, causing a rift between father and son. Adam also flirts with Joanna Sills, Sable Colby's vice-president of mergers and acquisitions, in an attempt to help his mother with her vendetta against Sable. Blake eventually fires Adam, who returns to ColbyCo and offers Joanna a job when Sable fires her. Adam assists Alexis in investigating a mysterious mine on the Carrington property, where a 20-year-old dead body was recently found. Adam discovers a witness who claims he saw Blake put the body in the mine. Adam passes this information to Blake, and then finds the witness dead just moments after seeing Blake leave the witness's apartment. Blake accuses Adam of setting him up, but Adam insists that something more nefarious is going on. As the mystery deepens, Adam and Alexis learn that the mine holds stolen Nazi treasure and artwork. Out of spite, Adam has photographs of Jeff and his half-sister, Monica, doctored to look like they are sharing a romantic moment. In the chaos that follows, Alexis reveals that Monica is not in fact Jeff's sister, only his cousin. In "Catch 22", the final episode of the series, Adam taunts Dex when he learns that Sable is pregnant with Dex's child. The men fight and Dex falls backward into Alexis, sending them both crashing through a railing and falling off a second-story balcony.
The Reunion (1991)
Three years later, Adam is still working for Alexis, having sold out Denver-Carrington to a foreign cartel while Blake was in jail. After Blake's release and subsequent recontrol of his company, Adam and Blake are reconciled once again. In addition, a remorseful Adam is reunited with Kirby.
