"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" (1979) TV series 1979-1981

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

20 September 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A 20th century astronaut is revived out of 500 years of suspended animation to become the greatest hero of a future Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Astronaut | Buck Rogers | Spacecraft | Cult TV | Based On Comic Strip

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Gil Gerard	...	Capt. William "Buck" Rogers / ... (37 episodes, 1979-1981)
Erin Gray	...	Col. Wilma Deering (37 episodes, 1979-1981)
Felix Silla	...	Twiki / ... (35 episodes, 1979-1981)
Mel Blanc	...	Twiki / ... (30 episodes, 1979-1981)
Tim O'Connor	...	Dr. Elias Huer (24 episodes, 1979-1980)
Eric Server	...	Dr. Theopolis (21 episodes, 1979-1980)
William Conrad	...	Narrator (17 episodes, 1979-1980)

Runtime:

60 min (37 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

John Mantley Productions

Trivia:

Michael Ansara was the first choice to play Kane, but was unavailable for filming the two-hour pilot episode "Awakening," so Henry Silva was chosen, in part because, with "Awakening" scheduled for theatrical release prior to the series' TV debut, Silva was considered to have more box-office clout. Ansara was brought in to play Kane once the television series was on-air. The change both in casting and from theatrical release to series television had a subtle effect on Kane's relationship with Princess Ardala. In "Awakening" there is a flirtatious quality to some of Ardala's banter with Kane, such as when she asks if Kane desires "Me, or my throne?" and when she pointedly tells Kane that Buck Rogers "wouldn't have been necessary if you were more of a man." This flirtatious banter, however, disappears with Ansara's assumption of the role, as the relationship between the two becomes harder-edged and more businesslike, notably in the episode "Ardala Returns" where Ardala repeatedly expresses doubt about Kane's Zygot robot duplicates of Buck Rogers and at one point she angrily tells Kane to sit down.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the narration intro Buck's spacecraft is called "Ranger 3". But the Ranger series spacecraft were unmanned lunar landers, and NASA never repeats project names to avoid confusion.

Quotes:

Narrator: [voiceover during opening] The year is 1987, and NASA launches the last of America's deep space probes. In a freak mishap, Ranger 3 and its pilot, Captain William "Buck" Rogers, are blown out of their trajectory into an orbit which freezes his life support systems, and returns Buck Rogers to Earth... 500 years later.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Pod People (#4.3)" (1991)

Fun, but confused.

All-in-all, Buck Rogers was a fun and entertaining series. Given its episodic nature, the shows were somewhat uneven. The earlier episodes tended to be more interesting than the later episodes, but you could always count on a bit of fun. The series didn't take itself too seriously, but also didn't degenerate into farce (usually). It's biggest problem was its lack of direction.

The show suffered from the same problem that most tv sci-fi shows (and most tv series, in general) have; it had no definite story to tell or ultimate destination. Each episode took you on an adventure, but with little link to previous or future episodes. Thus, the characters didn't grow and the settings didn't change. The show never seemed to decide how decimated the Earth was, or how advanced the rest of the galaxy was. In some episodes, the Earth is a wasteland, with a few sheltered cities. In others, it seems to be on par with the rest of the galaxy. There were few continuing plot threads, other than the cold war with the Draconian Empire. The attempt to find direction in the final season led to its downfall, mainly because the plot of that season had little to do with the first season.

Still, many episodes were quite fun; including "The Return of the Fighting 69th", "Vegas in Space", "Planet of the Slave Girls", "The Plot to kill a City", "Unchained Woman", "Space Vampire", "Flight of the War Witch", and any with Kane and Ardala. The final season was completely forgettable, as were those with Gary Coleman.

Erin Gray was given a much larger role in the series, but still ended up as the damsel in distress. Twiki was annoying, but did provide some comedy. Pamela Hensley was still quite the vixen and Michael Ansara was a welcome change as Kane. There were many fine guest stars; with the likes of Roddy McDowel, Jamie Lee Curtis, Buster Crabbe (the original Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon), Peter Graves, Julie Newmar, Frank Gorshin, Ceasar Romero (hmmm, lot of Batman stars), Ray Walston, and Jack Palance.

Overall, the series was quite fun; but stick with the first season, and mainly the first half of it.