Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

By RoguePlanet

The year is 1987, and NASA launches the last of America's deep space probes. In a freak mishap, Ranger 3 and it's pilot, Captain William "Buck Rogers" are blown out of their planned trajectory into an orbit which freezes his life support systems, and returns Buck Rogers to Earth... five hundred years later.

A slick, goofy, sci-fi action-based series on the superhero character created by Philip Francis Nowlan, "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" is about a man lost in time... in more ways than one! The series debuted in the fall of 1979 - months after the movie of the same name was released.

As played by Super70s and Awesome80s TV heartthrob Gil Gerard, this Buck Rogers is less the classic hero type than a space pilot from a disco age. Terminally stuck in the Super70s, with futuristic fashions made of polyester and spandex, the show nonetheless possesses a certain charm and cheekiness. Mostly pretty girls and ray guns, the show was never meant to change the world and the Super70s was never known to be the dawn of great science fiction television.

Still, some of the goofy stories are actually more fun than today's reality TV, and there really are some gems hiding in the mix - little ones, but gems nonetheless. The special effects and model work are second-to-none for their time (the show had the full resources of the team that was producing Battlestar Galactica), and some interesting characters and settings made this show at least memorable, if not groundbreaking.

Supporting performers Tim O'Connor (Doctor Huer), Felix Silla (Tweeky the Ambiquad robot), Mel Blanc (the voice of Tweeky), Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering), and Pamela Hensley (the ever-luscious Princess Ardala of the Draconians) join in the fun to make Buck a delightfully cheesy Super70s camp-fest. The show even had a cameo appearance from 1930's science fiction movie-serial star Buster Crabbe - the original Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon - in the first regular episode "Planet of the Slave Girls, " as the Buck of "today" meets the Buck of yesteryear. Classic stuff.

If you want serious Seventies science fiction, you can try 'Galactica, ' but for those of you who like your sci-fi light and fluffy, this is the show for you.

The complete series has now been released on DVD!

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My favorite moment in the series was when Buck Rodgers (Gil Gerard) met Buck Rodgers (Buster Crabbe?), alias Col. Gordon (Flash?) in one episode. At the end, there is a great double entende where they talk about who's been flying combat longer than the other. Gil: That's pretty good shooting. Crabbe: I've doing this since before you were born. Gil: You thinks so? Crabbe: Colonel, I know so. --Anonymous

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