Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction adventure television series produced by
Universal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. The series ran for two seasons between 1979–1981, and the feature-length pilot episode for the series was released as a theatrical film several months before the series aired. The film and series were developed by
Glen A. LarsonGlen Albert Larson is an American television producer and writer best known as the creator of Battlestar Galactica, The Fall Guy, Magnum, P.I. and Knight Rider.-Career:...
, based upon the character
Buck RogersAnthony Rogers is a fictional character that first appeared in Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories. A sequel, The Airlords of Han, was published in the March 1929 issue....
created in 1928 by
Philip Francis NowlanPhilip Francis Nowlan was an American science fiction author, best known as the creator of Buck Rogers.-Career:...
that had previously been featured in
comic stripA comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s,
novellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
s, a serial film, and on television and radio.
Concept and broadcast history
Inspired by the massive success of
Star WarsStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
two years earlier, the pilot film opened in cinemas on March 30, 1979. Good box-office returns led NBC to commission a full series, which began on September 20, 1979 with a modified version of the theatrical release (see below).
The production used recycled props, effects shots and costumes from Larson's previous science fiction series
Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
(1978), which was still in production at the same time the pilot film for
Buck Rogers was. For example, the "landram" vehicle was made for the
Galactica series, and the control sticks used in the Terran starfighters in the pilot movie were the same as those used in Galactica's Viper craft. The Terran starfighters were also concept designer
Ralph McQuarrieRalph McQuarrie is a conceptual designer and illustrator who designed Star Wars , the original Battlestar Galactica , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Cocoon, for which he won an Academy Award....
's original vision of the
Colonial ViperThe Colonial Viper is the primary fighter spacecraft type used by the human protagonists in the Battlestar Galactica fictional universe. Appearing in both the 1978 original series and the 2003 reimagined series, as well as various derivative works, the single-pilot spacecraft are carried aboard...
s. A clip of the starfighters was later used in the opening credits of the sitcom
Out of This WorldOut Of This World is an American fantasy sitcom about a teenage girl who is half alien, which gives her unique supernatural powers. It first aired in U.S. syndication on September 17, 1987 and ended on May 25, 1991. It was first broadcast in the UK on the ITV network on April 9, 1990, usually at...
(1987), as was a shot of the futuristic city of "New Chicago" from the
Buck Rogers series.
The new series centered on Captain William Anthony "Buck" Rogers, played by
Gil GerardGilbert C. "Gil" Gerard is an American actor. He is most famous for his role as Captain William "Buck" Rogers in the 1979-1981 television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.-Early life:...
, a
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
pilot who commands
Ranger 3, a
space shuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
that is launched in May 1987. Due to a life support malfunction, Buck is accidentally frozen for 504 years before the derelict spacecraft is discovered drifting in space in the year 2491. The combination of gases that froze his body coincidentally comes close to the formula commonly used in the
25th centuryThe 25th century of the anno Domini era will span from January 1, 2401– December 31, 2500 of the Gregorian calendar.-List of long total solar eclipses:* April 20, 2414 : Solar eclipse, , of saros 145....
for
cryopreservationCryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...
, and his rescuers are able to revive him. He learns that civilization on
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
was rebuilt following a devastating
nuclear warNuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
that occurred on November 22, 1987, and is now under the protection of the Earth Defense Directorate.
The series followed him as he tried to fit (not always successfully) into 25th-Century culture. As there were no traceable personal records for him, he was uniquely placed, due to his pilot and combat skills and personal ingenuity, to help Earth Defense foil assorted evil plots to conquer Earth. In many respects, the new Rogers was more similar to
James BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
or
Steve AustinThe Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
rather than Nowlan's original character. Rogers is aided in his adventures by his friend and semi-romantic interest, Colonel
Wilma DeeringWilma Deering is a fictional character featured in the various iterations of Buck Rogers which have spanned many media over the years.Through all the versions of Buck Rogers, Wilma Deering has maintained some clear characteristics. She is a sometimes romantic interest for Buck, always a loyal...
, played by
Erin GrayErin Gray is an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Kate Summers in the situation comedy Silver Spoons and as Colonel Wilma Deering in the science fiction television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century....
, and his comic sidekick robot,
TwikiTwiki is a fictional character on the television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Twiki is a robot sometimes referred throughout the series as an "ambuquad"...
, voiced by
Mel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
(who had previously voiced
Daffy DuckDaffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
as
Duck DodgersDuck Edgar Dumas Aloysius Eoghain Dodgers is the metafictional star of a series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. He is actually the famous cartoon star Daffy Duck, cast in the role of an intergalactic future hero....
in spoofs of the early Buck Rogers and other
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
serials) using a gruff voice very similar to the one he used for
Barnyard Dawg Barnyard Dawg is a Looney Tunes character. An adult anthropomorphic basset hound, he is the archenemy of Foghorn Leghorn. He was created by Robert McKimson, who also created Foghorn and was voiced by Mel Blanc...
.
Twiki, a small robot or "ambuquad", tended to express himself with the exclamation "biddi-biddi-biddi" often followed by a 20th-Century catchphrase or slang (many of which he learned from Buck). Dr. Theopolis (voiced by
Eric ServerEric Server is an American television character actor, best known for providing the voice of computer brain Dr...
), was a sentient computer in the shape of a large disk with an illuminated face. He was carried around by Twiki, and was a member of Earth's "computer council" and one of the planet's scientific leaders. During the first season, Rogers and Deering took their orders from Dr. Elias Huer, played by
Tim O'ConnorTim O'Connor is an American character actor known for his prolific work in television, although he has made only a few appearances since the early 1990s. Before moving to California, he lived on an island in the middle of Glen Wild Lake, near Bloomingdale, New Jersey.O'Connor specialized in...
, the head of the Defense Directorate. Some episodes also suggested Huer was the leader of the entire planet, though this was never made completely clear.
The series' chief villain (at least in the first season) was Princess Ardala (played by
Pamela HensleyPamela Gail Hensley is an American actress. She is best known for playing Princess Ardala on the 1979-1981 television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and C.J...
) whose goal was to conquer the Earth whilst making Buck her consort. She was aided by her henchman Kane (played in the pilot film by
Henry Silva and in the series by
Michael AnsaraMichael Ansara is a Syrian-born American stage, screen, and voice actor best known for his portrayal of Cochise in the American television series Broken Arrow, Kane in the 1979-81 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Commander Kang on three different Star Trek TV series.- Early life and...
). All of these characters were featured in the original comic strip, except for Dr. Theopolis and Twiki (whose closest counterpart in earlier versions would likely be Buck's human sidekick
Buddy Wade). Kane (or
Killer KaneKiller Kane is a fictional character in the 1939 Buck Rogers serial film produced by Universal Studios. Kane is a gangster who became the supreme dictator of Earth with the help of his criminal army. Although the events of the serial transpire in the year 2440, Kane has apparently ruled the world...
as he was then known) was also featured in the
1939 film serialBuck Rogers is a Universal serial film based on the Buck Rogers comic strip, starring Buster Crabbe as the eponymous hero, Constance Moore, Jackie Moran and Anthony Warde.-Plot:...
and was actually the chief villain himself, rather than Ardala's henchman (Ardala did not appear in the film serial).
The pilot film depicted human civilization as fairly insular, with an invisible defense shield that surrounded the entire planet, protecting it from invaders. Civilization was restricted to a few cities, the main city seen in the pilot and weekly series was New Chicago, which was also known as the Inner City. Travel beyond the Inner City was hazardous, as much of the planet was said to be a radioactive wasteland inhabited by violent mutants (as Buck discovered when he visited the derelict remains of old Chicago).
The movie
The movie was originally slated for release for Sept. 1978 according to director
Daniel HallerDaniel Haller is an American film and television director, production designer, and art director. Haller studied at the renowned Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles....
, in an interview for Fantastic Films Magazine, Sept. 1979. There were several start dates for filming but it was repeatedly delayed due to casting problems. The movie was eventually released in March 1979.
- The movie's opening credits featured a song, Suspension, sung by Kipp Lennon
Christopher "Kipp" Lennon is an American musician, and a founding member of the folk rock band Venice. His role in the band includes performing as a lead vocalist and guitarist.-Family:...
and co-written by Glen A. Larson. An instrumental version of the song was used as the main theme for the TV series that followed.
- To make Buck appear frozen in his space shuttle in the opening scenes, he was sprayed with dry shampoo. Because of this, Gil Gerard could not open his eyes or move. During the time between takes, he reportedly dozed off.
- Aerial dogfights were choreographed with the aid of a Hewlett-Packard 45 computer.
- The ruined city of Chicago (called Anarchia) was shot on the back lot of MGM Studios.
- Several shots were taken at Detroit's Renaissance Center, which houses General Motors' Headquarters.
- Several stock shots portraying futuristic buildings on Earth are that of remaining pavilions on the site of Expo 67
The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
, including the British and French national pavilion (now open as the Montreal CasinoThe Casino de Montréal is a casino located on the Île Notre-Dame in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest casino in Canada, and one of the largest casinos in the world. The casino is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to patrons aged 18 and older. It opened October 9, 1993.-Features:The...
). These shots were also included in the Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
episode "Greetings from Earth", in which they were said to be a city on the planet Paradeen (though in production around the same time, the episode aired a month prior to the release of the Buck Rogers film). Buck's NASA shuttle, Ranger 3, was itself a prop that had been seen in this same episode where it was used as Michael's Lunar-7 shuttle.
- The movie grossed over $21 million in the United States and was later released internationally.
The series
The movie also served as a pilot and a two-part first episode for the series, though several racier scenes were edited (including a comment by Twiki about "freezing his ball-bearings off"). The scene involving Buck strapping a bomb to Tigerman's back is removed in order for Tigerman to plausibly appear in later episodes of the TV series. There were also some extended scenes in the TV version, such as an extended conversation between Buck and Dr. Theopolis about the nature of Anarchia, and the final scene was created specifically for the series and involves Dr. Huer and Wilma in Buck's new apartment persuading him to find a place with them in the Defense Directorate. This scene ends with Buck actually declining their offer, though he opts to join them by the first episode of the series proper: "Planet of the Slave Girls".
The tone of the series was lighter than the pilot movie, and showed a more positive picture of future Earth. The Inner City was now known as New Chicago, and it was established that human civilization had spread once again across the planet, and also to the stars. After the movie pilot, little reference to barren radioactive wastelands was made, and in several episodes Buck ventures beyond New Chicago with no hazards encountered. As opposed to the isolationist planet seen in the film, Earth is shown to be the center of an interstellar human-dominated government, sometimes called "the Federation", other times "the Alliance", with its capital at New Chicago. During the first season, references were also made to other "new" Earth cities such as New Detroit, New Manhattan, New Phoenix, New Tulsa, Boston Complex and New London. A "City-on-the-Sea" was also seen, mentioned as being the former New Orleans.
Most of the protagonistic characters encountered are either part of the Defense Directorate, such as Wilma Deering, or otherwise associated with it, such as 'freelance' personnel like Buck Rogers. Most Defense Directorate personnel regard Buck as being at least an 'honorary' captain, in reference to his pre-War American military rank, but his membership in Earth's defense forces is unofficial. Nevertheless, Buck often flies with the fighter squadrons, and uses his 20th century US Air Force background to assist in their training.
Dr. Huer regularly meets, greets, and otherwise deals with representatives of other sovereign powers, and sometimes 'faces them down' in hostile situations. Huer also has been seen in military uniform (at formal occasions), thus indicating that he is or was a member of the military.
Travel between the stars was accomplished with the use of stargates; which are artificially created portals in space (similar to
wormholeIn physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
s), shown as a diamond-shaped quartet of brilliant lights that shimmered when a vessel was making transit. Some people find the transit through a stargate to be physically unpleasant (transit resembling a "spinning" of the spacecraft). Buck Rogers is portrayed as disliking them in Part One of the episode "Planet Of The Slave Girls" and mentions his discomfort again in Part Two of the episode "The Plot to Kill a City".
To portray futuristic-looking buildings on Earth, the show used stock shots of the remaining national pavilions of
Expo 67The 1967 International and Universal Exposition or Expo 67, as it was commonly known, was the general exhibition, Category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It is considered to be the most successful World's Fair of the 20th century, with the...
, particularly the French and British pavilions as well as shots of the
Bonaventure HotelThe Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites is a , 35-story hotel in Los Angeles, California, constructed between 1974 and 1976. Designed by architect John C. Portman, Jr., it is the largest hotel in the city. The top floor has a revolving restaurant and bar...
in downtown Los Angeles.
Juanin ClayJuanin Clay was an American actress who appeared in the 1983 drama-thriller film WarGames. She was one of the contenders for the role of Wilma Deering in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV series, but lost the role when Erin Gray returned to reprise her role from the theatrical release...
, who played Major Marla Landers in the first season episode "Vegas in Space", was originally cast as Wilma for the TV series (Erin Gray had initially opted not to return after the pilot film but later changed her mind). A relationship between Buck and Wilma was hinted at but rarely expanded upon and, in the first season, Buck was involved (to some degree) with a different woman almost every week. Producers demanded that Wilma have blonde hair and dye jobs were needed to lighten Erin Gray's brunette locks. During the final episodes of the first season, Gray was allowed to return to her natural hair color, and Wilma was dark-haired thereafter. Buck's best-known enemy during the first season was Princess Ardala, played by
Pamela HensleyPamela Gail Hensley is an American actress. She is best known for playing Princess Ardala on the 1979-1981 television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and C.J...
, whose desire was to conquer and possess both Earth and Buck himself. She appeared in four separate stories, including the pilot film and the two-part first season finale.
The opening title sequence for the series included stock footage from the
Apollo 4Apollo 4, , was the first unmanned test flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle, which was ultimately used by the Apollo program to send the first men to the Moon...
and
Apollo 6Apollo 6, launched on April 4, 1968, was the Apollo program's second and last A type mission—unmanned test flight of its Saturn V launch vehicle. It was intended to demonstrate full lunar injection capability of the Saturn V, and the capability of the Command Module's heat shield to withstand a...
launches.
The series had an overall budget of $800,000 per hour of air time, according to
StarlogStarlog was a monthly science-fiction film magazine published by Starlog Group Inc. The magazine was created by publishers Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs. O'Quinn was the magazine's editor while Jacobs ran the business side of things, dealing with typesetters, engravers and printers. They got...
issue #32 (March 1980). Former actor
Jock GaynorJock Gaynor was an American actor, producer, and writer, whose work was confined primarily to television...
served as producer for twenty episodes. Although popular with viewers, the first season failed to receive much critical acclaim. One vocal critic of the series was Gerard himself who pushed for more serious storytelling and often clashed with the producers and the network (NBC) over the show's tone and handling. In the November 1980 issue of
Starlog, Gerard even said that he had hoped the series wouldn't be picked up for a second season because he didn't want to go through another season like the first one.
The second season
Production of the second season was delayed by several months due to an actors'
strikeStrike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
. When production resumed in the fall of 1980, the series had a new set of producers (headed by
John MantleyJohn Truman Mantley was a Canadian theatrical actor, writer, director, screenwriter and producer of the long-running television series, Gunsmoke, and was Mary Pickford's cousin.-Family:Mantley had a sister, eleven years older than himself, who taught dancing well into her eighties...
who had primarily worked on television westerns) and the format of the series was changed.
Instead of defending the Earth from external threats, Buck, Wilma and Twiki were now a part of a crew aboard the Earth spaceship
Searcher. The
Searcher, which displayed the
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
mottoA motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
"
Per ardua ad astraPer ardua ad astra is the motto of the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces such as the RAAF, RCAF, and RNZAF. It dates from 1912 and was used by the newly formed Royal Flying Corps.-Origin:The first Commanding Officer of the Royal Flying Corps was Colonel Frederick Sykes...
" ("through adversity to the stars") on its side, had a mission to seek out the lost "tribes" of humanity who had scattered in the centuries since Earth's 20th century nuclear war (which is a theme present in
Glen A. LarsonGlen Albert Larson is an American television producer and writer best known as the creator of Battlestar Galactica, The Fall Guy, Magnum, P.I. and Knight Rider.-Career:...
's previous
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series,
Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is an American science fiction television series, created by Glen A. Larson. It starred Lorne Greene, Richard Hatch and Dirk Benedict and ran for one season in 1978–79. After cancellation, its story was continued in 1980 as Galactica 1980 with Adama, Lieutenant Boomer and...
).
Another notable change in the second season was the disappearance of many of the regular characters of the first season, such as Dr. Huer, Dr. Theopolis, Princess Ardala, and Kane. However, several new characters were added:
- Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Efram Asimov, commander of the Searcher and a descendant of the famous science fiction author Isaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
.
- Hawk
Hawk the birdman is a character from the second season of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and the alien sidekick to Buck Rogers. He is portrayed in the television series by Thom Christopher.-Character:...
, an alienExtraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
character who represents the last of the nearly extinct bird people.
- Dr. Goodfellow, a elderly scientist with insatiable curiosity.
- Crichton, a snobbish robot, built by Goodfellow but who finds it difficult to believe that lowly humans could have ever built him.
The character of Wilma Deering was "softened" in the second season as the producers attempted to tone down the militaristic "Colonel Deering" image, who often gave Buck orders, and tried to make her more "feminine". Another change in the second season was the sound of Twiki's voice. Mel Blanc left the series after the end of the first season and another actor, Bob Elyea, supplied Twiki's voice. Blanc returned for the final six episodes of the second season, though no explanation was given for the change in Twiki's voice.
The opening narrative was also modified for the second season, both in terms of the narrator's voice and content. In the first season,
William ConradWilliam Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
delivered the following opening narrative:
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.
In the second season, Hank Sims (best known for his announcing work on many of the programs produced by Quinn Martin Productions) delivered the following alternate narrative:
In the year 1987, NASA launched the last of America's deep space probes. Aboard this compact starship, a lone astronaut, Captain William "Buck" Rogers, was to experience cosmic forces beyond all comprehension. In a freak mishap, his life support systems were frozen by temperatures beyond imagination. Ranger 3 was blown out of its planned trajectory into an orbit one thousand times more vast, an orbit which was to return Buck Rogers to Earth, 500 years later.
These were abbreviated and altered versions of the narrative heard in the original pilot movie:
In the year 1987, at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA launched the last of America's deep space probes. The payload, perched on the nosecone of the NASA rocket, was a one-man exploration vessel: Ranger 3. Aboard this compact starship, a lone astronaut, Captain William "Buck" Rogers, was to experience cosmic forces beyond all comprehension: an awesome brush with death. In the blink of an eye, his life support systems were frozen by temperatures beyond imagination. Ranger 3 was blown out of its planned trajectory into an orbit a thousand times more vast, an orbit which was to return the ship full circle to its point of origin, its mother Earth, not in five months... but in 500 years. For 500 years, Buck Rogers drifted through a world in which reality and fantasy merged into a timeless dream.
The introduction narrative from the pilot episode ("Awakening") was also different:
For 500 years, Captain William "Buck" Rogers has been miraculously preserved, frozen by temperatures beyond imagination. Now, in Earth year 2491, he is rudely awakened by the sinister forces of the Draconian realm.
The substance of the storylines also changed in the second season. Less emphasis was placed on militaristic ideals and, with a few exceptions, Gerard scaled back the humor in the second season in favor of more serious episodes. Buck and Wilma's relationship became slightly more romantic during the second year, though most romantic activity was implied and took place off-screen.
Moreover, the second season deals with more serious concepts such as
evolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
,
ecologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
,
racismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
,
pollutionPollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
,
warWar is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
,
nuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
,
identityIdentity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
, the
selfThe philosophy of self defines the essential qualities that make one person distinct from all others. There have been numerous approaches to defining these qualities. The self is the idea of a unified being which is the source of consciousness. Moreover, this self is the agent responsible for the...
, and
religionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
. It also draws on
mythologyThe term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
as exemplified by
Hawk'sHawk the birdman is a character from the second season of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and the alien sidekick to Buck Rogers. He is portrayed in the television series by Thom Christopher.-Character:...
people, which are a variant on the Bird people found in mythologies around the world and makes special reference to the
moaiMoai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
of
Easter IslandEaster Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people...
. An episode also included a story about mythical
satyrIn Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus — "satyresses" were a late invention of poets — that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing....
creatures.
As well as its parallels to Larson's previous television series
Battlestar Galactica, the second season is similar in theme to
Star TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, with the
Searcher roaming through space much like the
Starship EnterpriseThe USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...
, Buck being the maverick explorer true to the style of Captain
James T. KirkJames Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
, and the serious, rather stoic Hawk being a revamped version of
Mr. SpockSpock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
. Even Wilma had, to some extent, been remodelled after Lt. Uhura from
Star Trek, often dressed in a mini-skirt uniform and regularly sat at a communications console on the bridge of the
Searcher.
Ratings dropped significantly after the season premiere. Citing cost concerns, NBC canceled the series at the end of an eleven-episode strike-abbreviated season. No finale storyline was produced, with the final episode broadcast being a normal standalone episode.
The series was later shown in reruns on the
Sci Fi ChannelSyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in the 1990s.
International broadcast
The series was shown in the UK in 1980 by
ITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in an early Saturday evening slot, where it was screened against, and beat, the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's long-running science fiction series
Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was then in its 18th season. As a similar effect had occurred a couple of years earlier when ITV screened
Man from Atlantis against
Doctor Who, this prompted the BBC to move
Doctor Who to a new weekday slot for its next season in 1982 (although
Buck Rogers had actually been cancelled in the United States by that point, the show's second season was still showing in the UK). Ironically, the BBC would repeat the
Buck Rogers series themselves (on
BBC TwoBBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
) in 1989 and again in the late 1990s.
DVD release
Universal Studios Home EntertainmentUniversal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
released the complete series on DVD in North America (Region 1) on November 16, 2004. While it does contain every episode (from both seasons), the pilot episode included is the theatrical version and not the TV version.
The series was released on DVD in Europe (Region 2), though each season was released separately as opposed to in one set like the Region 1 release. Season 1 was released on November 22, 2004 and season 2 on October 31, 2005, neither of which had the same cover artwork as the Region 1 release. Notable differences are the addition of subtitles for various European languages, and translated text sections on the DVD boxes. The back cover of the European season 1 box set also erroneously shows the character Hawk, who did not appear until season 2.
Cast
- Gil Gerard
Gilbert C. "Gil" Gerard is an American actor. He is most famous for his role as Captain William "Buck" Rogers in the 1979-1981 television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.-Early life:...
- Captain William "Buck" RogersAnthony Rogers is a fictional character that first appeared in Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories. A sequel, The Airlords of Han, was published in the March 1929 issue....
- Erin Gray
Erin Gray is an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles as Kate Summers in the situation comedy Silver Spoons and as Colonel Wilma Deering in the science fiction television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century....
- Colonel Wilma DeeringWilma Deering is a fictional character featured in the various iterations of Buck Rogers which have spanned many media over the years.Through all the versions of Buck Rogers, Wilma Deering has maintained some clear characteristics. She is a sometimes romantic interest for Buck, always a loyal...
- Tim O'Connor
Tim O'Connor is an American character actor known for his prolific work in television, although he has made only a few appearances since the early 1990s. Before moving to California, he lived on an island in the middle of Glen Wild Lake, near Bloomingdale, New Jersey.O'Connor specialized in...
- Dr. Elias Huer (first season)
- Pamela Hensley
Pamela Gail Hensley is an American actress. She is best known for playing Princess Ardala on the 1979-1981 television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and C.J...
as Princess Ardala (first season)
- Michael Ansara
Michael Ansara is a Syrian-born American stage, screen, and voice actor best known for his portrayal of Cochise in the American television series Broken Arrow, Kane in the 1979-81 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Commander Kang on three different Star Trek TV series.- Early life and...
as Kane (first season) (played by Henry Silva in the pilot film)
- Wilfrid Hyde-White
Wilfrid Hyde-White was an English character actor.-Early life and career:Wilfrid Hyde White was born at the rectory in Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire, the son of William Edward White, canon of Gloucester Cathedral, and his wife, Ethel Adelaide Drought...
- Dr. Goodfellow (second season)
- Thom Christopher
Thom Christopher is an American actor.He is best known for his portrayal of mob boss Carlo Hesser and Mortimer Bern on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live.Christopher has also had roles on soap operas such as Loving and Guiding Light...
- HawkHawk the birdman is a character from the second season of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and the alien sidekick to Buck Rogers. He is portrayed in the television series by Thom Christopher.-Character:...
(second season)
- Jay Garner
Jay Garner was anAmerican actor. Born James Garner in 1929, he changed his first name to Jay upon entering Actors Equity since there was already a James Garner in the union...
- Admiral Efram Asimov (second season)
- Paul Carr
Paul Carr was an character actor who was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Carr acted for some fifty years in television, film, and on-stage.-Beginnings:...
- Lt. Devlin (second season)
- Felix Silla
Felix Anthony Silla is an Italian film and television actor and stuntman, best known for his role as "Cousin Itt" on television's The Addams Family, and many other classic character roles.- Biography and career overview :...
- TwikiTwiki is a fictional character on the television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Twiki is a robot sometimes referred throughout the series as an "ambuquad"...
(physical performance)
- Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
- Voice of Twiki (first season, plus second season episodes starting with "The Crystals" through "Testimony of a Traitor")
- Bob Elyea - Voice of Twiki (second season episodes "Time of the Hawk" to "The Golden Man")
- Eric Server
Eric Server is an American television character actor, best known for providing the voice of computer brain Dr...
- Voice of Dr. TheopolisDr. Theopolis was a recurring character on the NBC television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.Theopolis, or Theo for short, was an intelligent computer who was part of Earth's Computer Council...
(first season)
- Jeff David - Voice of Crichton (second season)
- William Conrad
William Conrad was an American actor, producer and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film and television....
- Narrator (first season)
- Hank Sims - Narrator (second season)
Guest stars throughout the series included
Jamie Lee CurtisJamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many...
,
Markie PostMarjorie Armstrong "Markie" Post is an American actress, best known for her roles as bail bondswoman Terri Michaels in The Fall Guy on ABC from 1982 to 1985, as public defender Christine Sullivan on the NBC sitcom Night Court from 1985 to 1992, and as Georgie Anne Lahti Hartman on the CBS sitcom...
,
Gary ColemanGary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and for his small stature as an adult. He was described in the 1980s as "one of television's most promising stars". After a successful childhood acting career, Coleman...
,
Jack PalanceJack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
,
Sam JaffeSam Jaffe may refer to:*Sam Jaffe , American actor*Sam Jaffe , Hollywood talent agent, studio executive and film producer...
,
Vera MilesVera Miles is an American film actress who gained popularity for starring in films such as The Searchers, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Psycho and Psycho II.-Early life:...
, and
Buster CrabbeClarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe was an American athlete and actor, who starred in a number of popular serials in the 1930s and 1940s.-Birth:...
(who had played the original Buck Rogers in the 1930s
film serialBuck Rogers is a Universal serial film based on the Buck Rogers comic strip, starring Buster Crabbe as the eponymous hero, Constance Moore, Jackie Moran and Anthony Warde.-Plot:...
). Several actors who had played villains in the 1960s
BatmanBatman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
television series also guest-starred, including
Cesar RomeroCesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
,
Frank GorshinFrank John Gorshin, Jr. was an American actor and comedian. He was perhaps best known as an impressionist, with many guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show...
, Roddy McDowell, and
Julie NewmarJulie Newmar is an American actress, dancer and singer. Her most famous role is Catwoman in the Batman television series.-Early life:...
.
Merchandise
Two novels were published by
Dell PublishingDell Publishing, an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte, Jr.During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Dell was one of the largest publishers of magazines, including pulp magazines. Their line of humor magazines included 1000 Jokes, launched in...
based on this series, both by Addison E. Steele. The first (ISBN 0-440-10843-8) was a novelization of the pilot film. The second,
That Man on Beta (ISBN 0-440-10948-5), was adapted from an unproduced episode script.
A
fumettiFumetti is an Italian word which refers to all comics. In English, the term refers specifically to photonovels or photographic comics, a genre of comics illustrated with photographs rather than drawings. Italians call these fotoromanzi...
book entitled
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was published by Fotonovel Publications in 1979.
Gold Key ComicsGold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
published fourteen issues of a
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century comic book based upon the show. The first couple of issues adapted the movie, but picked up the numbering from a Buck Rogers revival in the 1960s. The comic books started with issue number two, because issue number one was published in the year 1964 in the style of the old comic strips. Starting with issue five, new adventures were created in the series
continuityIn fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
. The first three issues (two - four) were reprinted in a "Giant Movie Edition" and was distributed by Marvel Comics. Artists on the series included Al McWilliams,
Frank BolleFrank Bolle is an American comic strip artist, comic book artist and illustrator.-Career:-Children's books:...
and Jose Delbo. Ironically, the comic outlived the series by several months. Issue number ten was never published and this comic book series was cancelled after issue number sixteen. The comic book remained within the continuity of Season 1 and did not feature any characters from Season 2.
A strip based on the television series also ran in two publications in the UK: 'Look-In' with 64 weekly installments covering 10 separate adventures between autumn 1980 and early 1982, and 'TV Tops', which picked up the rights from 1982 for two shorter runs. Both were based on the format of the first year of the series.
Two sets of action figures were produced by
MegoThe Mego Corporation was a toy company that dominated the action figure toy market during most of the 1970s. The Mego Corporation was founded in the early 1950s by David Abrams and was mostly known prior to 1971 as a producer of dime store toys.-Golden age:...
, including a 12" line and a series of 3.75" figures and scaled spaceships. Milton-Bradley produced a Buck Rogers board game and a series of jigsaw puzzles. Other companies produced a variety of tie-ins, including model kits of the spaceships from Monogram, die-cast toys from Corgi,
ToppsThe Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...
trading cards, and a painted metal lunch box.
In 2011, Zica Toys began production of a new line of action figures based on the TV series. These 8" action figures are loosely based on Mego designs, but as noted above, Mego did not produce an 8" line of Buck Rogers figures, so Zica's line is actually the first line of 8", cloth-costumed action figures based on the TV series. Characters planned include Buck Rogers, Hawk, Killer Kane, Tigerman, and Draconian Warriors.
The popularity of the TV series led to the revival of the Buck Rogers newspaper strip, daily and Sunday, drawn by
Gray MorrowDwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow was an American illustrator of paperback books and comics.-Biography:Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Morrow is best known as art director of Spider-Man between 1967 and 1970 and as illustrator of the syndicated Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant comic...
and written by Jim Lawrence. The strip ran from September 9, 1979 to October 26, 1980, and was reprinted in its entirety, with the Sundays in color, in a large trade paperback.
External links