Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV 1979)

A 20th century astronaut emerges out of 500 years of suspended animation into a future time where Earth is threatened by alien invaders.

Director:

Daniel Haller

Writers:

Glen A. Larson, Leslie Stevens,

Stars:

Gil Gerard, Pamela Hensley, Erin Gray

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gil Gerard	...	Capt. William 'Buck' Rogers
Pamela Hensley	...	Princess Ardala
Erin Gray	...	Col. Wilma Deering
Henry Silva	...	Kane
Tim O'Connor	...	Dr. Elias Huer
Joseph Wiseman	...	Draco
Duke Butler	...	Tigerman
Felix Silla	...	Twiki (body)
Caroline Smith	...	Delta Section
John Dewey Carter	...	Supervisor (as John Dewey-Carter)
Kevin Coates	...	Pilot
David Cadiente	...	Comtel Officer
Gil Serna	...	Technician
Larry Duran	...	Draconian Guard
Kenny Endoso	...	Draconian Guard

Storyline

In 1987, Captain William "Buck" Rogers pilots his space shuttle on a mission but a meteor storm freezes him into an orbit that returns him to Earth 500 years later. In the year 2491, his shuttle is found and captured by the Draconian flagship, under the command of Princess Ardala and her henchman Kane. Reviving him, they return him to Earth after planting a homing beacon aboard his shuttle to track a path through Earth's defense barrier. Now, Buck Rogers must adjust to the 25th century, and convince the Terrans that the Draconians are planning to conquer Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

buck rogers | 25th century | space war | futuristic | world war three | 

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Taglines:

The original space man! The ultimate trip! Buck Rogers swings back to earth and lays it on the 25th Century!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 1979 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Awakening

Filming Locations:

Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites - 404 S. Figueroa Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bruce Lansbury Productions, Glen A. Larson Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

To cut costs, some footage and various props were used from Glen A. Larson's Battlestar Galactica series. Even some of the concept designs from Galactica were used. The Terran starfighters on Buck Rogers were originally designed as the Colonial Vipers for Galactica, but Larson had opted for a design closer the X-Wing fighters from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Larson then employed the unused designs for Buck Rogers.

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Goofs

While Col. Wilma Deering is saving Rogers from the Draconian flag ship the left side of her flight helmet reads "Cool Deering" in one shot and is blank in all the rest.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: 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 nose cone of the massive 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. ...

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Crazy Credits

Erin Gray and Pamela Hensley appear as "dream girls" along side their names in the original (theatrical) credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Lost in Space Forever (1998)

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Soundtracks

"SUSPENSION"
Music by Stu Phillips
Lyrics by Glen A. Larson
Sung by Kipp Lennon

User Reviews

Surprisingly good

Some friends and I rented this movie just for the kicks of making fun of it, but it turned out to be fairly good. Except for the cheesy 70's parts (check out Bucks dance act) which no live human could ever take seriously, this is an excellent movie, which I'll check out again in the near future.

8/10