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38 out of 42 people found the following review useful:
Enjoyable Hokum, Until Things Got Serious..., 16 May 2006

Author: Ben Burgraff (cariart) from Las Vegas, Nevada

What do you do when you served as Executive Producer to one of the decade's most expensive failures, and you have all these leftover props, costumes, sets, and special effects film footage lying around? If you're Glen Larson, and the failed series was "Battlestar Galactica", you consider producing another Science Fiction-themed series, less pretentious and more 'audience-friendly', that can utilize all the surplus...

...and in a very real sense, that's how "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" came to television, in 1979! Based, originally, on a 1928 short story, 'Buck Rogers' achieved his greatest fame in comic strips, radio, and a movie serial in the 1930s, but by 1979, the character had been 'retired' for 28 years, and Larson knew he could 'update' the story without arousing much controversy. The 'new' Buck was an astronaut piloting the last of Earth's 'Deep Space' probes, Ranger 3, in 1987(!), which was thrown off-course by a cosmic disturbance, and damaged, entering a centuries-long looping orbit back to Earth, and releasing a mix of gases that placed Rogers into suspended animation for 500 years. Revived by the evil Draconian Empire, Rogers soon is returned to an Earth in ruins after a nuclear holocaust, where he gradually earns the government's trust, and becomes a civilian 'troubleshooter', using his 20th century wiles to save Mankind, again and again.

Casting was essential for the series to succeed, and Larson made an inspired choice in Gil Gerard, 36, as the lead. Ruggedly handsome, Gerard combined maturity with a boyish charm, and an ability to make even the most risqué remark seem unoffensive (and the series pilot, released theatrically, had a LOT of risqué remarks!) As Wilma Deering, a Colonel in Earth's Defense Force, Erin Gray, 29, was a bit wooden, but gloriously beautiful, and wholesomely sexy; Tim O'Connor, 52, as wise Dr. Huer, provided kind stability and statesman-like wisdom to the mix, and a goofy little robot, "Twiki", voiced by Mel Blanc, gave the kids something to enjoy (although he would utter an occasional risqué or ethnic aside, as well).

The first season of "Buck Rogers", while certainly not 'Classic TV', offered an entertaining mix of adventure and comedy, with stories that intentionally avoided the 'heaviness' that plagued "Galactica". Rogers would face a variety of galactic terrorists, dictators, and madmen, fend off advances by a variety of scantily-clad women, and maintain a "Will they or Won't they?" relationship with Deering. High points were the guest appearances by Pamela Hensley as the evil but vampy Drackonian Princess Ardala, in huge head wear (and little else), and, in a wonderful cameo, the legendary Buster Crabbe, who'd played both "Buck Rogers" and "Flash Gordon" in the 1930s, as 'Brigadier Gordon'.

While ratings were mediocre, at best, the series was renewed for a second season...and all the mistakes of "Galactica" were repeated, when the Earth-centered series was dropped, in favor of a starship-based, 'serious' adventure, as Buck and Wilma joined in a "Galactica"-like search for 'lost' tribes of humans who'd fled Earth at the time of the Holocaust. Why was the entire concept changed so abruptly, and disastrously? The reason I've been told, was that Gerard, a devout Christian, did not like the sexual undercurrent of the first season, and wanted stories that would be more uplifting and family-friendly, and that he forced the changes on a less-than-enthusiastic Glen Larson. Whether or not this was true, the season lacked all the swashbuckling joy of Season One, and despite an attempt to introduce a bird-like, stoic alien ('Hawk', portrayed by Thom Christopher), to attract the "Spock" crowd, the episodes were frequently dull and uninspired, and the ratings plummeted. When NBC canceled the series, just 13 episodes into Season Two, no one was truly surprised.

While Gerard's post-"Buck Rogers" career was a roller-coaster ride of highs and lows, Erin Gray enjoyed a long, successful run on "Silver Spoons", and both actors, today, are popular Convention guests, as both "Buck Rogers" and Larson's "Battlestar Galactica" have achieved 'cult' status.

"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" will never be held in the kind of esteem "Star Trek" or "Babylon 5" enjoy, but, as a rare chance to see how television viewed Science Fiction in the "Disco Decade", the series has earned it's own piece of immortality!

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37 out of 44 people found the following review useful:
What's not to love, 13 November 2000
Author: mezzb from Boston

This stuff is classic. Pretty good plots. Nice little performances. You had Mr. Down-to-earth 20th century macho man Buck (complete with 70's dry-look over-the-ears hair) & straight-laced, but sexy fighter-pilot Wilma, and comic-relief, lusty little robot Twiki. And a talking necklace and boring old man, both named "Doctor".

Every week you could count on intrigue, double crosses, and buck knocking out 25 armed henchman, using his patented "Buck Fu" technique. And near the end, Twiki would say something like, "BDBDBDBDBDBD, Buck rocks me like a hurricaine."

This stuff is infinitely more amusing and entertaining that much of the sullen, sensitive and overly technical tv sci-fi of today.

It's a simple formula that works. action action action, tight shiny space outfits (on men & women) and a few lame jokes.

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21 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
I paid money to see this..., 12 January 2005
Author: Blueghost from The San Francisco Bay Area

...but I don't regret it. Not too much, anyway. Yes, it's true. When the pilot episode was given a theatrical release I went and paid good money to watch it.

Ah well.

I wasn't too thrilled at the production values, but I still enjoyed it as a stand alone film. I'd seen the B&W Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serials rerun on a couple of UHF stations, and figured I'd see an upgraded reprise of Buster Crabbe's role.

What the audience got was essentially a made for TV movie that would lead to a pretty fun series. I think the other commentators have got it right; the first season of this show was just good fun. A guy tuned in to see Gerard and Gray save Earth from sundry space-vixens and other off world baddies. The most notorious being Princess Ardala, played by the very talented and alluring Pamela Hensley. With the help of Dr. Heur, Theopolis and Twiki, Buck and Wilma thwarted the villains of the 25th century.

If the viewer tuned in to see some high brow brain-candy moral wrapped in science jargon, then he had the wrong show. Late 1970's Buck Rogers was about adventure, the perils and dazzling technology of the 25th century, lusty and dangerous space-babes, all pitted against a 20th century man's mettle and his equally gallant comrades.

But that was the first season. The second season took a page out of Roddenberry's play book, and transformed into this cheap "Star Trek" knockoff, complete with a Spock-like character in the form of a man sporting a feathered wig, played by Thom Christopher. Buck was no longer bumping flirtatious intrigues with scantly clad space-babes with his daring-do, and Wilma's hard-nosed gut-driven "I am 25th Century Woman, hear me roar!" character was taken down a notch... that and she rarely wore her very appealing spandex uniform :)

In short, first season = Good: Second season = bleh.

I'm not sure what went wrong. The fist season teetered on the high-kamp abyss, but Gil Gerard and Erin Gray had a kind of relaxed and realistic chemistry that helped bring the viewer into their world. The stories were out of Hollywood Formula 101, but they were fun, thrilling, and enjoyable. The action sequences, the alluring fashions of the 25th century, the concept of a man from our time roaming the far future, scantly clad space-vixens, it all adds up to a fun show, if somewhat far fetched... then again plausibility wasn't what Buck Rogers was all about.

This show could've really gone the distance with its original formula, and should have. Why the show changed for the second season is beyond me, because it didn't need to. Part of the attraction of Buck Rogers wasn't the "science" in this science-fiction show, but Buck and Wilma's daring-do. Whoever thought otherwise, and tried to turn Buck into a more "serious" sci-fi venue, was dead wrong, and, as someone else said, quite thoroughly torpedoed the show by fixing it until it was broke.

I'm not a big Glen Larson fan. "Manimal" and "Automan" come to mind, but if I had one wish, with regards to a TV show, it would be to go back in time and see to it that Larson continued producing "Buck Rogers" as he envisioned it for the first season. Heck, maybe I could save Dorothy Lee Stratten for another guest appearance on the show. But alas we're only left with the legacy of the first and second season of this very adventurous TV series.

Well, Larson's helped relaunch BSG, and is now doing a "Knight Rider" revival... maybe he can give Buck Rogers another shot as well, only this time, if he does, let's hope he'll stick to his guns.

Until then; so long, Buck.

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21 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
Fun, but confused., 30 January 2003
Author: grendelkhan from Xanadu

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.

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17 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Leave Your Brain Behind And Enjoy!, 22 September 2002
Author: Big Movie Fan from England

Before watching Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, can I make a suggestion? Deposit your brain in another room, sit down and enjoy a fantastic fun-filled show.

Gil Gerard (with a straight face) played Buck Rogers who was a man 500 years out of time. He awoke in the 25th century to battle evil, mainly the Draconians. He met other villains along the way. Joining him was an annoying (but loveable) robot called Twiki and the sexy Wilma Deering (played by Erin Gray).

Fans of Flash Gordon will enjoy this. It's camp, it's tongue in cheek and it's got everything a sci-fi fan will want. Forget painfully average shows like Star Trek:Voyager and check out this show full of action, drama and most importantly beautiful women.

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11 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Buck Rogers must see for Sci-Fi fans!, 7 January 2005
Author: Sharon Fell from United Kingdom

Although never having seen the original pilot movie, I could remember watching Buck Rogers as a child, well mainly Twiki was the part I remembered! I remember enjoying it very much but obviously as a small child I could not appreciate the wonderful wit, great characters and sometimes hilarious plot lines, and of course as a child completely overlooked how deliciously handsome and charming Captain Rogers was! So when I spotted Buck Rogers for sale as a complete set I became uncontrollably over excited, in the middle of the shop it was rather embarrassing. However after sitting and watching the entire 24 episode lot over a couple of days it was every bit worth the embarrassment of over excitement and definitely worth watching.

Although we all know from the opening credits of the show how Buck ended up in the 25th century it was great to see what happened to him when he first arrived. The show has a fantastic appeal for all ages I am now 28 and both of my children 91/2 and 7 both were totally fixated, and along with their glued to the screen mummy, they laughed at the great humour of the show were totally engrossed in the story lines even the rather flaky ones! and now want a Twiki the robot! Although made in 1979/80 apart from rather hilarious special effects, which are funnily enough part of the appeal, the show is every bit as good if not better than anything on TV now. As an avid sci-fi fan it rates one of the highest if not at the top of my list of all time favourite shows.

From the rather serious but likable Dr Huer, sexy but sweet Wilma that rather fab Princess Ardala, and of course Twiki and Buck who rather hog the show with their great partnership and wit. Buck with his perfectly styled hair-note even after fight scenes, watch closely! ; ) great style and what a wonderful smile that seems to end every episode! You could not go wrong to watch Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. In fact I must insist that everyone should watch it! You will smile ( you can't help it when Buck beams his grins across the screen) laugh, cry if you are soppy like me! and most definitely want more when you have watched all of the entire series, well I did : ) BidiBidiBidi over and out Buck.

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11 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
Another Example of Messing Up a Successful Formula, 22 April 2003
Author: Brian Washington (Sargebri@att.net) from Los Angeles, California

I enjoyed this show for the most part. However, I did find the formula a little too campy for my taste. But in spite of these flaws it was a pretty okay series in its first season. The big mistake though was during the second season when they eliminated most of the supporting cast (Dr. Huer and Dr. Theopolis) and making it into a Star Trek clone by having Buck and Wilma join an expedition to search for the people who escaped Earth just before the holocaust that destroyed much of it. I probably would have preferred it if they were a little more faithful to either the comic strip or the movie serial released in 1939. Maybe the show would have garnered more interest instead of becoming a confused mess.

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11 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
"Buck" to the future...., 1 July 2000
Author: Mister-6 from United States

Buck Rogers - the man, the myth, the movie... the TV series?

Glen Larson made the correct assumption that the future he created for the movies would be great fun for TV, and proved it with the TV series "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". Every episode was brimming over with action, sci-fi, fun and Gil Gerard as his good-old heroic, wise-cracking self.

Just like in the movie, Buck defeated the alien bad guys every episode and made the world safe for humanity. I remember what big stars they had pop up on the series: Buster Crabbe (the ORIGINAL Buck!), Peter Graves, Julie Newmar, Frank Gorshin, Gary Coleman (in his "Diff'rent Strokes" salad days) and Judy Landers (ALWAYS a pleasure to see her) made each show exciting and fun to watch.

Other carry-overs from the movie (besides Gil) include Gray as Wilma Deering, O'Conner as Dr. Huer, Hensley as Ardala and even Silla came back as Twiki (including Mel Blanc as his voice!), and gave their all in the name of cheesy '70s sci-fi fun.

But the 1981 episodes (which was to be the series' last) lost much of the fun and excitement of the original shows as Buck, Wilma and Twiki set off in a spaceship to explore new worlds, to seek out new life and new civiliz.... Oh, forget it; you've seen it before and much better than this.

Myself, give me the good old days of the "25th Century".

Five stars for half a good series. Watch the best, "Buck" the rest.

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Season One: Craptastical Cheesefest! Season Two: Space Flotsam..., 29 November 2007

Author: Poseidon-3 from Cincinnati, OH

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Ahhh… The late 70's. It was such a carefree time in many ways. The sexual revolution had occurred and AIDS wasn't on anyone's radar screen. TV entertainment leaned towards the undemanding to say the least. Shows like "Charlie's Angels", "The Love Boat", "Wonder Woman" and "CHiP's" were popular. Here was "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century", TV's answer to "Star Wars" and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", but with so little of the style and imagination that those and other films and TV shows had provided previously. Based on a decades old character, which had been the focus of novellas, comic strips, radio programs and a movie serial, he was dusted off and given a fresh coat of spandex for the bubble gum sci-fi set. Handsome, hirsute Gerard was given the title role of an astronaut flung (frozen) 500 years into the future only to find Earth partially decimated and run by benevolent computers. Helping to make him comfortable in his new environment were government official O'Connor and attractive military colonel Gray, as well as the diminutive robot Twiki, voiced by Blanc. The first season of the show was endearingly campy with a plethora of known guest stars from the earlier days of Hollywood (Cesar Romero, Roddy McDowall, Vera Miles, Elizabeth Allen and even the original Buck, Buster Crabbe!) as well as up and coming folks such as Jamie Lee Curtis. The stories were silly, but the show was delightful, thanks to the tacky, abbreviated, satin costumes and the shiny sets. Another plus was the ultra-sexy presence of Hensley as a devious princess, who showed up several times throughout the season. Continuity was never a strong suit, nor was depth in scripting, but the show could be counted on for an hour of fun and modest entertainment. Gray was a resourceful, appealing, attractive woman of authority and Gerard was a brave, old-fashioned hero who almost bothered to button up his shirts and who was poured into his clingy pants. While it was disconcerting, especially at first, to hear Blanc's nicotine-tinged growl coming out of the little robot (with Silla inside), he provided gentle comic relief at times and could be an amusing counterpart to Gerard. After the first season, amidst a crippling actor's strike which wreaked havoc on many a show, everything was re-tooled and not in a good way. Suddenly, with little or no explanation, Gerard, Gray and Silla were on board a spaceship called Searcher and were joined by fussy Admiral Garner, wizened, old historian Hyde-White and the stern, mysterious Christopher, playing a character of ornithological descent named Hawk. A horrendously pompous and condescending robot character named Crichton was added, making for a crowded landscape in the smallish vessel. Aside from losing all plot lines involving Earth, the costumes were altered as well, insultingly rendering Gray to look like a Playboy Cruise Director and most everyone else like Good Spaceship Lollipop officers. Gerard's increasing girth led him to wear ugly jackets over his jumpsuits in a vain attempt to mask his oncoming obesity. As if that weren't bad enough, the quality of the scripts went straight into the toilet with many of the second season episodes being nearly unwatchable. The caliber of guest stars dropped off significantly, too, with practically no notable names showing up to speak of. If it was discordant to have Blanc do the voice of Twiki, it was doubly so to suddenly have a different voice-actor playing him for the second season. Wisely, Blanc was reinstated before long. Hensley was never utilized again after the first season finale, another grave error. Joining other series that underwent drastic changes in their second season only to be swiftly cancelled, this one at least has the lengthier first season to still recommend it as light entertainment. Look fast in the credits of the pilot film for LeeAnn Hunley as a sultry, silver-clad vamp. Haysbert appears a few times in season two as a communications officer.

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
"Bi-di-bi-di-bi-di! O.K. Buck, let's go!", 16 August 2006

Author: ShadeGrenade from Ambrosia

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

With 'Star Wars' overtaking 'Jaws' in the summer of 1977 to become the most lucrative motion picture ever made, it was inevitable television would try and get in on the act. One year later, we got 'Battlestar Galactica' closely followed by 'Buck Rogers In The 25th Century', both produced by Glen A.Larson. 'Buck' had been created back in the 1930's by Philip Nowlan. He was originally a pilot who fell into suspended animation for 500 years, only to be then revived in the future ( Woody Allen's wonderful 'Sleeper' sent the whole thing up rotten in 1973 ) Larry 'Buster' Crabbe ( the original 'Flash Gordon' ) played him in a Universal R.K.O. movie serial.

The 1979 incarnation was the handsome, charismatic Gil Gerard, who portrayed Rogers as a cross between James Bond and Han Solo. The opening episode begins with Rogers taking off in a space shuttle called Ranger 3 in 1987 A.D. only to then suffer a freak accident that causes him to be frozen in space. He is found by the gorgeous Princess Ardala ( Pamela Hensley ) of the Draconian Empire, on her way to Earth as part of a peace delegation. Thinking Buck to be a spy, they cast him back out into space. Rogers has been given medication which makes him seem drunk and he is in no fit state to defend himself when he is detected heading towards Earth. Colonel Wilma Deering ( Erin Gray ) of the Earth Defense Directorate brings Buck to New Chicago where he stands trial, accused for being a spy for the Draconians. 25th century Earth has undergone a few changes since Buck left - a nuclear war for instance - and computers are running everything. Some of the population lives like savages in the wilderness.

Cleared, Buck is partnered not only with Wilma but also Twiki, a cute robot obviously inspired by C3PO and R2D2. Voiced by Mel Blanc and played by Felix Silla a.k.a 'Cousin Itt' of 'The Addams Family', Twiki managed on occasion to upstage the cast. The Earth Defense Directorate was commanded by the statesman-like 'Dr.Elias Huer' ( Tim O'Connor ). Over the course of the series, Buck fought space pirates, slave traders, would-be megalomaniacs, even a space vampire. Guest stars included Roddy McDowall, Jack Palance, Jamie Lee Curtis, Julie Newmar, Gary Coleman, Frank Gorshin, Peter Graves, and Cesar Romero. In a nice nod to the past, Buster Crabbe played 'Brigadier Gordon' in one episode. The show boasted superb special effects and fun story lines.

Britain's I.T.V. screened it in the autumn of 1980 but were at a disadvantage because they did not have the rights to the pilot, so, crossing its fingers, kicked off with 'Planet Of The Slave Girls'. They need not have worried. 'Buck' became a smash-hit, earning itself a comic-strip in 'Look-In' ( followed by one in 'T.V. Tops' ) and its ratings overtook those of 'Dr.Who' ( then starring Tom Baker ) on B.B.C.-1. In 1980, Gil Gerard collected an award given to the show by readers of 'The T.V. Times'. No way was Buck serious sci-fi, but colourful escapism, light and easy to digest, perfect Saturday night entertainment. Such was its popularity that when I.T.V. ran out of Year 1 episodes, they went straight into Year 2, causing confusion amongst fans here.

Incoming producer John Mantley ( creator of 'Gunsmoke' ) managed to ruin the show by turning it into a poor man's 'Star Trek', even going so far as to include a regular alien - 'Hawk' ( Thom Christopher ). The Earth was dropped as a setting in favour of 'The Searcher', a starship engaged on a mission to discover the lost tribes of Earth. Everything good about Year 1 was dumped, including Tim O'Connor, 'Dr.Theopolis', and - unforgivably - Pamela Hensley. The plots scraped the bottom of the sci-fi barrel ( the one decent effort was 'Testimony Of A Traitor' in which Buck was accused of starting the holocaust that destroyed Old Earth ), Twiki was given a new voice before regaining his old one after viewers' protests, and Buck lost his sense of humour. Worst of all, Wilma stopped wearing her spandex suits in favour of sailor outfits! Fans switched off in droves and the show was axed. It has been repeated many times since though, including B.B.C.-2 and the Sci-Fi Channel. If Buck is ever revived, it is fair to assume it won't much resemble the 1979 version given the current vogue for 'dark' superheroes. As Twiki would say: "What a bummer!".

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