In the current world of television’s high production values, it’s easy to look back at old sci-fi shows from the ’70s and ’80s and brush them off as silly, with poor effects and bad acting. There can be no denying that many of these things existed in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century; however, most shows during this time suffered for the same reasons. Buck Rogers was more about fun than anything else: space adventures, scantily clad women (something you would come to expect in a Glen A. Larson production), and the idea of not fitting in, something most of us have experienced in our lifetime. If anything, this was a good map to follow at the time, even if the show went off the rails a few times during its run for very different reasons.
Buck Rogers had a lot in common with another Glen A. Larson production (Larson was a big name in the ’70s and ’80s), the original Battlestar Galactica, which in 2004 would go on to have great success in a newly updated series. Interestingly, Universal released the pilot of Battlestar Galactica in theaters, which did well. This prompted them to do the same thing with the pilot for Buck Rogers, which also did well, and Universal gave the green light for a weekly series, albeit with a slightly modified pilot. Buck Rogers also recycled some props from Battlestar Galactica and used similar shots and costumes. The show kicked off what would be a short-lived series on September 20th, 1979.
The premise was pretty straightforward: Astronaut Captain William ‘Buck’ Rogers (Gil Gerard) pilots a small spaceship in 1987 that gets frozen until he is awakened five hundred years later. However, the pilot was something else altogether. It incorporated this premise and numerous plot points, including being woken/thawed by the Draconian Princess Ardala (Pamela Hensley) and sent on his way to Earth, but not by the goodness of her heart. Buck meets Colonel Wilma Deering (Erin Gray) and discovers what year it is and what happened to Earth. The opening sequence alone is pure ’70s gold, mixing Bond-like images of women with an annoying but catchy tune, trying to portray Buck’s past and present coming together in a disco-like haze dripping with cheesy moments. It also features stock footage of the Apollo 4 and 6 launches.
With the setup in place, the series was set with Buck Rogers trying to adjust to his new life on Earth, which feels like an alien planet at times, all the while eager to help thwart the threats to Earth that happen almost weekly. Gil Gerard was as solid as Buck, a shoot-first, ask-questions-later kind of guy who was very charming in a lost puppy kind of way but initially seemed a perfect fit for the show. We meet Dr. Elias Huer (Tim O’Connor), the robot/ambuquad Twiki (played by Felix Silla and voiced by Mel Blanc), and the wall clock-looking sentient being Dr. Theopolis, often found hanging around Twiki’s neck.
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The first season was a mixed bag, as many shows use the first season to find their collective footing. There were a lot of issues, and yet, in the setting of a ’70s sci-fi show, some got absorbed in the feeling of nostalgia and fun, which was probably a red flag that was ignored at the time. The story of Buck Rogers and his assimilation into this new time was a great place to start, but it became increasingly clear that humor would also be a big part of the show, whether intentional or not. Some fight scenes in space look better than average, while sets and props were a poor mix of stock footage and painted backdrops. While this is part of the charm, the wildly inconsistent manner in which the episodes were set up was sometimes alarming, very cheesy, and, in some instances, just made you shake your head.
There is a very militaristic sense to the show, which would be necessary after a devastating nuclear war, leaving the planet vulnerable to hostile alien races. An episode discussed what happened and saw characters venture outside the shiny, happy place they had built. It gave the viewer an idea of the horrors that left Earth in shambles. It was a bit shocking and creepy, and it was the only time the show ever went back to the past in that manner.
If you are going to talk about Buck Rogers, the TV show, you have to take a moment to discuss the dance party at the ball, an episode celebrating a new alliance after it all hit the fan. The stiff and dry dance moves don’t sit well with Buck, so he urges the keyboard player to “let go” and “get down.” Very quickly, a disco ensues, and even Twiki gets into the act. A pure ’70s moment thrust into the party celebrating new friends; it was gleefully cringe-worthy, something you couldn’t stop watching.
It was an interesting first season, and while definitely not a hit with critics, it did well with fans, so season two was given the go-ahead. For many reasons, it had a totally different look and feel that greeted viewers and not many were buying it. Production delays, a new set of producers, an unhappy star…it all had the makings of a disaster. Season two was cut short, and the series was canceled.
The show then decided to leave Earth behind and take to the skies for adventure aboard the ship Searcher. Buck, Twiki, Wilma, and some interchangeable background characters went in search of humans who left Earth after the nuclear holocaust. (More Battlestar Galactica themes here) This was more than a small change in the show’s direction, surprising viewers, but there was promise. A great new character named Hawk (Thom Christopher), a human birdman, joined the show and the crew of the Searcher, but sadly was never fleshed out and was badly underused most times. Wilma was also made more docile, taking away some of her wonderful edge. The humor and fun seemed to have disappeared, too, severely crippling the show.
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To its credit, the show did try to take on more serious topics, such as racism, war, and evolution, in an attempt to make the characters more human and relatable to the cast. Still, in the end, it made the show more cookie-cutter action-centric than anything. Where season one had this feel of a society growing and evolving, leaving some of its dystopian elements behind, season two became more generic and predictable, making it a bizarre viewing experience. At times, it was almost like watching a different show, and it didn’t work. Trouble behind the scenes and plummeting ratings led to the show being canceled halfway through season two, with no real resolution or finale. It was an unfortunate end but, sadly, something most saw coming.
Thinking back, I have a lot of fond memories of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and most of that is wrapped up in the humor of season one. It was pure escapism, fun, and eye candy in every sense of the word. Even with the changes in season two, Buck Rogers made it cool to like ray guns again, embrace the wackiness and interesting ideas that came with robots, and be part of a future full of adventures. It may not be rocket science, but it had rocket ships, so that’s as good a place to begin in the world of science fiction.
