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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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n 1987, NASA launches the very last of its deep-space probes, helmed by the venerable Capt. William "Buck" Rogers. When Buck's vessel is knocked off course by a meteor shower, he is frozen in suspended animation for more than 500 years; initially resuscitated by the evil Princess Ardala (Hensley) to test out Earth's newly operational force field, Buck soon falls into the hands of 25th-century authorities, where he is sentenced to death for treason—despite having little or no idea where he is.
Buck soon convinces his captors of his identity and is allowed to remain with them as a consultant for all things 20th century. But what he and his new comrades-at-arms soon discover is that his old-school approach to intergalactic crime fighting works better than all the technology his futuristic counterparts can assemble.
Enlisting the aid of sexy, no-nonsense Col. Wilma Deering (Gray) and the ruminative Dr. Huer (O'Connor), Buck becomes one of New Chicago's most formidable agents for justice and leaps headlong into the future to help preserve the human race, just as he did centuries ago.
Better than it ought to be
To the casual Buck Rogers viewer, it's easy to miss the facile charms of this slightly dated science-fiction series, but make no mistake: The show does indeed carry on the proud legacy of space explorers and rogues that was established decades before with such shows as Star Trek. That said, however, one can almost see New Chicago as a slightly more limited incarnation of Starfleet and Buck as an exaggerated version of James Kirk; the stakes are typically as high as one can write in an hourlong serial, and the character's prowess with the ladies is practically legendary.
But strangely enough, individual episodes hold up to closer scrutiny than even the show's predecessors and prove to be filled with as much wit and cleverness as any SF series ever put on TV. Admittedly, references to Funk and Wagnalls may not register immediately with modern audiences, but the fact that they are there indicates that creator Glen Larson and his cadre of writers at least had a guiding principle for the series—namely, that Buck's fish-out-of-water origins helps audiences identify with character more than concept.
The series' guest stars are legitimately impressive: Cesar Romero, Jack Palance, Roddy MacDowell and Jerry Orbach all make appearances in the first season of the show alone. But the stories actually hold one's attention, and in more than a nostalgic way; at the same time, the show's creators didn't hesitate to throw in a little flesh, spandex-covered though it may be, to spice up the proceedings. Gray is, was and always will be one of the sexiest women of science fiction, which makes the writers' decision to relegate her to supporting roles all the more surprising, but the bevy of space babes they insert to take her place succeed well enough to suggest that even modern viewers will find a story—and a lady or two—to their liking.
Even though the five-disc set contains the entire series, including the hopelessly cheesy theatrical film that set up the characters and conflicts, it contains absolutely no extras whatsoever; moreover, recent conversations with the cast and crew suggest that commentaries or featurettes might have been possible. But the series ultimately still holds more appeal that it really has any right to; even with a wealth of expository dialogue in each episode and too many instances of talking killers to keep accurate count, Buck Rogers proves to be an enduring entity through the 21st century and beyond.
While I barely could make it through the absurdly goofy introductory theatrical film the first time I watched it, Buck Rogers surprised me overall by being a well-written and consistently funny show to watch. Though I was disappointed by the dearth of extras the folks at Universal decided to add for the DVD release, I'm convinced that Buck Rogers—as both a character and a TV show—will survive beyond its limited success in the late '70s and early '80s. Oh yeah, and those spandex suits the women wear aren't bad, either. —Todd
Also in this issue: Sky Blue, Carnivàle Season-Two Premiere and Medium Series Premiere
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