Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I loved watching Buck Rogers when I was younger. It was a fun TV series with pretty reasonable acting. Looking at it today, it does seem a little creaky but it still holds up pretty well. The sets and special effects are dodgy by todays standards, but the overall show is still a lot of fun to watch. The first season introduced us to characters such as Dr Huer, Wilma Deering, Dr Theopolis and Twiki. There was also the unforgettable Princess Ardala and Kane and lets not forget the Tigerman. The stories were fun with a lot of tongue in cheek humour. As I recall, the first series actually did quite well. The second series was introduced later having been delayed by a writers strike. The second series a much different to the first. This time is was set an a starship called Searcher. Dr Huer and Dr Theopolis were no longer in the show and Twiki was voiced by a different actor. Also Ardala, Kane and the Draconians were not seen again. The second season did introduce some new characters though, Admiral Asimov, Dr Goodfellow and a robot called Crichton. But the best character to be introduced was Hawk, a bird-man whose entire village has been wiped out by humans. Wilma Deering and Twiki remained though I felt their roles had been reduced somewhat. Hawk became Buck's friend and quite often his back up. In fact some of the best scenes were between Buck and Hawk. In the first story, Time Of The Hawk, there was a brilliant aerial dogfight between Hawk and Buck where Buck was soundly whipped. There was also a very good hand to hand fight scene where it looked as though Hawk was winning. The stories were more serious as well, tackling issues such as alcoholism and domestic abuse, racism even the death penalty. It is a pity that the show was canceled, it was not as bad as everyone says and did have some very good scenes. All up it is dated, but still very entertaining.

Okay, if I had not grown up with the show then I am sure I would not find it so endearing - and speaking of Deering - Colonel Wilma Deering that is, what adolescent young man would not like seeing her each week? What Erin Gray does to tight green, red, blue, and purple spandex pants should be criminal...but I digress. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is a lot of fun for me. It has lots of hokey, enjoyable dialog, a zippy story of a guy returning 500 years later and dealing with everything he has missed, lots of familiar faces from my childhood, and the aforementioned Erin Gray who actually is fairly tame in this pilot/movie released for public consumption in theaters(Pamela Hensley as Princess Ardala gets to get the motors running in this one!). Yes, I saw this in the movie theater and didn't feel duped at all. I then watched it on a fairly regular basis and always enjoyed it. Returning to it has brought back fond memories, and unlike some shows that interested me as a child but made an unfavorable impression in middle age - Buck Rogers withstands the test of time and is still fun to watch. Sure, the effects are very dated and the actors are mugging for the camera and really saying dialog that will occasionally make you wince, but when I hear William Conrad's voice and know all systems go - I always seem to be entertained. Gil Gerard is a pretty good Buck. He has the looks and charisma to carry off the role. Sure, he is no Buster Crabbe - that might be a good thing? Other notable performances in this pilot are again Erin Gray(I don't know why but my mind keeps shamelessly drifting to her, Hensley, Tim O'Connor in the thankless role of Dr. Huer, Joseph Wiseman, and Henry Silva as Kane. Twiki the annoying robot is in here, and I am sure I liked him when I was younger but now more than anything I find his role to be unnecessary and a serious detractor from the plot as he seems to be able to understand Buck's language and speaks it with 20th century references to the point of Ad Nauseum. I think his character could have been excised or at least the stature of the role greatly changed. The round computer disc - Dr. Theopolis is a welcomed character and I wished they had used this voice in the latter episodes rather then the one they switched to in the series. One other note is check out that groovy soundtrack of the theme sung to some really far-out words by Kipp Lennon.

It may be set in the 25th Century, but this 1979 version of the old Philip Francis Nowlan story is totally and unconditionally a product from the "Star Wars" era. Gil Gerard is a handsome block of wood playing Captain Buck Rogers, an American astronaut launched 500 years into the future and finding himself in the middle of a space war. Pamela Hensley is the sultry villainess Princess Ardala while Erin Gray is the no-nonsense Colonel trying to get Rogers out of her way (he seems more interested in loosening her up than flirting with the seductive princess). The action sequences were lifted from TV's "Battlestar Galactica", but the low-budget effects aren't really the problem, it's that the movie is so under-populated and blandly comical. This underachiever makes even "Logan's Run" seem like a sci-fi masterpiece. The robot Twiki is a cool creation, far outshining the humans, but even he couldn't save this from the ratings-basement once it became a weekly TV series. *1/2 from ****

We all did stupid things when we were young, things that we seriously regret as adults. One of my regrets is liking this show as a kid. I knew even then that it wasn't good science fiction, but having seen it recently, I had but one reaction. Oh. My. God. The 70s weren't really this embarrassing, were they?The plot was nonsensical and often non sequitur. Producer and writer Glen Larson used every cliché in the book, and then some. By the end, there was so little plot left that the movie was reduced to minutes on end of spaceships blowing up (and repetitive stock footage at that) and stuntmen being blown through the air. If James Cameron has been criticized for having a tin ear for dialogue, this makes his ear seem like solid gold.By tying itself so much to a 1979 man, it dates itself far worse than Battlestar Galactica, also produced by Larson. And what a man Buck was. An arrogant, chauvinistic, hot-headed, perpetually smirking smart aleck with no regard for the rules or for the safety of others yet who somehow still manages to save the day by going with his gut. Oh, and he gets his own robot and all the women swoon over him. It's the fantasy of every pubescent and prepubescent boy, probably including Larson. Of course, by this time, Larson was already in his 40s, and his conception of what was "cool" for 1979 is laughable. But not as laughable as Gil Gerard in the tight, white uniform. All through the first season, my friends and I cracked up whenever "the paunch" would show up onscreen. Somebody should tell "futuristic" costume designers that most people don't wear skintight outfits for very good reasons. Had this been made 20 years later, Bruce Campbell could have done Buck with much less mugging.Pamela Hensley's Ardala wasn't nearly as hot as she was made out to be. Her only distinction was that she spent most of the movie in her gold lamé string bikini. In today's world, she would pale - both literally and figuratively - beside the silicone wonders that infest Hollywood. On the other hand, Erin Gray's Wilma Deering was quite attractive in a clean, wholesome sort of way. Alas, Deering inexplicably changed from a strong authority figure into a fluttery schoolgirl who all but giggled at the sight of Buck.Velveeta and Cracker Barrel have nothing on Glen Larson, the king of cheese and high camp.