Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was a good show when I was a kid. But I must admit I only watched the second season, or I was simply too young to remember the first season. The main thing I remembered was Mel Blanc doing the voice of Twiki. Gil Gerard, Buck himself, went on to do different television shows... though none of them made as much of an impact (naturally leading people to assume he disappeared after the show was cancelled.) Erin Gray and Tim O'Connor as Wilma and Dr. Huer, respectively, were very good supporting players---though neither really did much except stand in Huer's office and worry about Buck on an off-planet adventure. The closest thing to recurring villains were Kane and Princess Ardala. Kane was by-far the more savvy of the two, played by Henry Silva in the theatrical movie and Michael Ansara in the subsequent series. Pamela Hensley as Ardala struck me as being either dumb beyond belief or so spoiled that she felt the entire world owed her an enormous debt. I can't decide who made a better Kane, Silva or Ansara---the two actors were over 50, but Ansara was nearly 60 when he took on the role. I feel he played the character as someone who took orders from the Princess simply because he felt some kind of need to guard her. The first season ran from 1979-1980, but the second season didn't start until mid-81...and the entire set-up of the show changed---Buck, Wilma and Twiki are now members of a space cruiser, Searcher, a severe departure from the Earth-based first season. Most fans comment that this was very "Un-Buck Rogers", but any one who has read the old dailies know that space exploration was a main theme; Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, the moon Titan and other planets of the solar system. A main complaint is that Dr. Huer has been dropped, but the entire first year or so of the dailies had NO Dr. Huer. I must comment that this series is much better than I remembered it to be.. I find myself laughing at the swash-buckling attitude of Gil Gerard and even Mel Blanc's one-liners as Twiki. Anyone who liked the series as a youngster should check back in and relive those days of sitting in front of the TV and watching a space hero battle villains or circumstances that threaten not only him but the entire safety of the universe. The DVD is devoid of exras, but still 5 discs of episodes should be enough to satisfy any fan. It certainly did me.Read full review
As a teenager I was devoted to this series and still watch it today. Even then it showed the stereotypes of its era. A little corn cooked over a camp fire with a side of cheese cake, Buck Rogers was a product of the disco era. Taking bits and pieces from the previous incarnations, Glen A Larsen put his own spin on it. Glam and skin were often used to cover shortages in good writing, but the audience itself didn't mind. They were looking for fun and entertainment, not intellectual depth. On this level it succeeded. Some of its episodes even achieved the not bad rating of serious science fiction critics. For those looking for some fun and escapism, this is a fun ride. You won't find extras here unfortunately, and they only have the pilot edit of the feature. So its just the bare bones series. Still its entertaining and fun for those times you just want to make the world go away.Read full review
I remember watching this on NBC when I was a child, and am glad to be able to watch the entire series now as an adult. This was a good show that I wish would have lasted longer. The movie and season one were very good, but the second season was just not as good in my opinion. I had even forgotten the opening sequence for Buck Rogers the movie, and was glad to see the William Conrad narrated tv show intro. The only addition to season two that I did enjoy was the character of Hawk, as all the other changes were not that good (leaving Earth, no more Ardala, different opening narration, costume changes, etc). I also liked the entire series' similarity to Battlestar Galactica as the two shows used the same sound effects for the lasers and a portion of the Colonial Warriors outfit appear in at least 1 episode. My only complaint about this DVD release is that there were absoultely no extras to this DVD set, just the episodes.Read full review
Thank you to the Universal family for putting this compilation together and releasing it! All the glory of Glen Larson's revision of Buck Rogers now on DVD. First season is far superior to the second... 1st Season is compelling for many reasons and would have been better making more of the Draconian menace - alas it didn't happen. 2nd Season - it's an obvious retread of Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek, badly mismashed. I do enjoy Hawk, but he is obviously Larson's answer to Spock. Most of the remainder of the Searcher's crew are cardboard cutouts... They do not stand-up well in light of Dr Huer, Kane and Ardala. But fanciful enjoyment is had by all who can remember.... worth the price of purchase.
Glen Larson & Leslie Stevens' 1979 reincarnation of "BUCK ROGERS" was never the most intense or intelligent show on TV, but one thing it was, was FUN! This box set gives me the opportunity to watch the entire run (the good and the bad episodes) in the best possible quality. One point of confusion was cleared up when I watched the first disc. Despite what it says in the booklet and on the disc itself, this collection does NOT contain the 2-hour TV re-edit of the pilot titled "AWAKENING". But it DOES have the original THEATRICAL film, which was shorter, BETTER, contained funnier (sometimes off-color) humor (much of it from Mel Blanc), and a genuine "James Bond" style opening credit sequence. I have to admit-- THIS is what I bought the ENTIRE set for!! I hadn't seen it since it was in a theatre in early 1979, when I enjoyed it so much, I went to see it 3 TIMES in a few weeks. I look forward to watching the rest... many of which I somehow never got around to in all these years. One of the highlights for me will always be Pamela Hensley as Princess Ardala. When I re-watched the pilot some years ago, it struck me she gave the single BEST acting performance in the entire film. It's no wonder she became so popular on this show. She's in 6 episodes total (including a pair of 2-parters).Read full review
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