Buck Rogers

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 ****

Buck Rogers. The name conjures up memories of a by-gone era, two eras in fact. Buck was the hero of one of the earliest and most popular science fiction comic strips. He was also the hero of this post-Star Wars 70's film. In the former, Buck had been trapped in a cave-in, where strange gases put him to sleep, to finally wake in the 25th Century. In the latter, Buck is an astronaut who, due to an accident, is adrift, in suspended animation, to later arrive back on Earth, in the 25th Century. In both, Buck becomes a hero and savior of the Earth.

I first saw this movie in the theater. At the time, my friends and I clamored for anything remotely sci-fi; especially after the success of Star Wars. Unfortunately, that was a pretty mixed bag. For every Alien, there was a Battle Beyond the Stars. Others were a bit uneven; like Star Trek TMP, and this film.

The effects were fine, for the time period, but can't hold a candle to today's CGI, or even ILM's work of the era. The designs were interesting, if a little too pristine. The antiseptic look of Earth was a bit bland; the Draconian ship had far more character. The costumes were typical of a Glen Larson show; disco inspired and not very functional. I never liked the Earth flight suits, although the dress uniform at least looked military. Princess Ardala's costumes, though, were quite interesting (what there was of them, yowza!).

Gil Gerard was likeable as Buck; a cocky, confident hero. He was athletic enough to carry the fight scenes, but not so much that he never seemed in danger. Erin Gray was a tad subdued here; thankfully, her role was expanded in the later series. Pamela Hensley was a very steamy and sultry Ardala. Henry Silva, well, he was a bit stiff. Michael Ansara made a better Kane in the series.

The film has a few slow moments; but, for the most part, it's quite entertaining. The space scenes were good for their time, although marred by the use of stock footage. The disco music sucked even then. As Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars showed, a more classical, symphonic sound far better suited space opera. The only real complaint I had, at the time, was the abrupt change in Tigerman. One moment he is Duke Butler. Suddenly, at the end, it's Hard Boiled Haggarty! Hunh?!? Still, it's a minor quibble.

The film is an entertaining piece of 70's sci-fi and an enjoyable space opera. Compared to other Star Wars knock-offs of the era, it's practically 2001: A Space Odyssey. Now, how about a DVD with a commentary track from the actors?

I happened to catch a 16mm print of this last weekend at a sci-fi movie marathon, and to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. Granted, I grew up watching the TV show, but hadn't seen it in years and had never seen the film.

Perhaps it's that sense of nostalgia that clouds my thoughts on it. The plot is decent, the sets need a lot of work and the effects are top-notch... for 1979. Still, I guarantee you that you will laugh and smile repeatedly, and find it hard to dislike this honest effort.

If you're in the mood for ridiculously cheesy 70s sci-fi, dancing robots and gorgeous women, then you really can't go wrong with this. If you're like me and trying to relive one's youth, by all means, go find a copy. By the way, would it be so hard for Universal to give this a DVD release? Please?

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY could easily have become dated camp, by now (Rogers' disastrous space tour was supposed to have occurred in 1987...did we miss it?), but there's such a sense of joy and humor to the production that it actually is more fun to watch today than when it was briefly released, theatrically, in 1979.

A large measure of this is due to Gil Gerard, as Capt. William 'Buck' Rogers, who gives an enthusiastic, likable performance. Some of his dialog is ripe with sexual innuendo, particularly in his scenes with Erin Gray, as the beautiful, if a bit wooden, professional soldier, Wilma Deering, but his rakish charm (and an occasional wink!) keeps the one-liners from sliding into bad taste. The other female lead, Pamela Hensley, as a bikini-clad evil Princess, would do Mae West proud with her lusty vampiness. Her scenes with Gerard, as she eyes him as an evening's 'entertainment', are a delight. (And in the "Is this a coincidence?" department...Her character is named Ardala, and wears a horned headpiece...Could George Lucas have been influenced by her when he created Natalie Portman's Princess Amidala in STAR WARS: EPISODE ONE - THE PHANTOM MENACE?) The other major male roles are filled by Henry Silva, as Ardala's superbly evil partner, Kane, and Tim O'Connor, wise and sympathetic, as Earth scientist Dr. Huer. Deserving recognition, as well, is Duke Butler, who, as Ardala's eunuch bodyguard, Tigerman, should find another line of work, considering how he fared against Rogers!

Ignore Twiki, the low-tech R2D2 rip-off (Mel Blanc voices him, with dialog lapsing into disco-era clichés and bad sexual puns), and Dr. Theopoulis (the talking Frisbee...well, that's what he looks like!), and concentrate on the decent FX and Gil Gerard's charismatic performance...and I think you'll find BUCK ROGERS a winner!

If you like "Battlestar Galactica", you will love this movie, at least if you can sit through the incredibly cheesy and silly title sequence. Based extraordinarily loosely on the classic early 1900's sci-fi novel, this is a story of an American astronaut frozen in crygenic sleep for a deep-space exploration mission in the late 20th Century who returns home and awakens in the post-nuclear 25th century. He finds an Earth ravaged by nuclear war (the scene in bombed-out Chicago is particularly amusing to me, as a life-long Chicago native, even if the sets look NOTHING like State Street)but with survivors carrying on in underground cities.

Earth is about to be atacked by the evil Draconians, led by a lovely but devious Princess. Sort of an S&M version of Princess Leia. Anyway, the Draconians pretend to offer Earth help defeating some "Space Pirates", but the Pirates are really Draconian fighters.

What follows are some classic space battle scenes, a lot of running around in dark spaceship corridors, and a classic love triangle between Buck Rogers, the Evil Princess, and a female fighter pilot from Earth. Buck Rogers manages to sabotage and destroy the Draconian fighters and saves the day, of course.

Along the way, we get some amusing dialogue, and some VERY 1970's sci-fi scenes, including Buck Rogers introducing Disco music to the future. The sight of his robot Sidekick, Twiky, dancing to Disco music well saying "Get Down!" still haunts me today.

However, the babes are hot, the battles exciting, the effects good (for 1970's TV), and the story easy to follow. I like it, and wish I could find a copy. I haven't seen it in years.