Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) (TV)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Daniel Haller

Writers:

Glen A. Larson (writer)
Leslie Stevens (writer)

Release Date:

30 March 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Adventure

Tagline:

The original space man! The ultimate trip! Buck Rogers swings back to earth and lays it on the 25th Century!

Plot:

A 20th century astronaut emerges out of 500 years of suspended animation into a future time where Earth is threatened by alien invaders.

Plot Keywords:

Buck Rogers | Based On Comic | Time In Title | Space War | Digit In Title

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Gil Gerard	...	Capt. William 'Buck' Rogers
Pamela Hensley	...	Princess Ardala
Erin Gray	...	Col. Wilma Deering
Henry Silva	...	Kane
Tim O'Connor	...	Dr. Elias Huer
Joseph Wiseman	...	Draco
Duke Butler	...	Tigerman
Felix Silla	...	Twiki (body)
Caroline Smith	...	Delta Section
John Dewey Carter	...	Supervisor (as John Dewey-Carter)
Kevin Coates	...	Pilot
David Cadiente	...	Comtel Officer
Gil Serna	...	Technician
Larry Duran	...	Draconian Guard
Kenny Endoso	...	Draconian Guard

Also Known As:

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Awakening (USA) (new syndication title)

Runtime:

89 min | Germany:98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (cut) (1979) | Netherlands:AL | Australia:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Bruce Lansbury Productions

Trivia:

Originally, Twiki was just going to make unintelligible noises, the "B-d-d-bbb" sound.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: In the year 1987, at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA launched the last of America's deep space probes. The payload, perched on the nose cone of the massive rocket, was a one-man exploration vessel - Ranger 3. Aboard this compact starship, a lone astronaut - Captain William "Buck" Rogers - was to experience cosmic forces beyond all comprehension...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Free Enterprise (1998)

Soundtrack:

SUSPENSION

Twiki is more fun than the humans

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 ****