Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11599 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-11-22
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 999 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
With its campy combination of lightweight adventure and Spandex disco chic, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is a nostalgic throwback to post-Star Wars opportunism. Series co-creator Glen A. Larson was incapable of originality, and former soap star Gil Gerard (in the title role) was a bland incarnation of the comic-strip hero, so the much-anticipated series premiered on September 20, 1979, with serious disadvantages. Although the two-hour pilot "Awakening" had tested successfully as a theatrical release, Gerard and the show's producers could never agree on a stable tone for the series, which presents Capt. William "Buck" Rogers as a jovial space cowboy who is accidentally time-warped from 1987 to 2491. Earth is engaged in interplanetary war following a global holocaust, and Buck's piloting skills make him an ideal starfighter recruit for the Earth Defense Directorate, where his closest colleagues are Dr. Huer (Tim O'Connor), squadron leader Col. Wilma Deering (former model Erin Gray, looking oh-so-foxy), the wisecracking robot Twiki (voiced by cartoon legend Mel Blanc), and a portable computer-brain named Dr. Theopolis, who's carried by Twiki like oversized bling-bling.

The series struggled through an awkward first season, with routine plots elevated by decent special effects and noteworthy guest stars including Jamie Lee Curtis, ill-fated Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten (appearing, with her voice dubbed over, less than a year before her tragic murder), Batman alumnus Julie Newmar, Buster Crabbe (veteran of vintage Buck Rogers movie serials), and several others in a show that favored vamps and vixens over credible science fiction. A full-scale overhaul resulted in a disastrous second season, but devoted fans still gravitate to Hawk (Thom Christopher), the charismatic alien "birdman" who was introduced with new characters and a new, space-faring search for lost tribes from Earth (with echoes of Larson's own Battlestar Galactica). Behind-the-scenes squabbles continued, and by mid-season of 1981, NBC pulled the plug on a breezy, still-engaging series that suffered from uneasy chemistry and never realized its full potential. Existing somewhere between Galactica and Lost in Space in the TV sci-fi food chain, this Buck--with a dearth of DVD extras--now functions as a cheesy stroll down memory lane. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

A blast from the past!
In the UK, the first episode was shown when I was a child, but it was presented as a film, and not as a series, and the remaining parts were never shown. I loved every bit it. As kids do, I watched it many many times. It was a nice surprise to find out that the film was actually a pilot for 2 seasons of sci-fi.

I've bought both, and enjoy all the episodes. One interesting thing, is the cover. When it arrived, I read the part about being frozen in the arctic, and was sure he was frozen in space for 500 years. Well, I had remembered correctly, and somehow the marketing guys just made an amusing mistake.

Still Love it !
Yes I know that the special effects are poor compared to todays overload of CGI , but that's the point - the acting carries this Series.

Gil Gerrard is simply brilliant as Buck Rogers and there is of course the *awesome* Erin Grey; her acting coupled with that amazing body draped in Spandex Catsuits being 99% the reason why I couldn't stop watching this series as a 12year old boy. The term "Hot" just doesn't come close... I've never seen any woman Ever move so well...

After buying Both series on DVD I've relived my childhood weekends via 60minute reminders of corny humour, strange costumes ( except Col Deerings' :) ), eccentric storylines and an even more eccentric Wilfrid Hyde-White. Its Great, watching it makes you feel good ! If you ever loved this series as a child then it is a MUST Buy. Sit back, relax and feel the warmth that comes from watching old "friends" on screen again.

Come on Give it a chance
I dont know about the rest of you but I thought it was brilliant. Corny in some places but Brilliant all the same. I admit the Graphics arent as sophisticated as they are today but baring in mind what they had to work with its still a very good show. I would say its a bit nostalgic but since I wasnt around the first time it was shown I wouldnt know.