In 1987, American astronaut Captain Buck Rogers (Gil Gerard), on the last of the deep space explorer Ranger 3, gets diverted and frozen in a widen orbit. 504 years later, he is heading back to Earth. He is picked up and thawed out by Draconian Princess Ardala and her aide Kane. They send him home trying to steal the access code to earth's shield and launch an invasion. Earth is recovering from a devastating nuclear holocaust. Dr. Elias Huer leads the Defense Directorate. There are also Colonel Wilma Deering (Erin Gray) and the diminutive robot Twiki carrying around computer AI Dr. Theopolis. The strike-shortened second season has Buck, Wilma and Twiki on the spaceship Searcher on a mission to find lost human colonies launched in the centuries earlier.
Trying to chase the Star Wars dollars, this NBC show came out around two years later. It's part disco. Buck Rogers is trying to be rock and roll. The show could do more with his fish out of water aspect. Erin Gray looks hot in her tight spandex and pretty cool in her white outfit. For some reason, the crew wears a sailor uniform in the second season. The acting is generally functional. Twiki is one of the most recognizable TV robots. The stories are slow and meandering. The writing is not that good. It's unintentional camp. It's all pretty cheesy but at least, it's memorable cheese like the opening credits.
The first season has an rambling quality about it. It would be better to be in a full on war with Princess Ardala but it's a bunch of tangential stories. The second season reboots the show after the writers' strike. There are tons of changes and the show lost its audience. They change Twiki and the general drive of the show. Hawk is a memorable addition but generally, the second season is even more blend. The extended episodes do not help. It's inferior sci-fi but it does have its moments.
Trying to chase the Star Wars dollars, this NBC show came out around two years later. It's part disco. Buck Rogers is trying to be rock and roll. The show could do more with his fish out of water aspect. Erin Gray looks hot in her tight spandex and pretty cool in her white outfit. For some reason, the crew wears a sailor uniform in the second season. The acting is generally functional. Twiki is one of the most recognizable TV robots. The stories are slow and meandering. The writing is not that good. It's unintentional camp. It's all pretty cheesy but at least, it's memorable cheese like the opening credits.
The first season has an rambling quality about it. It would be better to be in a full on war with Princess Ardala but it's a bunch of tangential stories. The second season reboots the show after the writers' strike. There are tons of changes and the show lost its audience. They change Twiki and the general drive of the show. Hawk is a memorable addition but generally, the second season is even more blend. The extended episodes do not help. It's inferior sci-fi but it does have its moments.