Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century is an American science fiction adventure television series produced by Universal Studios. The series lasted two seasons, between 1979 and 1981, and the pilot episode of the series was released as a feature film six months before the series aired. The film and series were developed by Glen A. Larson and Leslie Stevens, based on the character Buck Rogers, created in 1928 by Philip Francis Nowlan, who had already been featured in comics, novels, a 12-film series, and on television. and radio.
Concept and dissemination of history
Inspired by the massive success of Star Wars two years earlier, Universal began developing Buck Rogers for television, directed by Glen A. Larson, who had a production agreement with the studio. Larson and Universal had initially planned to make a series of Buck Rogers television movies for NBC. Production began in 1978, however the pilot episode for another Larson science fiction series, Battlestar Galactica (1978), had been released in theaters in some countries and at key locations in North America, and had been a success. box office. Universal then chose to release the first Buck Rogers movie on March 30, 1979. The box office success caused NBC to order a full series,The production recycled many of Battlestar Galactica's accessories, effects shots, and costumes, which were still in production in those months. For example, the landram (space vehicle) was made for the Galactica series, and the Terran fighter's steering controls were the same as those used on Galactica's Viper ships. The Terran fighters were a previous design of the Viper ships of the same concept designer Ralph McQuarrie.
The new series starred Captain William Anthony Buck Rogers, played by actor Gil Gerard (1943-), a NASA pilot who was navigating a Ranger 3 space shuttle, which launched in May 1987. Due to a failure in the life support (because of an asteroid shower), Buck Rogers is in suspended animation, frozen.
In 2491 (504 years later) his shuttle was discovered adrift in space. The combination of gases that casually frozen it are similar to the formula in common use in the twenty-fifth century for cryopreservation, so its rescuers are able to revive it. Buck Rogers learns that civilization on Earth was rebuilt after a devastating nuclear war that occurred on November 22, 1987, and is now under the protection of the Earth Defense Directorate.
The series shows it as it tries to fit (not always successfully) into the culture of the twenty-fifth century. As there were no personal records for him, he was in a special position, due to his combat pilot skills and personal ingenuity, to aid Defense of Earth from various attempts to conquer the planet. In many ways, this version of Buck Rogers was more similar to James Bond or Steve Austin (from Nuclear Man) rather than Nowlan's original character, as Buck Rogers often went on covert missions.
Buck Rogers is aided in his adventures by his friend (and romantic interest), Colonel Wilma Deering (played by Erin Gray), a high-ranking officer and fighter pilot. He is also assisted by Twiki, a small robot (or ambuquad as he was known). Twiki was mainly performed by Félix Silla, voiced by Mel Blanc (who traditionally voiced Lucas Duck as the character Duck Dodgers, in a parody of early Buck Rogers and other science fiction series) in a very similar husky voice. the one he used for Barnyard Dawg. Twiki became Buck's comic partner and they tended to express themselves with an electronic noise that sounded like "bidi-bidi-bidi," often followed by some typical twentieth-century colloquial phrase, many of which he learned from Buck.
Dr. Theópolis (or Theo), whose voice was performed by actor Eric Server, was a disk-shaped smart computer, approximately 25 cm in diameter with an illuminated face. He was able to understand the electronic language of Twiki, who often carried it on his chest. Theo is a member of the Earth Computer Council and one of the planet's scientific leaders. During the first season, Buck and Wilma receive their orders from Dr. Elías Huer, played by actor Tim O'Connor, the head of the Defense Directorate. In some episodes it is suggested that Dr. Huer is the leader of the entire planet, although this is never entirely clear.
The main villain of the series (at least in the first season) is Princess Ardala (played by Pamela Hensley), whose goal was to conquer Earth and marry Buck Rogers. She is aided by her henchman Kane (played in the movie by Henry Silva and in the series by Michael Ansara).
All these characters appeared in the original comic strip - except for Dr. Theópolis and Twiki (the closest they have as a counterpart in previous versions was Buck's human companion, Neighbor Wade).
Kane (who was called Killer Kane at the time) was also featured in the 1939 12-movie series, and was actually the main villain, and not Ardala's minion (Ardala directly did not appear in the movies).
The pilot film depicted human civilization as quite insular, with an invisible defense shield that encircled the entire planet, protecting it from invaders. Civilization was limited to a few cities, and the main city was New Chicago, which was also known as the Inner City. It was dangerous to leave cities, as the entire planet was said to be a radioactive desert inhabited by violent mutants (as Buck discovered when he visited the abandoned remains of old Chicago).
The movie (1979)
Main article: Buck Rogers in the 25th century (film)The first film made for television was released in theaters in March 1979. The film earned $ 21 million in the United States alone, making Universal the same year. the weekly series. The film, which was also released internationally, featured all of the main lead characters that could be seen in the weekly series, as well as the antagonists of the series: Princess Ardala of the planet Draconia, and her associate / henchman Kane.
The series (1979-1981)
The film also served as a pilot and first episode (in two parts) of the series, titled "Awakening" ('awakening'). Several scenes were edited, some in order to remove the more adult dialogue from the film (for example, the phrase in which Buck refers to Wilma as "a woman with balls" had to be deleted, and when Twiki commented that he was being freezing the "bearing balls"). For the television version, some new scenes were created and others were expanded, including several scenes inside Buck's new apartment. This setting was also used for a new final scene in which Dr. Huer and Wilma try to persuade Buck to join the Defense Directorate. The scene ends with Buck rejecting the offer, despite the fact that in the actual first episode of the series (episode three,Including the two-part pilot episode, the first season consisted of 24 episodes, four of them two-part. The tone of the series is lighter than the feature film, and showed a more positive image of Earth's future. The urban center was known as New Chicago, and it was established that human civilization had once again spread across the planet, and also to the stars. After the pilot film, there were few references to the arid radioactive desert Earth had become, and in several episodes Buck is shown traveling beyond New Chicago safely. Unlike the isolated and destroyed planet seen in the film, Earth is shown in the series as the center of a human-dominated interstellar government, sometimes called "the Federation" and sometimes "the Alliance,"
During the first season, other new cities on Earth were also referenced, such as New Detroit, New Manhattan, the Boston Complex, New Phoenix, New Tulsa and New London. Also shown is a "city on the sea," which is mentioned as ancient New Orleans.
Most of the leading characters are part of the Defense Directorate (like Wilma Deering) or are associated in some way with him, as free staff (like Buck Rogers). Most Defense Directorate personnel view Buck as at least an honorary captain, referring to his 20th-century American military rank, but his membership in Earth's military is unofficial. However, Buck often flies with the fighter squadrons, and uses his training from the United States Air Force to aid in their training.
Dr. Huer meets regularly with representatives of other sovereign powers, and sometimes faces them in hostile situations. On formal occasions, Huer is also shown in a military uniform, indicating that he is a member of the armed forces.
The journey between the stars is accomplished with the use of star gates that are artificially created as portals in space (similar to wormholes), shown as a quartet of brilliant diamonds that light up when a ship passes through them. Some people find that traffic through a stargate is physically unpleasant (something akin to a rollover from the spacecraft). Buck Rogers expresses his aversion to them in the first part of the episode "Planet of the slave girls", and again mentions his discomfort in the second part of the episode "The Plot to kill a city" ( the plot to kill a city).
To bring futuristic-looking buildings to life on Earth, the series used stills from the national pavilions at Expo 67, in particular the French and British pavilions, as well as photographs from the Bonaventure Hotel, in downtown Los Angeles, California. .
Juanin Clay, who played the greatest Marla Landers in the first episode of the first season of the series Vegas in space, was originally hired as Wilma for the TV series (initially, Erin Gray had decided not to return after the feature film, but more later changed his mind). At the beginning of the series a sentimental relationship is suggested between Buck and Wilma but rarely expanded on the subject. In the first season, Buck deals (to some degree) with a different woman almost every week. The producers demanded that Wilma have blonde hair, so Erin Gray had to dye her hair throughout filming. However in the last episodes of the first season, she was allowed to return to her natural hair color. Buck's best-known enemy during the first season was Princess Ardala, played by Pamela Hensley, whose wish was to conquer Earth and Buck Rogers himself. It appeared in four separate stories, including the feature film and the ending (in two parts) of the first season of the series.
The opening sequence of the series includes footage of the launch of the Saturn V rocket of the Apollo 4 and Apollo ships 6.
The series had a total budget of $ 800,000 per hour of time on the aire.3
Jock Actor Gaynor (1929-1998) was a producer for twenty episodes. Although it was quite popular with viewers, the first season did not receive much critical acclaim. Gil Gerard himself was critical of the series, and pushed for more serious stories to be told, often clashing with producers and the NBC network about the tone of the series. In November 1980, Gerard went on to say that he preferred that there not be a second season of the series, because he did not want to go through another season like the first season.4
The second season
The production of the second season was delayed several months due to an actors' strike. When production resumed in the fall of 1980, the series had a new group of producers (led by John Mantley who had worked primarily on television westerns and the format of the series was changed. Instead of defending the Land of external threats, Buck, Wilma and Twiki were now part of a crew aboard the spacecraft Searcher ('seeker'). The Searcher - which bore the Latin motto 'Per ardua ad astra' ('through arduous towards the stars'), on one side,Another notable change in the second season was the disappearance of many of the regular characters from the first season, such as Dr. Huer, Dr. Theopolis, Princess Ardala, and Kane. Several new characters were added:
Admiral Efram Asimov, Commander of the Searcher and descendant of the famous science fiction author Isaac Asimov.
Hawk (hawk man), an extraterrestrial character who represents the last of the extinct bird people.
Dr. Goodfellow, an old scientist with insatiable curiosity.
Crichton, a snob robot, built by Goodfellow but who finds it hard to believe that inferior human beings had built him.
In the second season, the character of Wilma Deering, who often gave orders to Buck, was softened, as the producers tried to lower the militaristic tone of the series, and tried to make it more "feminine" .5 Another change in the Season Two was the sound of Twiki's voice. Mel Blanc left the series after the end of the first season and another actor, Bob Elyea, voiced Twiki. For the last six episodes of the second season Blanc returned, though no explanation was given for the change in Twiki's voice.
The opening narration was also modified for the second season, both in terms of the narrator's voice and content. In the first season, broadcaster William Conrad said:
In 1987, NASA launched the last of the United States deep space probes. In a strange accident, Ranger 3 and its pilot, Captain William Buck Rogers, were dragged out of their way in an orbit that froze their life support systems, and returned Buck Rogers to Earth 500 years later.
The year is 1987, and NASA launches the last of America's deep space probes. In a freak mishap, Ranger 3 and its pilot, Captain William "Buck" Rogers, are blown out of their trajectory into an orbit which freezes his life support systems, and returns Buck Rogers to Earth, 500 years later.
In the second season, Hank Sims (best known for his work advertising on many of the shows produced by Quinn Martin Productions) delivered the following narrative:
In 1987, NASA launched the last of the United States deep space probes. Aboard this compact spacecraft, a lone astronaut, Captain William Buck Rogers, would experience cosmic forces beyond all comprehension. In a strange accident, their life support systems were frozen by temperatures beyond imagination. Ranger 3 was pulled from its planned trajectory into a thousand times larger orbit, an orbit that was to return Buck Rogers to Earth 500 years later.
In the year 1987, NASA launched the last of America's deep space probes. Aboard this compact starship, a lone astronaut, Captain William "Buck" Rogers, was to experience cosmic forces beyond all comprehension. In a freak mishap, his life support systems were frozen by temperatures beyond imagination. Ranger 3 was blown out of its planned trajectory into an orbit one thousand times more vast, an orbit which was to return Buck Rogers to Earth, 500 years later.
These were the abridged and altered versions of the narration heard in the original pilot film:
In 1987, at the John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA launched the last of the United States deep space probes. The payload, located on the nose of NASA's rocket, was a one-man scout ship: Ranger 3. On board this compact starship, a lone astronaut, Captain William Buck Rogers, would experience more cosmic forces. beyond all comprehension: an impressive encounter with death. In the blink of an eye, their life support systems froze to temperatures beyond imagination. Ranger 3 was pulled from its planned trajectory into a thousand times as vast orbit, an orbit that was to return to its point of origin, its mother Earth, not in five months but in five centuries. For 500 years,
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 nosecone of the NASA 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: an awesome brush with death. In the blink of an eye, his life support systems were frozen by temperatures beyond imagination. Ranger 3 was blown out of its planned trajectory into an orbit a thousand times more vast, an orbit which was to return the ship full circle to its point of origin, its mother Earth, not in five months ... but in 500 years. For 500 years, Buck Rogers drifted through a world in which reality and fantasy merged into a timeless dream.
The introduction to the pilot episode ("Awakening") was also different:
For 500 years, Captain William "Buck" Rogers has been miraculously preserved, frozen by temperatures beyond imagination. Now, in the year 2491, he was awakened abruptly by the sinister forces of the Draconian kingdom.
For 500 years, Captain William "Buck" Rogers has been miraculously preserved, frozen by temperatures beyond imagination. Now, in Earth year 2491, he is rudely awakened by the sinister forces of the Draconian realm.
The content of the stories also changed in the second season. Less emphasis was placed on militaristic ideals, and, with few exceptions, Gerard reduced humor in favor of more serious episodes. The relationship between Buck and Wilma became somewhat more romantic during the second year, although the most romantic activity was taken as implicit and was carried out off-screen.
Furthermore, the second season dealt with more serious concepts, such as evolution, ecology, racism, pollution, war, nuclear energy, identity and religion. It was also based on the mythology, as exemplified by the Hawk, of the bird peoples found in mythologies around the world and makes special reference to the moai of Easter Island. An episode also included a story about satyrs from Greek mythology.
In addition to its parallels with the previous Battlestar Galactica series, the second season was similar to the Star Trek theme, with the Searcher roaming space as well as the Enterprise, Buck is the true-to-style maverick explorer of Captain James T. Kirk , and the serious and stoic Hawk is a renewed version of Mr. Spock. Wilma was even remodeled, to some extent, based on Star Trek Lt. Uhura, often wearing a miniskirt uniform and sitting at a communications console on the Searcher's bridge.
The rating was significantly reduced after the season premiere. Citing cost issues, NBC canceled the series at the end of a season of just eleven episodes. There was no final plot, as the final episode was a normal stand-alone episode.
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