Buck Rogers in The 25th Century (TV Series) - The Second Season

The Second Season

Production of the second season was delayed by several months due to an actors' strike. When production resumed in the fall of 1980, the series had a new set of producers (headed by John Mantley who had primarily worked on television westerns) and the format of the series was changed. Instead of defending the Earth from external threats, Buck, Wilma and Twiki were now a part of a crew aboard the Earth spaceship Searcher. The Searcher, which displayed the Latin motto "Per ardua ad astra" ("through adversity to the stars") on its side, had a mission to seek out the lost "tribes" of humanity who had scattered in the centuries since Earth's 20th century nuclear war (which is a theme present in Glen A. Larson's previous science fiction television series, Battlestar Galactica).

Another notable change in the second season was the disappearance of many of the regular characters of the first season, such as Dr. Huer, Dr. Theopolis, Princess Ardala, and Kane. However, several new characters were added:

• Admiral Efram Asimov, commander of the Searcher and a descendant of the famous science fiction author Isaac Asimov.
• Hawk, an alien character who represents the last of the nearly extinct bird people.
• Dr. Goodfellow, an elderly scientist with insatiable curiosity.
• Crichton, a snobbish robot, built by Goodfellow but who finds it difficult to believe that lowly humans could have ever built him.

The character of Wilma Deering was "softened" in the second season as the producers attempted to tone down the militaristic "Colonel Deering" image, who often gave Buck orders, and tried to make her more "feminine". Another change in the second season was the sound of Twiki's voice. Mel Blanc left the series after the end of the first season and another actor, Bob Elyea, supplied Twiki's voice. Blanc returned for the final six episodes of the second season, though no explanation was given for the change in Twiki's voice.

The opening narrative was also modified for the second season, both in terms of the narrator's voice and content. In the first season, William Conrad delivered the following opening narrative:

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 announcing work on many of the programs produced by Quinn Martin Productions) delivered the following alternate narrative:

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 abbreviated and altered versions of the narrative heard in the original pilot movie:

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 narrative from 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 Earth year 2491, he is rudely awakened by the sinister forces of the Draconian realm.

The substance of the storylines also changed in the second season. Less emphasis was placed on militaristic ideals and, with a few exceptions, Gerard scaled back the humor in the second season in favor of more serious episodes. Buck and Wilma's relationship became slightly more romantic during the second year, though most romantic activity was implied and took place off-screen.

Moreover, the second season deals with more serious concepts such as evolution, ecology, racism, pollution, war, nuclear power, identity, the self, and religion. It also draws on mythology as exemplified by Hawk's people, which are a variant on the Bird people found in mythologies around the world and makes special reference to the moai of Easter Island. An episode also included a story about mythical satyr creatures.

As well as its parallels to Larson's previous television series Battlestar Galactica, the second season is similar in theme to Star Trek, with the Searcher roaming through space much like the Starship Enterprise, Buck being the maverick explorer true to the style of Captain James T. Kirk, and the serious, rather stoic Hawk being a revamped version of Mr. Spock. Even Wilma had, to some extent, been remodeled after Lt. Uhura from Star Trek, often dressed in a mini-skirt uniform and regularly sat at a communications console on the bridge of the Searcher.

Ratings dropped significantly after the season premiere. Citing cost concerns, NBC canceled the series at the end of an eleven-episode strike-abbreviated season. No finale storyline was produced, with the final episode broadcast being a normal standalone episode.