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

The Series

The movie also served as a pilot and two-part first episode for the series, entitled "Awakening". Several scenes were edited, some in order to remove the more adult dialogue that was in the film (including when Buck refers to Wilma as "ballsy", and a comment by Twiki about "freezing his ball-bearings off" was altered). There were also some new and extended scenes for the TV version, including several scenes within 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. This scene ends with Buck actually declining their offer, though he opts to join them in an unofficial capacity by the first episode of the series proper, "Planet of the Slave Girls".

Including the two-part pilot episode, the first season comprised 24 episodes, four of them two-parters. The tone of the series was lighter than the pilot movie, and showed a more positive picture of future Earth. The Inner City was now known as New Chicago, and it was established that human civilization had spread once again across the planet, and also to the stars. After the movie pilot, little reference to barren radioactive wastelands was made, and in several episodes Buck ventures beyond New Chicago with no hazards encountered. As opposed to the isolationist planet seen in the film, Earth is shown to be the center of an interstellar human-dominated government, sometimes called "the Federation", other times "the Alliance", with its capital at New Chicago. During the first season, references were also made to other "new" Earth cities such as New Detroit, New Manhattan, New Phoenix, New Tulsa, Boston Complex and New London. A "City-on-the-Sea" was also seen, mentioned as being the former New Orleans.

Most of the protagonistic characters encountered are either part of the Defense Directorate, such as Wilma Deering, or otherwise associated with it, such as 'freelance' personnel like Buck Rogers. Most Defense Directorate personnel regard Buck as being at least an 'honorary' captain, in reference to his 20th century American military rank, but his membership in Earth's defense forces is unofficial. Nevertheless, Buck often flies with the fighter squadrons, and uses his 20th century US Air Force background to assist in their training.

Dr. Huer regularly meets, greets, and otherwise deals with representatives of other sovereign powers, and sometimes 'faces them down' in hostile situations. Huer also has been seen in military uniform (at formal occasions), thus indicating that he is or was a member of the military.

Travel between the stars was accomplished with the use of stargates; which are artificially created portals in space (similar in appearance to wormholes), but referred to as "warp" travel on at least one occasion by Wilma Deering. Stargates appear as a diamond-shaped quartet of brilliant lights that shimmered when a vessel was making transit. Some people find the transit through a stargate to be physically unpleasant (transit resembling a "spinning" of the spacecraft). Buck is portrayed as disliking them in Part One of the episode "Planet of the Slave Girls" and mentions his discomfort again in Part Two of the episode "The Plot to Kill a City".

To portray futuristic-looking buildings on Earth, the show used stock shots of the remaining national pavilions of Expo 67, particularly the French and British pavilions as well as shots of the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

Juanin Clay, who played Major Marla Landers in the first season episode "Vegas in Space", was originally cast as Wilma for the TV series (Erin Gray had initially opted not to return after the pilot film but later changed her mind). A relationship between Buck and Wilma was hinted at but rarely expanded upon and, in the first season, Buck was involved (to some degree) with a different woman almost every week. Producers demanded that Wilma have blonde hair and dye jobs were needed to lighten Erin Gray's brunette locks. During the final episodes of the first season, Gray was allowed to return to her natural hair color, and Wilma was dark-haired thereafter. Buck's best-known enemy during the first season was Princess Ardala, played by Pamela Hensley, whose desire was to conquer and possess both Earth and Buck himself. She appeared in four separate stories, including the pilot film and the two-part first season finale.

The opening title sequence for the series included stock footage from the Apollo 4 and Apollo 6 launches.

The series had an overall budget of $800,000 per hour of air time, according to Starlog issue #32 (March 1980). Former actor Jock Gaynor served as producer for twenty episodes. Although reasonably popular with viewers, the first season failed to receive much critical acclaim. One vocal critic of the series was Gerard himself who pushed for more serious storytelling and often clashed with the producers and the network (NBC) over the show's tone and handling. In the November 1980 issue of Starlog, Gerard even said that he had hoped the series wouldn't be picked up for a second season because he didn't want to go through another season like the first one.