Here's What RUINED Buck Rogers
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" was such a fun TV show to watch during its first season on NBC. But...the show's second season was disastrous. How did this happen? Why did the TV series change so much? Well, here's exactly what RUINED Buck Rogers.
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The worst change was turning Wilma from a strong and interesting character into a glorified air stewardess.
After the exclusion of Princess Ardala, I would totally agree with you. 🙂
@@jdsundstrom Pamela Hensley was one of those women who while not being drop dead gorgeous, was able to make hrself just as attractive as a drop dead gorgeous woman because of her personality.
Totally agree!
NO SHIT! They were probably dressing her like that to get her to quit! Dirty bastards! "We didn't fire her Gil, she quit, not our fault."
Adam
That worked on Benny Hill's show. Fred Scuttle's rocket for a trip to the sun had a couple of Hill's Angels as airline hostesses.
I loved the show, it was so funny. I never understood the changes of the second season. And what they did with Wilma was unforgivable!
Totally agree Denise!
@@jdsundstrom felt the same thing 💛
Not featuring Pamela Hensley as Princess Ardala was even more unforgivable since at least Wilma Deering was still at least on the show even though they changed her character's wardrobe for the worst and even changed her blonde like hair darker which that I did not mind too much.
Denise and Ken, I had mentioned to Dave in another post that there was no explanation why the showrunner and writers got rid of Princess Ardala, Dr. Huer and the original storyline. In Hollywood, when it comes to TV shows, sometimes there is no continuity or revisiting past characters that affected the protagonists within that timeline of that season or previous seasons.
You are all right on the money. It was unforgivable on what they did to the character of Wilma Deering, making Erin Gray look like less of a supporting cast member, as well as eliminating Pamela Hensley's role of Princess Ardala, altogether.
@@charlespeakjr2168 I agree with you sometimes there is no story continuity and some characters are just dropped with no explanation. The producers of Battlestar Galactica did a similar thing with Jane Seymour as Serina she appeared in the pilot episode and the first 2 part regular series episode titled "Lost Planet Of The Gods" then her character was killed off the show in a Cylon attack and a Cylon Centurion shot and killed her with his laser blaster.. I did not find out until many years later that Jane Seymour decided to not continue with the show to do other projects at the time in 1978. Maren Jensen's character of Athena was shown less and less in later episodes then I found out years later that producer Glen Larson thought that she was not good enough of an actress and her character was dropped. The show at that time though never gave an explanation for why Jane Seymour's character was killed off but they really don't owe viewers an explanation I guess or even why Maren Jensen was seen less often compared to early episodes. When the show itself ended in 1979 we were left with a cliffhanger in the story that was never finished but that's Hollywood where they received a transmission from what they believed was from Earth but we will never know now. Sorry for the long post.
Turning Wilma Deering from a spsndex clad fighting Colonel to a drive-in waitress certainly didn't spike ratings.
What were they thinking?!!?
I know.....she was gorgeous in the first season and it seemed like they wanted to fugly her up in the second season. That outfit was horrid.
@@AStri-zg5xc she looked like a flight attendant from Pan Am.
@@jdsundstrom thanks for the info about Buck Roger, I never saw the show same with Battlestar Glactica..I never watched it. I was to busy watching The Incredible Hulk ,Dallas and other shows I found more interesting... also While I like the STar Trek movies I only saw a few episodes of the original 60's show... like the pilot episode before Captain Kirk and the two parter where Spock takes his former Captain back to that planet from the pilot episode....and he is on trial...also the episode with Trelane that many fans believe is part of the "Q" race from Next Generation's ..that is do to a Star Trek book called "Q- Squared" that had "Q" and Trelane in it hining that Trelane was a Q.
They turned Wilma into an intergalactic carhop! The only thing missing from her Season 2 outfit was a tray full of burgers and a pair of roller skates!
The 2nd season also left off Dr. Huer and Dr. Theopolis who were integral characters to the show. Networks tend to think that viewing audiences won't notice things like this, but WE the fans do! Brandon Tartikoff could have saved this show but didn't.
Yes! So many bad decisions!
The introduction of Dr. Goodfellow is what killed it for me. We really didn't need a "Wacky" scientist added to the cast. It's like they got their writers from "Jason of Star Command".
And Twiki's voice was weird for 50% of season 2.
@@Schindlerphoto OMG. I remember that show. Shown on Saturday morning on CBS, 1st during Tarzan & the Super 7, then on its own. You may know more about the show than I do, but wasn't that a spinoff of Space Academy or vice-versa?? Anyway, it was wrong to get rid of Dr. Huer, Dr. Theopolis, Princess Ardala, as well as Buck's sarcastic comebacks and his original storyline and purpose and replace everything with a cheap Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica replacement that would have been funnier if it was done on Get Smart. Even sadder, there was no explanation why the changes were made in the first place. In all fairness, at the age of 15, I didn't know that there was a writer's strike in Hollywood, but that doesn't mean that the fans are stupid,, nor should we be treated that way.
Admiral Asimov was useless, Dr. Goodfellow was annoying, feeble-minded and always got in the way, and Crichton the all-knowing superior robot, was a pompous jerk. Plus, with all the crap that happened before production started on Season 2 with the cast. This series actually Jumped The Shark and went off the rails.
@@charlespeakjr2168 Yes, Jason of Star Command was a spinoff of Space Academy. Back to Busk Rogers, whoever decided to stray away from a formula that worked needed to be slapped. Now I wont lie, there were many first season episodes that were very cringe worthy. Apparently, even the actors were not too happy with them, but whoever's idea it was to turn Buck Rogers into Star Trek, needed to be slapped. But, while the idea could have worked, there was just too many changes done at once.
But, changing a shows format, even back then was not a new concept, but as we used to say in my many years in the military, if it's not broke, don't fix it!
An interesting sidenote for those who weren't aware:
Buster Crabbe's character in that episode of the series was "Brigadier Gordon" which was a fun little Easter egg that Buster Crabbe also portrayed "Flash Gordon" as well as Buck Rogers
He'd also played Tarzan
What floored ME about that episode were the lines, Gordon: " I've been doing this since before you were BORN!" Rogers: "You think so, huh?" Gordon: "Son, I KNOW so!"
I didn’t know this for several years, but when I found out who the guy was I had a nice laugh!
@@mikegrossberg8624 That was a great line, and an excellent nod to the original serial.
@@mikegrossberg8624 Yeah, I've always loved that line. What I didn't realize when I was younger is that the joke is layered. Within the context of the show, it's funny because Brigadier Gordon is wrong--Buck was doing "this" 400+ years before Gordon was born, but in real life, Gordon (Buster Crabbe) was, in fact, doing "this" long before Buck (Gil Gerard) was born.
@@ericjette2435 That, indeed, was the joke.
Yeah, Hawk was a silly concept, but Thom Christopher did a great job making the character work. Probably the best part of S2. IMHO
Thanks for sharing Todd!
I am not a huge sci fi fan but Buck Rogers was the show for me! Looking back, I cannot believe how young everyone was and the quality of actors that the show attracted. As usual you are spot on about what ruined the show. Buck Rogers was such a great show, it should have been on for years but at least we always have that magnificent first season!
Yogi Berra (the baseball legend), said it too, "If it ain't broke don't fix it!"
So sad that such an awesome series was ruined. But it definitely had a terrific first season .
I thought he said _"Hey, hey Boo-boo. I'm smarter than the average bear. I'm getting me a picnic basket"_
@@adamkane7513 The same thing happened with the War of the Worlds TV series. Later on Fox would disembowel Alien Nation, & then cut Firefly's jugular vein. & let's not discuss what train - wrecks Space : 1999 & Galactica 1980 were.
Although memory fades... I also remember loving the first season (Erin), and being uncomfortably disappointed in the second season.
Like an unfinished novel, thoroughly enthralling, put down in the middle of reading, later picked up only to find it isn't the same author or book!
You hit the nail square on the head, Dave! What made season 1 work was the fun, as well as the unique premise of a 20th century man serving as a 25th century secret agent. That’s essentially what Buck was. The lame Star Trek rip-off was so poorly executed in season 2. Sad, really.
Season 1 is so freaking good, you can’t really ask for anything more. Season 2 is an insulting nightmare that I’ll never get over.
Bad as it was it was still much better thsn Galactica 1980.
@@RabidEwok1284 Watching Pee - Wee Herman dance to Tequila in an endless loop would be better.
On the last episode of Season 1, Ardala showed so much growth. She realized she could never have Buck by force, she realized how childish and immature she was compared to Serena (and how naive), She ended up taking a stand with the good guys, and afterwards at the celebration you could see a wonderful reconciliation with her and Krane and the other characters, with Buck then challenging her to be better (and implying that that's how you get to his heart). All for nothing. Never to be seen or heard from again. Such a shame. The greatest, villainess Jewish space princess in cinematic history, played as you said to perfection by Pamela.
I absolutely adored this show as a kid, and rewatched it during lockdowns. It was a much-needed ray of sunshine in a bleak time.
Not to worry, no one died.
@@willpeony5534 a lot of people died, stop it
@@projectgraham414Lee Fierro died, but not a great many others.
You nailed it, Dave! I have the show on DVD, I watch it often, and I never watch season two. Like you said, it's like it was a completely different show! Wilma went from being a beautiful Colonel to looking like a... 60s flight attendant?
Thanks for the comment Mike D...and for your support as a SUPER FAN of the channel. Truly appreciated!
It's also on Blu-ray
I thought the one season 2 episode that would have fit in season 1 was when Buck was accused of destroying the earth. It was easily the best episode of season 2.
ABSOLUTE TRUTH!!!!!👊
That was one of the better episodes from the 2nd season. Thanks for all your support Kevin. I truly appreciate you as a SUPER FAN of the channel.
True, but that is kind of like being the best downhill skier in Jamaica. The bar was not real high.
I totally agree that the episode where Buck was accused of causing the nuclear holocaust was one of the best of season 2 among a season of mostly mediocre stories. It also didn't really fit into the general tone of season 2 and would have been much better during season one or in a season 2 that more closely mirrored season one.
Part of the problem too was Gil Gerard. From what I had heard, he always complained about the shows direction, because he wanted it to be more serious, and he caused trouble and argued with Larson and the producers. There are other videos about this. Thanks for your video
Thanks Don!
They could have satisfied his request by dropping dumb storylines involving Gary Coleman or "space rockers" and giving Buck more formidable adversaries or more complex storylines. Instead, they just moved the show to a spaceship, deleted all humor, and had everyone scowl all the time.
@@jasonthewatchmansson8873 The "space rockers" episode you were refer to was probably meant to reflect that concern people had at the time about rock groups hiding subliminal messages on their records You had all these crazy people on TV saying "IF you play (insert name of popular song) backwards, you'll hear Satanic messages". Supposedly, if you played Another One Bites The Dust, you'd hear the words "It's time to smoke marijuana". Stairway To Heaven supposedly had invocations toward Satan, etc. So the idea that there was some kind of malicious mind control thing going on was out there. So it makes sense that someone might do an episode of a sci-fi show, where an evil band manager would be doing that just that, actually sort of makes sense in the context. It's just a damn shame that the music heard in said episode turned out to be really just warmed over disco music (something network TV was never very good at was having "rock music" in their shows that actually sounded like real life rock music, like they were afraid if they had a band that sounded like Kiss or Blue Oyster Cult or Thin Lizzy on one of their shows, it'd scare off viewers or something).
They were famous people who played in one or two episodes of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century while others play several episodes. Markie Post, Jack Palace, Roddy McDowall, Sid Haig, Gary Coleman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, Ray Walton, Buster Crabbe, Richard Moll, Jerry Orbach, Judy Landers, Henry Silva, Michael Ansara, Julie Newmar, Vera Miles, Dorothy Stratten, Anne Lockhart, and many more people. I was actually 13 years old when it came out in 1979.
You'd be surprised - maybe - at the number of models & Playboy centerfold wannabes as well as " Penthouse Pets " got work on series like this. Star Trek had an adult movie actress ( forgot her name ) in the episode " Gamesters of Triskelion " wearing an aluminum bikini & not *much else* .
I have the Buster Crabbe “Buck Rogers” and “Flash Gordon” serials on VHS. It was fun to see Buster show up on the “Buck Rogers” TV show. A great line when Brigadier Gordon tells Buck “I’ve been doing this since before you were born.”
That line was not in the script. When Buster Crabbe said that line he meant it!!
You really nailed it. The show was about fun.
Thanks for commenting...and for your support Jason!
I loved this show as a kid as well as Battlestar Galactica due to my Star Wars craze at that time. I still watch it on MeTV every Sunday morning at 6 AM (PST).
Erin Gray was one of my childhood crushes from Buck Rogers to Silver Spoons...
I've talked directly to both Gil and Erin at length, and they were with the fans. They hated every second of the second season.
Thanks for sharing Barry!
I agree, the second season stunk. I remember Erin Gray being interviewed on a national talk radio show and she was asked by show got cancelled and she said it was costing too much and ratings in season 2 were not good. Pamela Hensley married around this time Hollywood TITAN Gene Vincent who was Aaron Spelling's business partner. The show was beneath her by this time.
I still think fondly of the Space Vampire episode featuring the "Vorvon" 40 + years later.
I have fond memories of Sunday evenings in the 80s..... with Buck Rogers and then Battlestar Galactica, on Channel 27. I think maybe 5pm and 6pm. And then it was time to start getting ready for the school week. Battlestar Galactica was incredible. The original show still hits. The stories were great, and so was the writing. On the other hand... Buck Rogers was dumb, and hokey. But... I still liked Buck and Hawk, and Tweekie too. . And I LOVED Wilma Deering. Another of my early crushes.
Thanks for sharing Jimmy!
The space vampire in Buck Rogers freaked me out so much as a kid. In spite of the network restrictions on what vampires were allowed to do, it truly succeeded in not only scaring the pants off my 5 year old-self, but it really embedded itself into my psyche. When I saw the action figure of that fanged dude from The Mos Eisley Cantina, I was sure it was the Space Vampire.
The answer is nothing. It was awesome. The second season was less awesome, but it was still more fun than a lot of stuff on TV and had a couple of excellent stories. I always described the first season as James Bond In Space.
Fair enough! Thanks for the comment Red.
It was bad...really bad
The 2nd season was far, far, farrrrrrrr less awesome.
I met Erin Gray at a Convention, very nice lady! The 2nd season was a complete bomb due to John Mantley and others not seeing the camp and fun of the first season, changes the flavor of the series in season 2 which led to its cancellation. So many TV executives and producers get on a show for the pay not the Storytelling. I've often wondered why haven't these short sighted people get any sort of blame or punishments for this. So many shows on TV get canned early because if this.
Mantley had great success with westerns like "Gunsmoke"...but he was the wrong feller for "Buck Rogers".
@@jdsundstrom Exactly, he didn't understand the humor and Genre! Maurice Hurley was a similar problem for TNG Seasons 1&2.
I never missed an episode of "Buck Rogers" & "Battlestar Galactica", I hated to see both get canceled then. Glad I have them on DVD now where I can enjoy them anytime I want!
And...you can stream "Buck Rogers" on Tubi right now for free.
@@jdsundstrom I prefer my physical media where I can savor them anytime & not just when they are selected for streaming at that time my friend!
I totally get that. In fact, I have Buck on DVD myself. Still, I do enjoy the convenience of streaming the episodes from Tubi. Heck, I don't even mind the commercials. 🙂
I have many shows from the 70s-90s on DVD and I've ripped a few to MP4 to watch on my phone.
I cannot be dealing with the lezbo feminist Man hating crap that Hollywood has been churning out for the last few decades.
@@adamkane7513 I fully agree which is another great reason to own everything on physical media, which I do.
Spot on, Dave. Nice to see we share the exact same opinions on why Buck Rogers Season 2 was terrible. Even with Mel Blanc returning for the last few episodes, the writers removed Twiki's swagger that made him so lovable. The 2nd season introduced a new robot and I can't remember its name. But I recall he was a know-it-all who lorded over Twiki. There was nothing wrong with Dr. Theopolis. Or Dr. Huer for that matter! Wilma was back, but they screwed up her character, too. She went from a take charge butt-kicker who was Buck's equal to a damsel in distress. And then there's Hawk. Nothing personal against the actor, but Hawk didn't add anything to the show. He was a poor man's Spock. The only good thing was that cool starshipt Hawk flew. The moral: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Remember: you can't out-Trek Star Trek.
Well said Steve!
The "new" robot's name was Chriton. The one good thing he did was, when Admiral Asimov got teed off at him, his line was "The fact that one of your ancestors wrote about robots doesn't give you the right to correct me!"(or words to that effect). Asimov, robots, get it?
Dr Theipolis was one of the better characters, too.
What about *The Orville* ? It's supposed to be everything that contemporary Star Trek isn't.
Ohhh how I remember seeing the movie at the theaters in a drive in. I kind of miss those old drive ins. Then I found out it was used to draw audiences to the small screen. It was fun. Especially the first season as you pointed out. Of course I always compared the second season to a wanna be Star Trek and you just confirmed it. Not to mention another English Sci Fi series called Space 1999. Very strange stories in that one, and again in it's second season it to tried be more like Star Trek. By this time PBS was showing something different imported from England, in the late 70's and early 80's to American audiences, and I became a fan, like a lot of college student aged youth at that time. . Of course I'm talking about classic Doctor Who which was definately different from Star Trek and Star Wars.
I'm not sure how this low budget series effect your youth, but that's my memories. And the Doctor also appeared in Star Log as well. The best information for Sci Fi and fantasy at the time. 👍👍👍👍Nice upload Dave.
One of the things that bugged me about the second season was that in addition to losing Pamela Hensley as Princess Ardala, there were so few female single-episode supporting characters as compared to the first season.
However, one of my favorite episodes for the series was in the second season--"The Guardians"--mainly because it kind of showed more of the backstory for Buck. We get to see him just before and during his fateful mission in 1987.
I always hated how the first episode just started with him being discovered by the Draconians without any of the backstory.
I had the DVDs of the show for a time, so when I'd watch the first episode, I'd start with the intro/theme song part (with that being what Buck was dreaming about), then show the Buck backstory part from "The Guardians," then the part that continues from there through his dreams as he's frozen for 500 years (from the movie version), and then the rest of the episode from when he was discovered by the Draconians.
This is what I felt the first episode always should have been.
Thanks for sharing Marty!
The thing that killed Buck Rogers was the same thing that killed Battlestar Galactica - and the original Star Trek. It was the cost of the special effects. The opticals and the model work pushed the price per episode into the stratosphere, and the ad revenue wasn't big enough to justify it. They tried to fix it in the second season by tapping into the huge Star Trek fanbase, introducing their Spock substitute Hawk and making things more serious, but they would have needed Super Bowl levels of viewership to keep the show on the air - and even the Star Trek fans couldn't provide those.
I remember even as a kid, laughing at the absurdity of the script writing to Buck Rogers.
It's great to see a comment from you Robyn! I hope all is going well for you and your family. Regarding "Buck" - Yes. It was definitely absurd at times but that was all part of the light-hearted fun. There was even an episode with Gary Coleman in it as the president of a planet. What the show was never meant to be was "Star Trek" lite. 🙂
I always got a kick out Buck's Karate chops used to knock the villains. I would wonder why I could not do that if my life depended on one one move.
I really liked the matte prints that were created for the background scenes.
I thought they were great as well!
I never understood the Birdperson joke in Rick and Morty, until the moment I saw the Picture of Hawk.
I still can hear the theme song of the movie.
I was only 8 so I didn't notice the changes except for Twiggy's voice.
And that vampire episode was one of my favorites too...probably for the same reason😅
I only saw this show for the first time a couple years ago. I agree about the drop in quality / fun in the second season. I must've have seen it during the original airing but was too young to remember it, as I did remember the theme song. I liked the show enough that I bought the Blu-Ray set.
I really wanted a more serious, more dramatic Buck Rogers show than what we got, but the changes in the second season were the the wrong kind of changes. I had read Armageddon 2419, the seminal Buck Rogers novel, and that was, and still is, my main source for what Buck Rogers should be. A future earth that had gone through some rough times but was coming out of it and getting better. And actually, there was a fair amount of that view in the first season, corny as some of the stories were. So taking it away from earth as the focal point really didn't do anything to *improve* the show. And of course, losing important supporting characters like Dr. Huer and Dr. Theopolis didn't help, especially when the new supporting characters were sillier.
Yeah...I loved Buck Rogers as a kid... but as an adult, it's quity corny, and not as appealing for me. That's what season 1 of Space:1999 remains may favorite. Dark and ponderous, metphysical themes, and serious as a heart attack.
I agree with you. It is hard to go back and watch any of the season two episodes. They totally missed the mark with that one.
Yep. And since the first season was so much better, that's where I find myself if I want to watch a little "Buck".
.... all I'm gonna say is "Space Rockers" (Season 1, Episode 21) and how I still play music from that single episode in my truck.... just about every other day....
I agree with much said. I think weakening Col Deering as a character was a problem. Many in my age group had a celebrity crush on Erin Gray. I remember only watching Silver Spoons because she was on it. The fish out of water element of the first season is what made Buck Rogers fun. Even seeing it as an adult, it was interesting seeing him explain stuff from our age that was long gone.
What can you say about the 1st season absolutely fantastic.!!!
I grew up here in Scotland in Aberdeen going to going to the pictures every Saturday morning watching Reruns of the original black & White Buck Rogers. Absolutely fantastic And when the TV series came on in the late seventies in the late seventies to early eighties it was great rui enjoyed the 1st season. The circuses in what can you say what a disappointment . Long live buck Rogers And all the great TV programs from the Saturdays nowadays can only agree on for on what you say . And by the way I love your channel your channel you are doing a great job you are obviously very passionate you are obviously very passionate about it keep on doing a great job keep on doing a great job and keep your head down and look after yourself done I look after yourself in these difficult times.
Personally, I didn't mind Mr. Hawk. I liked his concept, and I liked his ship. A bird ship with operating claws was interesting to me as a kid. Yup, I was a kid, so I was just glad to have some sci-fi on TV. I didn't watch it that much, when it came out. The TV situation in most households around that time was... complicated. I would watch Galactica on Sundays, and watch what my parents watched the rest of the week. Fortunately, Mork & Mindy was also included in that schedule. (Thursdays) I caught bits & pieces of the first season when it was on, and I caught the second season, when it ran on independent stations. It had some interesting points, that reminded me of the live action Filmation shows on Saturdays. Wilma's new uniform kinda reminded me of a Red Lobster Waitress.
Things that ruined Buck Rogers:
Gil Gerard kept bemoaning aspects of his role and demanding changes.
No Jill Hennessey.
Not enough Erin Grey, who could have carried the show on her own.
I find it ironic that under the pretense of trying to make the show more serious, they brought in the obvious comedy relief characters of the absent minded professor (Dr. Goodfellow) and the holier-than-thou robot (Crichton), while getting rid of the serious characters of Dr. Huer and Theo. I think those two characters, combined with transforming Wilma into a parody of a damsel in distress, ruined the show more than anything else. The show went from a tastefully tongue-in-cheek action/adventure/sci-fi to an early 1980s version of Laurel and Hardy.
That space vampire episode scared the crap out of me.
There were a number of things that went wrong from the "get-go" after the first season. Glen A. Larson, a man largely responsible for making the first season as a big a hit as it was that created an ultimate fan following even today in 2022 left the series to pursue other television series such as Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica etc. And with the writers strike back in 1980 which left a lot of movie and television series without good writers to come up with stories. That and when they brought in a new producer for the new season of Buck Rogers, things changed dramatically. The series took a whole new direction onboard the Searcher with Buck as a "washed-up" fighter pilot and Wilma Deering who basically was reduced in rank from a Col. to a lowly Yeoman aboard ship. That and with the new producer who had never directed a sci-fi series, the fans soon became frustrated with the series. It wasn't long before the writing was on the bulkhead so to speak that the popularity of the TV show was declining with each episode. Mel Blanc, the original voice actor who did the voice of the lovable little ambuquad Twiki also left the series in the second season to pursue other voice acting, but it wasn't long before he came back as the new voice actor just wasn't working out. By the 11th episode of the second season, however.. things had gone from bad to worse as the series was ultimately cancelled by NBC because of such poor ratings.
After recovering from a health issue, Mel Blanc returned for the final few episodes of the second season. It was, of course, too little, too late.
What ruined Buck Rogers was Larsen's ego and the writers not knowing how to write decent sci-fi.
Always thought they should have had the Draconians and Earth team up to fight a new enemy in season 2
That would have been cool!
Agreed, season 2 sucked, although I remain a fan of Hawk as the only good change of a season where the creative minds (I use that word ironically) set out to empty out their metaphorical cupboards to cook up a bland stew ☹️
@@eddysgaming9868 100%. If they kept the same overall theme of season 1 in season 2, keeping the same cast and not destroying Wilma Daring's character, or the humour and lightness of the show, and added Hawk, there would have been a winner! There would also have been a season 3 and 4.
I have to rewatch buck rogers of the 25th century again these days since the last time I rewatched it was ten years ago and I felt it really did not age well. Back when I first watched it in 1980 on TV, I loved it, one of my go to shows to watch on Friday nights. What aged well was Kolchack Night stalker , Night gallery, the Curse of Dracula segment of Cliffhangers, Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected, Rich Man Poor Man, Money Changers etc.
1st season: Great Sci-Fi TV.
TV Execs come in, cut budget drastically, force all kinds of changes.
2nd season: What second season? We don't talk about the 2nd season. Buck Rogers only had 1 season. That's my story, and I am sticking to it.
The show's changes from season one to two was too radical; it was almost like having a different show with the same actors.
The introduction and addition of 'Hawk' in the season 2 was about the only change for the better.
I compare season one and two like Star Trek's TNG and DS9. Whereas Earth was the space station home like DS9, and then Buck & the crew went zipping around the galaxy like TNG in season 2. As Buck came out before those Trek series, you can still see those similarities.
Since it was a reboot, you can see them rebooting it again. Although this time, paying more attention to character development.
Lastly, Erin Gray's Wilma Deering was beautiful, sexy and strong. Her portrayal of the colonel in season one was magnificent!
I liked the show, but when I watched it online I didn't enjoy it as much. I can't get over the irony of the fact that the season where they added Wilfred Hyde-White was so bad that I couldn't watch it anymore.
Even though I never watched this show, I enjoyed your analysis. The insight from the comment section raised many good points too. I hope you can do similar "jump the shark" videos for other TV shows that went downhill.
Glad you enjoyed it! I will definitely do more videos like this one.
I miss the old Jump the Shark website!! Half the fun was seeing posts from former actors or writers from the shows being critiqued! Many wrote in to thank fans for their love and loyalty to the show and its cast.
Even as a kid I thought that Hawk guy was a joke.
I agree completely with this, I watched every episode of season one and stopped watching after the third episode of season two, I completely gave up.
While I didn't dislike the second year as much as you did, you are right in saying that the sense of fun had largely left the show, and that was a shame. Even at my young age of 14, I understood that they were semi ripping off Galactica with their quest to find new colonies of Earth or whatever. And I did miss Huer and Theopolis a lot. The writer's strike hurt things, too; Buck's audience apparently got bored waiting for his return and were disappointed with this new show that was really only Buck Rogers in name. And I would love to hear why they didn't bring back Hensley, whom I am sure was very popular with Buck's audience. Didn't mind Hawk or some of the other characters, but I did miss the whimsy and humor of the first year, for sure. As you said, if it aint' broke, don't fix it! PS Sorry I missed the BOTNS live chat, really enjoyed those.
Chrichton was supposed to be a riff on See - Threepio, but having a know - it - all pompous android as a character seems like a desperate move. In the episode where the android gets " injured ", I hoped that that he / it would just get tossed out of an airlock.
He as smooth like Solo & as Cool as Kirk, he's Captain Buck Rogers in the 25 century! And if my next wife doesn't look/act/sound/is exactly like Erin Gray, then Imma divorce her.
I was but a boy of 9-11 during the two season run of this show. Even at that age, I can recall one of my most favorite shows turning to crap. No more Dr. Huer? No more Dr. Theopolis? No more William Conrad Narration? Why is Wilma dressed like a waitress? What a disappointment
The only two redeeming aspects of season two were the addition of Hawk and the return of Mel Blanc as the voice of Twiki. TBH, when I saw the season two episodes, I wanted to ask (as an eleven year old ) was, "Okay what happened to Buck, and what did you do to the show? Why is this impostor on the air?"
Before Dave showed the guest Stars, I liked how he showed the art from the DVD set. As for Pamela, yes she did move on to Matt Houston. The sickening thing about the Searcher was that she's a redress of one of the Colonial ships used in Battlestar.
Thanks! I loved that first season. Could not get enough of Queen Ardala. What a great character. What a villain. That whole season was a lot of fun. Too bad that strike ruined it. Just never recovered what they lost.
First off no idea the OG Buck Rodgers was in an episode. I just rewatched his clip and got goosebumps. I had no idea that was him and his line at the end too… very cool
Thanks brother, great coverage Dave.
I always blamed NBC for meddling in the affairs of the show that ultimately brought it down. On. This was a good video Dave on a much beloved sci fi series back in the day. A-day when people weren't so cynical and could be far easier entertained and wasn't so inundated with violence and sexual induendo.
I liked Hawk but he was the only thing I liked about season 2, and even he never really got what I thought was a proper treatment for such an interesting character.
Dave, you definitely hit this one out of the park with your points and analysis on what ruined this show. Also, many of the other people posting regarding on Gil Gerard's career seem to have a better insight on what transpired. I was a fan of the show, yet I was disappointed with Season 2 of Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. To be fair, I was 15 years old at the time and I didn't know about the Hollywood Writer's strike. I do own the box-set of the series. Anyway, here is my take.
I never really thought that Season 1 was campy, but it had its moments where Buck was still searching for a way to get back to his own time period. That being said, he developed true relationships, friendship and trust with Dr. Huer and Wilma. Speaking of Wilma, not only was she hot, she was intelligent, strong, and commanded respect from everyone, including Buck and Dr. Huer. So it was sad when Season 2 when the showrunner made Erin Gray look more like a flight attendant (I'm Wilma. Fly Me!!!).
Princess Ardala-what else could we say that hasn't been already said🥰😄🤣
It was completely wrong to replace Ardala, Dr. Huer, Dr. Theopolis, as well as Buck's sarcastic comebacks and his original purpose from Season 1 to a glorified Star Trek/Battlestar Galactica replacement in Season 2. Plus there was no explanation why. It was like Huer and Ardala never existed. Admiral Asimov was useless, Dr. Goodfellow was an old fool who always got in the way, and for a overly superior robot, Crichton was a pompous jerk. Add to the things that happened offscreen like screwing over beloved Twiki voice actor Mel Blanc, threatening not to rehire Erin Gray for Season 2, leaving Gil Gerard to threaten to quit the series and various related things. It looks like Season 2 had Jumped The Shark before production.
Sorry for that long-winded diatribe.
Great commentary! Thanks for sharing Charles.
I was the founder and fan club president of the Official Battlestar Galactica Fan Club ( Battlestar One International) from 1978 til 1981 and in 1979 visited the set of Buck Rogers for 3 days during the "Searcher" years (before it even aired) and I have some fantastic stories. Thom Christopher who played "Hawk" was a very awesome and nice guy btw.. Gil was an ass... I got Linda Grey's stomach flu, Was hit on by two gay cast members and for a few years owned some pieces of the set that were just laying around... anyway, just thought I would share some 1979 personal trivia, good times!
TBH the second season was a WTH have you done to my show moment. Drive in waitress Dearing was on the Good Ship Searcher looking for a plot. There was one nugget when I heard it as a throw away line I immediately perked up. It the episode with the disabled ship full of small people Admirals and one sgt. The sgt being the one who had a clue what was going on. Anyway as they're telling what happened to them. They mention how they pasted those CYLONS! I heard that and for a moment I hoped there would have been a cross over. Sadly that never came.
YES! Making 'Bird Person' a Major Character certainly derailed the show for me!
The 2nd season debacle, I lay at the feet of Fred Silverman and Brandon Tartikoff. Gil Gerard has spoken about this at various Comicons where he was assured that changes were going to be made to improve that season but never were.
Gil was one of those, at least initially, who wanted to see the show become a bit more serious.
@@eddysgaming9868 You're thinking of "Supertrain". Yeah - if Love Boat could be a success why not do the exact same thing on a train or space ship?? That's why Hollywood executives to this day are not the brightest bulbs on the tree.
@@eddysgaming9868 It was called Supertrain and it nearly bankrupted NBC.
"Buck Rogers" was totally unreal, even by Sci-Fi standards. Glen Larson was 100% to blame, because he presented space travel as if teens had taken over ComiCon. Granted, "Star Trek" dressing up female astronauts in miniskirts was along the same lines; but "Buck Rogers" was awful. The stories weren't even good enough for "Lost in Space."
@@eddysgaming9868 Did he ever!! 😆 And remember Manimal!!???🤣🤣 I never thought NBC would never recover from those awful shows; but they did.
You must be close to.my own age st 59 Dave, I collected every single Starlog magazine after going to see "Star Wars" that first glorious week it premiered in 1977!
Yep. We are very close in age. Thanks for sharing vinniecorleone62!
@@jdsundstrom Thank you Dave, I can't think of another living soul who does more than you to champion the Golden Age of television we & so many others grew up with my friend!
Thanks for your kind words. Truly appreciated!
I saw the pilot in the theater in West Germany (army brat) and was hooked. I watched every episode over and over. Erin Gray was my first crush, and I will always love her. Too bad she didn't get her Magnum P.I. spinoff.
I heard that Mel Blanc, who voiced Twiki was involved in some kind of accident and was unavailable for most of the 2nd season.
This was one of my favorite show’s as a little boy
You and I are about the same age. I was a huge Battlestar Galactica fan and saw the Buck Rogers movie, and tv episodes. Oh how I loved Erin Gray and Pamela Hensley in those shows! 😍 I was between ages 11- 13 during the tv series. The memories.
I still the Space Vampire must have been hysterical to make.
It had to be a ton of fun!
I'm just contemplating the change in tones between Buck Rogers S1 to S2 and
the change in tones with other shows from 1st to 2nd season... like Space 1999.
Both situations ending with cancelation. Guess it's possible crews working on each were really not that aware of other since the internet wasn't yet around and there was about a 5 year gap.
They could have added Hawk to the show but still kept the same format. I understand wanting to make the show more serious but the Searcher idea was terrible.
I was too young to know about the changes they made to the show but I definitely noticed something was different.
The space vampire episode was Erin’s finest outfit.
Starlog Magazine was great. I really miss it. I had a drawer full of back issues, but those got ruined in water damage from a storm after a move as an adult. Other neat memorabilia and some books too. Darn it.
I miss it as well Ben W. ua-cam.com/video/I0cs9jSx4QA/v-deo.html
I remember that Mel had a medical emergency. I think either a heart attack or stroke. He recovered enough to finish the season.
Nice video. I agree Pamela Hensley was bee-yoo-ti-full 😍 and so was Erin Gray. My 2 cents worth is that the costumes and sets were above average but the stories were pretty thin and just retreads. Buck Rodgers had the opportunity to be so much better. So many Sci-Fi fans hungry for more. There have been so many TV shows that were OK but could be better that were ruined by the studios. I still cringe thinking about the episode with Mark Leonard removing his head 🫣 Also, Barbara Luna as Hawk’s wife, she was very beautiful. Why not keep her in the series? 🤷♂️
The unique thing about Buck Rogers is it gave us a conceptional view of the Earth of the future. Star Trek sort of did that but Kirk and the gang never spent much time on earth. They spent most of their time visiting strange new worlds. So in Season 2, when they turned Buck Rogers into a Star Trek, that unique element was gone along with the fun.
That's one of the traits I liked about the first season, even as a kid. That you got to see the earth of the future.
Actually, the only time TOS ever spent on Earth was in time travel episodes. The closest we got was the illusion of Pike's home in The Menagerie. We never saw 23rd century Earth until the movies.
I loved Gil Gerard so much! Absolutely the sexiest man on TV at the time for me. I had the Buck Rogers movie poster up on the wall of my bedroom. I had seen the movie several times and was so thrilled that it was coming to television as a series.
Like pretty much everyone else, I was so disappointed with season 2. It lost all its heart. To be honest, I’m not sure I even saw all the episodes in that season. I bought the whole series on blu-ray a few years back but have never rewatched any of the second season. Writers’ strikes have ruined more than a few of my favorite shows - Pushing Daisies being the prime example - and Buck Rogers was truly ruined.
I was 7 when Buck Rogers aired its first season and was the first show one of the first shows that I loved the premise of. I thought it was cool having Buck come back to earth 500 years later and everything else about the show and would have wanted the show to continue from where it started. For me, the second season just totally abandoned everything from season 1 that made it great. Erin Gray is a beautiful woman and a great actress and I loved how in season one she was a strong independent leader but in season 2 she was just window dressing. There for background to Buck and that really did Erin and the character an injustice. It was like they just started a whole new show and nothing about it was likeable anymore
Thanks for sharing!
Seems like Glen was trying to, in a way, finish what he started with Galatica, to find the lost tribes of Earth. Great idea, but poor implementation. I don't want to see the series rebooted however.
Best of the 1st season was the VORVON episode. It scared the crap outta my younger sister - lol
I thought the 1-2 episodes with Hawk were good, but took a nosedive after that.
Thanks for sharing Ben!
Erin Gray and Markie Post in skin tight outfits. Works for me!
*Same happened with the second season of Space 1999, who ever thought a shape changing Mary Sue was a good idea needs their head examined* 😡
Gosh, I'd forgotten about this one! Loved it, another favourite that was my dad's faves 👍 just occurred to it would've been the girl?🤭🇭🇲
Hi Dave been awhile . Hawk was the best thing added but the silly story's killed it.
I like Hawk but the whole where and what and what happened to the make them leave Earth and travel always took away from me enjoying the show. It is like when you get home... Your dad is gone and your mother is married to another man, Yikes!?
Hi Hank! Great to see a comment from you. And yes, of all the characters added to season 2, Hawk was the best. But, that's not really saying much.
@@DominusTecum316 lol
This was my favorite TV show when I was a kid. I was so sad when it didn't last longer.
I have fond memories of the movie and the TV series, but I'm also sure it didn't age too well. Still, I'd have fun rewatching. -- Their star-fighter was a good design. Their 2nd / lsat (?) season, I'm not sure why they went the way they did. "Hawke" was a potentially interesting character, though. The desk-bound civilian commander was good, but they should've had him out on adventures. -- I remember an episode where Gary Coleman guest-starred as a boy-genius scientist, doctor something-or-other. I wish there had been more to that, handled better. -- All in all, good fun for the kid/young teen I was then. -- They probably would've been better to have Felix Stilla in a speaking role as an alien, instead of in that Twiki costume (the voice was Mel Blanc.) -- And I still remember my very strict and religious great-uncle fussing because I was watching the show one night while they were visiting for the holidays. He thought it was way too sexy. Heh. Poor man, unwilling to unbend any; he was a good guy, but I never saw him without his collar buttoned up all the way and his sleeves down, buttoned, never rolled up. Too serious and puritanical for his own good, in my opinion, but a good guy, beloved. anyway. (I was a young teen, we talked back and forth about his objections to the show, I said it wasn't like that. We basically had to agree to disagree. )
They should have given Colonel Wilma Deering her own show, which would see her head a time travel experiment that takes place in the 25th Century, and sees her land in the year of 1987, where her prime objective is to prevent the Ranger 3 spacecraft from suffering the freak mishap that put Buck into suspended animation. While settling down to life in 1980s Earth/Los Angeles, she manages to gain control of a local police precinct and a military base and together with the LAPD and the Army, she is on hand to keep various evil doers out of LA, using laser guns as a prime weapon. It would be Star Wars-meets-The A-Team and Wilma would be in spandex in each episode. Ardala would be a recurring villain who gains control of a US Navy base and uses it as her own personal fortress. The show would be called "Wilma:Saviour of Los Angeles."
Love it!
What were they thinking? And why did they change something that was a successful show! I think sometimes its ego...a new producer comes on board and try's to change a show because it wasn't his idea, or he is trying to better the other producers! Just a thought! I have 3 movie posters for the Buck Rogers tv show! One of my favourites!
Those posters were so darn cool! Thanks for your support MH.
I wondered why I could see Willma in the 21th Century yet she was in Silver Spoons. As a kid I could not wrap my mind around it...
Season 2 ruined Buck Roger's for me cause I was like why....why do networks try to improve something that doesn't need improving. Just stick with what works. The way they reduced Colonel Wilma Deering to a airline stewardess was a big let down.
Awesome presentation; one of your best. Your most playful and sassy presentation. It's definitely the most I have heard you use awesomely superfluous euphemistic language for cuss words. So very much spunky enjoyable fun.
Myself, (I'm sure) most others as well; wouldn't mind in the least, if you employed this type of flare much more often within your presentations when you see fit.
There's no need for you to feel the need to hold back your type of enjoyable snark in your presentations! Plow ahead; good sir with (oh so slightly) reckless abandon! 😂
Thanks John! I'll try to keep it up with the "sassy" language. 🙂