The series struggled through an awkward first season, with routine plots elevated by decent special effects and noteworthy guest stars including Jamie Lee Curtis, ill-fated Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten (appearing, with her voice dubbed over, less than a year before her tragic murder), Batman alumnus Julie Newmar, Buster Crabbe (veteran of vintage Buck Rogers movie serials), and several others in a show that favored vamps and vixens over credible science fiction. A full-scale overhaul resulted in a disastrous second season, but devoted fans still gravitate to Hawk (Thom Christopher), the charismatic alien "birdman" who was introduced with new characters and a new, space-faring search for lost tribes from Earth (with echoes of Larson's own Battlestar Galactica). Behind-the-scenes squabbles continued, and by mid-season of 1981, NBC pulled the plug on a breezy, still-engaging series that suffered from uneasy chemistry and never realized its full potential. Existing somewhere between Galactica and Lost in Space in the TV sci-fi food chain, this Buck--with a dearth of DVD extras--now functions as a cheesy stroll down memory lane. --Jeff Shannon

Enjoyable other than that.


Cheesy Eighties Sci-Fi   December 13, 2003
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

This is a great movie to watch with some others that are in the same vein. Get this one along with Flash Gordon, Battlestar Galactica and Logans Run. All are low to medium budget sci-fi that are far more entertaining than most of the crap put out today.


A Must See for any SciFi Fan   March 20, 2002
For the present-day SciFi fan who is used to huge explosions, amazing visual effects, and all those modern conveniences, this movie may be a little slow. But for a fan like me, who grew up on the old films of yester-year, it will be an amazing tale, and well worth your time and money.

Anyone who had the extreme pleasure of watching the old TV series will enjoy seeing their favorite actors and villains when they were first introduced. Buck, played by Gil Gerard, is the hunky astronaut from 1987 who is mysteriously frozen, and awakens in the 25th Century. Erin Gray is the gorgeous Wilma, who we may all remember running around in high heels and midrif outfits, while carrying a blazing laser gun. Here, we see Buck's attempts to deal with the loss of everything he knew, and being introduced into the future, where he is still the best pilot around. We get an interesting view into what Earth looks like outside the sanitized buildings of New Chicago. It's truly a good introduction into the struggles Earth is dealing with in future episodes.

I will make one concession. The visual effects are just terrible. Watching this film with my youngest sister, we just began to laugh at the tractor beams, close-up shots of ships, and explosions. Definitely not made today. But for the time this was made it's pretty good. And perhaps simply because of the enjoyment it brought so many of us, you can definitely overlook some of the lesser qualities of the film.


BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY IS GREAT!   August 5, 2001
This is the original TV-made movie from 1987. It's fast paced and never a dull moment. When first shown on TV it was 2 hours (due to commercials). Now we get to see it in it's original, uninterrupted form! This movie is not easy to find and I recommend you get it now while you can!!