Buck Rogers (1979) Online
In 1987, Captain William "Buck" Rogers pilots his space shuttle Ranger 3 on a mission but a meteor storm freezes him into an orbit that returns him to Earth - 500 years later. In 2491, his shuttle is found and captured by the Draconian flagship, under the command of Princess Ardala and her second-in-command Kane. Reviving him, they return him to Earth after secretly planting a homing beacon aboard his shuttle to track a path through Earth's defense barrier. Buck is under arrest and learns that Earth has been rebuilt over the centuries in his absence following a nuclear holocaust. Buck Rogers must adjust to the 25th century, and convince the Terrans that the Draconians are secretly planning to conquer Earth.
Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Gil Gerard | - | Capt. William 'Buck' Rogers | |
Pamela Hensley | - | Princess Ardala | |
Erin Gray | - | Colonel Wilma Deering | |
Henry Silva | - | Kane | |
Tim O'Connor | - | Dr. Elias Huer | |
Joseph Wiseman | - | King Draco | |
Duke Butler | - | Tigerman | |
Felix Silla | - | Twiki (body) | |
Caroline Smith | - | Delta Section | |
John Dewey Carter | - | Supervisor (as John Dewey-Carter) | |
Kevin Coates | - | Pilot | |
David Cadiente | - | Comtel Officer | |
Gil Serna | - | Technician | |
Larry Duran | - | Draconian Guard | |
Kenny Endoso | - | Draconian Guard |
The 90 minute theatrical film was the pilot for the television series Buck Rogers (1979), but was shown in theaters several months before the series aired. The film made over $21 million in North America alone.
Originally, Twiki was just going to make unintelligible electronic noises (the "biddi-biddi-biddi" sound) and Dr. Theopolis was to act as his translator. However, this was deemed to be too similar to R2-D2 and C-3PO from Guerre stellari (1977) and so Twiki was given a voice of his own.
To cut costs, some footage and various props were used from Glen A. Larson's series Battaglie nella galassia (1978). Even some of the concept designs from Galactica were used. The Terran starfighters on Buck Rogers were originally designed as the Colonial Vipers for Galactica, but Larson had opted for a design closer the X-Wing fighters from Guerre stellari (1977). Larson then employed the unused designs for Buck Rogers.
The theme song used in the film is entitled "Suspension" and features lyrics sung by Kip Lennon. The theme used in the TV series was an instrumental version of the song.
The space dogfights were choreographed with the aid of a Hewlett-Packard "45" computer
Originally, Buck was to have been put on trial, found guilty and banished to Anarchia, along with Twiki and Theo, until Wilma comes looking for him with an idea that might prove his innocence. In the finished film, after reshoots, the story was restructured so that Buck chooses to explore Anarchia (with Twiki and Theo tagging along), until Wilma arrives to bring him back, then he's put on trial, found guilty and sentenced to be terminated, until Wilma presents him with the opportunity to prove his innocence. Since these changes came late in production, there were several tie-in publications released (including the novelization and comic adaptation) which followed the original sequence of events.
To make Buck appear frozen in his space shuttle, he was sprayed all over with an ordinary dry shampoo. Because of this, he could not open his eyes or move, so while he was waiting for them to shoot the scene, he supposedly fell asleep.
Kane's backstory was that he was a former student of Doctor Huer's who defected to the Draconians and to act as consort/advisor for Princess Ardala, the chief antagonist of the film and subsequent TV series. In the original movie serial Buck Rogers (1939), "Killer Kane" (as he was known) is actually a powerful gangster from Earth and is the chief antagonist of the story. Ardala was not featured in the 1939 movie serial.
Buck's full name is William Anthony Rogers, as revealed on Buck Rogers: Happy Birthday, Buck (1980).
Catherine Bach was considered for the role of Princess Ardala.
The British and French pavilions from Expo '67 in Canada, and the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles were all part of the New Chicago skyline.
The film takes place in the year 2491.
The ruined City of Chicago called Anarchia was shot on the back lot of MGM Studios.
The original script contained a subplot in which Counselor Apol - the chief prosecuting computer at Buck's trial - is discovered to be in league with Princess Ardala.
In the original ending for this film, Buck and Wilma celebrate the victory over Ardala and Kane by dancing to the tune of "Chicago, Chicago, that toddling town". This last scene was entirely cut and the film now ends with Buck and Wilma returning to Earth by starfighter.
Douglas Rain (the voice of HAL in 2001: Odissea nello spazio (1968)) was the first choice to do the voice of Dr. Theopolis.
Buck Rogers is from earth year 1987.
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