Buck Rogers Mark of the Saurian (1979–1981) Online

A virus-stricken Buck (a sound performance by Gil Gerard) is the only one able to see that Ambassador Cabot (well played with sturdy authority by Linden Chiles) and his party are really nefarious lizard creatures called Saurians who plan on taking over the Delta Defense Grid. Can a sickly Buck stop them in time? Director Barry Crane, working from a compelling script by Francis Moss, relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, maintains a serious tone throughout, and sprinkles in a few nice moments of amusing dry humor for good measure. Moreover, Gerard does an able and impressive job of portraying Buck as extremely ill and not entirely sure of himself. The rest of the cast is likewise up to speed, with especially praiseworthy work from the ever-lovely Erin Gray as the concerned Wilma, Thom Christopher as the loyal Hawk, Vernon Waddle as ruthless Saurian physician Dr. Moray, and Kim Hamilton as the doting Nurse Hamilton. The Saurians look pretty funky in their natural green'n'scaly reptilian guise. Despite the surprising lack of the expected slam-bang action this episode still manages to be quite involving thanks to Gerard's considerable thespic skills and always likable screen presence. An enjoyable show.

As all fans of cheesy TV sci-fi should know, ugly aliens are always evil, and so when Buck wakes from a fever (caused by a flu-like space virus) and spies on his monitor several hideous lizards aboard the Searcher, he knows he must act. Unfortunately for Buck, no-one else can see the scaly blighters for what they really are, since they are wearing gadgets that make them appear to be human. Posing as Earth ambassadors, the cold-blooded creatures intend to dupe the crew of the Searcher into taking them to a well armed, highly secure space station which they intend to forcibly take command of.

Will Buck be able to convince his friends of the impending danger, or will they just assume that he is suffering from hallucinations, brought on by his illness?

An unremarkable episode from the second season, Mark of the Saurian demands a little too much from its audience, asking them to accept the decidedly silly notion that it is Buck's unique 20th century genetic make-up that enables him to see past the invaders' deception (when Buck looks at the aliens, they have a silly green 'Ready Brek' aura). Gil Gerard does manage to stretch his acting legs a little, convincingly portraying a man weakened by disease and unsure whether to trust his eyes, but even his solid performance cannot save this episode from mediocrity.

Erin Gray looks as great as always, however, and makes this otherwise unimpressive tale easier to tolerate.

PLOT: While laid-up in Sickbay on the Searcher with a heavy fever, Buck observes a curious green aura around the bodies of a visiting group of officers. He slowly becomes convinced that they're lizard-people, known as the Saurians, masquerading as Terran officers with conquest on their minds.

COMMENTARY: As of this fourth episode of the 2nd season it's clear that the new production team was shooting for a Star Trek-like format rooted in dramatic sci-fi and serious space exploration, as opposed to the 1st season, which focused more on superficial space entertainment, like hot space babes and general amusement, although the 1st season certainly contained SOME serious sci-fi. If you can accept this change, "Mark of the Saurian" is a well-done, well-scripted segment. The Saurians resemble the Gorn captain from Star Trek's heralded "Arena," but with fins here & there.

Up to this point, the 2nd season delivered the goods, for the most part, and should be respected and appreciated, rather than reviled. Sure, it's different from the 1st season and some changes were bad (the addition of the eye-rolling Crichton and Twiki's curious new voice, which didn't last), but it's not THAT different and the more serious approach has its appeal. Plus, some changes were good, like the addition of Hawk. They shoulda kept the hot space babes though (beyond Wilma, that is; she's a given).

I saw this the other day and will try to relate what it's all about. Buck has come down with some kind of futuristic virus which keeps him confined to bed. He's OK though, he's got a TV and round the clock attention by nurses. While our hero is laid up a delegation of VIPS from Earth arrive. Buck is watching them via his TV monitor and notices something strange. An eerie green aura is surrounding the delegation and it seems no-one else can see it. Buck thinks it's a symptom of the virus and shrugs it off. He sees the same green aura again when the delegation visit him in his sickbed but neither Wilma, Hawk or anybody else from Searcher does. It turns out that the delegates are, in fact, Saurians. Reptile-like ( hence the name ) creatures who have cunningly managed to surround themselves with a field that fools everyone into seeing not Saurians but ordinary Earth men. When they realise that Buck can see through their disguise a quick tweak of the device they wear to enable this transformation means even Buck can no longer see the green aura. The ship then goes off course and is threatened with destruction unless they can steer it to safety. Through all of this drama Buck finally puts two and two together and realises the wool has been firmly pulled over everyone's eyes. He rushes into the control room with his laser pistol and, holding the delegation under gunpoint, turns the thermostat down. The rapid drop in temperature causes the Saurian interlopers to lose consciousness and ( somehow ) revert back to their slimy lizard-like forms. It all ends happily and Buck manages to get a decent kip.