“The year is 1987, and NASA launches the last of America’s deep space probes. In a freak mishap, Ranger 3 and its pilot, Captain William “Buck” Rogers, are blown out of their trajectory into an orbit which freezes his life support systems, and returns Buck Rogers to Earth… 500 years later.”
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was a television series that was broadcast from September 20, 1979 to April 16, 1981. It was based on the Buck Rogers adventure newspaper strip, which in turn was adapted from the 1928 science fiction novella Armageddon 2419 A.D. written by Philip Francis Nowlan.
I was a bit too young to watch Buck Rogers in the 25th Century during its original broadcast run, but it was in reruns throughout the early 1980s, which is where my young self caught it. A few years back I re-watched the majority of the episodes, and I have to say, despite a certain campiness and a heavy disco aesthetic, it still holds up, with several episodes having quality writing.
I’m of the firm opinion that a major reason why Buck Rogers in the 25th Century worked was due to its leading man, Gil Gerard, who sadly passed away on December 16th from cancer. Gerard’s death prompted me to reflect on his work on the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century series.
In the television series, Buck Rogers returns to a post-apocalyptic Earth after five centuries in suspended animation. A man very much out of his time, Buck was invested with a certain somber gravitas. Gerard was at times called upon to play scenes in which Buck reflected upon his state of being, and he really pulled off the serious contemplation of a man who now found himself in this strange new world, with everyone and everything he knew long dead & buried.
But the show certainly wasn’t all doom & gloom. Buck was possessed of a wry sense of humor, and Gerard really played that aspect of the character well, too, giving his character a winning smile and a twinkle of the eye.
In other words, Gerard portrayed Buck with just the right balance of seriousness and humor. It was a winning combination, making him a charismatic action hero who you wanted to root for.
Gerard also had a definite chemistry with his co-star Erin Gray, who portrayed the tough-as-nails Colonel Wilma Deering. The show portrayed Buck and Wilma as more than friends but not quite lovers, and Gerard and Gray played their scenes together really well. They made a fantastic team.
Looking back at Gerard’s work on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, I feel it’s a bit of a shame that he did not have a bigger career. I think he was a much better actor than some might have given him credit for. Still, he was an iconic sci-fi hero for a generation, which isn’t anything to laugh at. Gerard will definitely be missed.
In My Not So Humble Opinion 