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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Catalog Number
55019
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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)

Additional Information

Additional Information
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is an American science fiction film released in March 1979. Starring Gil Gerard in the title role, it was produced by Glen A. Larson who co-wrote the screenplay with Leslie Stevens, based on the character Buck Rogers which was created by Philip Francis Nowlan in 1928.
Originally made as a television movie pilot, Universal Studios opted to release the film to theaters several months before the subsequent television series aired.



Inspired by the massive success of Star Wars two years earlier, Universal began developing Buck Rogers for television, spearheaded by Glen A. Larson who had a production deal with the studio. Initially, Larson and Universal had planned on making a series of Buck Rogers TV movies for NBC. Production began in 1978, however, the pilot for Larson's other sci-fi series, Battlestar Galactica (1978), had been released theatrically in some countries and in key locations in North America, and had done well at the box office. Universal then opted to release the first Buck Rogers TV movie theatrically on March 30, 1979. The movie grossed over $21 million in North America and was later released internationally, which led NBC to commission a weekly series, which began on September 20, 1979 with a slightly modified version of the theatrical release.[1]
The movie was originally slated for release for September 1978.[2] There were several start dates for filming but it was repeatedly delayed due to casting problems. The movie was eventually released in March 1979.
The movie's opening credits featured a song, Suspension, sung by Kipp Lennon and co-written by Glen A. Larson. An instrumental version of the song was used as the main theme for the TV series that followed, though the vocal version of the song was used again for the end credits of the season one finale, "Flight of the War Witch".
Several shots in the film were filmed at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Several other stock shots portraying futuristic buildings on Earth are that of remaining pavilions on the site of Expo 67, including the British and French national pavilion (now open as the Montreal Casino). These shots were also included in the 1979 Battlestar Galactica episode "Greetings from Earth", in which they were said to be a city on the planet Paradeen (though in production around the same time, the episode aired a month prior to the release of the Buck Rogers film). Buck's NASA shuttle, Ranger 3, was itself a prop that had been seen in this same episode where it was used as Michael's Lunar-7 shuttle.
Princess Ardala's father, Emperor Draco (played by Joseph Wiseman), originally had several scenes in the movie but most of these were cut. His only remaining scene was as a holographic image talking to Kane at the end of the movie. Despite this brief appearance, images of Draco appeared prominently in various Buck Rogers merchandise, and 12" and 3¾" Draco action figures were produced by the toy company Mego.


Gil Gerard plays Buck Rogers, an American astronaut who awakens after 500 years in space to find a Draconian princess scheming to take over planet Earth. Of course, he is mistaken for a spy and must not only save himself but the galaxy as well. This sci-fi feature was intended as a pilot for the television series.

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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)
Release Year
Catalog Number
VHS55019
Primary Distributor (If not listed, select "OTHER")
Catalog Number
VHS55019
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N/A (NTSC)
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