Handfull of episodes from the first season of the 70's TV series.
Wow! Blast from the past!
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
That reminds me. I owe you those when I have money (& a job) again.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Mmmmm... Erin Grey.
I remember the pilot episode had words that went along with the theme song during the closing credits. I'll have to check it out and see if they have it.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Oh, that song is awful. All disco-y & with the girls writhing about on the giant lighted letters & around a corpsified Gil Gerard. Honestly, I must've been on crack when I bought those DVDs, Still, watching them makes me think what a great reimagining I could do on it now.
Posted by WizArtist II (Member # 1425) on :
quote:Originally posted by Aban Rune: Mmmmm... Erin Grey.
Remember the episode with the midgets that had mental powers and had not seen a woman before? It was like the gang from "Time Bandits" using their TK to undress her.
I bought the DVDs at Wal-Mart about six months ago. They were selling the entire series for $20, so I couldn't pass that up. Watching them now, I've come to several realizations that I wasn't aware of when I was a kid.
1. Although I have the utmost respect for Mel Blanc's work, Twiki's comments are just ridiculously fucking annoying and should have been edited out for the DVDs (or at least have an "alternate track" where he's not talking, as in the MASH DVDs where you can watch the episodes with or without the laugh track). At one point, he even says "La Chaim!" Where the hell would he have learned that from? Buck? He doesn't appear to be Jewish.
2. The use of stock footage rivals even that of Star Trek, and in some cases the stock footage is of the wrong ships or locations.
3. The episode titles are obviously catered toward pre-adolescent boys (as much of the entire series was). The eponymous planet in "Planet of the Slave Girls" had ONE slave girl, and she was more of an indentured servant than a slave. But that sauna/jail they kept her in really got her nice & sweaty for my 11-year-old self to fantasize about!
4. Pity the poor Earth Defense Directorate. They thaw out a 500 year old man, and he turns out to be a football-playing frat boy. (although in Gil Gerard's defense, he did always object to how his character was portrayed).
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Agreed with all points (except that "L'chaim" is fairly well known, but..). Although. I DID like the idea of Earth being such the new kid on the block that it's still wobbling on its legs like a fawn. The element of the Computer Council taking over the daily minutiae & thus causing a loss of nature (that is, essence) on the part of humanity was a neat touch. Dumping all of it for the Searcher mission was kind of dumb, & I wouldn't mind seeing a better integration of the two elements. Also, I love how Buck isn't officially attached to the Defense Directorate, but he's allowed access & knowledge of all the most top secret shit, & right away at that. based on that logic, we should be able to take a field trip to the Pentagon, Langley, or Foggy Bottom.
Still, there's potential seeds to work with.
Posted by HerbShrump (Member # 1230) on :
It was great for what it was, at least the first season. I hated the second season but was too young to understand why.
Oh, I've thought of a reboot for Buck Rogers much like I did for Flash Gordon.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
...and how is that turning out? I've not had the inclination to check it out as of yet.
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
It sucked. Is it even on anymore?
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
Not sure what to think of this. I'd love to see Buck on the screen again (either big or little), but I'm not sure about the choices they're making so far. Forced campiness usually ends badly, and Frank Miller hasn't done anything I've been interested in.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Jesus H. Christ on a pogo-stick....can Miller leave nothing alone!?! Wilma will probably be a crack whore or something equally unlikely and Twikki's phallic head might be more than I'd want Miller to "re-imagine", thank you.
Buck Rogers was awful in a way almost sacred in it's 80's awfulness...kinda a Matt Houston in space with a leather-boy hawk-man, a jive-talking metal penis and a talking metal coatrack.
The Searcher was just re-used footage of some lame ship from season one, BTW.
While at Best Buy yesterday, I saw that The Black Hole was released on Blu-Ray and I had to stare at the box proclaiming it "One of the best sci-fi movies of all time!". In the entire history of lies, no statement surpasses that.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
No, the model was reused, not the footage.
Posted by Dukhat (Member # 341) on :
That's right. It was the "Lyrian Queen" luxury liner (or something like that) in season one. In season two they needed a model to represent the Searcher, so they chose that one and gave it a new paint job.
I liked the series as a kid. I still do, only now at 35 I can watch the DVDs and make fun of how campy and cheap it was. But you can do that with TOS too.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:Jesus H. Christ on a pogo-stick....can Miller leave nothing alone!?!
Ok, exactly how do you justify that statement when Miller has directed a grand total of ONE film that hasn't even been released yet and of the others he was involved in or was co-director, most have been based directly on his own work?
Even so, Buck Rogers is hardly hallowed ground.
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dukhat: I liked the series as a kid. I still do, only now at 35 I can watch the DVDs and make fun of how campy and cheap it was. But you can do that with TOS too.
Not to mention the space babes. Hubba hubba!
Also, a tiny piece of jealousy inspiration. Please to gaze upon this picture from 3 years ago & note the lower white-framed wall hanging. That is indeed an original Buck Rogers pre-broadcast promo one-sheet with the NBC, Burger King, & Coca-Cola logos on it. Only one owner ever, & that would be me. It's also the artwork from before they finalized who was to play Wilma Deering, so the sheet actually shows Juanin Clay as Wilma, NOT Erin Gray.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
quote:Originally posted by Reverend:
quote:Jesus H. Christ on a pogo-stick....can Miller leave nothing alone!?!
Ok, exactly how do you justify that statement when Miller has directed a grand total of ONE film that hasn't even been released yet and of the others he was involved in or was co-director, most have been based directly on his own work?
Even so, Buck Rogers is hardly hallowed ground.
NO it' not, obviously. I was more referring to Miller's "re-imagined" comic book work (the vast bulk of his rep stems from these and it's always the same old story- dystopian "gritty" versions so fundamentally changed from their origins as to be wholly new characters. Superman as facist that rips off Green Arrow's arm as a tame example).
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
quote:Jesus H. Christ on a pogo-stick....can Miller leave nothing alone!?!
Ok, exactly how do you justify that statement when Miller has directed a grand total of ONE film that hasn't even been released yet and of the others he was involved in or was co-director, most have been based directly on his own work?
Even so, Buck Rogers is hardly hallowed ground.
NO it' not, obviously. I was more referring to Miller's "re-imagined" comic book work (the vast bulk of his rep stems from these and it's always the same old story- dystopian "gritty" versions so fundamentally changed from their origins as to be wholly new characters. Superman as facist that rips off Green Arrow's arm as a tame example).
Well that's his thing, it's what he does. While it's not for everyone, remember that this is the guy who gave Batman his balls back. As for making Superman a fascist, he's hardly the first person to make that connection and it wasn't changing a character so much as extrapolating him into a changed environment, remember that in the 80's things were looking especially grim from a social standpoint, at least in the US and it seams appropriate that Supes reflect the collective mental state of Americans at the time. At least the way Frank saw it. As for ripping Queen's arm off, I don't recall that bit, but I assume it was in DKSB, in which I recall Supes had several reasons for acting out of character.
Golly good. It sounded like wishful thinking in the part of the producers anyway.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Actually, Denny O'Neil is the guy that really "gave btman his balls back". The Dark Knight returns was just a huge shock to readers in it's brutality and bleakness- made for a big buzz at just the right time. O'Neill had the job of re-creating Batman in the 70's into the cool detective with gadgets and a street-level framework. He had to undo what everyone thought Batman was- Adam West.
((shudder))
I always found it hard to reconcille the Batman from his comics- which centers on muggers and killers- with the Justice League version -which fought aliens and cosmic menaces.
It just seemed impossible that he could be in all those places monthly or that he's leave Gotham unguarded for all that time he'd be screwing around in space or in another dimesnion or whatever.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :