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For those unacquainted with the series, Astronaut Buck Rogers is a stranger in a strange land, having been accidentally cryogenically frozen while on a "Deep Space probe" in 1987. Having been blown into a very wide orbit, Buck plays the role of Popsicle for the next 500 years, until being discovered by the Draconians near Earth in the year 2491. However, Earth is not quite what he remembers. Apparently right after he left, a nuclear conflict took place, killed most of the inhabitants, and rendered most of the planet into a desert wasteland, with the majority of the surviving humans living in large cities, like New Chicago, home of the Earth Defense Directorate. There he helps stop alien invasion, interstellar crime and terrorism, and has tons of sex, all using his witty 1980s charm (while the series was produced in 1979, Buck originally left Earth in 1987).
If this series has any bit of clairvoyance about it, then we have an interesting future ahead of us, filled with mutants, starfighters, aliens, chest hair and, most terrifyingly, roller disco. So let's hope not...
11) All Evil People Will Wear Helmets
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10) cAPitAL leTTerS aRE nO lONGer relaVANt
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9) All Sexually Transmitted Disease Will Be Eradicated
For some reason, science fiction heroes of the '60s and '70s had a pretty large libido. The starship Enterprise could be been called the Love Boat for all the action Captain Kirk got, but apparently Kirk has nothing on Rogers, as Buck's sexual skills are legendary. While there is never obvious sexual contact between Buck and the myriad of females throwing themselves at him, it is most certainly implied. In the first season, more often than not, Buck was partnered with a different sexy woman to rescue, woo and eventually bang Princess Ardala went so far as to start a war to get her hands on his Rogers, he was put up for auction in front of hundreds of horny single ladies, and each week he made futuristic women from all over the galaxy swoon. The movie version of the pilot featured a credit sequence featuring numerous women, including Princess Ardala and Wilma Dearing, writhing around on top of the titles (above, kind of). In fact, his mojo was so powerful, he could even get Twiki the robot laid. But it is safe to say, with the amount of sweet loving going on, sexually transmitted diseases had to have been eradicated. Otherwise Buck would have at least come down with a case of space herpes.
8) All Thinking Will Be Done by Computers Carried Around by Penis-Shaped Robots
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7) Birds Will Evolve Into Humans That Look Like Birds
The series makes a total change in the beginning of the second season, moving from being Earth-centric to a sort of Battlestar Galactica in reverse. That is, Buck and Wilma join the crew of the Searcher to explore strange new worlds, and "search" out possible lost tribes of humans who escaped the holocaust. Of course, before their mission can start in earnest, the Searcher is called to investigate attacks on human ships by someone called "Hawk." It isn't long before Buck finally meets up with Hawk, who turns out to be a leather-clad Moe Howard lookalike with a skullcap of salt and pepper hair, and wearing a skintight outfit that would make Pulp Fiction's Gimp proud. Apparently, over the years, hawks had evolved and found ways of leaving the Earth, eventually becoming something that is less hawk-like and more human like. Of course, this metamorphosis did come with a price, as now our fine, feathered friends are no longer able to fly. But that won't stop Hawk, because he has a spaceship... that looks just like a hawk. In the tragic comedy that is Buck Rogers, Hawk accidentally spears his wife, the last remaining Hawk female, with the talons of his ship, dooming her and their race to extinction.
6) All Dancing Will Suck Balls
When we first see any form of recreation in the 24th century, it is in the form of dancing. However, it seems that dancing has been refined greatly in the future. At the reception for the Draconian envoy, a very formal occasion, we see a very structured, almost medieval square dance. Dancers twirl around in small groups with little sequined disco balls attached to their hands. It isn't long before Buck shows that he has a fever, and the only prescription is more boogie-ing, and "rock n' roll" is reborn in the 25th century. Alas, as the series goes on, dancing is featured more than once, all with more disco-style music. First we see Buck dancing with the Colonel at Caesar's Palace in space, and later the Studio 54-esq Andromeda concerts. More strangely, now they can't dance without some sort of prop. In "New Space Vegas," the prop is a Styrofoam column, in "Space Rockers," kids danced with rope lighting, but at no point in the entire series does someone dance without some sort of prop. Perhaps it's to take the attention away from the horrid dancing, maybe it's to give the actor something to hide behind, but at no point in the series (save for Buck getting down with Ardala in the pilot) does anyone ever dance without a prop. And you though line dancing was bad.
Tags: Buck Rogers
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