Critique: Cette série a été
un superbe précurseur de Galactica, qui se passait non pas à
la même époque ou dans un espace rapproché à
celui de Buck Rogers mais qui utilisait la même technologie de
production que ce dernier, y compris l'utilisation d'un orchestre symphonique
pour les ambiances musicales et la même platte-forme pour les
effets spéciaux et les sons. On pourra voir les similitudes entre
les lasers utilisés dans Galactica par les Silons et ceux utilisés
par les forces terrestres dans Buck Rogers. L'histoire
est tout à fait liée à l'actualité des années
70 et on y traite de nombreux sujets sociaux populaires dans ces années-là.
Le coffret qui contient l'ensemble des émissions
de la série, avec quelques ajouts, est de très bonne qualité,
l'audio est parfait et le vidéo a fait l'objet d'un traitement
de restauration lui permettant sa rediffusion sur DVD sans les défauts
associés aux anciens films. À noter qu'une grande déchirure
arrive dans l'histoire de Buck Rogers entre la première et la
seconde saison et il aurait été vraiment beaucoup agréable
de voir l'ensemble de la série construite comme la seconde saison.
Quelques défauts sont comiques et nous font rigoler comme, en
plein milieu de la série, le petit robot Twiki, qui a la tête
en forme de gland, change de voix et passe de la voix grave à
une voix que l'on ne reconaît pas, pour revenir à la fin
de la série avec la voix d'origine. Mel Blanc, qui est aussi
la voix d'origine du fameux Bugs Bunny, est finalement revenu dans la
série pour occuper le rôle de la voix du petit Twiki.
Un très bon produit globalement, sans défaut
majeur qu'il fait plaisir de recommander pour les collectionneurs de
sci-fi des grandes époques.
(D'après Wikipedia)
Buck Rogers au XXVe siècle ou Buck Rogers (Buck
Rogers in the 25th Century) est une série télévisée
américaine en un pilote de 90 minutes et 35 épisodes de
46 minutes, créée par Glen A. Larson et Leslie Stevens
d'après le personnage éponyme de Philip Francis Nowlan,
et diffusée entre le 20 septembre 1979 et le 16 avril 1981 sur
le réseau NBC. En France, la série a été
diffusée à partir du 7 janvier 1984 sur TF1 puis en 2001
sur Série Club.
Synopsis
En 1987, la NASA envoie le Capitaine William « Buck » Rogers
en mission spatiale à bord du vaisseau Ranger 3. Le vaisseau
est accidentellement dévié de sa trajectoire par une pluie
de météorites et son pilote se retrouve en « animation
suspendue ». Il est récupéré 500 ans plus
tard par les Dracons, devenus maîtres de l'espace...
Distribution
* Gil Gerard ( VF: Dominique Paturel) : Capitaine William « Buck
» Rogers
* Erin Gray ( VF: Perrette Pradier) : Colonel Wilma Deering
* Tim O'Connor ( VF: Jean-François Lalet): Docteur Huer (1979-1980)
* Felix Silla ( VF: Albert Augier) voix de Twiki , le robot
* Pamela Hensley : Princesse Ardala (1979-1980)
* Thom Christopher : Hawk (1981)
* Wilfrid Hyde-White : Docteur Goodfellow (1981)
* Jay Garner : Amiral Efrem Asimov (1981)
* Paul Carr : Lieutenant Devlin (1981)
(From Wikipedia)
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is an American science
fiction adventure television series produced by Universal Studios. The
series was developed by Glen A. Larson and ran for two seasons, from
1979 - 1981. The feature-length pilot episode for the series was released
theatrically several months before the series aired.
The film and series were based upon the Buck Rogers character created
by Philip Francis Nowlan that had been featured in comic strips and
novellas since the 1920s, and on the CBS and Mutual radio networks,
airing several times each week from 1932 to 1947.
Concept and broadcast history
Inspired by the massive success of Star Wars two years earlier, the
pilot film opened in cinemas on March 30, 1979. Good box-office returns
led NBC to commission a full series, which began on September 20, 1979
with a modified version of the theatrical release, which trimmed or
altered some racier scenes — including a comment by Twiki ("freezing
his ball bearings off"), and also omitted the death of Tigerman,
Princess Ardala's henchman, who would later appear in several episodes
of the series. There was also some footage added, including Buck exploring
his new quarters, and his first conversation with Dr. Theopolis regarding
the nature of Anarchia.
The production used recycled props, effects shots and costumes from
Larson's previous sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica (1978). For example,
the "landram" vehicle was made for the Galactica series, and
the control sticks used in the Terran starfighters in the pilot/movie
were the same as those used in Galactica's Viper craft. The Terran starfighters
were also concept designer Ralph McQuarrie's original vision of the
Colonial Vipers. The same props were later used in the opening credits
of the TV Show, Out of this World.
The new series centered on Captain William Anthony "Buck"
Rogers, played by Gil Gerard, a NASA pilot who commands Ranger 3, a
space shuttle that is launched in May 1987. Due to a life support malfunction,
Buck is accidentally frozen for 504 years before the derelict spacecraft
is discovered in the year 2491. The combination of gases that froze
his body coincidentally comes close to the formula commonly used in
the 25th Century for cryopreservation, and his rescuers are able to
revive him. He learns that the Earth was rebuilt following a devastating
nuclear war on November 22, 1987, and is now under the protection of
the Earth Defense Directorate.
The series followed him as he tried to fit (not always successfully)
into 25th-Century culture. As there were no traceable personal records
for him, he was uniquely placed, due to his pilot and combat skills
and personal ingenuity, to help Earth Defense foil assorted evil plots
to destroy Earth. In many respects, the new Rogers was more similar
to James Bond or Col. Steve Austin than to Nowlan's original character.
Rogers is aided in his adventures by his friend and semi-romantic interest,
Colonel Wilma Deering, played by Erin Gray, and his comic sidekick robot,
Twiki, voiced by Mel Blanc (who had previously voiced Daffy Duck as
Duck Dodgers in spoofs of the early Buck Rogers and other science fiction
serials).
Twiki, a small robot or "ambuquad," tended to express himself
with the exclamation "biddi-biddi-biddi" followed by a 20th-Century
cliché or catchphrase (many of which he learned from Buck). Dr.
Theopolis, voiced by Eric Server, a sentient computer, was a large disk
with an illuminated face; he was usually worn by Twiki, and was a member
of Earth's "computer council" and one of the planet's scientific
leaders. During the first season, Rogers and Deering took their orders
from Dr. Elias Huer, played by Tim O'Connor, the head of the Defense
Directorate. Some episodes also suggested Huer was the leader of the
entire planet. The series' chief villain was Princess Ardala (played
by Pamela Hensley) whose goal was to conquer the Earth whilst making
Buck her consort. She was aided by her henchman Kane (played in the
pilot film by Henry Silva and in the series by Michael Ansara). Both
of these characters were featured in the original comic strip, but only
Kane (or Killer Kane as he was then known) was featured in the 1939
film serial and was actually the chief villain himself.
The pilot film depicted human civilization as insular and restricted
to a few cities. The main city seen in the pilot and weekly series was
New Chicago, which was also known as the Inner City. Travel beyond the
Inner City was hazardous, as much of the planet was said to be a radioactive
wasteland inhabited by violent mutants.
Making the movie
The movie was originally slated for release for September 1978 according
to director Daniel Haller, in an interview for Fantastic Films Magazine,
Sept '79. There were several start dates for filming but, were repeatedly
delayed due to casting problems.
* The movie's opening credits featured a song Suspension sung by Kipp
Lennon and co-written by Glen Larson using the same score as the series
main title (as an instrumental rather than with lyrics).
* To make Buck appear frozen in his space shuttle he was sprayed with
dry shampoo. Because of this Gerard couldn't open his eyes or move.
During the waits between takes, he reportedly dozed off.
* Aerial dogfights were choreographed with the aid of a Hewlett-Packard
45 computer.
* The ruined City of Chicago called Anarchia was shot on the back lot
of MGM Studios.
* Several 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 originally filmed for the Battlestar Galactica episode, "Greetings
from Earth" where they were said to be the ruins of "Paradeen
City."
* The movie grossed over $21 million in the U.S. and was later released
internationally.
The series
The series showed a more positive picture of future Earth. The Inner
City was renamed New Chicago, and it was established that human civilization
had spread once again across the planet, and also to the stars. After
the movie pilot, little reference to barren wastelands was made; in
several episodes Buck ventures beyond the dome of New Chicago with no
hazards encountered. As opposed to the isolationist planet seen in the
film, Earth is shown to be the center of an interstellar human-dominated
government, sometimes called "the Federation", other times
"the Alliance", with its capital at New Chicago. During the
first season, references were also made to other "new" Earth
cities such as New Detroit, New Manhattan, New Phoenix, and New Tulsa.
A "City-on-the-Sea" was also mentioned as being the former
New Orleans.
Not much can be said with certainty about the nature of the Earth's
government. It is plausible, but speculative, to assume that the 'Federation'
refers to the city-states of Earth such as New Chicago, New Detroit,
etc, and is thus the formal government of the planet Earth, and that
the Alliance is Earth plus its off-world possessions, colonies, etc.
Some support for this idea is found in the episode "Planet of the
Slave Girls", in which we see that a world is governed by a 'governor'
answerable to the Terran state.
Likewise, little can be said of the organization of the government of
Terra. It is canonically known that it is divided into various 'directorates',
and the Energy, Security, Science, Food, and Defense Directorates, at
least, are mentioned by name. How the directorates operate and how they
relate to each other is not made clear. A 'computer council' is mentioned
occasionally, but humans such as Dr. Huer also have significant powers.
Most of the protagonistic characters we encounter are either part of
the Defense Directorate, such as Wilma Deering, or otherwise associated
with it, such as 'freelance' personnel like Buck Rogers. Most Defense
Directorate personnel regard Buck as being at least an 'honorary' captain,
in reference to his pre-War American military rank, but his membership
in Earth's defense forces is unofficial. Nevertheless, Buck often flies
with the fighter squadrons, and assists in their training.
It is not clear whether Dr. Huer is head of the Defense Directorate
specifically, or if he is the overall leader of all the directorates.
Dr. Huer regularly meets, greets, and otherwise deals with representatives
of other sovereign powers, and who sometimes 'faces them down' in hostile
situations. Huer also has been seen in military uniform (at formal occasions),
thus indicating that he is or was a member of the military.
Travel between the stars was accomplished with the use of stargates;
which are artificially created portals in space shown as a diamond-shaped
quartet of brilliant lights that shimmered when a vessel was making
transit. Some people find the transit from stargate to stargate physically
unpleasant (transit resembling a "spinning" of the spacecraft).
Buck Rogers is portrayed as disliking them on at least one occasion.
To portray futuristic-looking buildings on Earth, the show used stock
shots of the remaining national pavilions of Expo 67, particularly the
French and British pavilions as well as shots of the Bonaventure Hotel
in downtown Los Angeles.
Juanin Clay, who played Marla Landers in the first season episode "Vegas
in Space", was originally cast as Wilma for the television series
before Erin Gray decided to return. In the first season Buck had a different
girlfriend every week. Producers demanded that Wilma have blond hair
and repeated dye jobs were needed to lighten Erin Gray's brunette locks
to an appropriately bright yellow.[citation needed] During the final
episodes of the first season, Gray was allowed to return to her natural
hair color, and Wilma was dark-haired thereafter. A relationship between
Rogers and Wilma was hinted at, but rarely expanded upon. His best-known
enemy during the first season was Princess Ardala of Draconia, played
by Pamela Hensley, whose desire was to conquer and possess both Earth
and Buck Rogers.
Although popular with viewers, the first season failed to receive much
critical acclaim; it was seen as being too light-hearted and comic bookish.[who?]
One vocal critic of the series was Gerard himself. He pushed for more
serious storytelling and conflicted with the producers over the show's
tone. "He was a smart-ass," Gerard said of Buck. "Dr
Huer is trying to tell him about an assignment and all Buck is doing
is making one wisecrack after another."
The opening title sequence included stock footage from the Apollo 4
and Apollo 6 launches.
The series had an overall budget of $800,000 per hour of air time, according
to Starlog #32. Twenty episodes of the series were produced by Jock
Gaynor.
The second season
Production of the second season was delayed by several months due to
an actors' strike. When production resumed in the fall of 1980, the
format of the series was changed.
Instead of defending the Earth from external threats, Buck, Wilma and
Twiki were now a part of a crew aboard the Earth spaceship, Searcher.
The Searcher, which displayed the Latin motto, Per Ardua Ad Astra, on
its side, had a mission to seek out the lost "tribes" of humanity
who had scattered in the decades after Earth's 20th century nuclear
war (which is a theme present in another Glen A. Larson science fiction
television series, Battlestar Galactica).
Also notable change in the second season was the disappearance of many
of the regular characters of the first season, such as Dr. Huer, Dr.
Theopolis, Princess Ardala, and Kane. In their place, the following
characters were added:
* Admiral Efram Asimov, commander of the Searcher and a descendant of
the famous science fiction author Isaac Asimov.
* Hawk, an alien character who represents the last of the nearly extinct
bird people.
* Dr. Goodfellow, a scientist with insatiable curiosity.
* Crichton, a snobbish robot, built by Goodfellow, who finds it difficult
to believe that lowly humans could have ever built him.
Another change in the second season was the sound of Twiki's voice.
Mel Blanc left the series at the start of the season and another actor,
Bob Elyea, supplied Twiki's voice. Blanc returned for the final six
episodes of the season. Mel Blanc's Twiki referred to Crichton as "a
poorly behaved son."
The opening narrative was also modified for the second season, both
in terms of the narrator's voice and content. In the first season, William
Conrad delivered the following opening narrative:
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 system and returns Buck Rogers to Earth 500 years later.
In the second season, another uncredited individual delivered the following
alternate narrative:
In the year 1987, NASA launched the last of America's deep space probes.
Aboard this compact starship, a lone astronaut, Captain William "Buck"
Rogers, was to experience cosmic forces beyond all comprehension. In
a freak mishap, his life support systems were frozen by temperatures
beyond imagination. Ranger 3 was blown out of its planned trajectory
into an orbit a thousand times more vast, an orbit which was to return
Buck Rogers to Earth 500 years later.
The substance of the storylines also changed in the second season. With
a few exceptions, Gerard scaled back the humor in the second season
in favor of more serious episodes. Buck and Wilma became more serious
characters. Their relationship became more romantic during the second
year, though most romantic activity was implied and took place off-screen.
Moreover, the second season deals with serious issues such as evolution,
ecology, racism, pollution, war, nuclear power, identity, the self,
and religion. It also draws on mythology as an inspiration as exemplified
by Hawk's people, which are a variant on the Bird people found in mythologies
around the world and makes special reference to the moai of Easter Island,
and by Pangora the satyr.
As well as its parallels to Larson's previous Battlestar Galactica,
the second season is similar in theme to Star Trek, with the Searcher
roaming through space like the Starship Enterprise, Buck being the maverick
explorer true to the style of Captain Kirk, and the serious, rather
stoic Hawk being a revamped version of Mr. Spock.
Ratings dropped significantly after the season premiere. Citing cost
concerns,[citation needed] NBC canceled the series at the end of an
eleven-episode strike-abbreviated season.
International broadcast
The series was shown in the UK in 1980 by ITV in an early Saturday evening
slot, where it competed against - and beat - the BBC's long-running
sci-fi series Doctor Who.
DVD release
Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the complete series on
DVD in North America (Region 1) on November 16, 2004. While it does
contain every episode (from both seasons), it is not complete. The original
movie version of the first episode is included in the set instead of
the extended television version which was broadcast when the show became
a series. Missing elements include scenes of Buck checking out his new
apartment and Buck being approached by Dr. Huer and Wilma to be secret
agent for the Earth Directorate.
The series was released on DVD in Europe (Region 2), though each season
was released separately as opposed to in one set like the Region 1 release.
Season 1 was released on November 22, 2004 and season 2 on October 31,
2005, neither of which had the same cover artwork as the Region 1 release.
Notable differences are the addition of subtitles for various European
languages, and translated text sections on the DVD boxes. The back cover
of the European season 1 box set also erroneously shows the character
Hawk, who did not appear until season two.
Cast
Gil Gerard's title card for Season 2
* Gil Gerard - Captain William Buck Rogers
* Erin Gray - Colonel Wilma Deering
* Tim O'Connor - Dr. Elias Huer (first season)
* Pamela Hensley as Princess Ardala (first season)
* Wilfrid Hyde-White - Dr. Goodfellow (second season)
* Thom Christopher - Hawk (birdman) (second season)
* Jay Garner - Adm. Efrem Asimov (second season)
* Paul Carr - Lt. Devlin (second season)
* Felix Silla - Twiki (physical performance)
* Mel Blanc - Voice of Twiki (first season, plus second season episodes
starting with "The Crystals" through "Testimony of a
Traitor")
* Bob Elyea - Voice of Twiki (second season episodes "Time of the
Hawk" to "The Golden Man")
* Eric Server - Voice of Dr. Theopolis (first season)
* Jeff David - Voice of Crichton (second season)
* William Conrad - Narrator (first season)
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