Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 20, 2020

"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Collection" (1979-1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials; new audio commentaries by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz; and new video interviews with actors Erin Gray and Thom Christopher. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. Region-A "locked".

The defrosted man

Nostalgia is a pretty powerful drug. It can play with your head in a number of unusual ways and make you see and hear things that do not exist. This isn’t news to me, but I have never attempted to permanently expunge it from my life. Why should I? In the past, I have discovered books, music albums and films that I would have never bothered with if I did not feel nostalgic. I would admit that some of my discoveries have been pretty poor, but this is what makes the whole process of digging into older material exciting to me -- I never know what I would get until I try it. So, when I strike gold, the feeling can be very special.

For a little over a week now, I have been going through the different episodes of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Collection, which features Season One and Season Two of the original TV series as well as Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Theatrical Version, which is essentially a widescreen theatrical version of the original TV pilot. Nostalgia is what attracted me to this box set because years ago I had a couple of episodes from the series recorded on VHS tapes and I wanted to revisit them. Needless to say, once I started my marathon it felt like someone had suddenly unleashed an avalanche of memories inside my head, and a few actually proved quite overwhelming.

The main discovery I made during my marathon, however, is that I may not have seen any of the Season Two episodes. I am still unconvinced that I missed them completely, but if I did see a few then for some reason my mind refused to store any memories of them. So, viewing Season Two was not a refreshing viewing experience, but a brand new one.

There were no surprises with Season One because it was pretty much as I remember it -- full of good old-fashioned action and playful in ways most adults can appreciate, with many elaborate sets and decors and great looking clothing. In fact, as far as the clothing is concerned, I actually need to clarify that I did a lot more discovering than memory refreshing because I could see and appreciate now the hard work that had gone into creating the colorful futuristic and very sexy outfits that make the entire production look seriously stylish. And no, my description isn’t influenced by nostalgia. It is just a fact that there is quite a bit of material in Season One that replicates the opulence you would discover in Flash Gordon.

But comparing Season One to Season Two revealed some pretty significant discrepancies in their quality, with the latter looking almost as if it was conceived for a very different audience. For example, after Captain Buck Rogers (Gil Rogers) is defrosted the writers of Season One basically invent a wide range of pretexts that allow its characters to be playful in as many ways as they can while engaging each other in different situations. A quick glance at Buck’s relationship with the flirty Princess Ardala (Pamela Hensley), for instance, should provide you with a perfect example of Season One’s ability to excite in multiple ways. And it works really, really well because you can tell that everyone is on board with the cheeky fun. In Season One, Twiki (Mel Blanc) has a much more interesting relationship with Buck as well. There is a bit of an intellectual competition going on between the two, where on a number of different occasions trust has to be earned. So, Season One looks good and has an attitude that makes its characterizations and the silly fun quite attractive.

Season Two is very different and for a number of reasons. First, it is quite easy to tell that it was made with a smaller budget that prevented it from looking as opulent as Season One. (By the way, there were other legit factors that are discussed in a very good new audio commentary recorded by film historian and Buck fan Patrick Jankiewicz, but the truth is that Season Two simply looks cheaper). Second, the tone and attitude of the material are new. Buck is now on the spaceship Searcher that roams around the galaxy looking for Earth survivors and, after a tense encounter, is teamed up with Hawk (Thom Christopher), a birdman from another planet. Almost immediately, there is an unmissable shift toward much more serious conflicts which effectively eliminate the playful attitude that made Season One memorable. Also, Twiki’s (Felix Silla) personality is altered. The tiny robot is demoted to something of a docile joker who is often expected to compliment Buck, which of course completely changes the dynamic of their relationship.

I am satisfied with the type of vintage entertainment I got out of my Buck marathon, but I would be lying if I did not write that Season Two felt like a remake that did not quite get the formula for success right. Buck and serious drama simply do not mix particularly well, and I don’t quite understand the decision to move in a new direction with Season Two. The content may look familiar, but without the light fun and flirting the series just isn’t the same.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.36:1 and 2.05:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The two TV seasons have been remastered by Universal Studios and generally speaking look rather good in high-definition. However, the quality of the technical presentations isn't consistent. For example, while all episodes look clean and very stable, on some there are small but noticeable traces of denoising corrections. It is not distracting, but trained eyes should see that delineation and depth would have been more convincing without them. You can see examples in screencaptures #19 and 20. Density levels are good, but the corrections I mentioned have an impact on fluidity, which isn't entirely as filmic as it should be. On a larger screen it is also easy to see that some finer nuances are lost, with darker areas typically revealing the most obvious examples. The color grading job is very good and some of the episodes from Season One that have bigger and more elaborate set designs look very impressive. There are no distracting large debris, cuts, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report.

Buck Rogers in the 2th Century: Theatrical Version has a few speck and spots, but it actually has much stronger organic qualities. Depth in particular can be very nice, even great at times, plus in a lot of darker areas shadow definition is actually healthier. Grain appears better exposed as well. The color scheme is convincing, though there is a little bit of room for rebalancing adjustment, particularly as far as nuances are concerned. But I like the current color scheme a lot. Image stability is very good. My score for the theatrical version is 4.00/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Every episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Theatrical Version can be viewed with a standard English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided.

I did not detect any anomalies to report in our review. I thought that the audio was very clear, clean, and stable, which tells me that it was transferred exactly as it is and then optimized when the current master was prepared. The music can sound quite impressive and often produces a lot of memorable dynamic contrasts. Can the audio sound better? Right now, I don't think so.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY: THEATRICAL VERSION

• Trailer - vintage trailer for the film. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• Theatrical Preview - a special vintage preview of the film, with extended highlights. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080p).

• Radio Spots - vintage TV spots for the film. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary - an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by critics Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson.

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY SEASON ONE: DISC ONE

• Audio Commentary One - audio commentary for Awakening recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

• Audio Commentary Two - audio commentary for Slave Girls recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

• Audio Commentary Three - audio commentary for Vegas in Space recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY SEASON ONE: DISC TWO

• Audio Commentary - audio commentary for Unchained Woman recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY SEASON ONE: DISC THREE

• Audio Commentary - audio commentary for Space Vampire recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY SEASON ONE: DISC FOUR

• Audio Commentary One - audio commentary for Twiki is Missing recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

• Audio Commentary Two - audio commentary for A Dream of Jennifer recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY SEASON ONE: DISC FIVE

• Audio Commentary One - audio commentary for Space Rockers recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

• Audio Commentary Two - audio commentary for Flight of the War Witch: Part One recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

• Audio Commentary Three - audio commentary for Flight of the War Witch: Part Two recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY SEASON TWO: DISC ONE

• Audio Commentary Three - audio commentary for Time of the Hawk recorded by film and TV historian Patrick Jankiewicz.

BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY SEASON TWO: DISC THREE

• Interview with Actor Erin Gray - in this new video interview, Erin Gray (Colonel Wilma Deering) discusses her transition from modeling to acting and her contribution to Buck Rogers in the 25th Century as well he experiences with different cast members and producers and directors. There are also some very interesting comments about the James Bond-esque opening credits. The interview was conducted exclusively for Kino Lorber in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (19 min, 1080p).

• Interview with Actor Thom Christopher - in this new video interview, Thom Christopher (Hawk) discusses the evolution of his acting career, and specifically his TV work, as well as his involvement with Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and the character he played. The interview was conducted exclusively for Kino Lorber. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080p).

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Season One of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century has such a terrific sense of humor that the sci-fi characteristics of its content actually become irrelevant. It is just a lot of exotic fun that works great in a variety of different ways. However, Season Two chooses a new direction and suddenly becomes disappointingly serious. There are still a few daring looks and witty jokes that pop up here and there, but the atmosphere isn't the same. Patrick Jankiewicz recorded a number of excellent audio commentaries for this release and he discusses in great detail why the change occurred, and all I can add is that someone made the wrong call. To be perfectly clear, Season Two still offers a decent amount of vintage entertainment, but when you compare it to Season One the drop in quality becomes undeniable. In addition to Season One and Season Two, this nine-disc box set contains the theatrical version of the original TV pilot, as well as various exclusive new bonus features. RECOMMENDED.