BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY - "Unchained Woman" (1979)

 "Buck Rogers In The 25th Century," now this is what I call a real Saturday Night Special!

 This incarnation of Buck Rogers was on TV from 1979 to 1981. 

In 1979 I had a black and white TV that got three channels, my first daughter was born, and I was working seven days a week. Needless to say, I never saw any of this show when it was on the air!

 Season one, episode seven was titled "Unchained Woman," and had Jamie Lee Curtis as the unchained woman guest star, and it's up to Buck to get her out of prison so she can testify against her doofus boyfriend, a crook named Malary Panter.

 Buck Rogers first appeared on the big screen in 1934 in a short called "Buck Rogers In The 25th Century" that had John Dille Jr. as Buck, but the first big twelve episode serial came out in 1939, and Buck was played by Buster Crabbe!

(Switch their names around and it sounds like a country western duo......

Presenting Buster Rogers and Buck Crabbe.)

In the 1950's TV series, Buck was played by Kem Dibbs one season, and Robert Pastene the other.

 But in this 1979 version, Buck Rogers was played by Gil Gerard!

Gil is still working today, and has a couple of films in post-production!

Here he's arriving at the prison! Whack door looks like a big film reel!

 Mel Blanc who did every cartoon voice from Bugs Bunny to Barney Rubble is the voice of Twiki the robot. The other gizmo is a cross between a 1949 Ford headlight and a disco ball!

 Here's a fascinating shot of what personal electronics incoming prisoners have to drop off before entering! Buck's medallion there in the middle is a remote controlled bomb! I don't know what all the other things are, telecommunicators I imagine! That bulky looking one doesn't look too handy!

 Jamie Lee looks really excited about being rescued!

 The place blows to kingdom come and all the android guards are blown to smithereens, and now Buck and his unchained guest have to trek across the desert in search of some of civilization, and a way off this planet!

 But wait, this guard, the one who said his name wasn't Hugo is still functional, and is tracking the couple!

 Hugo is really the best part of the show from here on out, as the robot that takes a lickin', and keeps on tickin'. It's pretty funny, he kicks that styrofoam rock and it curves midair!

 Poor Hugo, the sand squids got him!

 Erin Gray always looks good as Colonel Wilma Deering, Buck's partner!

 A lot of the effects and locations in this show look pretty snazzy!

 Since he's not human, Hugo managed to totally destroy the sand squid in 2 out of 3 rounds!

 With his superhuman strength, Hugo breaks through the wall, and I laughed out loud. He's still on the trail of Buck because he has a bracelet with a transmitter in it, so they take the bracelet off of Buck, and put it on Malary Panter, and the results are pretty funny!

 Hugo chases Malary down with ease through this old movie set!

 Now they've got to deal with Hugo!

 It's really quite interesting that this episode revolves around Hugo, who was played by a Mr. Walter Hunter in his one and only time in front of a camera. I can't find out anything about this guy, not even a birth date!

This role was rough, maybe he just had enough!

So to all the Walter Hunters in the world, this one's for you!

I think it's pretty cool that Buck Rogers can fly around in his mini-jet car and punch out bad guys at the same time! That takes talent!