Television series

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Name: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Released: 1979
Cast: Erin Gray, Gil Gerard, Tim O'Connor, Thom Christopher, Jay Garner

A 1979 space adventure where a 20th-century astronaut wakes up 500 years in the future to find Earth under threat. It's earnest, colorful, and packed with that specific brand of '70s sci-fi optimism—zippy plots, rubber aliens, and genuine heart beneath the camp. For anyone who loves the tactile futurism of *Star Wars* and early *Trek*.

TVMaze rating

3.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love late-seventies space opera played straight, with cheerful retro gadgetry, a sparring heroic pair and episodic adventures you can dip into without homework.

Skip it if you find old-school sci-fi camp hard to forgive, since its sets, costumes and wobbly effects wear their 1979 budget openly and the tone rarely lets up into anything darker.

What it asks of you: Thirty-seven hour-long episodes over two seasons, so it wants a steady evening commitment and a format that stays bright, brisk and episodic rather than building one big tension.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Expanse2015

Hard sci-fi with real stakes, politics, and a ragtag crew protecting humanity across the solar system. Scratches the same itch for space-based adventure but with modern production values and serialized depth.

But Five seasons before cancellation, so the ending feels rushed. Very serialized—jumping in mid-season is nearly impossible.

Star Trek: The Next Generation1987

The template for optimistic space adventure. Episodic exploration with a clear-eyed captain and a capable crew tackling alien encounters and ethical dilemmas. Lighter touch than the originals.

But First two seasons are clunky. Even at its best, it's a time commitment—179 episodes of variable quality.

Barbarella1968

Jane Fonda in a campy, colorful, utterly unashamed romp through a retro-future. Pure '60s sci-fi swagger with practical effects, weird aliens, and genuine fun. Same spirit as Buck.

But Deliberately silly in ways that don't land for everyone. The film's famous for kitsch, not sophistication.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Quatermass and the Pit1967

Both are displaced-person stories—one literal, one philosophical—about humanity confronting forces that remake what it means to survive. Both trust the audience to care about ideas beneath the spectacle.

A British sci-fi masterpiece about an alien artifact buried under London, excavated by a fearless scientist. Utterly grounded, genuinely unsettling, and proof that '60s sci-fi could be intelligent without sacrificing wonder. Built from the same DNA but in a completely different accent.

But Slow-burn British horror-sci-fi; the opposite of Buck's zippy action. Feels more like a think-piece than an adventure.

Flash Gordon1980

A pulp adventure hero fighting Ming the Merciless on an alien world, rendered in glorious Technicolor schlock. Queen's soundtrack, rubber suits, earnest heroics—it's *Buck* by way of 1930s serials.

But Knows exactly what it is and leans hard into camp. If you want subtlety, look elsewhere.

Space: 19991975

A lunar base is hurled into space and encounters impossible phenomena weekly. Eerie, beautifully designed, and genuinely strange in ways *Buck* isn't. The same era's sci-fi optimism colliding with cosmic horror.

But Pacing is slow by modern standards. Some concepts are half-baked, and answers rarely satisfy.

The Black Hole1979

Disney's earnest disaster-sci-fi about a ship encountering a mysterious vessel near a black hole. Practical effects, likable crew, and a genuine sense of wrongness. Released the same year as *Buck*.

But Tonal whiplash between family film and apocalyptic dread. The ending divides people sharply.

Planet of the Apes1968

A time-displaced astronaut discovers Earth's post-apocalyptic future. The DNA of Buck's premise, executed with intelligence and a killer twist. Holds up brilliantly as both spectacle and satire.

But Dated makeup work. Slower burn than modern action films, with stretches of exposition.

Logan's Run1976

A fugitive and a woman escape a domed utopia to find the outside world. Stunning practical design, engaging world-building, and that perfect '70s sci-fi blend of color and strangeness.

But The love story feels obligatory. Pacing stumbles in the final act.

Kin-dza-dza!1986

Both use space adventure as a frame to ask what humans are like when transplanted into unfamiliar worlds. Buck takes it earnestly; this takes it as dark comedy. Both trust their premise.

A Soviet sci-fi comedy about two men accidentally teleported to a bizarre desert planet with grotesque aliens and absurd social customs. Visually striking, weird, and funny in ways that subvert every space-opera expectation. A total wildcard that plays by its own rules.

But Intentionally strange and deadpan; if you want conventional storytelling or easy laughs, this will confuse you. Subtitled, slow to reveal what it's doing.

Sapphire and Steel1979

Both debut in 1979 and feature protagonists thrust into situations beyond normal understanding, but whereas Buck solves problems with optimism and fists, Sapphire & Steel is haunted by what they cannot explain or fix.

A mysterious pair of time-traveling agents investigate temporal anomalies in standalone stories. Eerie, British, and completely without the action-adventure tone you'd expect. Same year as Buck but from another universe—hypnotic, intelligent, and quietly terrifying.

But Intentionally cryptic and slow. No answers, no exposition dumps. If you need your mysteries solved, this will frustrate you deeply.