Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Season 2

Some Buck Rogers fans seem to think that this season was rotten. I am here to make the case that season two was actually better than season one. Just kidding, it wasn't! Dr. Huer is gone, Buck seems gloomier, Wilma is less of a focus, Twiki's voice is terrible and Crighton is annoying. I knew we were in trouble just by watching a scene early on in the second season. Buck and Wilma are sitting at a table with Dr. Goodfellow. It might have been in a cafeteria. Anyways, there is an awkward nervousness to the scene as if they were on the first day of a new job. Buck and Wilma were always so relaxed and natural that it was obvious something was off.Even so, season two did start off promising as it introduced an interesting character, Hawk. If they would have kept everything the same and just added him, the show still would have been great. I also really liked the second episode "Journey to Oasis" featuring Mark Lenard. The decline in quality after that is no fault of the great Wilfrid Hyde-White, it just seems like the writers gave him little to work with. Same with Jay Garner.The whole situation reminds me of Space 1999. Someone decided the show needed an overhaul and ruined it. Space 1999 also brought in a couple of great characters, Tony and Maya, for season two, but everything else got worse. And like with Tim O'Connor, Space 1999 lost the wonderful Barry Morse after the first season.Still, season two does offer more Buck Rogers and that's a good thing. And although it seemed the magic was slipping away, it still offered a few enjoyable episodes.The Blu RayJust like the Blu Ray release of the first season, the picture quality here is excellent and not overly compressed. I'm not sure if this show was just unusually well-preserved or that someone did a heck of a remastering job, but it looks beautiful. Clarity, colors and details all look wonderful, making this and season 1, the best Blu Ray releases of an older TV show that I've seen.

The first copy I got did not include the TV pilot! It said it included the TV pilot and that it had four discs. When I got it, it did not include the pilot, and it only had two discs - the same two discs that were included in "The Complete Epic Series". They were even listed as Discs 4 & 5. Be careful what you buy. I bought mine online. If you are looking for the TV pilot, try maybe buying it new at a store rather than online. And make sure it says it includes the pilot on cover before buying. After I got a bad one online, I decided to look for it new in stores. The one I bought at the store actually included four discs and the TV pilot as a bonus episode on the final disc.The first DVD release of the show was "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Complete Epic Series" which included both seasons one & two in one box set. But it only had the theatrical edit of the pilot. They made two edits of the pilot, a movie edit that was released in theaters nearly six months before the TV series was released, and a television edit which they aired as part of the television series. Now they have re-released the series on DVD in seasons. Season One still only includes the theatrical pilot, but Season Two includes the TV pilot as a bonus episode. I already had "The Complete Epic Series" DVD box set, but being a fan of the show, I still wanted the TV pilot as well. So I bought the season two set as well.Although I do prefer the theatrical edit, I still wanted the TV edit too. Mainly because of four scenes they added in the TV version (1. The scene where Twiki and Theo show Buck his new apartment, 2. Buck's inquiry about Anarkia - which is the 25th century name for old Chicago, 3. The part where Wilma thanks Buck for helping her fight the pirates but then tells him that since the Princess denied Buck's story that she would have to place him under arrest and Buck tells her that it would be pointless due to the fact that he has nowhere to go that the only home he had is 500 years in the past, 4. The added epilogue scene at the end that features Buck decorating his new place when he is interrupted by Wilma and Dr. Huer who try to get him to join Earth's Defense Directorate.) All of those scenes make the TV version worth buying. However, on the down side, the scene with Buck fighting Tigerman is trimmed and badly edited, King Draco no longer appears in the story, they cut out Kane's last line about getting revenge on Buck Rogers, and a boom mike can also be seen in one scene (the scene was also featured in the movie, but the boom mike does not appear in the movie version). That's why I like the movie edit better, but those four added scenes in the TV version still got me to re-buy a season I already have just so I could watch them.As for the season itself, season two was a big departure from the first. Although the series was doing good during its first season, the network went ahead and cut the show's budget for its second, the show was reformatted to have a more "Star Trek" type of feel to it, they got rid of several characters from the first season, the show didn't have as much action in it, the special effects weren't as good, and Wilma's character was changed from an heroic colonel to the damsel in distress. It's not surprising the show didn't do as well after that. I could see changing a show and cutting its budget if it's not doing well, but if something works, why the hell do they think they need to tamper with it?! But even though the second season wasn't as good as the first, I still found it enjoyable. Most of the stories were still good, and most of them were even taken more seriously apart from the episode "Shgoratchx!". And I really liked the new character Hawk played by Tom Christopher. So even though the first season was better, I still recommend Season Two because it was still a good sci-fi show. And even if you're a fan and don't like this season, I still recommend buying it mainly for the TV pilot. Just make sure you're buying a copy that actually has the pilot.

The 2nd season aired in 1981 at at the time I was away at school and did not have a chance to watch it.I liked the show. It was fun to watch and the writing was generally very good. In Season 2, Buck is no longer on Earth, instead he's on a space ship called the Searcher and the mission is to find the lost colonies of Earth that left after the nuclear holocaust in November 1987. Only Buck, Wilma and Twiki are the carryover's from the first season. Their are less special effects in the 2nd season, almost as if their budget was scaled back. The show takes on more social issues. The music is very good, and Buck has a new sidekick named Hawk. They did not start out as friends but Buck convinces him that they have a common mission. I wish that they found some of Hawk's people. On balance it was still Buck Rogers and we got to learn more about him and his past.The last disc (Disc 4) contains the original pilot made from the movie (theatrical release) from March 1979. The ending is better than the theatrical release. It was nice to see Princess Ardala again. At times I thought Buck was very similar to Col Steve Austin (just in different centuries), but I guess that's to be expected since Glen A Larson was also involved in the Six Million Dollar Man TV show.A note about the outer case of the Season 2 set. Mine had a massive crack in the inside back cover, and the replacement one also had a crack (only not as large). I guess QC is down a little.

This series is not as funny as the first and Twicky got voiced by someone else with a high squeaky voice. Also the addition of a robotic coathanger called Crichton is annoying. Mel was reinstated later in the final episodes due to public pressure. A huge disappointment.

Shoulder pads, Flashy dressing and cheesy plots, this stuff is great to watch with friends

great retro sifi

im very disappointed for no subtitles for deaf people like me. I don't understand why..

Loved watching this series when I was little , good, cheesy fun with likeable actors although second series not as good as the first series (just my opinion) but still a nostalgic fun fest.