Taking sides - Battlestar Galactica vs. Buck Rogers In The 25th Century

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I'll go with Buck Rogers - much more your authentic slice of Glen A. Larson guilty pleasure.

It's got the kitsch factor more acutely than BG, it's got more phwoar factor thanks to Wilma and Princess Ardala and Twiki is rather less grating than that mechanical "Daggit". Apollo and Starbuck just seem insipid by contrast.

So who do you choose - Gil Gerard or Lorne Greene?

Oh, and Galactica 1980 and the second season of Buck (with Hawk and Wilfrid Hyde-White) more or less balance each other out in terms of direness.

― Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 18:59 (10 years ago) Permalink

Mmm...choices choices. These defined much of my TV viewing in the late seventies, since I needed a Star Wars laser fix of *some* sort waiting for Empire Strikes Back...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 19:05 (10 years ago) Permalink

Oh, man, is this even a choice? Battlestar Galactica! It had a ragtag fleet with GREAT SPACESHIPS, not one but SEVERAL action hero pilots, poker games played with funky cards, a whole pile of amazingly attractive women (some of whom kicked ass), and the best aliens evah! (by your command) Not only that, but they had fighter ships that were obviously ripped off from Star Wars, and bad guy ships that looked like metallic potato chips! And Baltar! If there's a better TV scifi bad guy than John Colicos, I haven't seen him yet.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 19:20 (10 years ago) Permalink

On the whole I'd go for Buck Rogers - mainly for Wilma Deering being an important part of my sexual awakening. I still hanker for a feisty polyester-clad space Colonel. And without Buck Rogers we wouldn't have Futurama.

But there were some really good episodes of Battlestar Galactica, quite dark too - the one where they contrive a fancy dress party so that the Cylon can fit in sticks in my mind. The Cylons were way cooler than anything that Buck Rogers had to fight.

― Alfie (Alfie), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 19:32 (10 years ago) Permalink

Cylons rock! Weren't there always three of them in their tiny fighter plane ship things? And didn't they talk through a vocoder?

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 19:33 (10 years ago) Permalink

This truly is a clash of the Shitans.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 19:38 (10 years ago) Permalink

Personally I always thought the Cylons were like clunky versions of the Cybermen - Baltar's aide Lucifer was great however.

― Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 19:43 (10 years ago) Permalink

Whoooaaaa... synchronicity. We just had this debate when I was writing the Capitol K progtronica piece. Erm... probably Cattlecar Galactica because I had a crush on one of the boys when I was about nine and I didn't fancy Buck Rodgers or his dodgy space-disco. I think Buck had better robots though, biddiebiddiebiddie but BG had that amazing robotic dog. I'm a big sucker for robotic dogs.

― kate, Wednesday, 15 January 2003 20:05 (10 years ago) Permalink

It's all about the Space Rockers with Buck, as I muttered in a recent CTCL column. Or how Gary Coleman ended up ruling the universe or something.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 20:37 (10 years ago) Permalink

Mel Blanc = Buck Rogers wins.

Except I vote for Duck Dodgers In The Twenty-Fifth And A Halfth Century! (if that's the right title).

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 21:41 (10 years ago) Permalink

Battle Star Galactica wins for the excellent modeling, Casseiopea, Ceylons, and the fact that the whole thing is Mormon propaganda!

Though I still love Buck Rogers for Wilma and bee-dee-bee-dee-bee-dee

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 22:54 (10 years ago) Permalink

whole thing is Mormon propaganda!

Holy smokes! Please elaborate!

(Mormons = the new Jews, secret world bank and all that)

― Tom Millar (Millar), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 23:01 (10 years ago) Permalink

I had a crush on Starbuck. Yes, I admit it!

Then there was that weird mechanical bear/dog thing that the kid had, Muffet was it?

― Kim (Kim), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 23:04 (10 years ago) Permalink

Also, BG whups BR's ass simply for the Cylons- recurring villains don't get much better than that. I loved the sound they constantly made - I think Kit from Knight Rider must have been built with Cylon parts.

Ben: Clunkier than Cybermen? I thought the only thing clunkier than a Cyberman was a Dalek. Ugh.

― Tom Millar (Millar), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 23:04 (10 years ago) Permalink

whole thing is Mormon propaganda!
Holy smokes! Please elaborate!

check it out!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 23:07 (10 years ago) Permalink

Tom: I seem to remember the Cylons moved rather slowly so were pretty easy targets, but I'd sure they could climb stairs if they wanted to!

― Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 23:31 (10 years ago) Permalink

The Cylons moved slowly because they were always bombed out of their robot brains on electro-narcotics. It's the only reason humanity ever had a chance.

― Tom Millar (Millar), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 23:34 (10 years ago) Permalink

I was terribly amused after the fact to learn about the whole Mormon deal. Did it actually influence anyone?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 15 January 2003 23:49 (10 years ago) Permalink

I have eleven kids to show for it, never understood that urge until today

― Tom Millar (Millar), Thursday, 16 January 2003 00:07 (10 years ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

The fact that Millar has eleven kids no longer surprises me now. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 10 July 2003 01:14 (9 years ago) Permalink

― Dada, Thursday, 10 July 2003 01:17 (9 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Isn't there a new Battlestar G with a female Starbuck or something.

Galactica got really shit when the Super Scouts rocked up. Its Buck all the way for me. Twiiki plus all the plots revolving around something that only Buck could dodespite it being the futur (usually using a TV remote control or fixing the fanbelt of a car with Wilma's tights).

― Pete (Pete), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 11:59 (9 years ago) Permalink

Isn't there a new Battlestar G with a female Starbuck or something.

Due for broadcast in the States in December

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 12:18 (9 years ago) Permalink

Galactica gets my vote because of the continuity shots of the ships. That throaty engine buzz. It was the first time in sci-fi that space itself had its own sound (that I can remember, anybollocks)

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 12:20 (9 years ago) Permalink

Buck Rogers isn't having a computer game written for him by Grant Morrison => Battlestar Galactica for me.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 12:23 (9 years ago) Permalink

great Buck Rogers things:

1. Buck teaching the future people how to boogie

2. Buck teaching the future people how to tackle people in American football.

3. "Hiya Buck!"

eh... that's it really.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 12:42 (9 years ago) Permalink

I've read somewhere that the whole series of Battlestar Galactica is coming out on DVD. The Region 1 release is being released in a box set that looks like a Cylon's head apparently.

― Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 13:37 (9 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, it's all getting released in November over here to build attention for the new miniseries.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 13:43 (9 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

This makes my jaw drop.

Lyrics to Suspension Theme
vocals by Kipp Lennon

"Far beyond the world I've known,
Far beyond my time
What am I, who am I, what will I be?
Where am I going, and what will I see?
Searching my mind for some truth to reveal
What parts are fantasy, what memories real?
Long before this life of mine,
Long before this time
What was there, who cared to make it begin?
Is it forever, or will it all end?
Searching my past for things that I've seen
Is it my life, or something I've dreamed?
Far beyond this world I've known,
Far beyond my time
What kind of world am I going to find?
Will it be real, or just all in my mind?
What am I, who am I, what will I be?
Where am I going, and what will I see?"

(So any guesses as to how they would do Buck Rogers over again a la the Galactica revamp?)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 11 August 2006 20:22 (6 years ago) Permalink

buck rogers had jennifer grey. buck rogers wins!

although nu-battlestar beats all, obv.

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 11 August 2006 21:17 (6 years ago) Permalink

oops, not jennifer grey. what the hell was her name? Erin Gray!

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 11 August 2006 21:19 (6 years ago) Permalink

buck rogers also had the booty booty robot, but battlestar had lorne green, dirk benedict, and a group of ex-ILM effects guys

― kingfish trapped under ice (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 11 August 2006 21:30 (6 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

When is Buck Rogers remake coming?

― The Real Dirty Vicar, Wednesday, 18 June 2008 11:43 (4 years ago) Permalink

4 years pass...

Revive.

― Ned Raggett, Monday, 17 September 2012 21:51 (8 months ago) Permalink

"Mormons in Space" vs Erin Gray in shiny spandex.

http://www.femmefatalities.com/stills/erin_gray/a02.JPG

Plus, BR had better music:

― A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down (Sanpaku), Monday, 17 September 2012 23:12 (8 months ago) Permalink

Quark was better than either

― Faster than food (Myonga Vön Bontee), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 18:32 (8 months ago) Permalink

I always liked the sense of humour in BR. Old school BG was so po faced by comparison. Apart from some of Starbuck's bits and the throwaway "What's a centon?" line.

― a great poke for Jet Set Willy (snoball), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 21:07 (8 months ago) Permalink

series 2 of buck rogers is like eye-searingly terrible.

― Trad., Arrrgh (stevie), Wednesday, 19 September 2012 21:20 (8 months ago) Permalink

It's like every line of dialogue from that series has "LOL" appended to it, apart from all Hawk's lines.

― a great poke for Jet Set Willy (snoball), Wednesday, 19 September 2012 21:22 (8 months ago) Permalink

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 19 September 2012 21:23 (8 months ago) Permalink

"+ instant queue"

― balls, Wednesday, 19 September 2012 21:29 (8 months ago) Permalink

i loved buck rogers so much as a kid - thought hawk was such a badass, erin gray such a fox. RIGHT ON BOTH COUNTS.

― balls, Wednesday, 19 September 2012 21:30 (8 months ago) Permalink

Did anyone ever see the Gil Gerard special that was on Discovery Health or a similar channel? He had to get a gastric bypass and was a depressed, socially withdrawn dude. It was one of the most depressing things I've seen.

― controversial cabaret roommate (Nicole), Wednesday, 19 September 2012 22:46 (8 months ago) Permalink

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