This week, we go back, back, back, back, way back to the 1970s and the television viewing habits of our youth – well, some of our youths, as others weren’t born until the mid-’80s, and some of you didn’t arrive until the (gasp) ’90s.
Two television series arrived in the late ’70s to vie for our attention, and capitalize on the Star Wars craze.
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 1978
BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO8kFHCXiEg[/youtube]
24 Comments
I vote for Rogers, if only for Duffy Ducks’ “Duck Dodger’s, in the 24th and one half century…” song.
P.S. Wasn’t alive when either show was on the air, I’m surprised anyone who actually watched it when it came out IS ;-)
I was only a mythical concept when these aired but I have to give Biddy-Biddy-Biddy-BUCK! It had the better “movie” with the best opening credits ever, as well as Erin Gray!
Dirk always looked like a woman to me. Ha! Funny Star Doe!!!
I choose Battlestar Galactica, simply because I have never watched Buck Rogers.
I was alive and watched both those shows and I have to give the nod to Buck Rodgers. Not only is the intro music good but Erin Gray was hot and Mel Blanc did the voice of the robot! Actually Erin Gray is still hot.
Buck Rogers had cool ships, but Battlestar had cool ships *and* cyclons. Voting Battlestar!
Battlestar Galactica is WAY better than Buck Rogers! Why? Two words. Lorne Greene. Nuff Said.
Which ’70s Sci-Fi television show was better? QUARK.
Trick question Doctor Who was better than both these shows in the 70’s.
Forced to choose though, I give it to Buck Rogers. As a wee lad in the 90’s I had at least heard of Buck Rogers, and seen a bit of it. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I saw anything Battlestar related.
Buck may have had Col. Wilma Deering in skin tight spandex, but in a head to head brawl, she would only have been a momentary distraction in the face of the Egyptian styled militaristic space armada that was Battlestar Galactica. But from a kids perspective in the late 70’s what a distraction that was…
Grew up in the ’80s watching repeats of these in “the Star Trek slot”. I recall was perpetually fascinated by the re-use of the joystick prop from one in the other. I suspect my favourite was whichever was currently on, which I remember being more Battlestar than Buck so I’m voting that way. If you asked me which I’d rather rewatch now, it’d probably be Buck Rogers.
I have fond memories of watching both series when they originally aired.
Battlestar Galactica > Buck Rogers Season 1
Galactica 1980 > Buck Rogers’ Year of the “Searcher”
In terms of villains that didn’t wear bathing suits: John Colicos > Jack Palance > Michael Ansara > Patrick MacNee.
Buck Rogers had Princess Ardala and better guest stars (Gary Coleman, Frank Gorshin, Cesar Romero, et. al), but BSG had the better mythos.
Buck Rogers had more potential (not to mention laser blasts that were yellow and purple…unheard of!), but it had far too much corn. BSG had corn as well, but the streak did not run as deep.
BUCK ROGERS even had Buster Crabbe, the original Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, guest star as Colonel Gordon. That’s enough reason to swing my vote. (Although the Cylons were the better robots…they were cool).
Buck Rogers.
Erin Gray in a spandex unitard trumps all.
Amen, brother!
i voted Buck. Even though I loved both shows, I believe the smaller cast of Buck was better for the writing. While both shows were good for their day, whe both had drastic changes (Buck to a starship and BG to Earth) Buck I believe got better while BG was cheesey. Boy scout troop of alien children? Unfortunately, Battlestar will probably win due to the popularity of the recent series.
Mmmm….Erin Gray in a jumpsuit. Yummy! Buck Rogers for me please!
This was a tough choice for me because I loved both series, but I chose Battlestar Galatica as it was the more serious show. That said, Hawk’s ship in Buck Rodgers was one of the coolest ever.
Having never watched either (despite being a huuuuuge fan of the newer BSG) I’ve gone with Buck Rogers because the intro sold me a more promising bill of goods and I didn’t fall asleep during the opening dialogue.
I did grow up around the time they were on. I was old enough when they aired to wish both were better when I watched them. But to me Battlestar had a better opening, not necessarily the song but I always like the “There are those who believe” bit. As for the stories neither were well written though I could sit through Battlestar as a teenager.
The only reason I ever sat through Buck Rogers was Erin Grey. She was hotness. Overall Battlestar was better and actually had a lot of unrealized potential. Potential they covered in cow feces when they made Battlestar 1980. In some ways season two of Buck Rogers was better, the first couple episodes I kind of liked their Token Hawkman.
I’m with Tellis though. Quark was better than both of them in story quality and watch-ability. Especially with the Twins there.
Did anyone else just want to take a crowbar to Twiki every time he spoke? I thought it was the stupidest character ever… and his major function was to carry another AI around???? They couldn’t just build legs wtih the appropriate processors to run them for the AI’s that ruled that dystopian mess of a future?
Erin Grey’s jump suit left a stain on my childhood – but was a bigger fan of Battlestar Galactica back in the day. I even wrote into children TV show Jim’ll Fix It (dodgy looking DJ grants wishes for Kiddies) to ask him to fix it for me to go on patrol with Starbuck and Apollo – he never made it happen.
I voted for Battlestar Galactica – though if the shows were being judged only by Useless Female Sidekicks, Erin Grey would win hands down. But if you remove Erin from the spotlight, Buck Rogers absolutely blew chunks. It was about as campy as the 1960s Batman – and had nothing to do with the original source material. Which, yes, I AM old enough to remember seeing in the newspapers. Battlestar Galactica had its problems, too, and often was mired in stomach churning camp as well – and I just about turned off the show every time Boxie and his idiot robot dog came on the screen. (Admittedly, even Star Trek had some really LAME episodes – like the one with the space hippies who ate poison apples, or the one with the kids and the mind-controlling alien) But whereas Buck Rogers never raised itself out of idiocy, Battlestar Galactica often raised itself to heights of excellence. Battlestar Pegasus! Need I say more?
Speaking of which, did anybody else ever notice that Starbuck and Buck Rogers had the same haircut?
The hairstyles were a result of the times they were made. The same reason that the original Trek (Better by FAR than either of the shows in the Poll) had those dresses and crew women hairstyles.