The View from the Junkyard

I have to say I was genuinely surprised to find another two part story so close to the start of this series.  It’s not unheard of to do a longer pilot, so having the first story go on for 2 parts felt natural.  When the second one was also a two part story, maybe it could be written off that the pilot was a movie and this is the first episode.  Then we had a standalone before coming here, to the 3rd two-parter.  Now, with this one  done, we don’t get another until the season finale.

I’ve already explained how much I hate those previews at the start of the episodes, so I skip right past them but when I started this, I saw faces I remembered with clarity.  I don’t know why this one stood out to me because I found it a very slow, tedious affair, but I was immediately excited to watch it again because of some vague memory.  Continue reading →

When digital programmer Felina Redding is kidnapped, Buck and the Earth Defense Directorate get an offer from screen legend Cesar Romero: if they can find her and rescue her, he’ll turn himself in for crimes he’s committed and provide the Earth Defense with schematics on enemy starfighters that will help protect our world.  Buck and temporary sidekick Marla Landers go to Space Vegas to rescue Felina from the villain Velosi before she can be put to death for knowing too much.

When the opening preview began, I left the room to get a drink, because those are a sin anyway.  When I came back, during the opening music (which I love, by the way), I got ready to see what other TV stars I might recognize in the credit sequence.  Jokingly, I said in mock surprise, “Richard Lynch!”  I was being silly since I did not know the name.  Then I saw the man on screen and my second aloud comment was “Oh, Richard Lynch!”  I remember this dude always turning up as a bad guy.  He carries himself with such menace that he’s perfectly cast as the main villain of the piece, even if once or twice it looks like he might crack a smile.  Meanwhile Felina, played by Ana Alicia, conveys genuine terror in his presence. Continue reading →

With a title like that, we’re primed to expect something totally different, but the title has little to do with the plot.  If anything, it’s a nod to the past when Buck Rogers was a comic strip and an old TV show starring “Buster” Crabbe.  In fact, I feel I need to rewind to my own youth to explain something.  After Doctor Who was taken off WOR, Channel 9, I was unable to find it for a long time, until a friend of mine told me to put on UHF channel 50.  Doctor Who would come on at 9pm, but the bookends to that show were Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, both starring Crabbe in the title roles.  Why is this important? Continue reading →