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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century - The Golden Man
episode 2.7
USA 1981
produced by John G. Stephens, John Mantley (executive) for Glen A. Larson Productions, Universal/NBC
directed by Vincent McEveety
starring Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Thom Christopher, Jay Garner, Wilfrid Hyde-White, David Hollander, Anthony James, Bruce M. Fischer, Russell Wiggins, Paul Carr, Felix Silla, Diana Chesney, Richard 'Dub' Wright, Arthur Eisner, Roger Rose, Michael Masters, Bob Elyea, Jeff David (voice)
written by Calvin Clements jr, Stephen McPherson, based on characters by Philip Francis Nowlan, Robert C. Dille, music by Bruce Broughton, visual effects supervisor: Peter Anderson, David Jones
TV-series Buck Rogers, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
review by Mike Haberfelner
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While exploring the vast expanses of the universe, the Searcher
receives a distress call from an escape pod, and hauling it in, they find
it peopled by a golden boy, Velis (David Hollander), who asks them also to
go looking for his travelling companion, Relcos (Russell Wiggins), who
they eventually track down to a nearby planet - but then the Searcher gets
stuck on a meteorite, and only Relcos' special powers to change the
molecular structure of metals, might set them free. So Buck Rogers (Gil
Gerard) and Velis go down to the planet to fetch him ... but it turns out
the planet's actually a penal colony that looks like England, circa 16th
to 18th century, and there everybody gets pretty crazy when it comes to
Relcos the golden man - at first they want to lynch him, then when they
find out about his special powers, they want to exploit him. But somehow
Relcos manages to escape. Instead, the locals capture Buck and Velis, who
then learn that the planet's lead bully Graf (Anthony James) needs Relcos
to make a recently crashed spaceship light enough so it can float again so
he and some of his cronies can leave the planet. Buck and Velis of course
eventually manage to escape captivity. By that time, Buck's buddy Hawk
(Thom Christopher) has made it to the planet as well, and he poses as a
law officer to break free Buck, Velis and Relcos, even though they have to
be captured again first. Eventually though Hawk is unmasked as a bird man
though, and now he, Buck, Velis and Relcos make a daring escape.
Ultimately it all ends well though, and little Velis is revealed, for some
reason or other, to be fully grown's dad, as it turns out the golden
people age in reverse ... A rather disappointing episode, for
one because no imagination at all is put to the design of the planet, so
much so that I'd wager that some leftover costumes and sets from another
movie or TV show set in England of old are recycled here to save on
expenses. Likewise, all the action is very pedestrian, just some running
and fistfights, nothing to get excited about, while the golden guest
aliens really lack any profile let alone depth. Really, nothing remotely
memorable about this one.
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