7.3/10436 votes#1 - Awakening (1)
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1979
In the year 1987, NASA launched space probe Ranger III, with astronaut William "Buck" Rogers, on a 5-month trip around the solar system. However, the craft runs into a meteor storm, which disrupts its life support system and sends it into a long elliptical orbit of the Earth. In the year 2491, Ranger III again approaches the Earth, and is intercepted by the alien flagship Draconia, which is on a peace mission to Earth. Aboard the Draconia, Buck is revived by Princess Ardala and her second-in- command, Kane, whose true plan is to attack and conquer Earth. Buck is sent to Earth with a hidden homing device, which is soon discovered by Earth's Defense Directorate. After Buck convinces the humans of his true identity -- a man from the past -- he helps them to repel the Draconians' attack, with the aid of the mechanoids Dr. Theopolis and Twiki.
Director: Daniel Haller
Writer: Glen A. Larson, Leslie Stevens
7.1/10403 votes#2 - Awakening (2)
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/20/1979
In the year 1987, NASA launched space probe Ranger III, with astronaut William ""Buck" Rogers, on a 5-month trip around the solar system. However, the craft runs into a meteor storm, which disrupts its life support system and sends it into a long elliptical orbit of the Earth. In the year 2491, Ranger III again approaches the Earth, and is intercepted by the alien flagship Draconia, which is on a peace mission to Earth. Aboard the Draconia, Buck is revived by Princess Ardala and her second-in- command, Kane, whose true plan is to attack and conquer Earth. Buck is sent to Earth with a hidden homing device, which is soon discovered by Earth's Defense Directorate. After Buck convinces the humans of his true identity -- a man from the past -- he helps them to repel the Draconians' attack, with the aid of the mechanoids Dr. Theopolis and Twiki.
Director: Daniel Haller
Writer: Leslie Stevens, Glen A. Larson
6.7/10330 votes#3 - Planet of the Slave Girls (1)
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 9/27/1979
Most of Earth's defense squadron becomes incapacitated after ingesting poisoned food discs. Buck travels to the planet of the food's origin, Vistula, with Wilma and flight instructor Duke Danton, an old boyfriend of Wilma's. On the planet, they trace the plot to a man named Kaleel who has been selling slaves to the planet's governor and secretly building an attack fleet. With so few fighter pilots, Earth's defense force is now outnumbered 10-to-1. Buck must rescue Wilma from Kaleel's mountain fortress and destroy the fleet before they can reach Earth. This episode was initially aired as a two hour special.
Director: Michael Caffey
Writer: Steve Greenberg, Aubrey Solomon
7.2/10307 votes#4 - Planet of the Slave Girls (2)
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 9/27/1979
Most of Earth's defense squadron becomes incapacitated after ingesting poisoned food discs. Buck travels to the planet of the food's origin, Vistula, with Wilma and flight instructor Duke Danton (Groh), an old boyfriend of Wilma's. On the planet, they trace the plot to a man named Kaleel (Palance) who has been selling slaves to the planet's governor (McDowall) and secretly building an attack fleet. With so few fighter pilots, Earth's defense force is now outnumbered 10-to-1. Buck must rescue Wilma from Kaleel's mountain fortress and destroy the fleet before they can reach Earth. This episode was initially aired as
Director: Michael Caffey
Writer: Steve Greenberg, Aubrey Solomon
7.2/10272 votes#5 - Vegas in Space
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/4/1979
Buck is sent to the gambling city Sinaloa with Directorate special agent Marla Landers to rescue a young woman who has been kidnapped by the city's ruler, Velosi. Velosi plans to extract some information from the woman's mind in order to destroy one of his competitors. The information involves plans for the Draconian Hatchet fighters, which have been plaguing Earth's defense forces.
Director: Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
Writer: Anne Collins
7.0/10283 votes#6 - The Plot to Kill a City (1)
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/11/1979
After a Defense Directorate agent kills a member of a group of interstellar assassins, they plot to take their revenge on the city of New Chicago. Buck masquerades as an assassin and joins the group, but is soon uncovered. He must now, not only escape from the assassins, but also stop them from detonating New Chicago's matter/antimatter energy plant.
Director: Dick Lowry
Writer: Alan Brennert
7.0/10299 votes#7 - The Plot to Kill a City (2)
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 10/18/1979
After a Defense Directorate agent kills a member of a group of interstellar assassins, they plot to take their revenge on the city of New Chicago. Buck masquerades as an assassin and joins the group, but is soon uncovered. He must now, not only escape from the assassins, but also stop them from detonating New Chicago's matter/antimatter energy plant.
Director: Dick Lowry
Writer: Alan Brennert
6.7/10270 votes#8 - Return of the Fighting 69th
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 10/25/1979
Some time before Buck Roger's arrival, Col. Wilma Deering had set out to capture two interstellar gun runners. A fire in their spacecraft left them disfigured and they now set out to take their revenge on Wilma and Earth. Capturing a freighter with 20th Century chemical weapons, they plan to poison the planet's atmosphere. With the aid of retired members of the Earth Defense Directorate's 69th Squadron, Buck and Wilma attack the gun runners' base to destroy them and the chemical weapons.
Director: Philip Leacock
Writer: David Bennett Carren
6.4/10277 votes#9 - Unchained Woman
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/1/1979
Buck masquerades as a convict to break into a prison in an attempt to rescue Jen Burton, who took the blame for a murder her boyfriend, a shipping pirate, really committed. The Earth Defense Directorate believes that she can supply information to put the pirate in jail. Breaking out of the underground prison, Buck and the woman head for a nearby spaceport for return to Earth, but they are pursued by an indestructible android prison guard.
Director: Dick Lowry
Writer: Bill Taylor
6.4/10235 votes#10 - Planet of the Amazon Women
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/8/1979
Kidnapped to the planet Zantia, Buck finds himself auctioned off to Ariela, the daughter of the planet's Prime Minister. Through her, Buck learns that the planet's male population are being held as prisoners of war of a people called the Ruathans. Buck agrees to help the women free their men in return for his own freedom.
Director: Philip Leacock
Writer: D.C. Fontana, Richard Fontana
6.8/10281 votes#11 - Cosmic Whiz Kid
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 11/15/1979
Hieronymous Fox, an 11-year-old child genius from the 20th Century is kidnapped for ransom by the sinister Roderick Zale. The boy is the President of the planet Genesia and his bodyguard fears that he will be killed because they cannot meet the ransom demand. Buck, Wilma, and the bodyguard then make separate attempts to rescue the boy.
Director: Leslie H. Martinson
Writer: Alan Brennert
7.1/10317 votes#12 - Escape From Wedded Bliss
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 11/29/1979
Princess Ardala returns to try to make Buck, who she considers the most genetically perfect male in the galaxy, her husband. With a powerful weapon poised in Earth orbit, she commands Earth's leaders to turn Buck Rogers over to her or else...
Director: David Moessinger
Writer: Anne Collins
6.4/10238 votes#13 - Cruise Ship to the Stars
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 12/27/1979
Murder and romance await Buck, Wilma, Theo and Twiki aboard the cruise ship Lyran Queen. Buck befriends a shy young girl (Beck) while investigating the attempted kidnapping of beauty queen Miss Cosmos (Stratten) by a woman (Noble) with superpowers. To his surprise, Buck learns the true identity of the mystery woman as he seeks the location of Miss Cosmos before a deadly dissection laser kills her.
Director: Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
Writer: Alan Brennert
4.9/10233 votes#14 - Space Vampire
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/3/1980
No one believes that the Vorvon, who sneaks up on his victims and drains their living soul, is responsible for a series of deaths on Space Station Theta except Wilma -- his next intended victim.
Director: Larry Stewart
Writer: David Wise, Kathleen Barnes
6.8/10227 votes#15 - Happy Birthday, Buck
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 1/10/1980
It's Buck Roger's 534th birthday, and Wilma and Dr. Huer plan a surprise party to cheer up the homesick astronaut. Wilma arranges to get Buck "out of the way" by having him accompany Dr. Huer's assistant to New Detroit with the doctor's business schedule. Meanwhile, a man who is plotting revenge against Huer attempts to gain access to the schedule from the assistant so that he can ambush and kill Dr. Huer.
Director: Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
Writer: Martin Pasko
6.5/10215 votes#16 - A Blast for Buck
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 1/17/1980
To discover the secret behind a terrifying riddle presented to him, Buck subjects himself to a mind probe in an attempt to find out who is responsible for the mysterious objects being transported into the Defense Directorate's building.
Director: David G. Phinney
Writer: N/A
6.3/10220 votes#17 - Ardala Returns
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 1/24/1980
Princess Ardala returns with another plan to snare the man from the 20th Century. This time, she captures Buck by luring him aboard a phoney 20th Century spaceship like his Ranger III. Once aboard the flagship Draconia, Kane creates four duplicate androids of Buck in an attempt to have them pilot the Draconian Hatchet fighters in an attack against Earth.
Director: Larry Stewart
Writer: Chris Bunch, Allan Cole
6.7/10231 votes#18 - Twiki is Missing
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 1/31/1980
Twiki is kidnapped by the evil ruler of a mining colony who, faced with an uprising of the mine workers, plans to make duplicates of the mechanoid to work the mines. While in the mines attempting to rescue Twiki, Buck discovers something that will help Earth destroy a 10-ton ice asteroid that is on a collision course with Earth.
Director: Sigmund Neufeld Jr.
Writer: Jaron Summers
6.3/10221 votes#19 - Olympiad
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 2/7/1980
Buck is invited to be the special guest of the 2492 Olympics. Shortly after arriving on the planet where they are being held, he is drawn into a game of political intrigue as an athlete from the planet Lozira attempts to defect to Earth.
Director: Larry Stewart
Writer: Craig Buck
6.5/10211 votes#20 - A Dream of Jennifer
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 2/14/1980
Buck is haunted by the appearance of a young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Jennifer, a woman who Buck left behind when he was propelled into the 25th Century. He follows her, finds out her name is Leila Markeson, and soon discovers that she was made to look like Jennifer in order to lure Buck into a trap set by an alien who wants Buck to stop a space freighter from delivering weapons to a planet his people hope to conquer. Buck gets Wilma to detonate a warhead to deceive the aliens into thinking the shipment is destroyed. Buck defeats the enemy, but loses Leila, and his lost love again, as she tearfully dies in his arms.
Director: David G. Phinney
Writer: Alan Brennert
6.9/10247 votes#21 - Space Rockers
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 2/21/1980
The evil Lars Mangros plans to broadcast a subliminal signal during the next performance of the rock group Andromeda that will cause the youth of the galaxy to riot. Buck infiltrates Musicworld, where the broadcast will originate, in an attempt to stop the madman from destroying the galaxy's cities.
Director: Guy Magar
Writer: Chris Bunch, Allan Cole
NaN/100 votes#22 - Buck's Duel to the Death
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 3/20/1980
Buck attempts to free a peaceful planet from the powerful grip of an evil warlord known as the Traybor. He leads a band of men into Traybor's fortress in the hope of freeing the women the alien has kidnapped, but Traybor has a few special powers that may end Buck's career at any moment.
Director: Bob Bender
Writer: Rob Gilmer
6.0/101 votes#23 - Flight of the War Witch (1)
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 3/27/1980
Buck journeys through a space warp into another universe, where he discovers that the peaceful planet Pendar is being threatened by the sinister war witch Zarina. The Pendarans enlist the aid of Buck and Princess Ardala, who had followed Buck through the space warp, and an unsteady alliance between the humans and Draconians is formed as Buck leads a combined fleet against Zarina's battlecruiser.
Director: Larry Stewart
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votes#24 - Flight of the War Witch (2)
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 3/27/1980
Buck journeys through a space warp into another universe, where he discovers that the peaceful planet Pendar is being threatened by the sinister war witch Zarina. The Pendarans enlist the aid of Buck and Princess Ardala, who had followed Buck through the space warp, and an unsteady alliance between the humans and Draconians is formed as Buck leads a combined fleet against Zarina's battlecruiser.
Director: Larry Stewart
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Season 1
Every episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Season 1!
20th-century astronaut Buck Rogers awakens in the 25th century after a freak accident puts him in suspended animation for 500 years. Upon returning to Earth...
Genres:Action & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy
Network:NBC
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Awakening (1)" is the best rated episode of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" season 1. It scored 7.3/10 based on 436 votes. Directed by Daniel Haller and written by Glen A. Larson, Leslie Stevens, it aired on 9/20/1979. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "Awakening (2)".