The Worst Episodes of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

Episode Rankings

1. #1 Worst Episode
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   4.2/10(5 votes)

   #1 - Planet of the Slave Girls (1)

   S1:E39/27/1979

   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

   Writers:Aubrey Solomon, Steve Greenberg

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   Director:Michael Caffey

   Writers:Aubrey Solomon, Steve Greenberg
2. 

   5.0/10(2 votes)

   #2 - The Satyr

   S2:E93/12/1981

   Buck and Twiki come across the survivors of a failed colony, a young widow and her son. The woman tells Buck that the other colonists all fled the planet as the result of a plague. Buck is confused by the woman's refusal to leave the planet despite being repeatedly being menaced by a goat-man named Pangor; but he soon discovers the truth about the plague when he contracts it and begins to turn into a goat-man himself.

   Director:Victor French

   Writers:Paul Schneider, Margaret Schneider

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   Director:Victor French

   Writers:Paul Schneider, Margaret Schneider
3. 

   5.5/10(2 votes)

   #3 - The Golden Man

   S2:E72/19/1981

   The Searcher rescues a gold-skinned boy from an escape capsule in an asteroid field. When the ship collides with one of the asteroids, the boy displays his powers of molecular alteration by rescuing Admiral Asimov from beneath a fallen girder. The boy assures the crew of the Searcher that, with the help of his companion, who is on a nearby planet, he can dislodge the ship from the asteroid. But when Buck and Hawk go to the planet to get the companion, they find that he is being held captive by a man who wants to use the boy's powers for his own greedy purposes.

   Director:Vincent McEveety

   Writers:Calvin Clements Jr., Stephen McPherson

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   Director:Vincent McEveety

   Writers:Calvin Clements Jr., Stephen McPherson
4. 

   5.5/10(2 votes)

   #4 - Shgoratchx!

   S2:E103/19/1981

   Buck is ordered to explore a derelict spaceship that the Searcher encounters, and finds it filled with solar bombs and crewed by seven little men. They are escorted back to the Searcher and Admiral Asimov takes their ship in tow to a place where the bombs can be safely detonated. Assuming the little men can cause no real harm, Buck places them in the care of Wilma; but the little men have never seen a woman before and are intent on finding out what all of the "funny little bumps" are.

   Director:Vincent McEveety

   Writer:William Keys

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   Director:Vincent McEveety

   Writer:William Keys
5. 

   5.7/10(3 votes)

   #5 - Vegas in Space

   S1:E510/4/1979

   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

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   Director:Sigmund Neufeld Jr.

   Writer:Anne Collins
6. 

   6.0/10(3 votes)

   #6 - Return of the Fighting 69th

   S1:E810/25/1979

   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

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   Director:Philip Leacock

   Writer:David Bennett Carren
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7. 

   6.0/10(2 votes)

   #7 - Unchained Woman

   S1:E911/1/1979

   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

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   Director:Dick Lowry

   Writer:Bill Taylor
8. 

   6.0/10(2 votes)

   #8 - Ardala Returns

   S1:E171/24/1980

   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

   Writers:Allan Cole, Chris Bunch

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   Director:Larry Stewart

   Writers:Allan Cole, Chris Bunch
9. 

   6.0/10(2 votes)

   #9 - Twiki is Missing

   S1:E181/31/1980

   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

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   Director:Sigmund Neufeld Jr.

   Writer:Jaron Summers
10. 

    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #10 - Flight of the War Witch (2)

    S1:E243/27/1980

    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:Unknown

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    Director:Larry Stewart

    Writer:Unknown
11. 

    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #11 - The Crystals

    S2:E83/5/1981

    Buck, Wilma, and Hawk are confronted with a bizarre riddle on an alien planet they are exploring for crystals to power the Searcher. Part of the riddle is the connection between a young woman and an eerie, mummy-like creature they encounter on the planet. Meanwhile, on the Searcher, the android Crichton believes he has discovered the link -- one that is crucial to the success of their mission.

    Director:John Patterson

    Writers:Bob Mitchell, Esther Mitchell

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    Director:John Patterson

    Writers:Bob Mitchell, Esther Mitchell
12. 

    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #12 - The Hand of the Goral

    S2:E113/26/1981

    Buck, Wilma, and Hawk explore a strange planet and come across the wreckage of a spacecraft and its lone survivor. He is taken back to the Searcher by Wilma, while Buck and Hawk continue to explore. After some unexplained happenings on the planet, they return to the Searcher, where they find that everyone has undergone personality changes -- becoming the opposite of their real selves. Buck soon learns that he can not even trust Wilma and Hawk to help him solve the mystery of what has happened.

    Director:David G. Phinney

    Writer:Francis Moss

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    Director:David G. Phinney

    Writer:Francis Moss
13. 

    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #13 - The Dorian Secret

    S2:E134/16/1981

    Buck and Hawk are sent to pick up the survivors of a planetary disaster and transport them to a new home. Before departing, Buck rescues a young woman from a group of Dorian thugs. Later, while enroute to the planet, the Searcher is attacked by a Dorian craft, which demands that the woman be returned for the murder of a warlord's son. As the Dorians persist and subject the Searcher to a severe pounding, the refugees begin to rebel, insisting that the woman be turned over. Eventually, Buck discovers that truth about the woman and the startling reason why the Dorians always wear what at first appear to be merely ceremonial face masks.

    Director:Jack Arnold

    Writer:Stephen McPherson

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    Director:Jack Arnold

    Writer:Stephen McPherson
14. 

    6.3/10(3 votes)

    #14 - Cosmic Whiz Kid

    S1:E1111/15/1979

    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

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    Director:Leslie H. Martinson

    Writer:Alan Brennert
15. 

    6.5/10(2 votes)

    #15 - Space Vampire

    S1:E141/3/1980

    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

    Writers:David Wise, Kathleen Barnes

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    Director:Larry Stewart

    Writers:David Wise, Kathleen Barnes
16. 

    7.0/10(5 votes)

    #16 - Awakening (1)

    S1:E19/20/1979

    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

    Writers:Glen A. Larson, Leslie Stevens

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    Director:Daniel Haller

    Writers:Glen A. Larson, Leslie Stevens
17. 

    7.0/10(3 votes)

    #17 - Planet of the Slave Girls (2)

    S1:E49/27/1979

    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

    Writers:Aubrey Solomon, Steve Greenberg

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    Director:Michael Caffey

    Writers:Aubrey Solomon, Steve Greenberg
18. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #18 - The Plot to Kill a City (1)

    S1:E610/11/1979

    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

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    Director:Dick Lowry

    Writer:Alan Brennert
19. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #19 - Planet of the Amazon Women

    S1:E1011/8/1979

    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

    Writers:D.C. Fontana, Richard Fontana

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    Director:Philip Leacock

    Writers:D.C. Fontana, Richard Fontana
20. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #20 - Happy Birthday, Buck

    S1:E151/10/1980

    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

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    Director:Sigmund Neufeld Jr.

    Writer:Martin Pasko
21. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #21 - A Blast for Buck

    S1:E161/17/1980

    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:Unknown

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    Director:David G. Phinney

    Writer:Unknown
22. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #22 - Olympiad

    S1:E192/7/1980

    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

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    Director:Larry Stewart

    Writer:Craig Buck
23. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #23 - Buck's Duel to the Death

    S1:E223/20/1980

    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

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    Director:Bob Bender

    Writer:Rob Gilmer
24. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #24 - Flight of the War Witch (1)

    S1:E233/27/1980

    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:Unknown

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    Director:Larry Stewart

    Writer:Unknown
25. 

    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #25 - Time of the Hawk (1)

    S2:E11/15/1981

    Buck, Wilma, and Twiki set off into deep space aboard the Searcher, a starship on a mission to find the lost tribes of Earth -- humans who fled to the stars after a nuclear holocaust that all but destroyed the planet. The Searcher encounters a severely-damaged spacecraft with one survivor, who tells them of a savage attack by a bird-man named Hawk. Searcher sets course for the planet where it is believed Hawk lives, and Buck soon becomes involved in a desperate battle of wits and piloting skills with Hawk. Hawk's mate, who was a passenger in Hawk's ship, is mortally wounded in the battle and Buck and Hawk form a shaky alliance to seek medical aid for her. Eventually, Hawk joins the crew of the Searcher, looking for others of his kind.

    Director:Vincent McEveety

    Writer:Norman Hudis

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    Director:Vincent McEveety

    Writer:Norman Hudis