Ep 106 The Plot to Kill a City, Part 1 October 11, 1979

Director: Dick Lowry
Writer(s): Alan Brennert
Guest Star(s):
Rafael Argus .... Victor Argo
Seton Kellogg.... Frank Groshin
Jolen Quince .... John Quade
Varek .... Anthony James
Sherese .... Nancy DeCarl
Joella Cameron .... Markie Post
Marcos Marcilka .... Robert Tessier
Barnard "Barney" Smith ....James Sloyan
Argus On-Board-Computer (Voice) .... ?
Technician .... Mitch Reta
1st Cop .... John Furlong
1st Rowdy .... Richard Reed
Pirate .... Seamon Glass
Woman .... Sena Black
Full list of Cast and Crew

Buck enters a bar and approaches Rafael Argus claiming to be someone (or something?) named Harper 5. Assuming the persona of Harper 5, Buck explains that three months prior Argus had killed his brother, Gleeson. An obvious fabrication, but we cannot be sure if the story was based on some truth. Or perhaps Buck's cover was based on the hope that Argus kills so many people so often that he would not be able to keep track of them, and any name or date Buck thought up could have been true as far as Argus was concerned. Either way, it was enough to get Argus riled up and attacks Buck. With the old shoot-the-chandelier-crash-on-bad-guy routine, Buck knocks Argus out cold. Dr. Huer uses a mind prop to determine that Rafael Argus was about to become a member the League of Interstellar Mercenaries, who specialize in Political Assassinations. Dr. Huer so colorfully describes them as the League of Death. Which I think has a much more sinister ring to it than League of Interstellar Mercenaries. Apparently Morgan Deneva, a member of the league, was killed by Earth's Directorate personal the month prior, and now the League is looking for a new member to replace him, and Rafael Argus was their choice. In addition, the League is now seeking revenge against the Directorate for Deneva's death. The League had already bought off one of the Directorates employees, who has been setting off bombs here and there throughout the building.

Buck is volunteered by Dr. Huer to impersonate Argus, fly to Aldebaran II, infiltrate the League, learn what the League is planning against the Directorate and stop them. Such a dangerous mission, that the odds that either Wilma or Buck will not succeed in their mission is highly probable.

Quince meets Sherese at the local bar. Our first introduction to these villains shows that Sherese takes her job a bit more seriously than Quince. Sherese informs Quince that Kellogg is coming from Tau Ceti, and that Rafael Argus was coming in from Earth. Sherese stops in mid thought and picks up on an old friend of hers, Joella. Sherese develops for the the audience that the two have known each other for a long time when she brings up an old boyfriend, Beechim, from Rigel (same planet that Kellogg is from).

Buck, wearing Argus cloths, flys Argus' ship (N2-453), and flirts with Argus' on-board computer, takes off to the Stargate that will take them to Aldebaran II. The sexy voice of the computer informs Buck that the Stargate is 20 minutes away. The on-board computer calls Buck by Rafael's nickname, Rafe. She alerts him to a Squadron of approaching Police Cruiser Starfighters who intend to capture the infamous Rafael Argus. Buck wants to out run them, but the on-board computer informs him that if he goes any faster he would rupture the star drive. Buck takes a direct hit to his starboard force shield. The computer warns that if they take another hit like that they would be defenseless. She suggest using the Pulsar Cannons, but Buck intends to get of this little jam without firing a shot. Unfortunately, he is captured and taken to a holding cell.

Kellogg comes out of the Spaceport, while the overhead P.A. announces that Flight 723 to Altair IV [Argus' home planet] is leaving from Gate 20 in 15 minutes. Quince meets up with Kellogg and his bodyguard Varek. This little segue permits Kellogg to tell Quince, and the audience at the same time, about Varek and how he is able to walk through walls. Combined with Varek's height, he becomes a very menacing figure.

The miniature used for the Stellar Authorities Detention Center is the Flattop ship from Battlestar Galactica) Buck is placed in a cell with Barney, who when Buck introduces himself as Rafael Argus, he pretends not to know him. Playing along, Barney helps Buck escape from the Detention Center. Barney yells for help from the guards and calls Buck an Arcturan, someone who has psychic abilities. Barney accuses Buck (Argus) to have tried to have psychic commune with him. That he tried to get into his head and connect with Barney on a very personal level. The guards take down the shield to separate Barney and Buck, but both prisoners attack and subdue the guards. Buck uses his first Black Light Bomb, and escapes. Buck and Barney are able to make it to Buck's ship without much resistance. Three Police Cruisers are quickly on Buck's tail, but he manages to reach the Stargate before they are able to intercept him.

Wilma's plan is to seduce Quince so he will reveal their plans to her. She is wearing a Pure Denebian silk dress to grab Quince's attention. Quince leaves the woman he was currently flirting with to approach Wilma. She asks if it is true what they say about Telekinetic's, and whispers it in Quince's ear, to which they both laugh and end end up in her room. What is it that they say about Telekinetic's? I am sure it was something very sexual or dirty that they could not say on TV, or at least that is what I think she must  have whispered to Quince, knowing the type of man that he is. He pulls in for a kiss, and Wilma pulls away. She starts to prepare Quince a drink and grabs a syringe, while Quince picks up her overnight bag and just rummages through it. How rude. A closet catches Quince's eye and he opens it to reveal Wilma's subspace transmitter, pistol, and other items so neatly placed, almost as if it was a display case. Strangely enough, Quince isn't concerned about the pistol, he is more curious about the transmitter. As if that was the strangest item in her closet. Wilma takes her opportunity and sticks Quince with a hypodermic needle. The contents of the injection was probably the same stuff Buck used on Velosi's goon in Vegas in Space, 'cause all of the sudden Quince is quite happy and feeling very talkative. Unfortunately, Quince doesn't seem to know much more than the Directorate about the plans. All he is able to provide of any real value was their meeting place, Solar Energy Collector (in the hotel), at 1400 (2:00pm) hours tomorrow (the same day Buck arrives).

(Did you know: the Matt Painting for the spaceport was reused in Star Trek: The Next Generation for Episode 19 Coming of Age in 1988) Buck and Barney arrive at the Spaceport together, and the overhead P.A. is announcing the same Flight 732 to Altair IV is leaving from Gate 20 in 15 minutes. It could have been just a repeated sound bite (more likely) or it could mean that Buck and Barney arrived at the Spaceport at the same time Kellogg was leaving. Hmmm. However this time the P.A. continues with "Government regulations prohibit the transport of sub-humanoid life forms to Aldebaran. For information, contact the Department of Alien Immigration. A reminder that all robots..." Sherese attacks Buck as he exists the Spaceport, flipping him onto his back. In a split second Buck is up on his feet just missing being shot, and stuns Sherese with one shot. Walking off with caution now, Buck is fired on again from above. As he ducks behind the wall, he pulls out his pistol. The camera goes back to Quince, Kellogg, and Varek, then back to Buck who takes out his pistol for the second time. Oops. Continuity error. Quince takes Buck's weapon with his telekinesis, so Buck runs off and encounters Varek. Now, I've always was curious, if someone could change their molecular structure so as to pass through solid objects, as well as objects to pass through them, what keeps them from falling through the floor? Does gravity no longer have any pull on them, or do they simply keep the bottom of their feet solid to remain on the ground? However if their feet were solid, then they wouldn't be able to walk through walls with the rest of his body. So that has to mean that gravity no longer has any force on them, causing them to fly, so to speak. So with no gravity and no solid resistance, they would actually be unable to move at all. Right?

Explosions and sirens are going off back at New Chicago Directorate building. The P.A. announces that Hangers 3, 4 and 9 must be evacuated immediately due to an overload in once of the launch tubes causing the whole hangar system to misfire. Fire control is called to Hangars 7 and 12. Dr. Theolopolis is instructing some maintenance men to sever the input rods to allow a gradual loss of power instead of a instant one. Cutting the last rod, the overload was neutralized. Theo saved the day again. Theo tells Dr. Huer that this overload was no accident and that they have a saboteur in their midst. Now enters the spy in their midst, overseeing his handiwork. Just look at him, standing there in the midst of the chaos he created with a smile on his face. Clearly an bad person.

Sherese invites Joella to the party so she can confirm Rafael Argus identity. I swear I was thinking, "Oh crap,

how's Buck going to get out of this one?". With some quick thinking on Buck's part, Joella quickly falls inline with the story and plays along. Phew. That was a close one. Buck heads out to catch up with the rest of the group down in the hotels substructure. Finally, Markos enters the scene. Wilma, still on target with her mission, is down in the substructure with a audio device allowing her to listen in on the conversation. With all good TV Shows, she is in clear sight of the bad guys, with no real effort to conceal herself. Kellogg finally reveals that he wants to destroy the Terran capital - New Chicago (a city of 10 million people). Course right as Kellogg is going to explain what firepower he plans to use, Sherese detects Wilma's presence. "A woman! A Dangerous woman!" shouts Sherese. I never thought of Wilma as Dangerous, but I guess she was dangerous to their plot to destroy New Chicago.

Buck and Markos run after Wilma. Wilma trips and makes enough noise that Buck and Markos come back and find her. Buck turns the tables on Markos and tries to stun him. Unfortunately the stun feature only works on ones nervous center, and since Markos had all his nerve endings severed, the shot had little to no effect on him. But with a second Black Light Bomb, Buck blinds everyone, but is still able to knock Markos out. Wilma and Markos go to Argus's ship, and Buck says he will be there at 1500 hours. Since it is 1400 hours now, it means he plans to be there in less than an hour. Hope that is enough time to learn how Kellogg plans to destroy New Chicago. Now I have no idea how Wilma was able to carry the unconscious Markos all the way through the Hotel and to Argus's ship by herself. She is like bionic woman.

Theo reports that all systems in Flight Hanger 5 have turned to equilibrium, and Starfighter Patrols are double shifting in Hangers 3 and 7 until repairs can be made. To help find the culprit who set off the explosives, Theo narrows it down to 1,227 employees with a level 9 clearance that had access to the areas bombed.

Markos, awake and 100% compliant, is being directed by Wilma by the neck into the Sled. Then she pulls some sort of neck pinch that puts Markos to sleep. Wha? Huh? Why would a martial arts expert not be able to take Wilma on when he awoke? And how did Wilma knock him out with a neck pinch? Did she use her own version of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch? But that cannot be possible since Markos had his nerve endings severed! It doesn't make sense. At least Argus' computer is more resistant to Wilma than Markos was. So, Buck goes back up to the room, where everyone else is waiting for him. Two things come to my mind right now. Why did they have to meet in the Solar Energy Collector to discuss their plans in the first place? There they could be overheard and seen? Not to mention that they all end up discussing the plans in the privacy of Kellogg's hotel room. Couldn't they have had Markos meet them in the room instead of the basement? Second, why has Sherese not picked up on any of Buck's emotions? He was lying about Markos, but Sherese could not detect that. Nor could she detect his lie about being Argus, or his fear that Joella would reveal his true identity. Buck must be really good and shielding his feelings.

Finally, it is revealed that Kellogg intends to use an Antimatter explosion to wipe out New Chicago. The perfect 'Act-of-God' so no one would suspect it was deliberate! Once the League of Death escapes, then they will claim responsibility for it's destruction. The plan is perfect, especially since New Chicago is apparently powered by such a reactor. The antimatter is held in an invisible electromagnetic bottle within the plant. The explosion would atomize 200 sq kilometers (or 77.22 square miles) instantly. Now is that a radius of 77 miles or the diameter? Something tells me that if we were able to create and store enough antimatter to power a large city. The explosion from the combination of so much matter and antimatter may be larger than a 77 square miles. How do they League of Death plan on escaping fast enough to clear the blast radius?

Wilma disables Rafael's on board computer to allow her to power up the engines, to be ready for take off.
Markos is still unconscious. Buck runs to the hotels bar looking Joella. Unfortunately, Sherese received a phone call from Barney, telling her that he has some information that they would find very valuable about Argus. How Barney got their number, or how he knew that Argus (Buck) was meeting with the League is something I guess we don't have to think about. Just accept it. Wilma takes off, and heads back to the Directorate with her prisoner. Buck and Joella are taken back to Kellogg's hotel room, where Barney sells Buck out, telling the League of Death that he met Rafael Argus two years ago on Sutter's World. Of course, we know that Buck's cover has been blown, but as far as the League goes, how do they know that Barney's information is true? Plus they already have one witness that they do know who confirmed that he was Argus. Now, Argus is supposed to be a man who assumes different appearances and names, so why couldn't the Argus that Barney met look different? How do they know that Argus doesn't hire men to impersonate him to maintain his identity? But none of things come to mind for the League, just that he has been called out. Look's like Buck's in trouble now. Where did Buck get that scab on his forehead, above his left eye?

Character Facts learned in this episode

Rafael Argus: From the Planet Altair V. Assumes various names and appearances so no one would have a clear idea of what he looks like. Carries Black Light Bombs that creates a darkness for thirty seconds. Knows Joella Cameron, and even meet Barney two years prior on Sutter's World.
Jolon Quince: IDENT: GAC[7A324] From the Planet Cygnus III. A heavy gravity planet allowing humans to develop telekinetic abilities to survive. However, can only focus on one thing at a time. A flirtatious man, who enjoys the company of women constantly. Has a thing for Denebian silk.
Seton Kellogg: IDENT: KLM[4L623] & CMJ[HB468] From the Planet Rigel IV. Brilliant scientist and strategist. Plans engineered by him have lead to the death of a dozen planetary leaders. Personal Bodyguard is Varek.
Markos Marcilka: IDENT: BLM[3CB47] & DRB[6BH7C] From the Planet Vega 12. Martial arts expert. Had his nerve endings partially severed to reduce his ability to feel pain.
Sherese: IDENT: JLB[K346D] & FHD[M7138] Home planet unknown. She is an Empath.
Varek: Kellogg's personal Body guard. Comes from a planet where the people thought they won a nuclear war. However, the radiation caused the people to be deformed and mutate. Varek can alter his molecular density, allowing him to pass through walls. Varek talks about his people being a proud race, as if they were alien to Buck and the rest of them, but in reality Varek, and his people, where human.
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References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: Grilled cheese Sandwich
Favorite Lines: "Fourth floor, Ladies' clothing and lingerie." -Twiki "Don't go getting sentimental on me Barney. I mean, it was fun, but nothing I wanna press into my scrapbook, if you know what I mean" -Buck
Deaths: 0
Miniatures: (3) Police Starfighters (1) Launch Tube (1) Sled (1) Detention Center

Ep 105 Vegas in Space, October 4, 1979

Director: Sigmund Neufeld, Jr.
Writer(s): Anne Collins
Guest Star(s):
Morgan Velosi .... Richard Lynch
Falina Reeding .... Ana Alicia
Major Marla Landers .... Juanin Clay
Tangi .... Pamela Shoop
Hood .... James Luisi
Rita .... Alice Frost
Man .... Ted Chapman
Special Guest Stars:
Amos Armat .... Cesar Romero
Carl Morphus .... Joseph Wiseman
Full list of cast and Crew

The title of Vegas in space gives the audience the imagery of Sin City. Gambling, sex, drugs, crime, all come to my mind when I think of Vegas. The show starts off with Wilma and Buck on a Training exercise, Twelve Star Fighters against 14 Hatchet fighters (same miniatures as the Pirate Ships). It would appear that the entire squadron was "destroyed" before they where able to fight back. Being the last one standing, Buck finally destroys one fighter. Unfortunately he takes a direct hit and is "destroyed" by a drone, ending the drill just after 2 min. 17 seconds of Battle. The Drill was using the targeting computers on the Star Fighters that are once again proving to be useless in battle. Buck is trying to convince Wilma that they need to learn how to shoot without the computer.

Falina enters her room where she opens two video messages. One from Rita (meaning "Pearl"), her old guardian, whom Falina sent flowers to for her Birthday. Apparently Blooming Flowers are rare. The second his from Mr. Armat, her employer whom she works for as a Digital Programmer, instructing her to go to the shuttle station at that very moment. There she would find her itinerary, already paid for. He says she is in great danger and urges that she needs to leave right away, but at the same time he said that it was better that she was not in when he called. How could he possibly know when she would get back in and see the message? Her shuttle could have left hours, if not days ago. How is it better that she was not in when he called? It clearly was a while since he left the message, 'cause in that time Velosi's Kidnapper was able to locate her, enter her room and wait for her to arrive. Clearly if she had gotten the message sooner, she would have been safer.

Major Landings meets Mr. Armat and lists his business practices to give the audience the information that this is a bad guy. I find it interesting that one of the things that Landings mentions is slave trafficking. Why does this stand out to me, you ask? Well in Planet of the Slave Girls Buck mentions slavery to Major Fields, who acts like she never heard of the word, or understands the concept. So now, we see that slavery is something that is known to at least some government officials. Or maybe it was just a writers error.

Even though Mr. Armat seems to have quite a reputation, and the kind of guy who could snap his fingers and
make something happen, he apparently has no jurisdiction in the city of Sinaloa. That's why he needs Dr. Huer's help and the help of his pilots. He proposes to turn himself in with all the evidence needed to make a conviction, in addition he will also provide information on the Draconian Hatchet Fighters, and why they are impervious the Star Fighters Computer Control Systems. So, I am confused, the Star Fighters Computer Control Systems is supposed to penetrate the Hatchet fighters and do something that would allow the Star Fighters to shoot them? If they didn't know how the Hatchet fighters are capable of doing this, how where they able to create replica fighters to practice on in the beginning of the show?

So Wilma convinces Buck to go with Major Lander's to Sinaloa to play 10 & 11, or what we refer to as Blackjack. I can only assume it's called ten and eleven, because they add up to twenty-one. Sinaloa resides in the Delta solar system, which consists of 12 orbiting man-made cities, one of those twelve is Sinaloa. Sinaloa consists mainly of Hotels, Casinos, Showrooms, and anything revolving around entertainment and gambling. Buck, after hearing Lander's description of Sinaloa, mentions the title of the show, "...A Las Vegas in Space" in the show!

Falina was placed under guard in Generator Sector 3 (take elevator F to the bottom level, through the door at the end), where Velosi goes to meet her. He walks in so slowly to be all that much more frightening to Falina. Like a monster movie as the creature slowly approaches the damsel. Now, his "V" belt buckle represents to the audience his ego, and perhaps even his power over the city. No villain is complete without is personalized belt buckle. Falina is overcome by his power and breaks down simply from his silent stare. Oh how Falina cracks over so little pressure. Best over acted scene ever.

Buck and Marla enter through the security check point with no problems. Sinaloa's overhead recording repeats "Please have your ID's ready at the entry portal. ID cards are required for entry and exit to Sinaloa. Thank you. You are now subject to the laws of Sinaloa. If you have any questions please go to the  pink vid-phone at the end of the concourse, and a paralegal will be happy to answer your questions." Buck sticks his invisible bloby things that I assume are explosives against a wall and a control panel. Marla just describes them as something to help them get in and one to help get them out. Included in their arsenal of gadgets include a detonating devise, that is effective from some distance that they don't mention, a ball for any goons that never gets used, and a devise that will deactivate the exit portals force shield for 10 seconds.

A blue woman from Klosef 3 catches Buck's eye. Marla suggests that the woman is actually a man, and wouldn't be Buck's type. Now, I cannot help but wonder if she was serious, or just teasing Buck. Do the men of Klosef 3 look like women of Earth, and visa-versa? Anyways, Buck changes into something more incognito, meets Tangi, and the two find them selves at the nearest 10&11 table. Marla, pretending to not know Buck, complains that Player 4 (aka Buck) has won 9 games, and only lost 4 since he sat down. She immediately accuses Buck of cheating and rushes off to make a formal complaint. Tangi asks Buck if he is from Klosef 3, so I guess that means Marla was telling the truth. The men look like women, and the women look like men. Velosi takes an interest in Marla, and sicks his goon to watch Buck. Buck is reminiscing about the end of his stint at Edwards. A friend of his, Toby Kaplan, and Buck drove to Las Vegas on Wednesday morning. They partied and gambled all night and drove home Thursday and arrived two minutes late for their 10 o'clock class (meaning they left Vegas between 6 & 7am). From there Buck went off to Huston, and Toby had aspirations to head up the Space and Aeronautics Board. The Edwards Buck is most likely referring to here is Edwards Air Force Base in California. The drive between the two would have taken Buck a little over 3 hours to make the trip. I did a quick search online for an Edwards College, and found St. Edwards University in Austin Texas. If Buck was referring to that Edwards, it would have taken him and Toby nearly 19 hours to drive to Vegas, one way. That isn't enough time to drive there and immediately turn around and get back by 10:02 am the following morning. Which would be a huge geography error for the writers. Buck lost in thought, doesn't hear the 10&11 computer announce his winnings of 400 credits.

Tangi, Tangi, Tangi. She spills out this sob story to Buck, about how she is practically a prisoner there on Sinaloa, and how her employer would never let her go, and how much of a monster he his (Blah, blah blah), all tugging at Bucks heart. Then she throws in the bait "But if, uh--If someone were to offer him enough money. Oh say as much as you've won here [REDFLAG! Altert, run away Buck!]. I bet he'd let me go." Then she tells Buck how grateful she would be with strong inferences that she might show her appreciation in physical ways. Talk about using her feminine charms to get what she wants. They literally just met, and she is asking for all his winnings (which equals 9,732 credits) to pay off her debts. She sounds like a con-artist to me. I have to assume that her desire to leave Sinaloa ties into the beginning of the episode, where Velosi was confronting Tangi about the five complaints he had received in the past four days about her. Perhaps she was intentionally trying to be a bad employee so Velosi would get rid of her. But he corrects her, telling her that there was only one way to leave his employment. His way (which is a bit under explained). With Tangi's proposal to Buck, perhaps "Velosi's Way" is paying him back his investment in Tangi.

Buck fights off Velosi's goon, who is subdued and drugged to give Buck Falina's location. To enter the room Falina is being held in, Buck will need one of 4 existing keys from either 0-7, the sanitation module, Thompson, Levine, or Velosi himself. Velosi's key opens everything in the city. Clearly the best choice out the the four. So, that's what Buck and Marla do. They ambush Velosi and his goon in Marla's quarters, and take his key. I love how blasting the electronic controls is the solution to either unlocking or locking a door. Why bother hacking the door, when you can just blast the controls and everything shuts down. Or if you fear of someone escaping a room, just blast the doors and lock them inside. Naturally I would assume that blasting the controls would do one or the other, not both. But I guess if your intent is clear before you pull the trigger, the controls will sense your brain waves and detect weather you want the door to be unlocked or locked by the blast. The science of convenience.

Buck gets cut off by Tangi who now is threatening that if Buck doesn't help her she will turn him in. Clearly a desperate woman, and weather she ment her threat or not, she is now a liability. Marla appears to realize this as she pulls her weapon on Tangi. Buck intervenes and agrees to help Tangi. Handing Tangi his weapon and something else, he dashes off to Section 3 to rescue Falina. Somehow, he was able to climb up the wall and onto a large utility pipe to sneak in closer to Morphus. I'am thinking that he is going to jump onto Morphus, knocking him out, or something. Instead he lands next to him, for what reason I can only speculate was for the safety of the actors. But Buck's landing does look like it hurt.

Buck takes Falina by the arm and escorts her out to the exit portal. The guards spot them and prepare to apprehend them. Buck with his fast thinking uses the detonator to blow up a control panel that he never went near before, send smoke throughout the room, blinding the guards to Buck and Falina's whereabouts. The same shot is used again of Buck pushing the detonator button (nice that they went in order using the same button) to set off the secondary charge. Off they run to the landing bay, and all four escape. Almost.

Four Blue Hatchet fighters appear and begin to attack the Thunder Fighter. Marla just hands Buck the Navigation controls like it was a loose component. But once the fighters begin to shoot, they no longer have time to switch over. Buck does some fancy flying causing the Hatchet Pilots to accidentally destroy themselves, leaving one left for Marla to shoot. The FX shot changes the from the 4-Seater Thunder Fighter to the 2-Seater Canopy Star Fighter. The Hatchet fighters also change from Blue to their standard Rust color. Here we learn that Mr. Armat is most likely the one who is supplying the Draconian's with the Hatchet fighters in the first place. It's a good thing Armat agreed to provide the Earths Directorate the info they needed to defend against them. Mr Armat confesses to Falina that she is his daughter. I cannot help but think of this same revelation in The Empire Strikes Back.
Falina: "My father died in a spice mine"
Armat: "No, I am your Father. You were hidden from the public, because if anyone where to find out that Amos Armat had a child, it would be disastrous for them"
So in the end, Mr. Armat goes home where he awaits authorities, Falina goes back to work but is in therapy for the rest of her life, Tangi is escorted to Bucks quarters to so she can show him how appreciative she is, and Buck is walking on cloud 9 being 9,732 credits richer.

Character Facts learned in this episode

Amos Armat: Moon Base Construction is his cover, but in the underground, he deals with extortion, smuggling illegal weaponry to warring colonies, and Slave trafficking.

Carl Morphus: Can pull memories out of someones subconscious. The chemicals used traumatizes brain tissue permanently.
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References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: hit me (blackjack), party pooper, Look's like the fat's not out of the fire yet
Favorite Lines: "I'am to blackjack as a mongoose is to a cobra"  -Buck
Deaths: 4
Miniatures: (1) Starfighter (1) 4-Seater Thunder Fighter (1) Sinaloa, Casino in Space  (4) Blue Hatchet Fighters

Ep 104 Planet of the Slave Girls, Part 2 September 27, 1979

Director: Michael Caffey
Writer(s): Steve Greenberg, Aubrey Soloman & Cory Applebaum
Guest Star(s):
Major Duke Danton (Scout Leader).... David Groh
Governor Tabor Saroyan .... Roddy McDowell
Regis Saroyan (Scout Three) .... Michael Mullins
Ryma (Slave girl) .... Brianne Leary
Dr. Mallory .... MacDonald Carey
Stella Warden (Mallory's assistant).... Karen Carlson
Carl (Voice) .... ?
Major Fields .... Sheila "DeWindt" Wills
Julio .... Don Marshall
Galen .... Robert Dowdell
Special Guest Stars:
Brigadier Gordon .... Buster Crabbe
Kaleel .... Jack Palance
Full list of cast and Crew

Buck and Major Danton crash about 18 kilometers (11.18468 miles) from Colonel Deering’s location. Wilma and Ryma are being escorted to the place where Kaleel puts people who are a threat to him. The guards escorting them seem to be enjoying their job too much, needlessly keep pushing the women, to keep moving, despite that they obviously are. This force from the guards does create a threatening situation for the girls, but it really was just an excuses for Wilma to show off the Judo she learned from Buck, allowing her to escape.

After Twiki solders Carl's broken connectors, Theo asks Mallory to send an light current through Carl’s higher levels of associative circuits. To Dr. Mallory's disbelief, Carl is up and running again. Now they can get started working on an antidote from the sample that Major Field's brought to them. Mallory is such a downer. Having a computer fix another computer is how things are done these days, it seems to have caused humans to loose their basic understanding of computers and electrical components. Any computer can be rebuilt. Just need new parts. Silly Dr. Mallory.

Wilma somehow found some extra slave girl outfit that she changed into. I can only assume that she changed her cloths to blend in. Luckily she was also able to find a large stick that she uses as a club to beat a guard over the head with. I imagine that the blow was just to knock the guard unconscious, however she could have fractured his skull, causing swelling that would end up ultimately killing him. The second question is, where did the stick come from? The Sea of Stone is said to be a place where nothing can grow. Nothing. Meaning no plant life at all. In other words, this stick had to of come from the other side of the planet, then carelessly discarded. Perhaps it was a souvenir from a slave that once worked for Governor Tabor Saroyan, but was sent back to the Nomads for punishment. One of Kaleel's guards confiscated the stick, tossing it to the ground, as they escorted the slave to their doom. I guess that could make sense.

Discovering an armada of ships, Duke and Buck make plans to hijack one of the ships and fly back to Dr. Huer, so they could launch a secret assault before the ships can take off. Buck asks the question that the audience is now asking, wouldn't the Energy Leach bring the ship down just like the Star Fighter? No, of course not, the writers come up with Trans-Light Velocity, that will make him so fast, that the Nomads would never be able to catch him. Now, if Duke was aware of this Trans-Light Velocity, why didn't they use that in the Star Fighter? Would using it have caused them to travel too fast so flying in planet would be impossible? Duke Danton steals a Scorpion Fighter and is in space pretty quickly. However, when we cut back to the same computer graphic of the Energy Leach, his ship is just taking off and clearing the mountains. Back in space is the same FX shot when Stella Warden first approached Vistula. This same shot gets used a couple more times during the end battle scene.

Dr. Huer is only able to provide 6 pilots, plus Twiki and Theo (who volunteered). The pilots consist of Major Fields, retired Brigadier "Flash" Gordon (who also played the original Buck Rogers), two women, and two men. With Major Duke Danton as leader, it makes eight in the squadron They are going to attack Kaleel's 100 Scorpion ships while they were still on the ground and vulnerable. They set out on course 7X490, towards the Stargate. The FX shot of all the ships flying towards the Stargate only shows six out of the eight ships. Where are the other two? In fact, all the FX shots of the Star Fighters only show six ships. The editing room must be recycling film. Anyways, back to the action, Danton states that they will reach Stargate 5 in 12 minutes. Before they enter the gate, Danton instructs the pilots to punch in a new destination, 4807K, to Vistula.

After both Buck and Wilma are captured, they are thrown into the same cell where Ryma is. Awfully convenient for out heroes, don't you think? Don't they have more than one cell? Somewhere along the way Wilma was given a gold headband that she wasn't wearing before. She just keeps picking discarded cloths off the floor, I guess. Buck pulls out the flash grenade that he salvaged from some crazy attackers in the desert. He places it under a rock to shield himself from the blast, as well as to boost him up high enough to a shaft that leads to a cool storage room. This grenade trick I commonly use playing HALO. Throw a couple of frag grenades down, run and jump just as they go off to give yourself that extra boost up to reach high places. If it works for a Spartan, why not Buck? The trick works, and Buck, using some rope he found, manages to escape with the two women.

Kaleel sits in his command room and watches his armada approach the Star Fighters with great pleasure. The screen shot is the almost the same one that is used later for the inside of the Star Fighters, but is just zoomed in to hide the computer console lights and buttons around the screen.

Now outside, Wilma takes out the two guards that are guarding the last two Scorpion fighters still grounded (Buck is in 9-3 and Wilma is in 9-4), while Ryma goes back into the Mountain to rally her people to fight, using the weapons and explosives they have stolen over the past months. Galen (Greek name that means "Calm"), unawares that the two fighters joining the armada late where being piloted by Wilma and Buck, and orders them to rejoin formation via sequence 309. Buck basically tells Galen to piss off, and switches to Danton's radio frequency, Vector 92.4, to let him know that he and Wilama where there to help. Kaleel, back in is viewing room with Stella, counts 8 fighters that are going to attack his armada of 15. I thought there was supposed to be 100 Scorpion fighters, but 15 I think is the same thing right? The view screen shows the 8 Star Fighters, plus 2 Scorpion fighters joining them, making it 10, not 8, against his armada.
Perhaps Kaleel cannot count, or that he doesn't know yet that the two ships joining the squadron are Buck and Wilma. Now we see Buck's football plan come into play, as they use it here to get at Galen. A couple quick FX miniature shots are thrown in that show Pirate Ships instead of the Scorpions, and even a 4-Seater Thunder Fighter instead of the 2-Seater Star fighter. Why make new consistent shots, when you can use some old film, add explosions and no one would notice, right? The pilot is even the same guy for each shot. Even after we seem him brace himself for death, he is back in the next shot. Are these guys clones, or could they not film multiple guys piloting the Scorpions? Duke and the other pilots are able to create an opening in the armada for Buck to fly in and take out Galen. After Galen's death, the entire armada breaks up and retreats. Buck, Wilma, and Danton fly to the surface and arrive pretty quickly, 'cause as soon as Kaleel encounters the first rebel slaves, he also meets up with Buck. How he landed, got out of the ship and ran into the mountain into the exact corridor that he needed to be in to cut off Kaleel is the magic of film, not reality. But it makes good TV.

Tim Robbins noted first film role was a slave extra in the scene where Ryma was convincing her people that now was the time to attack. He has no lines, just has a mean scowl on his face. I tried finding him in more shots, but I think that this was the only clear shot of him. You gotta start somewhere, and how many people can say that they got started on the set of Buck Rogers?

Slaves attack Kaleel before he is able to reach his private cruiser. Being cut off, Kaleel threatens to kill Buck with his touch of death, and everyone seems to let him. Guess Kaleel's fear over the nomads was still too great that they would not interfere. Buck stands up to Kaleel, and Kaleel's power dwindles, allowing him to be taken prisoner. Back on Earth, the Governor of Vistula and his son agree to fix Vistula's problems together, and Buck, Wilma, and Danton walk off together to celebrate their victory. The End.

Character Facts learned in this episode

Major Danton: was instructed by Brigadier Gordon in pulsar cannon 15 years prior. Pulsar cannons's are the guns on the Star Fighters, so I presume that Danton was making a comment then that the Brigadier taught him how to shoot.
Galen: the best military strategist that Earth had. Disappeared from Earth's military seven years ago, when it was learned that Galen would sell his skill to anyone for the right price.
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References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: "Who's the Juice?" reference to OJ Simpson
Favorite Lines: "Ah, got away." - Stella Warden, "Ryma! She's still alive. Whatever that's worth." - Deering
Deaths: 14
Miniatures: (2) Pirate Ships (6)Star Fighters (1) 4-Seater Thunder Fighter (1) Launch Tube (15) Scorpion (1) Draconia Set Piece (1) Sled (1) Ardala's Private Shuttle (1) Colonial Shuttle (1) Docking Bay

Ep 103 Planet of the Slave Girls, Part 1 September 27, 1979

Director: Michael Caffey
Writer(s): Steve Greenberg, Aubrey Soloman & Cory Applebaum
Guest Star(s):
Major Duke Danton (Scout Leader).... David Groh
Governor Tabor Saroyan .... Roddy McDowell
Regis Saroyan (Scout Three) .... Michael Mullins
Ryma (Slave girl) .... Brianne Leary
Dr. Mallory .... MacDonald Carey
Stella Warden (Mallory's assistant).... Karen Carlson
Carl (Voice) ....
Major Fields .... Sheila "DeWindt" Wills
Julio .... Don Marshall
Female Pilot .... Diane Markoff
Woman .... June Whitley Taylor
Husband .... Borah Silver
Worker .... Michael Masters
Guard .... Don Maxwell
Technician .... Nathaniel Brian Wine
Special Guest Stars:
Kaleel .... Jack Palance
Full list of cast and Crew

I'd first like to start off that the title is very deceptive. It makes me think that the entire planet is all women, slave women, who would probably be wearing skimpy outfits to please their master. But in reality this show has nothing to do with Slave Girls. It's about nomads falling into a cult to over throw the governor. There are as many slave men as their are girls or women. Calling it Planet of the Slave Nomads would have been more accurate, but of course not as appealing.
Buck and Deering are flying to Stargate 4 to get back home. According to Buck, Stargate 4 is about 26 minutes from Earth. Star Gates allow ships to travel through space warp to different parts of the galaxy light-years away. Kind of like a teleportation unit. This is the only episode that gives the audience a feeling of that it is like to travel through the gate.

Four Scout Star Fighters are out on a Directorate Training mission. Scout Three falls behind and becomes a target for two Pirate ships. Being fired upon, Three is hit on the starboard side. The ships themselves are identical to the Draconian Bombers. So, perhaps the Draconian's did disguise their ships to look like Pirate ships after all, or the Directorate created Replicas of the ships from their previous experience with them, and was using their likeness for this training mission. Either way Buck and Deering end up coming to Three's rescue, destroying both Pirates. However, when we see the FX shot, there is a little explosion in front of the Directorate Star Fighter which I assume was supposed to be the first Pirate ship (how it got in front of the Star Fighter in the first place, I have no idea), and then Deering destroys the second Pirate ship. I feel that there is something missing in this fight scene that wasn't edited quite right.

Buck identify's himself to Scout Leader as Earth Recon 1. Major Danton however doesn't appreciate Buck's "interference" and thus begins the rift between the two men for the majority of the episode. A hostility that really plays out during one of Danton's Combat Technique Sessions were Buck was a guest speaker.

I honestly had to rewind this portion and turn on the Subtitles to see what it was that Buck said to Danton, 'cause what I heard isn't appropriate for TV. Funk and Wagnill's is a dictionary, like Webster's. Buck was making a reference to Danton's definition of "interference" and nothing more. However when you say "Funk and Wagnills" as quickly as Buck did, it sounded like he said "F%@#in' Wagnills" like an insult. I wounder if the writers did that intentionally. The FX shot of the Star Fighters heading home has a slight inconsistency. We see the Star Fighters flying towards the camera and in front is 4-Seater Thunder Fighter that has the larger canopy and cockpit. However, when the camera angle changes to the rear view, all the ships are combat Star Fighters again.

Governor Tabor Saroyan, sent his son, Regis, to train in the Directorate to be a pilot. While on Earth he was poisoned, among hundreds of other pilots by contaminated food discs. Such an unappetizing looking thing too. Do these disks get eaten straight, or do they required dehydration like in Back To The Future II with the pizza? From Colonel Deering, we learn that all food processing and distribution is controlled and monitored by the Food Directorate, who periodically send Investigators to Vistula to check up on the food processing and handling.

Stella Warden, Dr. Mallory's assistant, destroys Carl, a large talking box, as he attempts a nitrogen breakdown of the contaminates of the food discs. While Carl calls for help, I cannot help but thing he is referencing Lost In Space, with his "Danger, Danger" lines. Possible Easter egg? The devise that Stella uses reminds me of something out of Knight Rider. Meanwhile Buck is teaching Wilma Judo. So, now we know that Buck does indeed know a form of martial arts.

Dr. Huer calls Buck and Wilma to the Hospital Research Lab, where they discover that Carl has been put out of commission, setting back their search for an antidote, days or even weeks, behind schedule. Colonel Deering seems to freak-out in a nonchalant way making an exaggerated claim that this setback means Earth, the entire planet, would be next to defenseless indefinitely. I hardly consider days, or weeks as indefinitely. Nor do I think that a couple hundred pilots and cadets being sick, means that the Earth is defenseless. Isn't that the point of the Earth Defense Shield? Maybe I'm over thinking it.

Vistula: Is an agricultural planet, just beyond Stargate 5, in the Epsilon Ludi system. Most of the vegetables in Earths food is grown there, and various other proteins. The barren portion of the Planet is called the Sea of Stone where nothing can grow. The nomads live here, under a mountain, with their leader Kaleel.

Stella Warden contacts Vistula 2, to inform Kaleel (is this a modified version of Kal-El, a Superman Easter Egg?) that Earth will be defenseless when it's time to attack. Why do the nomads follow Kaleel is beyond me. He sells them to the governor, and kills them with his 'touch of truth' that is powered, not by god, but the peoples own fear of him.

Little did Jack Palance know at the time that he would later play a role in Tim Burton's Batman

Kaleel is able to kill those who fear him with his touch. The power itself is fueled by fear alone, so if you do not fear Kaleel, you would be immune to his touch. However Kaleel states that his power is from god, and if your heart is good and true you shall live, if not then you will die. What a very manipulative thing to say to a bunch of gullible believers. It's like saying, "Drink this poison, if god spares you, then you are a good person, if you die, then you must have been a traitor."  How do you argue with the results? So, the slave woman outs her husband, who is then killed, and everyone praises Kaleel for it. Psycho!

An assassin his sent to kill Dr Huer with a poisoned boomerang. The interesting part of this scene is how Buck is "crouching" on what clearly feels like a small stage set, and looks around without going anywhere. In real life his 'sneaking' around to find the assassin would be a bit more involved. But the way it's shot and edited, it does kind of give you that moving around feel. But he really isn't. So the assassin is wearing all black with little reflectors on his outfit, and is throwing around a weapon that gives off a lot of noise as it fly's through the air and only works if the victim is standing. Clearly this assassination attempt is being done by the lowest bidder.

Regis is placed in a Sick Suit for his transportation home.

Twiki made two wrist bands for Buck and Wilima that will give each of them a visual warning if the contaminate enters their system. It also monitors the telemetry of its corresponding wrist band, or in layman's terms, they are Radio Directional Finders (or R.D.F.). They are powered by body heat.

So, Wilma, Buck, Danton, and Fields fly off to Vistual with Regis from New Chicago, but the FX shot is them exiting the Draconia lower launch bays as if they were currently in space. Another inconsistent FX shot, is that we see that both Majors are flying their own Star Fighers, while Buck, Wilam and Regis are in the 4-Seater Thunder Fighter, but when we see a rear flyby, the 4-Seater Thunder Fighter turned into the Sled, then back to the 4-Seater.

The Governor, Regis, Danton, Fields, Buck, Wilma, and Julio are all seated together celebrating Regis's return. The food was brought in from Dionysin. Ironically, the Governor has all his food brought in from other planets as he is too tired to constantly be eating soy products. Chatting a bit they get onto the topic of slavery. It's funny how the director (or someone anyways) chose an African-American to be the one who didn't understand the word "slavery". It was like the writers or director was trying to give the audience the impression that Earths history with slavery has been all but forgotten, that the word itself has no meaning.

Buck is naked taking a bath singing Strangers in the Night, another Frank Sinatra song, when Ryma enters his room. She was sent there to not only bring him towels, but to be his lover for the night. Danton later makes a crack remark about this later. Does that mean that Danton, Wilma, and Fields all had someone come to their rooms to be their lovers for the night? It seems very possible. Getting out of the bath, Buck seems to have no modesty as he stand ups fully nude in front of Ryma, a woman he literally just met at dinner, and she doesn't blink an eye either, like this kind of thing is pretty normal for her.

Ryma's brother worked at Processing Plant No. 347 and learned about the contaminate in the food discs. He was going to tell his sister, who works in the governors house, what he found, but Kaleel, had him killed before he had the chance. Buck tells Ryma that he will leave for the processing plant by the window so he could maintain his reputation. Reputation for what exactly? Being a ladies man? Being promiscuous? He definitely holds to the stereotype that it's attractive for a man to be flirtatious and promiscuous with other women while he may or may not be trying to develop a real relationship with Wilma Deering. The men in the audience now want to be like him and the women want to be with him.

Buck sneaks into the processing plant and ends up in a fight with the night crew. At first I am thinking that these guys must be regular staff, but now as the scene plays out, they must be security, cause who else would risk personal injury, if not their lives, then those sworn to protect and serve right? I mean, if I was working late at the plant and saw a man dressed all in black sneaking around, I wouldn't go up to him, I'd call the police or security.

Back at Buck's room, Julio is interrogating Ryma on Buck's whereabouts. Curious thing though, if Buck and Ryma were supposed be going at it, Julio should have known this, so why did he knock and enter Buck's room in the first place, and why would Ryma have let them in? Perhaps he got a call from the processing plant that someone had broken in and Julio already suspected Buck may be gone and came to his room to confirm it. However if that was the case, then he wouldn't have been surprised at the idea that Buck was at the plant, as it appeared that the thought had not occurred to him yet. Too many questions...

Wilma activates her R.D.F. wrist band so Buck can locate her. The two lights on the display screen somehow tell Buck that she is Northeast from his position, 3 kilometers (1.864 miles) away. Being unsafe for a subspace communication between Vistual and Earth, Major Fields takes the contaminated packing material (bubble wrap) back to Dr. Huer.

Ryma, Wilma, and a bunch of other slaves are all aboard a shuttle that is taking them back to Kaleel. The FX shot for the shuttle itself is the same model used for Princess Ardala's private shuttle. The FX shot is most likely the exact same one used in The Awakening Part II, but with the Launch Tube miniature for the new background. The next time we see the shuttle the camera angle is of the top flying through the desert, however it is a different model altogether. This shuttle is actually the Colonial Shuttle from Battlestar Galactica.

Buck suggests using the Retro-Gravity Valve to slow their decent. What is a retro-gravity valve? Isn't the word 'Retro' used for something that is old, outdated, that happened before hand or past tense? So, would that be then a release valve that let out outdated gravity to give the ship more buoyancy? Whatever it was, it canceled out and Danton's Star Fighter crashes anyways.

Facts Learned this Episode:

Power Leech: A type of force shield that drains or redirects a ships energy making it uncontrollable, ultimately forcing it to the ground. 

Sick Suit: Monitors vital signs, and administers the proper treatment intravenously

Kaleel: Has The Touch of Truth (the kiss of god) that he uses to kill those who fear him just with his touch. The power itself is fueled by fear alone, so if you do not fear Kaleel, you would be immune to the "Touch of Truth". 

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References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: Funk & Wagnalls, Football, Red Dogging, sacking the Quarterback, having a thing for someone, a crush.
Deaths: 3
Miniatures: (2) Pirate Ships (5)Star Fighters (1) 4-Seater Thunder Fighter (1) Launch Tube (1) Scorpion (1) Draconia Set Piece (1) Sled (1) Ardala's Private Shuttle (1) Colonial Shuttle (1) Docking Bay

Ep 102 The Awakening, Part 2 September 20, 1979

Director: Daniel Haller
Writer(s): Glen A. Larson & Leslie Stevens
Guest Star(s):
Princess Ardala .... Pamela Hensley
"Killer" Kane .... Henry Silva
Tigerman .... Duke Butler
Tigerman 2 .... H.B. Haggerty
Draco .... Joseph Wiseman
Guard No. 1 .... Larry Duran
Guard No. 2 ..... Kenny Endoso
Officer .... Erin Lawrence
Wrather .... Colleen Kelly
Pilot No. 1.... Kevin Coates
Pilot No. 2 .... Steve Jones
Pilot No. 3 .... David Buchanan
Wingman .... Burt Marshall

During the opening battle the Major, Lieutenant and Thornberry where killed before Buck turned off the
Computer Control, that wasn't doing anything but getting them killed, and destroyed seven "Pirate" ships single handed. During this whole dog fight, the miniature shots get reused again and again. Sometimes flipped or cut differently, but they certainly reuse the FX shots. Air Control 1 contacts Access for clearance of the Outer barriers to land on Corridor 1-0 Able. One example of an FX shot that gets reused is when Buck and Deering enter Corridor 1-0 Able after the battle. The shot shows Ranger 3 flying into the base again with a single Star Fighter behind it, instead of two Star Fighters. Oops.

During the Draconian Trade Delegation, Princess Ardala takes the opportunity to thank Buck personally for "saving" the flagship. This is the scene where Ardala is wearing the outfit that is based on her Action Figure. Ardala informs the Earth Directorate that King Draco offers his own flagship, the Draconia, filled with the latest technology as a gift. The offer is to symbolize a new era of commerce and peace. Thus begins the celebration, or dancing if you will. A lot of colorful costumes and lights with what sounds like synthesized music. It's so dated and cheesy for today's standards, but that's what makes this scene fun to watch. Buck complains of a headache and gets a strong relaxant that he stows away as well as a rose to flirt with the Princess.

Buck is able to get the DJ to play some "Rock-n-Roll" music, that he and Ardala dance to alone while everyone watches. This is a "funny" moment to see Twiki dancing to the music as well, while Deering thinks the whole thing is disgusting, which I am sure is really just her jealousy peaking through. The show does make the audience think that Deering is beginning to have feelings for Buck in a more-than-friends kind of way. At the same time Dr. Huer and Kane are talking, and Kane informs Dr. Huer that he hopes to stay on Earth on a permanent basis. Dr. Huer welcomes the idea. Just makes me think back to Kane's plan to hide a Micro Transmitter on Ranger 3 in the first place. Seems, like the only thing that action actually did was cause the Earth Directorate to distrust Buck and give him a death sentence. Instead it provided no useful information, and promoted Deering and Buck to board the Draconia together that ultimately lead to it's destruction. Good plan Kane!

Oh, Colonel Deering just asked Buck if he was interested in going "some place" private after a passionate kiss. I guess Deering really does have a thing for Buck. Strange how that relationship never seemed to go anywhere in the TV series. Does Buck's rejection at this moment, in order to meet up with Ardala in private, put that wedge between them and doom any chances of them getting together? Let's find out...

Buck leaves with Ardala on her private shuttle, who is singing Chicago Chicago again. Twiki pokes his head out of a cooler 'case he is too cold. Ironic for a drone to not only feel cold, but also not like the cold. Correct me if I am wrong, but don't most computer circuits work better when cooled? I realize the writers did that to show us, the audience, that Twiki was coming along and for this little comedic relief.

Princess Ardala wants Buck to be the Man by her side to help unseat her father, and take his place. She seems pretty convinced that Buck is the kind of man that could defeat King (or Emperor?) Draco. Not sure how shooting down seven of her own pilots proved that to her. But who cares, right? So, while Buck is "trying" to seduce Ardala, at the same time all armament personal are reporting to Flight Bay to begin loading weaponry onto...something. Into the Marauders? Into Cargo storage units? Onto themselves? I can only speculate.

After drugging the Princess, Buck sneaks out and steals Tigerman's blaster. Why is Tigerman's pistol some kind of paralytic ray? What the heck! It cannot be a "freeze"

ray, as Tigerman wasn't frozen in ice, but he was frozen in place, being unable to move. Why would this be the weapon of choice for a bodyguard of the princes? A non-lethal and non-harming pistol that just cause people to remain stiff as a board in a paralyzed stasis temporarily. Was he afraid that he might accidentally shoot the princes while trying to subdue an attacker? If you look closely at Buck's sleeve, you can see the power cable for the light in the gun. Buck sneaks off and finds his way into a hangar bay, realizing that the "Pirate" ships are actually not pirates at all, but Draconian Bombers (or warships). Time to hide some bombs inside the thrusters. Knocking out a guard and hiding his body in Bay 3, Buck takes his uniform to slip around the hanger sliding bombs inside the thruster's of all the fighters he can. Buck refers the to the Warships as as Bombers masquerading as Marauders to Twiki. Who by the way has done nothing yet to warrant his being written into the scene. On a separate note, how can the Draconian Marauders be disguised as Marauders? Are they marauders or aren't they? I guess when the ships are masquerading as Pirate ships they are Marauders, but in reality they should be called Draconian Bombers instead, don't you think?

Once the Bombers begin to explode, Kane asks what's going on? "Our ships, they simply explode" said so casually and matter-of-fact like it he isn't all that surprised. Has this happened before? It's almost like he is thinking "Hmm, that's curious, they are exploding on ignition. I wonder if they were supposed to do that?" Well, they are able to get a few warships out that are all taken out by the Star Fighters. Buck fights Tigerman and Kills him by sliding a bomb under his belt. So, does Tigerman actually survive in later episodes, or does Ardala get another Tigerman? Well, if he survived the bomb, then he would have died when the Draconia explodes. Unless he stows away aboard the Princesses shuttle. That's a lot of IF's.

Emperor Draco enters the show via a hologram to reprimand Kane and his premature attack, as the kings attack forces are still hours away.
Kane enters Ardala's chamber, where he finds her on the ground. Mr. Silva seems to trip on his line at this point. So, the Princes and Kane escape in her private shuttle, and everyone aboard the Draconia perish as it explodes. An ending very reminiscent of Star Wars where the Death Star Explodes and Darth Vader's ship fly's off to fight another day. Deering comes onto Buck pretty hard in the last scene that Buck seems totally oblivious to.

Character Facts Learned This episode:

Emperor Draco: Conquer of 3/4ths of Space, Warlord of Astrium, Ruler of the Draconian Realm. Princess Ardala's Father. The greatest leader the world has ever known

Princes Ardala: Has 29 sisters

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References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: Folk Dance, Greeks, Trojan Horse
Buck's insult to Twiki: Half-baked load of electronic Jibberish
My Favorite lines: "What a Body!" "I'm freezing my Ball Bearings off"-Twiki
Deaths: 42, plus everyone aboard the Draconia
Miniatures: (19) Draconian Marauder (15) Star Fighter (1) Flagship Draconia (1) Draconia Set Piece (1) Ardala's Private Launch (Escape) Shuttle (1) Launch Tube

Ep 101 The Awakening, Part 1 September 20, 1979

Director: Daniel Haller
Writer(s): Glen A. Larson & Leslie Stevens
Guest Star(s):
Princess Ardala .... Pamela Hensley
"Killer" Kane .... Henry Silva
Tigerman .... Duke Butler
Tigerman 2 .... H.B. Haggerty
Young Woman at Delta Sector Station .... Caroline Smith
Supervisor 14 .... John Dewey-Carter
Communication Intelligence Officer .... David Cadiente
Technician .... Gil Serna

Ranger 3, being Americas last deep space probe, was launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center as Flight 711 on the nose of a massive rocket scheduled to return in five months. The shuttle being named Ranger 3 is probably the shows first error in relation to the real life NASA. Ranger 3 was a space probe that was launched in 1962 and NASA does not reuse their Names. In other-words, if in 1987 NASA sent off Bucks shuttle, it wouldn't have been officially named Ranger 3, as that name had already been taken, but Ranger 10, or higher (never mind that the Ranger program ended in 1965).

I have to admit that the DVD version of the opening sequence is much better than the TV shows edited version (available on Netflix). Not sure what the point is of having several beautiful women rolling around on giant lit sign, and making out with Buck though. Perhaps they wanted a James Bond type opening sequence? Letting it's audience know right away that this movie had sex appeal. However the worst part of the opening credits is the theme song. While the words themselves may be OK, the singer and pace of the sing is just so cheesy.

In the first episode we are introduced to Princess Ardala, and the Draconian's. I assume the writers were picking a name that sounded Alien, but is inspired from Athenian history, even naming the King of the Draconian's "Draco", after the first legislator of the Athenians. Their stated purpose in coming to Earth was to ensure trade between Earth and the Draconian's. The Planet Earth is being starved out by Pirates who are interfering with their trade and shipping routes. The Draconian's promised to keep their shipping lines open (i.e. protect them from the pirates), in exchange for landing permission on Earth. We learn however that the Draconian's are impersonating Pirates to get inside Earth's Defense Shield. I assume that Earth has never seen a Draconian Marauder fighter as they should have been easily identified as the same ships that the "Pirates" where using.

Three Draconian Marauder ships are sent out to intercept Ranger 3. They are a shot-first-and-ask-questions-later kind of people it seems. After determining the ship was adrift, the Marauders tow the shuttle in triangle formation with a joining energy beam. Oh, looks like Buck was awaken by the Draconian's as their technology was sufficient to do so. He was frozen by a combination of gasses in almost a perfect combination: Oxygen, Cryogen, (isn't Cryogen a liquid?) Ozone, Methalon, and was awoken 504 years later, supposedly in the year 2491, if Buck was Actor Gil Gerard's actual age, Buck would be around 540 years old.

In sending Buck back to Earth, Buck mentions that the guys back in Houston would be surprised to hear about his little "dream" aboard the Flagship. Now, I could be wrong, but Ranger 3 took off from John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida, according to the credits, but is coming back to Huston Space Center in Texas, and when he lands, he is almost at the precise landing site programmed into his ship, Chicago, Illinois...seems like a major geography plot hole in the writing to me.

So, the Draconian's believe Buck's a spy so they hide a Micro Transmitter in his navigation equipment that will send back a guide map of Earth's secret access corridors that Draco could use to pour through their defense shield. Not really sure how a map will be able to deactivate Earths defense shield, but I guess that is something else the transmitter would do, hack the defense shield code. Or perhaps there were openings in the shield that could not closed that could be used to sneak in. Reminds me of a scene out of a Spaceballs. I'm also not sure what the point of this really is, because wouldn't the Draconian's be permitted through the defense shield themselves and could obtain any information they needed then due to the Peace Negotiations? Furthermore, Kane doesn't seem to know much about Earth, despite being from there. He thinks that Earth's defense would allow Buck's shuttle to be destroyed if it was a civilian ship, but would accept his ship through the shield only if he was a military spy? Kane seems like an idiot to me.

During Buck's arrival, Air Control 1 is trying to reach vessel Able, Baker 4, giving it permission to approach Inner City on Corridor 3-4 Dover. Tracking Control Long is asking about the current position and fuel supply of Vessel Tartalia. The Captain of Tartalia refers Tracking Control Long as Air Control Long? Delta Sector Station, who monitors low frequency direct communication band, picks up Buck's singing Frank Sinatra's Chicago. But Supervisor 14 suspects that it could be Pirate or Marauder echo's from the attack on their freighters the previous night. Signals that would be bouncing around for a week or so. Operation Control directs Delta Sectors incoming signal to Supervisor 14 to confirm that the signal isn't an echo. Returning to Buck, he is singing another Song, Bill Bailey, Wont you Come home.

Intercept Squadron, consisting of Colonel Deering and a secondary pilot go out to investigate Ranger 3. In the control room where Supervisor 14 is monitoring Buck's approach we see several inconsistencies. The first is the position of Buck's light blip. The first time we saw this blip it was much faster and closer to the shield. The second time we see it, it has moved back further away from the shield. We also see four light blips that I assume are supposed to be four Starfigher Intercept ships, when there should only be two. The last time we see Buck's blip, it is further back yet again, and this time it has change its trajectory. The miniature fly over is used three times in this short scene. We see it first as the ships approach Ranger 3, again through Bucks cockpit window flying over the ship, and they appear to fly by a second time.

Buck makes another remark about telling his crazy story to the guys at the "Cape". So, he went from the guys at Huston Texas, to the Guys at Cape Canaveral, Florida (or is this Cape Cod in Massachusetts?). Buck seems to have friends from all over, I guess. Buck starts to suspect that the Starfighters are Russian, so he says "Do Svidanya" which basically means "until we meet again" or more simply, "goodbye". Now, if they were in fact Russian, wouldn't Buck saying goodbye be A) confusing to a Russian anyways, as he wasn't leaving, or B) an act of hostility, threatening to deviate from their present course, which Deering informed Buck would result in his being burned into vapors? So, how was that trying to be friendly? Approaching Earth, we see the two Intercept Starfighters coming up behind Ranger 3, but didn't Buck say earlier that he would be following the Intercept Starfighters, so shouldn't then he be behind them?

Air Control 1 contacts Access for Corridor 1-0 Able to be cleared of barriers for Buck's Shuttle to land. Where he it instantly take in for interrogation which consists of electrical testing that is perfectly harmless.


After Twiki, Dr. Theopolis (aka Theo) and Dr. Huer have all been introduced, Buck is left alone with Theo and wants to know who he, himself, is? Did something happen to Buck's memory or confidence in himself to no longer trust his own identity? Not really sure why Buck would be waiting for 24 hours so someone could tell him who he was. Unless he was just trying to be cheeky?

The DVD version seems to have deleted this whole conversation between Buck and Theo, that the Netflix version included. The Mutants are known for putting ambuquads to work doing unmentionable things, and selling gold circuits and parts for big money on the black market. The street that Buck was looking for was "State St." What the significance of the street is to Buck is not made clear. Perhaps it's the street his family lived on, as that seems to be what he is looking for, traces of his family. Bucks family is buried in a near by cemetery with one headstone marker. Edna and James Roger where Buck's parents, Frank and Marilyn where his brother and sister. Watching the Netflix version of the show this whole scene in Anarchia is so dark that I cannot make out anything. The DVD not only has extra scenes in it, but so much better in picture quality.Oh man, look at Buck fight. Is he supposed to know martial arts? Well, the film makers sure did make me think that Buck is supposed to know how to fight, and can take on several attackers at once with no weapons but his hands and slow kicks that barely make it up past his waist. Key-ya!

To Buck's rescue is Colonel Deering and four armed men in the Land Rover. A vehicle that is only seen in this scene, and was lucky enough to get a toy made of it. Colonel Deerings helmet is similar to the one she wears while piloting her star fighter, but this one appears like a more snug fit. There are no markings and the color is a off white, almost tan in color. Perhaps she is wearing a helmet that wasn't finished by the time they shot this scene. Here we come to what appears like another error, Dr. Theopolis's lights are off, even when he responds to Buck's question. Oh snap, lieutenant just shot Buck. I presume they just stunned him though.

Back in Dr. Huer's office, there is a Holy Bible encased on his desk. Is this some subtle reference that the show is trying to imply the religion of the people at this time?

Kane informs Princess Ardala that the Micro Transmitter had provided the guide map that they wanted, but had been discovered and no longer transmitting. But Kane is unconcerned, because his new plan is that once the Draconian's are welcomed through the Defense Shield for the negotiations, they will destroy the shield from within Earths defenses. This isn't helping Kane's defense of not being an idiot. He has the map that he wanted/needed from the Micro Transmitter, but disregards it's information altogether because now he will destroy the shield when they are welcomed to Earth, which was going to happen anyways. Did he just now think of this?

The Computer Counsel Charges Buck with Treason and Espionage after finding the Micro Transmitter on his ship. They suspect that he was sending the information to Pirates. Counsel members consist of Apol, Dr. Theopolis, who is defending Buck. A deleted scene that is not on the DVD but is in the Netflix version is where Colonel Deering asks the Computer Counsel for permission to postpone Buck's termination to prove his innocence. Something that I think should have been done before convicting someone, don't you agree?

Best error in this episode is the boom mike that drops down too far as Deering is telling Buck about going back onto the Draconian Flagship to prove that he was indeed aboard it, and if the Draconian's are armed. Something that was cut from the DVD version. Too funny.

So, the reason that Deering gives Kane for inviting themselves onto the Draconia is to provide protection from Pirates. But isn't that what the Dranconian's are there to do for Earth? If Deering could fight off the Pirates, why then are the Draconian's there in the first place? Granted it's against the law for the Draconia to come armed, but what good is an unarmed ship going to be against the pirates? I am confused again.

DVD movie continues on, uninterrupted, Netflix version ends here.

Character facts learned in this Episode

Buck Rogers: Mother Edna Rogers, Father James Rogers. Siblings include Frank and Marilyn Rogers

Anarchia: Radiation, scorched earth and ruins of the outer city of South Chicago, filled with mutant humanoids. It is said that Armed forces are afraid to go there at night.

Dr. Theopolis (AKA Theo): is Dr. Huer's Administrator, who is in charge of the environmental controls of the inner city, and a ex officio member of the Computer Counsel of which there is 13 members. The Computer Counsel does all the Programming for the entire city. Is carried by Twiki for mobility. Dr Huer refers to Theo as "Quads" (short for Ambuquads), who are not programmed by man, but one another for generations saving the Earth from Doom. He also helped design the Star Fighters.

Twiki:  Twiki is Buck's Drone and carries Dr. Theopolis around his neck. Dr Huer refers to Twiki as "Quads" (short for Ambuquads), who are not programmed by man, but each other for generations saving the Earth from Doom. 

Colonel Wilma Deering: Commander of the 3rd Force of the Earth Directorate.

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References to the 20th Century that the 25th does't get: United States, Aspirin, Turkeys, Duffs, Ballsy, Being Nosy,
My Favorite lines: "Say this is a coincidence. You know I got a ship just like this" -Buck
Deaths: 7+ of the mutants of Anarchia.
Miniatures: (1) Ranger 3 Space Shuttle (4) Draconian Marauders (1) The Draconia Flag Ship (5) Star Fighters (1) Launch Tube (1) Draconia Set Piece