Buck Rogers has STYLE. Not to say that Flash didn't, but the Buck Rogers serial has:

The Art Deco Headquarters of Killer Kane, with it's convenient topiary shrubs for hiding behind.

The swirling mirror pool monitor screens.

The equally Art Deco space ships, with sparklers as exhaust and that sound, something like a microwave oven and a car missing a muffler. These ships were so advanced, all they needed was a simple door with handle.

A future full of wimps. Flash and Buddy easily push away or tackle anyone who they clash with.

The groovy De-Gravity belts and the transporter.

The Saturnian tram system.

The exotic terrain of the planet Saturn, which in no way looked like a California desert.

The Saturnian MUGGS, who should have all been nominated for academy awards.

Okay, I'm being a little sarcastic. But I really do have a great love for this serial, even with all its many flaws. Terrible performances by some of the supporting characters, a few cases of severely bad stunt doubling, and the effects, well......they did their best with what they had to work with. I love the little dolls in the Saturnian tunnel trams.

And Buck himself--Larry "Buster" Crabbe was so handsome. That wavy hair and that killer smile were all he needed. I wonder if the producers ever realized what kind of confusion they would cause in the years that followed, by casting the same actor for both Flash and Buck. It's always interesting to see a VHS version of Buck Rogers with a picture from Flash Gordon on the cover, and vice versa.

Buck Rogers is a true pleasure to watch. It's so much fun, and it's the perfect length. It's over before it has worn out its welcome. And if you want more, then watch the next chapter. The menu screens are fun too, with the ships swinging around on visible wires. If only they would have included a booklet instead of advertising.

This is well worth checking out, especially if you enjoy the Flash serials. Like the cover proclaims, it's a 12 chapter Thrill-O-Rama!


VCI edition just fine   June 3, 2004
Roger Travis Jr. (Connecticut, USA)
33 out of 34 found this review helpful

As I've been trying to collect some classic serials, I've been frustrated by the lack of specific information on the various editions. So let me first say that while the print is far from pristine, for the price this VCI edition is hard to beat.

Second, let me say that I am astonished--to the point of feeling like my 10-year old self was had--how much of "Star Wars" Lucas lifted almost whole-cloth from this serial. Even the prologue as a steeply pitched crawl comes from Buck Rogers, not to mention countless scenes in the Millennium Falcon as the ship is chased by an evil-empire-like force of villains.

So here's the advice I would have been happiest to have had a few days ago when I was trying to decide whether to buy this disc: if you love science fiction on film, or are interested in the popular culture of the late 30's and early 40's, BUY THIS DISC.


Awful fun   May 23, 2006
cinephile (Oklahoma)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Chances are, if you're here, you've already made up your mind. People don't just stumble across a 1930s serial. So you're probably a fan of this kind of stuff.

Which means we aren't going to judge this like we would a new, slick, Hollywood release with top-notch actors. This is budget sci-fi made for kids of the 1930s. It's not sophisticated, the acting is a little stilted, and the science laughable. But if you wanted that stuff, you'd buy something else, right?

Comparing this to other serials, I think it's one of the best. Like all serials, it tends to bog down a bit after the first half. That's because most of the really new ideas get presented in the first chapters.

However, the inventive approach to effects and matte painting are really enjoyable. The story is just silly fun. The presence of a fairly non-stereotyped Asian actor is interesting (even though his acting's as bad as everyone else's).

If you're adding to your archive, don't miss this one. Cool ray guns, gravity belts, transporters...


Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon ? Who cares its got Buster Crabbe!   October 5, 2000
Christian Coughlan (Swansea, Wales)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

There's something very special about this serial and the Flash Gordon serials. Maybe its nostalgia, maybe Buster Crabbes performance as both Buck and Flash or maybe its just because they incorporated all the basic ingredients of story telling which have sadly been lost today. Special effects do not make a film!

Buck and his buddy "Buddy" crash their Zepplin somewhere remote and freezing on earth in 1938 where they can't be rescued. Unknown to Buck and Buddy the Zepplin is equiped with gas which will put them into suspended animation. Five hundred years later they are discovered by the friendly rebels struggling against the evil Killer Kane. Within minutes of being arrested and taken back to the rebels hidden city they are off on a mission to Saturn to help the rebels form an alliance and defeat Killer Kane...

From there on its puch ups, rocketship dogfights, running, hiding, getting captured, making friends and escaping approximately every ten minutes. Brilliant!

In many reviews I've read Buck Rogers has been considered a rip off of Flash Gordon. This maybe true of the comic strip but I don't consider this serial to be a rip off of the Flash Gordon serials. After all, its made by the same people with mostly the same actors, special effects, costumes and musical scores.

If your a fan of the Flash serials then you'll love this too. I would also recommend that anyone new to the genre watch this before watching the Flash serials. The Flash serials particularly the first one were far more ambitious in terms of special effects and are therefore slightly more comical today. I tried to get a friend to watch Space Soldiers but he kept laughing at the Ape Men and the dragons. This serial is definetly the best to watch to get into the genre.

I've only watched the first five episodes so far because I'm saving the other episodes for a special occasion. Once I've finished this disk thats it forever. If only I had a time machine so I could travel back and insist they made more episodes!

The DVD edition is very good, obviously the picture and sound are not up to much but the special features such as the bios and photo galleries are excellent.

Buy this before it goes out of print again.


Original Buck Rogers   July 14, 2000
carl vanderheyden (indian springs, nv. USA)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

Although not as good as Flash Gordon series which also starred Buster Crabbe this is still an enjoyable SCI-Fi classic. Long before Star Trek and Starwars were Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. I used to enjoy each episode back in the 50's when I was alot younger. There was only one Buck Rogers serial made and it followed the success of the first two Flash Gordon serials. Buck Rogers never had the popularity Flash Gordon, probably because it was an imitation. The charectors were never developed as well. Killer Kane was no where near as intimidating as Charles Middleton's great performance as Ming the Mercilous. Wilma Deering is just there and doesn't stand out as much as Jean Rogers does as Dale Arden in the Flash Gordon series.Charectors aside there is still plenty of adventure,space battles and unique effects to make this a worth while video for any one interested in early sci-fi. A classic and until recently very hard to find.