Inspired by not only the success of Star Wars, but of their made-for-TV movie pilot of “Battlestar Galactica” – which was briefly released in theatres to boffo box office – Universal Studios decided to unleash producer Glenn A. Larson’s yet-to-air Buck Rogers TV movie in a theatrical run, too. Gil Gerard is Rogers, an astronaut in 1987 who runs into a bizarre anomaly in space while piloting his shuttle. He’s frozen for 500 years until he’s discovered by the alien spaceship Draconia, helmed by Princess Ardala (Pamela Hensley) and her assistant, Kane (Henry Silva). Revived, Rogers opts to return to Earth but is arrested upon landing in New Chicago by Colonel Wilma Deering (Erin Gray) and subsequently interrogated. Rogers is shocked to discover everything outside New Chicago is a radioactive wasteland. The Draconians are trying to force a trade deal with Earth, but they have secret higher ambitions to conquer the entire planet. The movie was very successful, raking in $21,000,000, and NBC consequently ordered a series as a result (which lasted from 1979 – 1981). The film is narrated by William “Cannon” Conrad.
