| The
movie was originally going to be shown in September 1978 (Director
Daniel Haller, Fantastic Films Magazine Sept '79) |
| There
were several start dates for filming but, were repeatedly
delayed due to casting problems (Director Daniel Haller, Fantastic
Films Magazine Sept '79) |
| The
Movie grossed over 11 million dollars in its opening weekend. |
| The movie premiered in Gil's home town of Little Rock, Arkansas on 29th March 1979. The next day it was released in over 1,400 theaters. |
| To
make Buck appear frozen in his space shuttle during the movie
was surprisingly easy. All they did was spray Gil all over
with an ordinary dry shampoo. Because of this he couldn't
open his eyes or move, so while he was waiting for them to
shoot the scene he supposedly fell asleep. |
| A unique
little difficulty was Wilma's hair, Erin Gray is a natural
brunette but in the movie they wanted her to have her hair
blonde. Erin had to have her hair dyed many times to get it
to look the right shade of blonde. |
| During
the Movie an entire sequence that takes place in the 25th
Century was actually filmed in the lobby of the Bonaventure
Hotel in Los Angeles. There were also scenes that were
shot outside the hotel. |
| Buck's
apartment building with the sharp corner is actually the
library at San Diego State University and The Earth
Defense Directorate Headquarters is the Los Angeles
Trade Center. |
| Aerial
dogfights were choreographed with the aid of a Hewlett-Packard
'45' computer. |
 |
| The
ruined City of Chicago called Anarchia was shot on
the back lot of MGM Studios. |
Buck's
Space shuttle Ranger 3 has the same name as a 1962 Lunar
probe which missed the moon and was lost in space.
|
| Douglas
Rain who did the voice of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey
was originally going to do the voice of Dr Theopolis. |
| Catherine
Bach from The Dukes of Hazzard was considered for the
part of Princess Ardala. |
| Juanin
Clay who played Marla Landers in the first season episode
Vegas in Space, was originally cast as Wilma before Erin
Gray decided to do the series. |
| Buck
Rogers had an overall budget of $800,000 per hour of air time
(Starlog #32) |
| "I
designed a desk for Dr Huer. It was all stainless steel and
had a monitor built into it. When it came time to dress his
office for the series, the desk was missing. Somehow, someone
walked out of Universal with a huge stainless steel desk.
We just got out the plans and built another just like it."
(Art Director Paul Peters, Starlog #32) |
| The
voice of Dorothy Stratten in Cruise Ship to the Stars
(season one), was dubbed over. |
| While
filming Flight of the War Witch (season one), Gil had
a bad case of the flu. |
| Zarina's
spaceship in Flight of the War Witch was unfinished when
shooting was scheduled to begin. To add an alien look to
it, it was turned upside down. |
| During the episode Happy Birthday, Buck (season one), Buck is feeling a bit depressed due to his upcoming 534th Birthday but because New Chicago is climate controlled, Buck asks Dr Huer if it is actually January. Dr Huer answers "Yes, January 7th". That date is in fact Erin Gray's birthday. |
| Although
uncredited, Gil's stunt double on Buck Rogers was
Michael Vendrell. Michael is the last remaining master of
Yee Chuan Tao in the world and has been a stunt man for 30
years. He has taught and trained such people as David Carradine,
Brandon Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is stunt co-ordinator
on TV series Lost. (A link to his site can be found
on the Links page) |
| In
Starlog #39 Hawks Space Ship (season two), was referred to
as the 'War Hawk'. |
| Written
on the side of the starship Searcher (season
two) is 'Per Adua Ad Astra' a misspelling of 'Per
Ardua Ad Astra'
(Through Adversity to the Stars) the motto for The British
Royal Air Force. 'Per Aspera Ad Astra' is
N.A.S.A's version. |
