Actress Markie Post and Gil Gerard getting their leather and spandex look on in a still from ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.’
If my homage to adorable robot Twiki—one of the stars of the sci-fi television show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979-1981), went above your head, I’m sorry. But I’m only sorry because this means that you maybe never watched the show which ran for two seasons on NBC. At the time, I was just a kid and never missed an episode as it was a continuation of its predecessor, Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979). I was such a big fan of BG and was obsessed with actor Dirk Benedict and his character Lieutenant Starbuck. The show was full of nutty plotlines and came complete with a disco soundtrack from the masterful Giorgio Moroder, which I am sure I was not able to appreciate at the time. There was even a fictional alien girl group featured on the show called the Space Angels who had the voices of singers Carolyn Willis, Marti McCall, and Myrna Matthews, a long-time collaborator with Steely Dan. Now that you can see I’m in full-on sci-fi nerd mode let’s move on to the actual point of this post, the far-out females of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.
Buck Rogers cast of female characters in the first season alone included Jamie Lee Curtis, Catwoman Julie Newmar, Pamela Hensley, and Playboy playmate Dorothy Stratten. The show was a departure from Battlestar Galactica when it came to many things including the appearance of their female cast being more akin to the women William Shatner encountered on Star Trek. In fact, Gil Gerard’s character on Buck Rogers mirrors Captain Kirk’s when it pertains to his ability to become lip-locked with pretty much every female woman or alien he comes into contact with. Even Buck Rogers co-star the beautiful Erin Gray wasn’t immune to Rogers’ outer-space swagger. Like Battlestar, the plotlines were pushed to the edge of reason including battles with space vampires and an episode where the gang spends time on an intergalactic cruise ship filled with chicks in bikinis.
I’ve posted some great stills from the show to help illustrate my point about what a treat to the eyes this show was. And though we are technically not discussing Battlestar Galactica, I’ve posted a video of shirtless Dirk Benedict showing you how to get a “steel stomach” in an old-school workout video because it’s too awesome to keep to myself.
The super cool, completely hot Erin Gray as Colonel Wilma Deering.
Erin Gray all dolled up in the episode “Cruise Ship to the Stars” (season one, episode eleven).
Another shot of Gray with one of those spooky space vampires I was telling you about. This still is from the episode “Space Vampire” (season one, episode twelve).
Actress Pamela Hensley as Queen Ardala.
More of Hensley as Queen Ardala.
Pamela Hensley.
Hensley and one of the many veteran actors which appeared on the show, Henry Silva.
Gray and Hensley with Gerard pictured in the background thinking hard about baseball no doubt.
Playmate Dorothy Stratten as Miss Cosmos.
Stratten in a scene from “Cruise Ship to the Stars.”
Stratten as Miss Cosmos.
Actress Pamela Shoop all dressed up and ready to party with Buck Rogers. Yes.
Gil Gerard and Shoop on the set of ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.”
Gray and Jamie Lee Curtis from the episode “Unchained Women” (season one, episode seven).
Gerard and Curtis.
Curtis wearing red jumpsuit while locked up with Gerard in “Unchained Women.”
Actress Markie Post in ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.’
Post and Buck Rogers’ robotic pal Twiki (voiced primarliy by the legendary Mel Blanc for the duration of the series).
The awesome Judy Landers as Joanna from the equally awesome episode “Space Rockers” (season one, episode nineteen).
Actress Eddie Benton (center) and her girl gang from “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.”
Actress Melody Rogers.
The adorable Amanda Wyss (to be seen soon after in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ and ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’).
Actress Trisha Noble as a mutant named Sabrina on the “Cruise Ship to the Stars” episode.
The great Julie Newmar as Zarina on ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.’
And just because, here’s actor Gil Gerard in a shirtless publicity still for ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.’
Footage from ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’ featuring a bizarre disco party.
Actor Dirk Benedict in his workout video ‘Steel Stomachs.’
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
‘Barbarella Does Her Thing’: Behind the scenes of the sexiest sci-fi movie ever made
‘Secret Weapons’: David Cronenberg’s made-for-TV dystopian sci-fi biker movie, 1972
‘Toomorrow’: Sci-Fi rock film starring a young Olivia Newton-John (1970)
Katharine Hepburn dressed as a super-sexy silver sci-fi insect in 1933
The gorgeous sci-fi ladies of ‘UFO’