Didn’t think I’d be writing THAT tonight, yet here we are.
The Buck Rogers estate, overseen by the Nowlan Family Trust, on Tuesday fired off a cease-and-desist letter to Legendary about its recent announcement that it was developing a TV reboot of the popular sci-fi property. George Clooney and his Smokehouse partner Grant Heslov are set to executive produce Legendary’s Buck Rogers project with a script by Brian K. Vaughn and Angry Films’ Don Murphy and Susan Montford also producing.
In the brief-ish letter sent by email and snail mail to Michael Ross, Legendary Entertainment’s EVP Business Affairs, the estate contends that “the Buck Rogers interests” have already penned an agreement with David Ellison’s Skydance Productions to exploit the property.
Left behind in all of this is: which Buck Rogers are people going with? Comic strip, movie serial, or 1970s TV show? Because I gotta be honest: I watched the TV show when it came out, and I’m good, thanks. I won’t need another dose.
Moe Lane
PS: Seriously. The TV show had Gary Coleman in it. Several times. Damned if I know why.
I have fond memories of the Buck Rodgers show. All reruns for me, of course. Colonel Wilma was hard to forget. Bedebedebede
The TV series did inspire me to come up with the catchphrase “Beedee-beedee-beedee. What the f—, Buck?” My brother and I used on occasion when someone did something stupid, typically while playing TTRPGs.
If you’re a popular sitcom star and you want to appear on another show – say you happen to like scifi or col Deering – who’s gonna say no to stunt casting?
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More seriously… gaah, it really is the’70s all over again, isn’t it?
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Mew
Sadly, I fear you speak the truth. It really does seem we are in a rerun of the 70s.
Oh lordy, we have the Malaise™ crew back and everything don’t we.
I have too much nostalgia for the ’70s show to actually watch it again.
I’ll even praise it as educational, as the actress in the tight silver pants helped me to realize that cooties were not that scary.
(As opposed to a regrettable episode of Superfriends, that was absolutely terrifying if you were in the targeted demographic.)
While I think the original story is worth reading, especially to see its impact on other material, you wouldn’t do a literal adaptation of it today. There are some interesting elements in it.
However, I have to admit the guilty pleasure of enjoying several of the novels for the TSR Buck Rodgers XXVC game from the late 80s and early 90s. I haven’t read them in twenty years but I thought they were much better than RPG game novels usually are. If you ever happen to run across them in a used bookstore it’s probably worth your time to get them.