Every great action-adventure hero is a rip-off of someone else. Captain Kirk was Gene Roddenberry’s riff on Horatio Hornblower. James Bond was Bulldog Drummond with better taste in booze. One of the most influential rip-offs was Flash Gordon, who, in comic strip form, was just a copy of Buck Rogers.
Although Buck Rogers has many spiritual decedents — from John Carter of Mars to Vin Diesel’s Riddick to Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy — Buck himself is arguably the first everyman sci-fi hero. But 45 years ago, on September 20, 1979, Buck Rogers was rebooted for a new audience. His 1979 series might look laughable today, but at the time, this kitschy show did the impossible: it took an outdated hero and made him cool again, at least for a little while.
