As we have reported before, James Cawley and the team behind the web series Star Trek Phase II, is also bringing Buck Rogers to the web. And now they have released the first clip, featuring Gil Gerard and Erin Grey from the Buck Rogers TV series, check it out below.
Buck Rogers Clip
The new Buck Rogers web series uses the classic Buck mythology and so Buck’s roots are in the early 20th century before he is sent to the 25th century. In this clip we see Buck (Bobby Rice) trying to talk his parents (played by Gerard and Grey) into letting him go off to fight in World War I.
And if you missed it, here is the teaser released late last year. It features Buck’s starfighter.
For more see: Phase II’s James Cawley Bringing Buck Rogers To The Web
And visit the official site at: buckrogersbegins.com
Wow hard to believe this is fan made..great job
Very nicely done….However, on http://gilgerard.tripod.com/, the official web site for Gil Gerard, it says “Gil has informed me that he is no longer associated with Cawley Entertainment and will take no further part in the new Buck Rogers project, citing ‘creative differences’. I believe that Gil will still be seen as Buck’s father during the pilot episode, but if there is a change then I’ll let you know.
Rebecca
Webmaster”
So, I guess this is the last time we will see Gil.
Indeed. Very good clip.
The way these guys do Star Trek …I can’t wait to see Buck Rodgers …I’m a huge fan of Mr Cawley and his team….or crew I mean..
@spike
Technically, I don’t think it is. I believe Cawley got the rights for this.
#2 very sorry to hear Gil may not be involved. Perhaps Jame’s C. will be able to expand on that- if he can?
Jame’s, this looks terrific. I could have sat and watched that all evening! Great to see Gil and Erin together and the young fella looks suitably handsome as young Buck. Great performaces from all three actors there.
I’m very much looking forward to this.
Great job James!! Can’t wait too see the whole thing. Keep up the good work.
Not bad. Bobby Rice is at least as good an actor as Gerard. But he clearly went to the James Cawley school of acting. All things considered, I’d like to see this kid play young Kirk as well. He strikes me as a much more convincing younger Cawley than the other actor I saw had been cast and some of his performance was dead on to Cawley’s.
All things considered, nice work. It’s good to see someone developing the original ideas of these properties.
This clip seems to be my mother’s Buck Rogers. That was on the radio @ serial movies. Her 1st scifi love. Fantastic job this will be my next sfi love. As trek will be always. Here’s to mom and Buck Rogers of the 25th Century!
Damn, but that was actually pretty good. The ’70s TV series pretty much pre-emptively scotched any interest I might have had in this project, but Gerard and Grey were actually able to display more acting chops in those few minutes than in all of their time on that Glen Larsen abomination put together. And it’s nice to see that Bobby Rice has learned to dial it down a little since “Blood and Fire,” as well. :-)
Given the quality of this teaser I’m sorry to hear about the creative differences with Mr. Gerard, but regardless of the circumstances behind that, to Mr. Cawley and crew: great work!
Since Buck winds up in the future why would ma and pa Rogers be needed? They would be long dead.
I really enjoyed this clip and Erin is (as they used to say back in that day) still a ‘handsome’ woman.
Hope it turns out well.
I’m starting to get it now. The future of TV entertainment is on the internet. (just as back in the early 90’s, it took me awhile to “get” that the internet was going to change everything, so I’m kinda slow about these things)
I’m no drama critic, but I thought the acting was better than anything I’ve ever seen in Phase II (don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of James Cawley, but….)
I was like poster 10–no interest due to the 70’s series being so awful. But now…. if the following 50 minutes are as good as those 3, then…. wow. (that’s a big “if” of course.)
At the time , Buck rogers was the only other new sci-fi show to watch besides the original battlestar galactica, I thought the show was a little corny at the time, however watching it on the sci-fi channel in the 90’s, I finally felt a cheesey corn overload. Other than the pilot, which wasnt bad, and the wonderful guest stars from star trek as well as other older science fiction shows, There is nothing for me to like about it now. I’m thrilled that Gil and Erin wanted to be part of this project. Apon watching it I hope I don’t get that back to the future feeling. (like when marty Mcfly met his great grampa and grandma).
Looks EXCELLENT!!!! Outstanding!!!
Cawley takes a giant leap here.
The production LOOKS great. The acting is top notch…at least in the scene here.
Can’t wait!!
Begun in the ‘early’ 20th Century? Not the 1970’s? Buck gets no disco references??? This is a disaster!
Seriously, Cawley Productions continues to raise its mark. I’m not saying there’s nothing left for us nit-lovin’ sci-fi nerds to pick. But, it’s looking like a good night at the puter.
I agree with the review on the acting from #10. The dialogue is still just a little stiff.
And yes, I’d still fly with Erin Grey anytime.
It looks really good.
Interesting clip! Erin Grey’s performance was especially good.
As I mentioned last night on Patty Wright’s Facebook page (I’m not clear what her association is with this production), this looks quite quite good!
Gray and Gerard show ten times more moxy in this three minute short than they ever were permitted on the 1979 series. I’m sad to hear the Gerard won’t be associated with future webisodes.
Both actors present a believable relaxed acting style here that is far more natural and believable than their original spin with their roles.
Bobby Rice is to commended too. He seems much more at ease with this role than he did playing Ensign Peter Kirk. It will be interesting to see how he makes the role his.
I, for one, am very much looking forward to seeing the entire production!
Erin Gray’s still looking good. :-)
Gil is a Terrific man, I deeply admire and always will. He has personal issues with a member of my team, whom I refuse to to let go. Creative differences that is all. Our original concept was that he would play two characters. Now he will only play Buck’s dad in the pilot, and really that will enough.
WHERE’S TWIKI?!?!!!
Excuse my typo’s, I have been up round the clock working! No sleep at all…
I can already tell this web series will be very, very popular. In fact, if the rest of the series will be good as the clip was, I bet it’s only a matter of time before it ends up on television. WOW!!!
Nice work JC, I’m looking forward to seeing this…
We have a lot more to do… But we are committed to making this the absolute best we can. It is not easy without a studio or backing.
But We will get there. Glad you all are enjoying it.
Wow, all this and controversy, too! Wait ’til TMZ gets a hold of this; it’ll be free PR — the best kind of publicity you can get. :-)
I hope that everyone lets bygones be bygones, though, seriously.
Great job so far, James Cawley!
Yeah I gotta say that the clip was better acting than anything Ive seen from Cawley’s work, not to say any of it was bad because his Star Trek web series still have better acting than a lot of the shows on TV today, but this seemed a bit deeper I guess. Between that clip and the bit with the rocket ship, it all looked very professional and polished, I’ll have to check it out. I’m glad to see that internet productions, largely thanks to Cawley, are becoming a more mainstream form of media, which we need because too much of what’s on TV these days is pretty much mindless crap.
LOL. There is no controversy.
That was good. Fun to see. That kid is good. he needs to get some droids to help the folks on the farm. I look forward to this.
The “Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow” guys come to mind when I see the trailer too. I like to think they opened up some new ways of thinking.
I believe or at least hope this new Buck Rogers film will be better than Sky Captain ATWOT. I couldn’t stand the film-noirish look of SC; it made everything look too dark. You couldn’t see what was going on, and pretty soon you didn’t care. And you can’t adjust the contrast or brightness settings in a movie theater. (At least, not yet.)
Looks great! Can’t wait to see a finished product. I wish JC’s crew had done Flash Gordon as well before Sci Fi (pre-SyFy) did such a horrible job.
Looks great… Dont know much about BR but after seeing that you have my attention, and i will be watching. If its half as good as Phase 2 it will be awesome.
Yeah that scene did play like Star Wars with Luke and his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru where Luke was in a rush to get to the Academy. This take on Buck Rogers looks to be a good fit. I look forward to seeing more! It would be great if something like this landed on the Sci Fi Channel!
I wasn’t thrilled with this idea at first
and am not a fan of Rice’s but….this
actually looks pretty good. Good
photography, costumes, direction, and
acting (all in that little clip). Will be
looking forward to more.
Gil Gerard has NOT aged well. Erin Grey however has.
Probably the best thing I’ve seen out of Cawley’s shop so far… but seriously, man, you gotta start giving us more than just lose-ups. Except for a tiny bit of over-the-shoulder with Gerard and the young man playing Buck at the end of the clip, there’s not a single shot with more than one character in it, precious little movement, and no apparent master shot at all. Time and place– Storytelling 101.
It really does look great! Keep up the awesome work Mr. Cawley!
Perhaps Erin Gray can still be used in an occasional flashback.
#37…. no “master” here was the director’s choice due to the intimate nature of the scene. And I heartily agree. It is not a “formula” for the entire episode.
Buck Rogers should look like a man not a child. Have we as the human race de-volved so damned much that some day you won’t be able to tell the difference between men and women? Jesus Christ!
BIG mistake in this scene – Buck says “…You’ve Heard The Radio Reports..”
At this time period (1914-1918) the were no commercial broadcasting,so the only radios in use (besides some experimental “hams”) were by the ships and the telegraph companies.
If anything the line should have refered to “The Wireless” or even “The Cable” – refering to the transatlantic cable. That’s mailing how news from Europe reached the states.
erf, typo
That’s MAINLY how news from Europe reached the states.
Brilliant James. As ever your productions continue to impress. Was that a real or virtual set?
#40 What on earth are you going on about the difference between men and women? And what are your qualifications in casting or the film industry, or the fictional background of Buck Rogers, to make absolute guidelines on what Buck Rogers should look like? It’s comments like yours that put fandom to shame.
James Cawley, that looks quite impressive so far. Are you looking for story pitches or do you have a team of writters or a writter at hand?
#40- In the original comic strip Buck Rogers was just 20 years old.
I did my research.
#43- It was a real location. We shot at a period correct home, that is now a museum.
#44- not taking pitches yet. I do not want to ut the horse before the
cart!
#22-BeDeeBeDeeBeDee…not a bad clip Buck! haha
Than You Mr. Cawley!! With all the money and backing studios have you’d think we’d get better quality Sci-Fi. Instead, here’s a guy that builds his own sets and makes fan films, one of the few things I truly enjoy watching. Love Star Trek and now I think I may love Buck Rogers. Please keep up the good work!
19. MC1 Doug: Patty Wright is the costumer, wardrobe, part of the makeup team, associate producer and co-writer of this.
41. Herb Finn: good point… maybe it was one of those other things he was referring to with the term….
…or maybe not. The military used the radio during WWI – and I suspect, with his zeal to enter the war, and to be a fly-boy, that is instead what he was referring to having heard. After all, we did do our homework. While the first official *news broadcast* was 1920, the first official US “radio *REPORT*” was earlier than that, and something the military used and would have called such. And something Buck would have been very interested in.
:-)
Would like to see this on dvd one day. Not sure if it’s possible but there’s always hope.
simpler than that…. the Rogers’ family had what’s now called a “HAM” radio to keep up first hand with the newspaper reports they were reading.