PR in the Philippines

(SeaPRwire) –   What is the origin of the future? For roughly the past century, science fiction has been the source of our visions of tomorrow. Technologies like submarines, cell phones, tasers, and nuclear power all debuted in sci-fi before becoming reality. The genre is also filled with conventions that are so deeply embedded in our expectations we hardly see them as creative choices. Do you think aliens and laser guns are exciting? You have Buck Rogers to thank! He was the Han Solo archetype before Han Solo even existed.

To be precise, credit goes to Buck Rogers creator Philip Francis Nowlan and the artists and writers who chronicled Buck’s interstellar journeys across a nearly 60-year comic series. This long-running legacy reached its peak with the 1979 television show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Sadly, the series failed to achieve the same cultural footprint as its source material and was canceled in 1981. Its last episode, “The Dorian Secret,” premiered 45 years ago this week, and in keeping with the character’s style, it concluded spectacularly.

When Buck Rogers in the 25th Century aired “The Dorian Secret,” the program was already struggling through a difficult second season. The first season, set specifically in New Chicago on Earth, was famous for its “disco sci-fi” aesthetic. Abundant sparkly costumes and absurd plots fueled by campy humor positioned the show as a fun, light-hearted adventure.

However, pressure from the studio and creative disagreements resulted in a massive revamp for Season 2. The shiny, frivolous escapades in New Chicago were discarded. For the entire season, Buck and his team were stationed aboard his starship, The Searcher. Their missions adopted a significantly darker and more solemn atmosphere, creating a jarring contrast to the earlier playful tone.

Despite being poorly received initially, this change in tone was forward-looking. Season 2 preceded the launch of Star Trek: The Next Generation by only a few years, a series that was (primarily) a serious drama about a starship captain and his team. In fact, a great deal of the popular sci-fi TV from the late 1980s and 1990s would have fit perfectly on The Searcher, which is why “The Dorian Secret” is notable for being ahead of its time.

The episode’s plot revolves around a classic scenario. The crew of The Searcher meets Asteria, a fugitive Dorian, at a space station while collecting refugees escaping a volcanic disaster on another world. As is customary for her people, she is a self-proclaimed mutant who wears a mask. She persuades Buck to grant her sanctuary on his vessel, and naturally, Buck must defend her from the pursuing, masked Dorians. During the struggle, Asteria’s mask is dislodged, uncovering a quite appealing human face. Buck is confused about her need for a mask but allows her to join the other refugees.

However, the Dorians do not relent. Their leader, Koldan, states she is accused of killing his son, Chosan. His other son, Demeter, also calls for justice. The Dorians possess surveillance video that allegedly depicts her pushing Chosan from a cliff. They assault The Searcher by tampering with the ship’s temperature, vowing to obliterate it if Asteria is not surrendered. As the temperature climbs, so does the strain. It becomes a classic paranoid witch hunt, with arguments breaking out and the refugees attempting to identify the Dorian among them to expel her.

Buck pulls Asteria aside for an explanation, and she insists it is a massive misunderstanding. She was in love with Chosan and went to meet him in the hills where they initially encountered each other. Upon arrival, she discovered he was injured, and he subsequently slipped and fell from the cliff. She fled to find help just as others found Chosan’s body, which made her the leading suspect in his death. Shortly after this confession, the other passengers deduce who she is, and the situation intensifies.

The passengers hold a vote to eject Asteria from the ship. Buck speaks with Koldar, finding him unwavering in his pursuit of justice and demanding her execution. Demeter appears convinced of Asteria’s guilt, but the idea of killing her makes him uncomfortable. So Buck makes a daring move. Rather than turning Asteria over, he proposes it would be simpler to kill her immediately. The mood changes abruptly. The refugees have second thoughts, but Koldar remains steadfast. Demeter, however, finally cracks and discloses the major secret.

He reveals he had a physical fight with his brother and caused Chosan’s injuries. The motive? Chosan and Asteria were having a secret romance without their masks! This is an act forbidden in Dorian culture, where masks are fundamental to their identity. But why? Demeter gives a short speech proclaiming, “a race of people blindly subservient to a custom is not a race of people at all, but a race of slaves!” Grieving his brother’s pointless death, he tears off his mask in rebellion. His father, affected by this act, commands the other soldiers to remove their masks as well.

Unexpected twist! Everyone beneath the masks has identical appearances. The Dorians are basically a race of clones, and the masks served to conceal their shame. Asteria’s life is saved, and Buck goes back to The Searcher, where he delivers a speech to the refugees warning them about the perils of mob psychology before the series concludes permanently.

“The Dorian Secret” functions as both a series finale and a glimpse of a show torn between different creative directions. Its key plot revelation suggests the more somber, unusual, and thoughtful series that Buck Rogers had the potential to become, but the inconsistent quality of the last season makes it a flawed yet compelling final installment. Ultimately, since contemporary science fiction often explores similar introspection, Buck Rogers proved to be a precursor of the genre’s future once more.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is available on the Internet Archive.