Three months have passed since I first intended to make this post but never got round to writing it. Well, here it is, delayed but still relevant and poignant.
Its main star was Gil Gerard, who played the role of a cocky astronaut who'd been frozen in suspended animation since the year 1987 until he thawed out and returned to a very changed planet Earth.
Anyone who grew up watching this television series, which came during the Star Wars-led science fiction renaissance of the late 1970s and early 1980s, will know how delightful the show was in terms of special effects not previously seen on TV, and its mostly playful story lines.
Gerard was a perfect fit for the lead role, although he had his own reservations about the consistently non-serious side of his character's personality.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was a reflection of its time; providing light-hearted escapism that easily slotted into the weekly TV schedule. Fresh-faced Gerard became an instantly recognisable hero bringing some of the glamour of cinema's blockbuster science fiction genre to the small screen. Indeed, the extended pilot episode was released initially on the big screen, and I recall seeing it first at the cinema.
The aesthetic of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was pleasing to the eye - from the clean sets to the futuristic uniforms and non-stereotypical robots and computers, which made the show feel fresh.
I remember watching Buck Rogers as a youngster when I'd seek out any science fiction in the vein of Star Wars and the earlier TV show Space:1999. In formative years, while growing up, certain shows and actors feel as though they are part of our lives, and remain so even when the memory of them is far in the past. Often it is only when we hear of the passing of one of the main stars that we stop and reflect on what they meant to our younger selves.
And so it was for me when I heard the news of Gil Gerard's passing a week or so before Christmas last year.
But I was also cheered to read his final message to his fans, which was posted on his Facebook account by his wife Janet. In it Gerard gave a heartfelt thanks for opportunities he'd had in life, for the people he'd met and for the love he'd given and received. He encouraged others not to waste time on anything that does not thrill them or bring love. And, in his final parting words, in true Buck Rogers style, said he'd one day meet us out somewhere in the cosmos. It leaves a picture in my mind of the youthful Gerard, invariably as Buck Rogers circa 1979-1981, in space and untouched by the march of time, waiting to continue that connection first felt watching his exploits on TV.
Gil Gerard died on December 16, 2025 from a rare and aggressive cancer. He was 82.
If you are reading this, then Janet has posted it as I asked her to.
My life has been an amazing journey. The opportunities I’ve had, the people I’ve met and the love I have given and received have made my 82 years on the planet deeply satisfying.
My journey has taken me from Arkansas to New York to Los Angeles, and finally, to my home in North Georgia with my amazing wife, Janet, of 18 years. It’s been a great ride, but inevitably one that comes to a close as mine has.
Don’t waste your time on anything that doesn’t thrill you or bring you love. See you out somewhere in the cosmos.
Admirable characteristics: Zienia Merton, who played
Sandra Benes in Space:1999, has died at 72
Zienia Merton, who played a celebrated supporting role in both seasons of the TV series Space:1999, died on Friday at 72. Ziena's character Sandra encapsulated much of what was right and good about Space:1999 - and by extension humanity. She was confident, controlled, and efficient; an easily relatable and intelligent character. When Sandra was around there was a sense that sensible choices would be made, or at least be aired. The show endeavored to have diversity among its characters, demonstrating a theme of "one people" together. Like Star Trek before it, it portrayed people from a mixture of backgrounds living and working together with shared values and goals. Zienia was British, although also very much a world citizen. She was born in Burma. Her mother was Burmese and her father half-English, half-French. She lived in a number of countries before settling in England.
Early days: Zienia Merton, left, in The Beatles' Help!
As an actress, Zienia did most of her work on television, including a stint in one of the first Dr Who stories. Earlier in her career she was an extra in The Beatles' Help! playing (uncredited) a high priestess. Space:1999 was my favourite TV show as a youngster. I watched every episode during its original TV run from 1975 to 1977. Some 20-odd years later I attended an event on the outskirts of London after hearing that one of the '1999' cast would be there - Zienia. It felt surreal coming face to face with someone who I had such familiarity with, even though we'd never met before. Zienia was polite and easy to talk to, and despite the passage of years still looked almost exactly as she did in the show - right down to her hairstyle. For a few short hours while she was around it felt like being part of an extended Moonbase Alpha crew that had somehow been transported to a conference suite in a suburban hotel. A few years later, on the 13th of September 1999, Zienia reprised her role as Sandra Benes to record a six-minute video for a Space:1999 convention in the US, which was held to coincide with the day the moon blasted out of Earth's orbit - as imagined in the show. Her short "Final Message from Moonbase Alpha" is now regarded as the 49th and final installment of the series. As the last person on the evacuated moonbase she recorded a message for those who might find it in the future, ending with: "To you, the people of planet Earth, we say goodbye and ask but one thing - remember us." It was a fitting epilogue. Farewell Zienia
Mark Hamill and Martin Landau spoke out when their iconic characters were
made to act incongruously to the manner they had previously established
Two leading actors in science-fiction franchises, separately and decades apart, expressed instinctive and eerily similar warnings about how their iconic characters were being altered in ways incongruent to their established identities, and that were likely to upset multitudes of loyal fans.
Their misgivings and concerns were flagged up before and during filming to those with influential production roles, but were mostly dismissed. However, they turned out to be prophetically accurate.
In interviews that took place 18 years apart, Martin Landau and Mark Hamill voiced almost identical thoughts on the process they saw unfolding for the well-loved characters they helped create.
Oscar winner Landau spoke about this when interviewed for a French documentary in 1999, as he reflected on his time as Commander John Koenig, the male lead of Space:1999 - a TV series filmed and broadcast during the mid-1970s. Meanwhile Hamill, in a number of interviews last year during the build up to the release of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, aired concerns about the direction of his character Luke Skywalker.
Landau had deep misgivings about changes in the the second series of Space:1999 that were mostly introduced and forced through by new producer and script editor Fred Frieberger. He spoke of “battles” with Freiberger about the changes, which included characters behaving incongruously to the manner they had established in the first series. There was also unexplained changes of personnel, outfits, and main sets.
Speaking of the second series, Landau said: “I’m not a big fan. I thought he (Frieberger) hurt the show. I thought he hurt Star Trek; the year he did it it went downhill. He certainly didn’t help us. I fought with him all the time. You see, I think an episode should enhance the character and serve the character. Many times in the second year my character had to serve the script and do things that he shouldn’t do. I knew Commander Koenig. I understood him. And in the second year he did things he should never have done to accommodate a story point in the script - I used to fight over that, I would say ‘this is wrong.’”
It was not only his character who was made to act inconsistently to their established identity. Landau said Freiberger “would bring up a script and I would say ‘this is terrible. Helena wouldn’t do this, Koenig wouldn’t do this, Alan wouldn’t do this. These characters would not do this. The only reason they are doing this is to serve this script, and it’s wrong.’ Sometimes I would win these battles, and sometimes I’d lose them. Sometimes there was a re-write, sometimes there wasn’t. I wasn’t happy the second year; I thought we were turning the show into a cartoon - into a Mister Magoo.”
Landau had misgivings about changes to characters and story lines in the
second series of Space:1999. He had "battles" with producer Frieberger
When broadcast, series two was widely-regarded by critics and many fans as a dumbed-down “monster of the week” follow-up to the often thought-provoking episodes of the first year. Many people continue to view the second year as a pale shadow of the first. There was no third series. Years later, when Freiberger made a rare appearance at a Space:1999 fan convention to explain why he made so many changes, he faced robust criticism from the most dedicated supporters of the show.
Landau’s words about “knowing and understanding” Commander Koenig and taking issue with the character being made to do things he would not have done based on his established identity, were mirrored by Hamill when he spoke about his misgivings regarding the character direction for Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi.
In an interview on Nightline ABC in April 2017, Hamill said when he read the script he told writer and director Rian Johnson: “I fundamentally disagree with everything you’ve decided about my character.” He continued: “It was as shocking to me to read what Rian had written as I’m sure it will be for the audience.”
Later in the year he returned to the topic. “I said to Rian, ‘Jedi don’t give up. Even if he (Luke) had a problem he’d maybe take a year to re-group, but if he made a mistake he’d try to right that wrong.’ So right there we had a fundamental difference. But, it’s not my story anymore, it’s someone else’s story and Rian needed me to be a certain way to make the ending effective,” said Hamill.
Expanding on his concerns during the same interview, he said: “That’s the crux of my problem - Luke would never say that. I almost had to think of Luke as another character, maybe he’s Jake Skywalker, he’s not my Luke Skywalker. But I had to do what Rian wanted me to do because it serves the story well. But listen, I still haven’t accepted it completely. But it’s only a movie, I hope people like it, I hope people don’t get upset.”
As the marketing machine went into overdrive for the film’s release, Hamill said he regretted voicing some of his doubts in public. “Creative differences are a common element of any project but usually remain private,” he said, adding that he ultimately appreciated the decisions that had been made.
However, The Last Jedi caused damaging polarization among fans - more so than has been experienced by any blockbuster movie franchise - to the extent that many who had followed the Star Wars saga for 40 years turned away from the series and vowed to avoid future installments. A variety of reasons were given, but head-and-shoulders above all was dismay at how Luke Skywalker, one of the greatest movie heroes of all time, had been portrayed in a way far removed from what had been established in previous films.
On social media and film review sites across the internet the backlash was substantial. I have read and listened to hundreds of options lambasting in particular the framing of Luke. We are now nine months on from the film’s release and the reaction shows no signs of abating. To pick one mild example, posted as a comment on a YouTube video in the past 48 hours, a fan wrote: “I still cannot believe Rian Johnson's script made it to the screen. Surely someone at Disney or Lucasfilm (other than Mark Hamill) pointed out how upset Star Wars fans were going to get."
While innovation in storytelling is always to be welcomed, there are certain boundaries where red warnings flash - as Landau and Hamill flagged up during the production of their respective franchises. For the directors and producers who ignored or overrode the warnings and concerns of their foremost stars, the subsequent fan fallout has been haunting.
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Video: Martin Landau talks about concerns for his Space:1999 character.
Video: Mark Hamill speaks about changes to the character of Luke Skywalker.
